YouTube Videos
Also, check this one out. A video/music version of "I am my own Grandpa"
Note: Neither of these are mine, and information on their authors can be found at YouTube.
Labels: genealogy
Labels: genealogy
Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky Evening StarHere is another, where the relatives contested the will:
16 Jan 1903
"Tiffin O Jan 16 - What purports to be the last will of Mrs. Charlotte M. Hoyt the New York multimillionaire was filed here dated Sept 9, 1902. It postdates the other two wills. Judge J.H. Dunn of Tiffin who was in charge of her interests since her removal to Tiffin two years ago is bequeathed the residue of her estate valued at several hundred thousand. Her father Casper Guss of Tiffin gets $100 a month during his life and the New York Humane society $50 per month for the care of her pets."
Lincoln, Nebraska Evening State JournalThen I found this book on Google Books, which has a whole chapter entitled "Wills in Favour of Dumb Animals". Although the most interesting parts (the actual text of most of the wills) are hidden from view because of copyrights, it clearly demonstrates that people have been leaving money to pets since the seventeenth century.
13 Oct 1938
"Left Money to Pets
Dogs and cats frequently at odds were united in a common cause when relatives of Mrs. May Gavin asked the orphans court to nullify her will setting aside $3000 for the lifetime care of her pets."
Labels: news
By 1841, we find James Walsh, age 30, married to Elizabeth (Betty) Cranshaw (m. 18 Jan 1828 in Blackburn) and the father of six young children: Richard (b. 1829), Thomas (b. 1831), Elizabeth (b. 1833), Mary Ann (b. 1835), Sarah (b. 1838), and Ellen (b. 1840). They lived in the lower end of Tottington Mills, parish of St. Anne's Church of England."The 1830s were a miserable time for the handloom weavers as more types of cloth were woven by power looms, and this caused a reduction in the handloom price for the same type of cloth; there was also a general downward trend over the decade and in 1837, wages were reduced 25% in a single year. There was widespread distress among the handloom weavers in Blackburn.
In the winter of 1841 to 1842 a Committee was formed to administer relief, and their report issued in December 1841 makes gloomy reading. 7,000 people in Blackburn were having to exist off 2s. 8d per week. The section of the Report on Lammack states : 'Most of the cottages in this district are handloom weavers. They were, consequently, found generally employed, but receiving very scanty remuneration for their labour, and the scanty pittance exhibiting an almost weekly reduction. The majority of persons visited were found to be hardworking, clean, managing and patient under their many and great privations. Their principal food is oatmeal porridge, with either churned or sweet milk, and potatoes stewed with a little water, salt and an onion or two for dinner'."
"The American Civil War from 1861-65 dealt all the cotton industry a severe blow. It almost decimated the handloom branch, cutting off the market in the rest of America as well as cotton supplies from the South."In addition to this economic blow, the Walsh family had suffered a personal one, when James lost his leg in the mills in the early 1860s. While not uncommon for mill workers, this disability would have been economically devastating for the family.
"James Walsh died last night at his residence, 207 Lowell Street, aged 86 years. Deceased was born in Darwin, Lancashire, England and came to this country in 1862. Deceased was one of the oldest calico printers in this country. He was the father of 13 [12 is the accurate number] children. One of whom, A.G. [Alonzo was a grandson] was president of the Lowell Common Council and another, Thomas, is manager of the Hamilton print works, Lowell. In 1860, he lost his leg while at work on a calico printing machine. "
Labels: books, family history, Walsh
Labels: genealogy
"With two parlors, two bedrooms, and an outhouse 'answering all the purposes of kitchen and washhouse,' the temporary residence was a welcome respite after months on the water. 'The next discovery I made.' Jean Rio wrote 'was that I wanted a cooking stove, which I purchased with all the utensils belonging for fourteen dollars.' Her children immediately scouted the neighborhood for playmates, enjoying themselves, 'finely in their rambles about the town and the open country beyond.' She stocked her kitchen from the many markets that opened at four a.m. every day. 'All kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are very cheap. The fresh meat is good, but not so large and fat as in the English markets. Vegetables and fruit are abundant and of great variety.'"As demonstrated by this passage, Denton does an excellent job of weaving details such as cost, supplies, and typical daily activities into her narrative. These details are ones that, while providing information about Jean Rio's life, can also offer insight into what other women, pioneers, Mormons, etc. might have felt, seen, or done.
"Plucked from the lap of luxury and set down in a frontier land of staggering toil and comfortless surroundings... he tackled his job and made good without excuses or regrets. His brothers couldn't stand the privations and hardships and moved to California where life was not so hard. But William stayed with the religion he had embraced as a boy." (174)This quote again, shows the bias that flows throughout the book (and which is acknowledged by Denton in this instance).
Labels: books, family history
Labels: family history, letters
Labels: family history, genealogy, sources