The Elusive William Ashton of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
"After looking back at my own challenges and triumphs, I came up with three recommendations: don’t trust family lore or uncited published genealogies, consider various spellings of the surname, and visit the local historical society."
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Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Responses featured in a future newsletter may be edited for clarity and length.
Last Week's Survey:
Connections to Sleepaway Camp
Total: 3,480 Responses
20%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors attended sleepaway camp.
10%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked at a sleepaway camp.
3%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had another connection to sleepaway camp.
53%, I attended sleepaway camp.
12%, I worked at a sleepaway camp.
23%, No, none of my ancestors attended or worked at a sleepaway camp.
34%, I don’t know if any of my ancestors attended or worked at a sleepaway camp.
Readers Respond
Leanne Rossi, Oxford, Massachusetts: At age 10, I won an essay contest for an all-expenses paid (including uniforms) two-week stay at Camp Green Eyrie—a Girl Scout camp in Harvard, Massachusetts, that is still in operation. I enjoyed everything except the outdoor latrines!
Joanne Coe, Gaithersburg, Maryland: I worked in the kitchen at a New Jersey 4-H sleepover camp the summer between high school and nursing school in 1954. I helped with food prep (using sharp knives) and loaded the big dishwasher. However, I was not allowed to turn the dishwasher on until my 18th birthday on August 10!
Esther Leonard, Huntington, West Virginia: For two years in a row, my mother insisted that I attend a weeklong 4-H sleepaway camp. I hated every minute of it. All my siblings attended 4-H, Boy Scout, or Girl Scout camps, and a couple of my sisters also went to church camps. They all seemed to enjoy their sleepaway camp experiences. I was the oddball.
Karyl Hubbard, Spokane, Washington: In the 1950s, my mother, then president of the Girl Scout Council of Alhambra, established Camp Loomis, a Girl Scout camp in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. My father loaned one of his semi-trailers to haul loads of lumber up the mountain to build the camp. My brothers and I were drafted into jobs loading and unloading materials. For many years, Camp Loomis hosted girls of elementary school age. Sadly, it is no longer in existence.
Nancy L. Gaynor, Crystal Lake, Illinois: Although money was tight in my family, my siblings and I were encouraged to attend Scout camps. Our dad was a Scout Executive and served as a leader at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico while my three older siblings stayed at the family camp nearby. I attended Girl Scout National Center West in Worland, Wyoming, the summer I turned 16. It was two weeks of horseback riding, camping, and friendship—a memory to treasure.
West Virginia University’s Potomac State College and Mary F. Shipper Library is located in Keyser, seat of Mineral County, West Virginia. The library's digital newspaper archive comprises more than 522,000 pages from 50 newspapers, including Mineral Daily News Tribune (1929-2022), Piedmont Herald (1887-2006), The Hampshire Review (1884-1952), Mineral Daily News (1912-1928), Mineral Daily Newsand Keyser Tribune (1928-2019), Grant County Press (1896-1950), The Hampshire Review And The South Branch Intelligencer (1952-1973), and The Preston County Journal (1881-1926). The database is keyword searchable. Individual newspapers can also be browsed. Search Now
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