tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post1205218031787114626..comments2024-03-28T18:40:05.789-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: A Descendant of ImmigrantsJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-27189779105663083222017-02-24T10:42:26.284-05:002017-02-24T10:42:26.284-05:00Pat, we do have that in common, but I imagine ther...Pat, we do have that in common, but I imagine there are a lot of us who do, too. Actually you're right about the Western hemisphere having no indigenous humans until the first came over from Asia and maybe Africa if they worked their way up to where they could have crossed easier.<br /><br />KM, that's fascinating. I've never heard of Eckley, and I'd like to visit it if I can find it on the map. Have you read Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy Series. Molly Murphy also came to New York City escaping from the law. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-25382401257669792932017-02-23T19:52:23.612-05:002017-02-23T19:52:23.612-05:00When my daughter was in graduate school (she train...When my daughter was in graduate school (she trained as an archeologist, and worked as one for years)she worked on a project at the Eckley Miner's Village, an outdoor museum in Pennsylvania. Eckley is coal patch town, and some of the residences were returned to the way they would have looked at various times in Eckley's history.<br /><br />My daughter is descended from Pennsylvania coal miners on both sides--my Irish grandfather was a Molly Maguire who fled from criminal charges, changed his name and became a longshoreman at the New York docks. Her grandfather on her father's side was Polish coal miner.<br /><br />Eckley is a fascinating place, if you ever get the chance to go visit it.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-33167466832081637322017-02-23T15:04:32.317-05:002017-02-23T15:04:32.317-05:00We have a lot in common regarding our grandparents...We have a lot in common regarding our grandparents. Mine all came from the Ukraine, even though my mother thought she came from Romania. That had to do with the territory they were really from, Bokavinia, changing hands between the world wars.<br />I prefer the POV that the western hemisphere has no indigenous humans. We all came from Africa and from about 6 to 8 branches of homo sapiens. And it is human duty to get the heck out of the womb, we can't stay on Earth. <br />Your weird friend, PatgPatghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046665022709722606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-89691121677851214782017-02-23T14:31:52.356-05:002017-02-23T14:31:52.356-05:00Margaret what an interesting great-grandmother you...Margaret what an interesting great-grandmother you had. Thank you for sharing your story.<br /><br />Elaine, I'm slowly writing an historical children's book that includes a ghost who watches each new family who settles into Hiram, Ohio, where I taught third grade and taught them a little bit about those who settled there.<br /><br />Warren, that is wonderful. One of my sisters coaxed my dad into starting a memoir, and he worked on it for awhile, but then he started having dementia and became forgetful. Finally, he had a stroke that took away his ability to talk or walk. I'm glad you were able to help your father when you could.<br /><br />Wow, what a story, Grace. So many people lost their lives in coal mines over the years. It hasn't been very long since there were strong rules put in place to protect the coal miners, but even that doesn't help the black lung so many got. Thanks for sharing.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-58141501632457916262017-02-23T13:47:05.367-05:002017-02-23T13:47:05.367-05:00Thank you for your charming recount of your family...Thank you for your charming recount of your family stories. The ones about coal mining brought back memories my grandfather told me. When he first came to America from Italy, he ended up working in a coal mine near Mount Savage, Maryland. He worked there with his best friend who had been engaged to my grandfather's sister in Italy. One weekend they were offered extra work. My grandfather hated the mines, so he turned it down. But his friend, who was saving to bring over my grandfather's sister went into work and was killed in a mine collapse. My grandfather had to send his sister the sad news and never stepped foot into the mines again. Instead, he moved to a railroad town without mines. Grace Toppinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291304815273486038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-42887137159926552242017-02-23T11:23:55.080-05:002017-02-23T11:23:55.080-05:00I helped my father write his memoirs. I helped my father write his memoirs. Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-83272708231290088592017-02-23T10:20:36.184-05:002017-02-23T10:20:36.184-05:00I don't think I could write historical, Gloria...I don't think I could write historical, Gloria. I'm not a history buff although it interests me. Writing an authentic historical must be very hard--especially if it were based on my grouchy ancestor!E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-76673829895129173002017-02-23T09:58:15.601-05:002017-02-23T09:58:15.601-05:00My favorite ancestor is my great-grandmother Pierr...My favorite ancestor is my great-grandmother Pierra (pronounced Pie-era) Campbell, who raised five sons on a cattle ranch in San Saba County, Texas. A photograph reveals a tired, grim-faced woman. Pierra toted a 22 down to her vegetable patch, and pegged a few rattlesnakes in her day.Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-52471223708796227602017-02-23T09:44:03.680-05:002017-02-23T09:44:03.680-05:00Laura, he was a character. I'm only sorry he m...Laura, he was a character. I'm only sorry he moved away while I was still pretty young so I didn't get to know him as well as I would have liked to. I often wonder if in some way he was the one who led my oldest son to becoming a magician.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-9546330234940261722017-02-23T08:44:07.106-05:002017-02-23T08:44:07.106-05:00Love the story about your grandpa and the Christma...Love the story about your grandpa and the Christmas pony droppings." Hilarious! Laura B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-10968093332159144472017-02-23T07:45:07.828-05:002017-02-23T07:45:07.828-05:00Jim, my children through their father are traced b...Jim, my children through their father are traced back to the Mayflower through John Alden and Priscilla Mullen's second son Joseph. When I did a unit of those early settlers with my third grade class, I read an easy book Pilgrim Fathers or something like that, and I showed them my son John's name written in the inside cover. Later at a parent-teacher conference, one parent said to me "I understand your son came over on the Mayflower." We all laughed over that.<br /><br />Elaine, actually traveling as far as Ohio in those days was rather far. I think it's fascinating that you have a Civil War diary, as well as the travel trunk. The diary would especially fascinate me. One of the women in my local writers group has something similar from one of her ancestors and she has written several books on the Civil War - beautifully written but not published. Have you ever thought of writing a historical mystery either book or short story using this ancestor?Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-52153651746666586812017-02-23T07:03:48.981-05:002017-02-23T07:03:48.981-05:00Like your family, Gloria, we didn't travel too...Like your family, Gloria, we didn't travel too far once we arrived. My first ancestor came to this county in the early 1600s was Swiss--named Kagey. They moved from Philadelphia to Virginia before the Civil War. <br /><br />The Scot part of the family also arrived during the 1600s--Boyd. They stayed near Philadelphia, but some moved further west to Lancaster County. One of my ancestors was the Sheriff of Lancaster County during the Civil War. We also have a Civil War diary an ancestor kept. The government confiscated the diary until the 1920s, returning it to my grandfather, who passed it on to my father, and now my brother has it. We could never understand why they kept it for sixty years--the man was a boring complainer. The horses were bony and uncomfortable to ride. His work revolved around getting supplies across the Susquehanna River, back and forth, over and over--according to him. Nary one siting of some important commander. Never discussed troop movement--but we do know the food was lousy. <br /><br />My mom's family didn't arrive until the late 1800s from Cornwall, England. My great-grandmother, Willoughby, although her maiden name was Edmounds, traveled to this country with her family. I use her "travel trunk" as a coffee table now. <br />E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-73380290989867262662017-02-23T05:35:15.496-05:002017-02-23T05:35:15.496-05:00The Jacksons came into the Boston area in the mid-...The Jacksons came into the Boston area in the mid-1600s. Other branches on my father’s side date back to the Mayflower. My mother’s family arrived from the Alsace-Lorraine area while it was German controlled in the late 1800s and used the last name Vetter. During periods when the French controlled the region, their name was Vettier.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com