Philadelphia City Archives

First day in Philly was spent at the City Archives, pretty much from opening to closing time. After being warned by local genealogists that it was a less than friendly place to work, we were pleasantly surprised to receive great service. We found a few birth records and some death records, and were sometimes allowed to look at the actual Birth Indexes and Birth Registers, as the microfilm was very difficult to read. We were told that in the very near future, people will not be allowed to handle these books, as they are very old and fragile. Perhaps the day will come when someone will take the time to scan these old books, and have them available as pdf's instead of microfilm.

For lunch we went to check out the "food trucks" about a block away, in the university area, and that was a perfect choice for a break. Lunch for 2 was only about $7.50!

Today we're off to the Presbyterian Church Archives ... hoping to find a few new leads!

Philadelphia, Here We Come!

After months of planning and doing as much research as possible ahead of time, we leave today for a week in Pennsylvania to research the Smith, Hay, MacHarg, Lockerbie, and Sundell families. Ultimately, we hope to find out more about John Smith, as he has remained so elusive over the many years we have researched our roots.

We have contacted a few professionals ahead of time, and have set out a plan of action for each day this week. We will no doubt find a few new bits of information, as there is much to find in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Stay tuned for our progress!

Back to North Dakota, on to Red Wing, Minnesota & Eastern Canada

We had always wanted to see our own country, and the opportunity to travel across Canada was on the horizon. The boys were 11 & 14, and it was a perfect time for us to head out to see as much as we possibly could in 30 days. Doug managed to get the time off from work, and we started packing!

This was a busy year! Dad and I had covered a lot of ground this spring, but there were a few questions remaining. At the same time, I knew I would be traveling across Canada with my family. When we started to develop a plan for our journey, I factored in a few days south of the border. It was a little tricky to convince my guys that it would be a true adventure, but they were hooked when I showed them the pictures of the gravestones in the middle of the Bolme's field. That, along with the DVD of the TV broadcast, were enough to entice them to go along with my plan.

We headed out with our van, loaded down with everything we'd need to camp every so often. Yes, we had a roof-top carrier, which held our tent and sleeping bags, etc. That left more room inside for us to spread out and enjoy our books and whatever else we had for entertainment. I did encourage the boys to look outside every so often, to see the amazing scenery.

It took 2 days of driving to reach Fargo, which is near the farm we were looking for. I was quite surprised at how quickly the beans had grown since I was there only a few weeks before. We enjoyed visiting Jeff Bolme and his son, and we were sorry to miss meeting Jeff's wife. Dad had wondered if perhaps there was another grave there with Melvina and little Lily, so Jeff offered to help us to probe the ground in the surrounding area. The boys took a turn, too, although we came up empty-handed. Doug and Jeff took some time to straighten up the stones once again, and we were pleased to leave them in good shape. It was good to connect again, and I hope to stay in touch with the Bolmes.

After all of that excitement, we went on to the Mall of America, near Minneapolis. The boys loved it!!! Such a perfect reward for their patience with my little side-excursion. Little did they know, I had another one planned for the following day. We went on to Red Wing, where the Sundell family had settled in the late 1800's. I was thankful for the GPS on that part of the trip, for sure. We went to Vasa (pronounced VAY-sa) to find the Swedish cemetery, and saw many graves of our ancestors. Some of the stones were very unique, indeed. We left there and returned to Red Wing via some dirt roads ... very interesting! The next day, Doug and the boys went to a water park while I visited the County Courthouse and the local Historical Society. I found many source documents, and then a book about the history of the area, which contained a little information about the Sundells. I purchased the book, and was so pleased to have added to our collection of sources.

Once we left Red Wing, it was full speed ahead to the Niagara region. Truly, I was floating on air by now, and couldn't really care if we saw more. Reality was that we had many kilometres to cover, however, so we carried on.

Fast-forward to New Brunswick, where we visited some distant relatives in Fredericton. We had never met, but had corresponded by email. Dr. Gary Waite is my 2nd cousin, 1x removed. He and his wife, Kate Hayward, have a lovely daughter, Eleanor, and we had an amazing evening. It was a little awkward to just show up at their lovely home, but we got on just fine, and had a wonderful visit over dinner and a great deal of wine. The kids all enjoyed their time as well, and we were sorry to have to leave the next day.  We have kept in touch a little, and I sincerely hope our paths cross again one day.

