Stearns of Massachusetts

My Stearns line is from England and they settled in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. This is a recently discovered line, and I'm happy to add this family to my tree. As in the past, my direct lines are in All Caps, and now in Bold. I will be glad to share what I used as sources.

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Descendant Register, Generation No. 1

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1.	ISAAC STEARNS was born ABT 1600, and died 19 JUN 1671 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He married MARY BARKER BET 1622 AND 1625 in Stoke-by Nayland, England, daughter of JOHN BARKER and MARGARET WALTER. She died 23 APR 1677 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Please see wonderful post about Isaac Stearns by Bill West HERE.
	Children of ISAAC STEARNS and MARY BARKER are: 2   i. Mary STEARNS was born ABT 6 JAN 1625 in Nayland with Wissington, Suffolk, England, and died 1664. She married Isaac LEARNED 9 JUL 1646 in Woburn, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was born 1624, and died 1657. 3   ii. Anna / Hannah STEARNS was born ABT 5 OCT 1628 in Nayland with Wissington, Suffolk, England, and died 17 JUN 1656. She married Henry FREEMAN 25 DEC 1650 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was born 1625 in England. + 4   iii. John STEARNS was born ABT 1630. + 5   iv. Isaac STEARNS was born 6 JAN 1632/3 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 2 AUG 1676. + 6   v. Sarah STEARNS was born 22 SEP 1635 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 6 OCT 1700. + 7   vi. SAMUEL STEARNS was born 24 APR 1638 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 3 AUG 1683. 8   vii. Elizabeth STEARNS was born ABT 1644, and died 1671. She married Samuel MANNING 13 APR 1664 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was born 1644, and died 1710. 9   viii. Abigail STEARNS was born 28 FEB 1639 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 16 OCT 1690 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. She married John MORSE 27 APR 1666 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, son of Joseph MORSE and Esther PIERCE. He was born 28 FEB 1639 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 23 JUL 1702 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.

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Descendant Register, Generation No. 2

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4.	John STEARNS (ISAAC STEARNS1) was born ABT 1630. He married Mary LATHROP 20 NOV 1656 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts, daughter of Thomas LATHROP \ LOTHROP. She was born 4 OCT 1640. He married Sarah BEF 1654 in Billerica / Watertown, MA, daughter of Isaac MIXER and Sarah THURSTON. She was born ABT 1636, and died 14 JUN 1656 in Billerica, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.
	Child of John STEARNS and Sarah is: 10   i. John STEARNS was born MAY 1654 in Billerica, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 26 OCT 1728. He married Joanna CALL 22 APR 1696 in Malden, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, daughter of Thomas CALL and Lydia SHEPARDSON. She was born MAR 1659?60 in Malden, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 4 DEC 1737 in Malden, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.

5.	Isaac STEARNS (ISAAC STEARNS1) was born 6 JAN 1632/3 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 2 AUG 1676. He married Sarah BEERS 24 JUN 1660.
	Child of Isaac STEARNS and Sarah BEERS is: + 11   i. Mary STEARNS was born 8 OCT 1663, and died 24 FEB 1733.

6.	Sarah STEARNS (ISAAC STEARNS1) was born 22 SEP 1635 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 6 OCT 1700. She married Samuel STONE 7 JUN 1655 in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, son of Gregory STONE. He was born 1631 in England, and died 27 SEP 1715.
	Child of Sarah STEARNS and Samuel STONE is: 12   i. Samuel STONE was born 1 OCT 1656 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 17 JUN 1743 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He married Dorcas JONES 12 JUN 1679 in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, daughter of John JONES and Dorcas (--) w\o John JONES. She was born 29 MAY 1659 in Concord, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 24 SEP 1746 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.

7.	SAMUEL STEARNS (ISAAC STEARNS1) was born 24 APR 1638 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 3 AUG 1683. He married HANNAH MANNING 1 FEB 1662/3 in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, daughter of WILLIAM MANNING. She was born 21 JUN 1642 in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 26 FEB 1723/4.
	Children of SAMUEL STEARNS and HANNAH MANNING are: 13   i. Samuel STEARNS was born 4 MAY 1664 in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 7 JUN 1671. 14   ii. Hannah STEARNS was born 8 DEC 1666. She married Thomas BISCOE. She married Samuel GOOKIN 28 SEP 1708. 15   iii. Nathaniel STEARNS was born 13 DEC 1668, and died 24 AUG 1716. 16   iv. Sarah STEARNS was born 23 APR 1671. She married Joseph WINSHIP. He was born 1661, and died 25 SEP 1725. 17   v. Samuel STEARNS was born 29 MAR 1673 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 16 AUG 1746. He married Mary HAWKINS 2 MAR 1697/8 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 18   vi. Isaac STEARNS was born 31 DEC 1674, and died 1737. 19   vii. John STEARNS was born 24 JUN 1677, and died 1729. + 20   viii. MARY STEARNS was born 5 APR 1679 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 1732. 21   ix. Abigail STEARNS was born 16 APR 1680, and died 11 JUL 1710. She married Benoni GARFIELD. 22   x. Joseph STEARNS was born 11 DEC 1682, and died 4 FEB 1683/4.

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Descendant Register, Generation No. 3

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11.	Mary STEARNS (Isaac STEARNS2, ISAAC STEARNS1) was born 8 OCT 1663, and died 24 FEB 1733. She married John CUTLER 1 JAN 1694, son of JAMES CUTLER and Phebe PAGE. He was born 19 MAR 1663 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 21 SEP 1714 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.
	Children of Mary STEARNS and John CUTLER are: 23   i. Samuel CUTLER was born 20 DEC 1694 in Cambridge Farms, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 12 JUL 1742. 24   ii. John CUTLER was born 3 JUN 1696 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 25   iii. Ebenezer CUTLER was born 24 JUL 1700 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 17 JAN 1777 in Lincoln, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He married Anna WHITNEY 3 MAR 1724, daughter of Jonathan WHITNEY. She was born in of Concord, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 24 AUG 1793 in Lincoln, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 26   iv. Mary CUTLER was born 3 APR 1702 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 13 JUN 1776 in Lincoln, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. She married Samuel BOND 7 FEB 1724 in Lincoln, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was born in of Weston, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 20 JAN 1763 in Lincoln, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 27   v. Sarah CUTLER was born 20 NOV 1704 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 12 FEB 1749.

20.	MARY STEARNS (SAMUEL STEARNS2, ISAAC STEARNS1) was born 5 APR 1679 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 1732. She married SAMUEL JENNISON 2 NOV 1699 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, son of SAMUEL JENNISON and JUDITH NEWCOMB. He was born 12 OCT 1673 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 2 DEC 1730 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He was buried in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.
	Children of MARY STEARNS and SAMUEL JENNISON are: 28   i. Mary JENNISON was born 17 AUG 1700. She married John GERRISH 8 NOV 1733 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 29   ii. Hannah JENNISON was born 17 JUL 1702, and died 10 DEC 1777 in Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. She married Jonathan STONE 15 FEB 1724/5. She married John GODDARD. 30   iii. Samuel JENNISON was born 26 SEP 1704. He married Abigail HOLDEN 13 FEB 1733 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. 31   iv. William JENNISON was born 6 FEB 1706/7, and died 1 APR 1750 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. He married Abigail LINDALL. + 32   v. Nathaniel JENNISON was born 5 APR 1709 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 18 MAY 1769 in Barre, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. 33   vi. John JENNISON was born 19 FEB 1710/1, and died AFT MAR 1755. He married Mary HUBBARD 21 JUL 1740 in Lunenburg, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. 34   vii. Lydia JENNISON was born 2 APR 1712, and died 28 MAR 1749. She married Ebenezer WHITE 11 JAN 1736/7. 35   viii. Abigail JENNISON was born 22 APR 1715. She married Jonathan HUBBARD. 36   ix. Mercy JENNISON was born 11 MAR 1717/8, and died 26 OCT 1756. She married Stanton PRENTICE 26 JUN 1740. 37   x. Sarah JENNISON was born 16 AUG 1720 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 23 NOV 1720. + 38   xi. EUNICE JENNISON was born FEB 1721/2 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and died 17 FEB 1750/1 in Lancaster, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.

Tombstone Tuesday - LOWREY (3 generations) -- Connecticut

 

Thomas Lowrey

Born: April 03, 1703, Ireland (my only Irish line)

Died: May 16, 1788, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

These photos were taken from a book.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of his wife's (below), it was unreadable.

Mary Lowrey

Born: 1806, Scotland

Died: December 31, 1790, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

The above were my 5th great-grandparents.

Above is Anna W. Munson Lowrey wife of Daniel Lowrey

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Anna W. Munson - Born: July 21, 1761, Southington, Hartford Co., Connecticut

Died: June 26, 1813, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

She was my 4th great-grandmother.

Olde East St. Cemetery, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut
(I am unable to locate photo of her husband, although my records indicate I took it.)