Another big fast-forward in our journey takes us to Ottawa, where we visited friends at their amazing summer cottage. Before we connected with them, however, we happened to come across a farmer's market, where we saw a truck with the logo for McGregor's Produce. What were the chances? Yes, this was the same McGregor family from Mom's side that Dad and I visited with a few years prior. We hunted down their stall at the market, and found a few distant relatives there. They had no idea who we were, and I wasn't great at explaining the connection, but we were all pleased to know we were all family, and it was a welcome coincidental encounter.

Not much else that related to our family history on this very amazing trip, but it was remarkable in a few ways nonetheless. Our boys now have a little taste of what it's all about, and years from now they will still remember the incredible sight of the two white gravestones in the middle of a beanfield.

North Dakota & Minnesota - spring 2007

After a few years, we had amassed quite a collection of facts, but we realized it was time to chase down some real source documents. We hired a consultant named Joan Wieser to help us, and she was a real gem. There were many email messages back and forth, and eventually we felt we were ready to make the trip to North Dakota and Minnesota.

We flew into Winnipeg and rented a car, which we drove down across the border. It was quite an interesting beginning to the trip when we were stopped at the border and our vehicle and all of our belongings were searched. It took about an hour, and we couldn't help but feel a bit like criminals, as we sat in a little room and waited. Eventually we were told we could go, and we proceeded to Langdon, ND.

Sunday June 3, 2007

Checked in at the Langdon Motor Inn (the only place in town?). We phoned Rita Maisel and Wilbur & Joanne McGauvran – they all came to meet us right away. We went to visit the cemetery first, and then drove to the old Waite farmland. We met George and Vernice Balsdon, who live there now, and their place was a bit of a museum, with many pictures and game trophies mounted on the walls. We drove back to town for dinner at the Crossroads – one of two decent places to eat in town! Next to the McGauvrans' place for dessert (strawberry rhubarb pie) and to see a very old bible with many McGauvrans listed inside. We hoped for some solid ties to the Waite family, but no luck.

Monday June 4, 2007

We got up and walked over to the Calvary Cemetery and took photos of the stones.

• Betsy McGauvran
• Charles Wait
  William Wait
• Wait family stone – but nothing specifically for Joseph. Where could he be buried?

Went to the courthouse and had some help going through the indexes, where we found:

• A second marriage for John E. Arnold!
• The marriage documents for Jack/Mabel, which we already had
• Nothing regarding Joseph Wait’s death
• Found Charles and William Wait
• Found Mary Bell listed as born in Cypress ND in 1907, not 1904.
• No record of Lester or Gladys in birth records.
• County Recorder’s office had already sent the land records to Joan Wieser.

We were directed to the school across the road to access the Catholic Church archives. Jackie Krum (Crumb?) helped us there, and we looked for Joseph in the cemetery records, but nothing was listed there. Just Charles and William. Still not sure if Joseph is buried there! Jackie also took us to look at the records in the vault downstairs, but there was nothing regarding the Waits in there at all. It seems a few years are missing altogether, and we left feeling disappointed.

Next to the library:

• Dad found a new obituary for Joseph. Says his funeral was at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. That’s 2 obits now, and both have the same date, so we think it’s fairly accurate, and that might be all we ever find on his death.
• Rita Maisel hunted us down there and talked to Dad more about the various aspects of the Waite/McGauvran relationship. She can’t prove they’re related, but “just KNOWS they are!” No real proof yet, but nice to know she thinks like we do!
• Called Adrian Olson, who is the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Hannah. He didn’t know where the old records were, but suggested we talk to Vera McIntosh, a long-time resident and parishioner. I called her, and talked to her husband Don. He said they’re in a safety deposit box in Langdon, and they’ll have a look next time they’re in town. He also said there is a Centennial Book that might have some notes about the Waite family. I think that’s the book I saw in the library today, and if so, there’s nothing there.
• We told Vera and Don McIntosh we’d send the copy of Gladys’ birth record so they can see what we’re after. Their contact information is: PO Box 76, Hannah ND 58239. 283-5469 is their phone number.
• Vera also said we should check the Hannah Moon newspaper, which is available on Microfilm at Bismark’s historical society. She thinks we can borrow it by interlibrary loan – they’ll mail it to us.
• Phoned Richard Rose (256-5895), who is president of the Cemetery committee, but there was no answer. We would like to ask to have the Wait area at the cemetery probed to see if there are 2 or 3 graves there – they may be able to determine if Joseph is buried there.
• Need to look for the Oct 6^{th, 1887} issue of the Courier Democrat newspaper (Langdon ND) to see if there is any obituary for Betsy McGauvran. That could give us another way to tie the McGauvran and Wait families together.

Our work in Langdon was done for now, and we drove to Fargo to check into the Microtel Inn for the night.

Tuesday, June 5

Went to find the university (NDSU) library and were told the genealogical collection has been moved to another building. We found our way there and poked around a lot, but didn’t find much there this morning.

Drove to meet Joan Wieser at the 144 exit, near Christine. From there we went about a mile east and then about 5 miles south to the farm where the gravestones are. We turned left and there were a few people standing in the bean field. Went in and met Jeff Bolme, who is the farmer living there now. We met Joan and her assistant, Jill. The local TV crew was there and they interviewed all of us about it. The story was quite interesting, as there were 2 gravestones in the middle of the bean field. One for John Smith Jr.'s first wife, Melvina, and the other for their young daughter, Lily. The theory is that they may have died from a plague of some kind, so they were buried away from the house so nobody else would catch it. Jeff grew up on the land, and his father always wondered who the Smiths were. He insisted that the family respect the graves, and Jeff was instructed to be careful whenever he drove machinery near the area. Sadly, his father passed away 2 weeks before we called to say we were the missing family he had always wondered about.

 

After we talked to Jeff about the stones, he gave us directions to the Schmitt cemetery, which is close to his place – about ½ mile east, and then north on the road for about a mile. There are about 20 graves there on the right side of the road near some trees. Lily Smith is buried there, as well as Martha Oleah Smith. Interestingly, Lucie Herrick, who was about Lily’s age and a neighbor, was also in that cemetery. We have a theory that the Herricks were either very good friends from Philadelphia, or may be even related in some way. There was one unmarked grave between Lily and Martha which could be John Smith's, but there is no identifying marker, and the area often floods, so it could have migrated from elsewhere. Although Joan Wieser inquired, we could not get any information from the church that currently maintains the cemetery.

 

After that, Jeff Bolme took us to another field that is about 2 miles south and a mile west of his place (near the sign saying Ft. Abercrombie is 2 miles south) – there is a tree standing by itself in the field, with a bunch of branches etc piled at the base. In amongst the junk is a piece of a headstone and the footstone. No words are inscribed on it, and the main piece of the stone is missing. We wondered if it might be where John Smith is buried. Jeff also thinks there might be another grave on his property, where the two stones are, and we agreed it’s possible, as there are extra head/footstones.

Next we drove back into Fargo and went for dinner. We invited Jean Pohl to join us, but she preferred to have us meet her later for dessert and coffee at the Radisson, so we did that. Jean is Dad’s second cousin, as she was the daughter of Sallie Lincoln Smith and Jacob Johnson. We had a great visit, and she told us she had heard John Smith was a chemist who made gunpowder in the war. She gave Dad a picture of her mother and Mamie with a few other people. I promised to send her the pictures from today and a printout of the family tree. I’d like to visit with her more some day.

Wednesday, June 8, 2007

Up early again, and off to the NDSU library. I found John Smith in Wahpeton in the 1885 census – could be a different John Smith, but he’s from Switzerland, so I think it’s worth checking. We didn’t really find much else, and we said goodbye to Joan and Jill. Joan had word from her husband that the information from Bismark has arrived in the mail, so she was keen to see what was there. She offered some good advice for how we could proceed with our research.

Dad and I checked out of the hotel and went to the RRVGS library next. We poked around and didn’t find much, but I noticed Fay Littlefield’s email address on the wall and copied it down. I saw that she has written a book on the history of Fort Abercrombie, and think it’s worth staying in touch with her, as she might know something. I’d like to email her and let her know that we saw the stones and that we are still looking for John’s death information.

We made our way to Grand Forks next, and after getting a room, we went to the Chester Fritz library at NDU, as we had been told by Rita Maisel that they have the best collection of information. Certainly they did have good information, and very helpful staff. I think we could easily ask for assistance in the future. They have a special copier there that doesn’t damage the big plat books, and we used that. They also had a full subscription to Ancestry, which we used to find a few new things, including Isabella Mason’s family in the 1851 census! I also tried to track her brother Robert, and may or may not have found him later. We found Jacob Johnson’s land at Pine Lake MN, and copied that page for tomorrow/Friday.

Thursday, June 7

Back to the library early in the morning, and found a few things, but nothing really all that great. I took some extra time to look for Doug’s family (Rice, Iverson) in the system and found Simon and Barbara Rice in 3-4 census’ and then found Simon’s land application info.

I told Dad I wanted to take an hour to just shop and relax, so he had a nap in the car. Then we went to Best Buy, and I found a voice recorder. It was my intention to use it for various interviews, or even just to have on while we drove in the car, but I never did really use it, as it felt a bit too intrusive or awkward. I do wish I had more details of many of the stories, however, and regret that I didn't make better use of it.

On the drive from Grand Forks to Bemidji, it poured rain most of the way. We arrived in Fosston which is in Polk County and realized that’s where Simon and Barbara Rice lived at one time. There is a historical society there, and we wanted to get back to it the next day, but that didn't happen. We were near to Jacob Johnson’s land and the Smith land. Polk, Clearwater, and Beltrami counties are much closer together than we realized, and some day I will likely return to poke around some more.

We drove around Bemidji and found the historical society in an old train station. Then we found a room for the night and went to a recommended family-run Italian restaurant – it was nice, as dad and I were both getting sick of the chain restaurants!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Today we had our work cut out for us: The courthouse and the local university library opened at 8, the historical society was open 10-4, and the other historical society for Clearwater county was open at 10 as well. We planned to drive to see the farms, too. Clear day today, so conditions will be good for viewing.

First we went to the courthouse, but they sent us to the new County Administration building. We found some birth registrations and some information about Otto’s land foreclosure. There was a legal document as well as a newspaper clipping, so we took copies. I photographed some of the items, and we decided that was all we’d find there. Next we went to the old train station and visited the historical society, which was disappointing – not only was the lady not helpful and not that friendly, there wasn’t much of anything to find there.

After lunch we drove back to Shevlin, where the old Clearwater County information was, and that was a little better. We found some little news tidbits in the Gonvick newspaper that was on microfilm there. One item said Otto and another fellow had gone to scout out the Saskatchewan situation, and the newspaper said they planned to move there. A few months later another edition of the paper said Otto had left that week. Not sure about Alice and the kids, as Dan had just been born that week. Tamara supervised the facility – she was helpful, and we took her card in case we needed to be in touch again later. We also found out which cemetery to visit for the Johnsons’ graves.

Next we went to search for the Immanuel Cemetery near Aure, and it was near where the old town used to be. Interestingly, there is not one thing left to indicate it was ever a town. We took pictures of the graves and then went to find Otto’s land. It was not an ideal place to settle, and appeared to be very difficult land to work. We agreed that Otto was not great at choosing land! Here it was all treed and rocky, and must have been very difficult for them to make a life here.

From there we went to Gonvick, and found the Johnson graves at the Lutheran Church before going to find where their land was near Pine Lake. Much nicer land around there!

We drove as far as Thief River Falls and found a Super 8 for the night. We got quite skilled at finding reasonably priced accommodation that had breakfast and wireless internet included!

When we got back to Winnipeg the next day, we had a little time before our flight, so we called Johnnie Shewchuk, and he came to meet us for lunch and a good visit. He was so pleased to share news about some work and special acknowledgments he had received at the university recently. We were sorry not to have enough time to go and see for ourselves, but it was good to at least have a visit over lunch.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, but as always, we were left with a few loose ends to tackle in the future. We were so very pleased with the work Joan Wieser had done – even though we did not get the results we were after, it was certainly not for lack of trying, and we agreed her skills were amazing.

Ottawa, Ontario 2003: The Archives & beyond!

After mailing away for various certificates and having some success with most branches of the family, we realized that we could access more information if we visited the National Archives, which are located in Ottawa. We talked a little about it in the spring, and husband made sure it happened by giving me the gift of a trip to Ottawa for my birthday.

Dad and I gathered our notes and sorted out what we needed in order to make the best of our research time. We found a great suite hotel, about 2 blocks from the archives, and then realized the Anglican Church archives were in the same area, which was a great bonus. A few families in our tree migrated through Ontario, so there were many records to search for: the Waites, Stevensons, Mays, Manhards, Masons, and Arnolds, to name a few.

This was our first major trip, and we had a lot to learn about this type of research. First, some places were closed on the days we visited. We didn't anticipate that, but such is life. We did well, however, as the hotel was near to the archives, and had a kitchen, so we could rest whenever we needed to, and there was plenty of room to spread out our notes in the living room. We rented a vehicle, and drove for many hours through various towns, checking municipal records and visiting cemeteries.

The staff at the archives were very helpful, and were always patient with us. We found a few new bits of information, and although some of it was not really great “source” info, it was quite interesting at times. For example, we found some correspondence between Benedict Arnold and his sister, Hannah, a spinster who raised the children from his first marriage as well as his illegitimate son, John Sage Arnold. His second wife apparently wanted nothing to do with these children, and it sounded as though Hannah was quite happy to have them. We were hoping to find some evidence of who John's mother was, but no such luck. There were some theories, however, such as the possibility that she was the daughter of a wealthy ship captain who was based in New Brunswick for awhile. We will likely never know for sure.

We also found a helpful fellow at the Anglican archives, who helped us search for more of the Waite family, although we came up empty handed. I purchased a copy of a photo of the original church where Joseph Waite and Isabella Mason were married, as the church had burned down years ago. We knew where they were married, had their parents' names, and the names of the witnesses, and now could better visualize the event.

We also visited Smiths Falls, and were sorry to find that we could not access any source records there, but pleased to find a cemetery where a few of the Arnolds were buried. We also happened to find Thomas Foster and the infant Foster son, Willie, who were the “other” family of Mary Manhard. Who knew she had been married twice?! We learned that John Sage Arnold was buried at Leheigh Cemetery, in Kitley, Leeds County, but we did not have enough time to go there. I hope to find someone through RAOGK to take a photo for me some day.

Another day we drove to Cornwall, and again were disappointed, as the one place we thought we could possibly find out some information about the Waite family was closed. We drove around and noticed the Catholic church, which was near the historical society, but again, nobody was available to talk to us. A lesson learned! A few years later, when I visited the area while driving across Canada with my family, we stopped in while they were open, but still found no helpful information. Our only hope now is the church, which was not open either time I was there.

From there, we drove towards Quebec, and up around the eastern part of Ontario (Glengarry, Prescott, Vankleek Hill, and Alfred), checking out the occasional cemetery and chatting to people along the way. We found a historical society which was mainly concerned with the King's Royal Regiment of New York (KRRNY), a military lead which we hoped would give us the proof we needed to link our Waite ancestors to the “old” Waites, but we were not able to get what we were after. It was a nice day for a drive, at least, and although it was a bit frustrating to come away empty-handed, we enjoyed the journey.

We took a day to explore Mom's side of the family, the Stevensons and the Mays, and went to visit the family members who still live in the Ottawa Valley. Noreen & Steve McGregor live at Glenroy Farm, a fabulous Bed & Breakfast, which is also home to McGregor's Produce. A few years later, when Doug and I drove across Canada with the boys, we ran across some of the family at the farmer's market in Ottawa. Very cool encounter!

When Dad and I went to meet the family, they were so hospitable. We met up at Bonnie Jane's Scone & Bookshop in Arnprior, which was owned by the McGregors' daughter, Janie Birkens. After a bite of lunch and some tea, Noreen took us around to see many of the sights, including, of course, a cemetery, where we took photos of the stones for Elizabeth Lytle, and many of the Mays and Stevensons. She also took us back to their farm, which was so beautiful, and decorated for the autumn season with many pumpkins, etc. That part of the family tree is quite solid, as there are still family members living in the area, and they shared many wonderful stories with us.

Overall, it was a super trip, as we were able to cover so much ground. It may be some time before we are able to tie the “old Waites” to the new ones, but hopefully it happens some day.We realized at some point that many of the records we sought were only available in Toronto, at the provincial archives. That trip is one we hope to make in 2012.

One day when the archives were closed, we took off in our rental vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, and covered as much ground as possible. We drove south to Brockville, which was called Elizabethtown many years ago, and stumbled upon the Manhard Cemetery. Across the street was the Manhard United Church, too. We spent a lot of time there, taking pictures and wishing we had better supplies to clean off the gravestones, as many were discoloured and partially covered with moss. Some were illegible, and others were in good shape. We didn't know how some of the names fit into our tree, so I took as many notes as possible, and snapped many photos.

Swift Current

Alan, Doug, Blanche (kneeling), and Kelli

In the early days of our research, we wondered if there were other family around who might have stories to share. One day, we talked about the Smith and Waite homesteads in SW Saskatchewan, and realized there might still be some family there. Dad remembered that Doris Thoreson lived in Swift Current, and we checked the online phone book to discover that there were a couple of Waites in that area as well. We decided to just phone them up and hope for a friendly response. I found the name and number for Doug Waite, and Dad dialed the number. As luck would have it, Doug was there, and welcomed our call.

Don Smith & Doris Thoreson

We found out that Doug's brother Alan lived nearby, and that they stayed in touch with Doris. We were really encouraged by this news, and decided to drive out to visit. Dad talked to Doris as well, and she invited us to come to her place, and said she would invite the others to come and meet us.

The five hour drive was just great. This was our first road trip, and Dad told me many stories along the way. I now wish that I had a voice recorder and that is something I say every time we go on a trip. I suppose that would perhaps stifle the conversation to some extent. We passed through Medicine Hat, and talked about some of the good old times with Lyle and Marg Smith, who had lived there for many years, and had raised their family there.

We arrived at Doris' place in the afternoon, and spent a little time getting acquainted. She had searched through some of her things, and had a few letters from my grandmother, Gladys, to share with us. So comforting to see that handwriting after so many years! We shared some of the results from our research, and took notes about Doris' extended family to add to our tree when we returned home.

Alan Waite was busy, but Doug and Blanche Waite joined us, and told us about their families. They also brought along some wonderful photographs, and encouraged us to take them home to scan them, as their daughter Angela lived nearby me in Calgary, so they said I could just drop them off to her afterward. How exciting to learn that there were more relatives living close to us, and in addition, I learned she was a writer! Her brother still lived near Cabri, and helped to farm the family's land.

Dad took us all out for a nice dinner, and although we had intended to stay overnight at a motel, Doris insisted we stay with her. We rested well, and the next morning we said farewell to Doris and drove to Cabri to Doug and Blanche's lovely home. They clearly treasure the past, as there were many photographs of the homestead and some of the farm implements, and they had a framed copy of the auction from when the Waite family left the homestead in the dirty 30's and moved north. We talked about how sad that must have been for the Waites, as they had worked so hard to build a life there, and like so many others, they had to literally walk away from everything. We have one picture of the wagon train as the family left their home.

Fortunately for us, Doug and Blanche live near to the old homestead, and they know the current owners of the land. We had permission to go onto the land and to poke around the remaining buildings, which were in poor shape, but still standing. How exciting!!

We went for a drive and before going to the land, we visited the Bestville Cemetery and the Verlo Cemetery, where a few family members were buried. First we discovered Mary Belle Waite's grave (died 1918), and then Bella Waite (died 1920). Mary Belle was my grandmother's sister, and had died as a young lady. Family lore says she was the favourite, and that Gladys and brother Lester were not treated as well by their parents, Jack and Mabel. We did not expect to find Joseph Mason Waite (died 1939) or Robert Waite (died 1957). Another surprise was to discover the grave of Mabel's father, John Arnold (died 1924), who was the great-grandson of the infamous Benedict Arnold. We took some pictures and signed the guest book, and hit the road again.

We drove onto the old Waite land, and took our time looking around. I hung on to every word, as the Waites and my Dad talked about how life would have been for the family in those early days. You could see where the old machine shed had been, and there was a small shed still standing. Some old rusty implements were lying around, and we wandered over to the big barn, where the windmill still stood. Near the barn was the base of the ice house, and we guessed at where the house had been. An old rusty bedspring lay abandoned in the field, and we recalled a photo of Grandma Smith (Gladys) sitting on it, so I took a shot of dad in a similar pose. After awhile we decided we'd seen all there was to see., and we went on to Hazlet, where the Smiths had farmed.

 

The Smith land was at the edge of Hazlet. There were no buildings left on that land, but we saw the grove of trees that would have been planted as a windbreak, and imaged how it might have looked in those days.

Thanks!

Today is the first day of our vacation, and at some point along the way, I hope to figure out how to post a comment of my own! Honestly, it seemed so easy to set up the blog and to post a few stories, and now I can't seem to post my own comment as a reply to the kind and encouraging words which have been posted over the past while.

Thanks for your kindness, and know I'll hope to have it sorted sooner than later!!

Kelli