Edmund Lowrey (above two photos)
Born: November 15, 1788
Died: October 10, 1857, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

His and his wife, Harriet Newell were my 3rd great-grandarents, and were buried at West Cemetery, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

Harriet Newell Lowrey
Born: March 03, 1794, Southington, Hartford Co., Connecticut
Died: June 17, 1878, Plainville, Hartford Co., Connecticut

Being a Beginner Again--A Good Lesson

A Bridge To The Past

I have always enjoyed reading the article, "Being a Beginner Again" by Amy Johnson Crow, CG, written in 2003 for the National Genealogical Society's magazine. She has give me permission to use this topic for my blog. In all the beginner classes I gave in genealogy (as a volunteer), I always discussed this topic, and it seemed to make the beginning researchers feel good, because they felt they fit in with the other students in the intermediate and advanced student levels. She wrote, "A Colleague once passed along a very wise observation: 'No matter how long you've been researching, every time that you move your research to a new area, you're a beginner again.'"


After reading this, I would explain that statement to the students. At every new generation we tackle, we are all beginners. I am a beginner now try to trace one of my ggg grandmother's roots, just as another person who is working on their grandfather---we are all in the same boat.


I tell them that on February 18, 2003 Ancestry.com had one of their Instant survey's, there was a simple question and a choice of a few answers to choose from. On that day, it was "Do you consider yourself a beginner, intermediate or expert when it comes to family history?" Once I plugged in my answer, I was then able to see the results. For this survey, 79% replied Beginner, 17% replied Intermediate and 4% replied Expert. I think this survey ties into the article, "Being a Beginner Again," it is true, we are all beginners with the line we are working on.


Your new search may continue in the same location as your previous generation. You will already be somewhat familiar with the resources. If the family moved, all the more fun in playing detective. To learn about the new location, read The Red Book to find out basic information, check out Google Maps (to see what towns and cities are nearby), Wikipedia for more background, contact (perhaps by internet) the local library and town hall in that area to see what records they have available. My Bishop line was in Connecticut from the 1650s until 1981 -- no real challenge there. But other lines out of Massachusetts migrated to Illinois, New York or Michigan forced me to learn much more and research harder. I loved it. Don't think of it so much as a hard challenge but as an adventure.


Have confidence that you will be successful either way, whether familiar or unknown locations, the research is basically the same. I have had my eyes opened to many new areas in the United States, can't beat that for an education.

Another Method in trying to Solve your Brick Wall -- Alden and Adams

The discovery that I'm related to President John Adams came about so easily, but the fact that I discovered he was related to John Alden of the Mayflower line was quite a surprise. John Alden is an ancestor of mine, and I did a post of his descendants. An update will be done soon, so I can add in Generation 2 #9, the children of Ruth Alden and John Bass. If any of you have John Alden, you might like to see who his ancestors were.

For many years (15) I have been searching for the parents of a brick wall John Adams of Connecticut and New York. He was included in my Top Ten Brick Walls, the post in which I offered to pay $100 if anybody can solve them. What makes his case more interesting is that four cousins, a first cousin, a 3rd, a 5th cousin, and I have all heard through our families we were related to the President. My above, John Adams was supposedly the black sheep of that family, and nobody, as yet, has discovered his ancestry beyond about 1757.

My 3rd cousin and I were corresponding yesterday, and I decided to try and find the President's ancestors, and more importantly try to find an outstanding source for it. As luck would have it, through a google search, I found the link for the Massachusetts Historical Society. While excited with the older Adams names, I couldn't find anybody who could be the parents of my John Adams. So my search goes on. The President is my 3rd cousin, 8x removed, and is Not an ancestor of mine.

In this case, I felt it was necessary to look beyond the President's ancestors, it could have provided information for my problem. I think most times, we just stop at the name we are looking for, but I believe there could be great clues if you look at their ancestors. They could tie into your line somehow.

On facebook last night, I posted a quick line that I made the discovery about the President and John Alden. Over 35 people liked that or made comments. It was because of the interest I thought maybe somebody could benefit from this information, especially if they already have the President, but no Mayflower ancestor. My brick wall wasn't solved, but going to his ancestors proved to be quite interesting.

Select "Learn About the Family." Below is what shows up, then click on Family Tree.

The page shows the Family tree. Scroll to the left to get the ancestors, and to the right for his descendants. I could not scroll on the iPad, so went to my laptop.

With his descendants on the screen I took photos to show you what it looks like. The minute I saw John Bass and Ruth Alden, I thought maybe there was a connection, and sure enough, you can clearly see the names of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.

Below give you an idea of the partial chart for both his ancestors and descendants.

Why I Wrote This Post...You Just Won't Believe One of The Reasons!

The photo on the left isn't anything special to anybody but me. There are no flowery or ornate designs, no statues or outstanding features on it. So when I received a request to use it for a project, I was a bit surprised. My email came from oversees and began with the following message:

"Hello Barbara, I am in the UK and I am preparing a Register of WW1 serving female casualties for publication at my own expense as a lasting memorial to these oft-forgotten women. The Register will show them in alphabetical order and comprise a short biography together with photographs of them, their graves and their memorials. One of these is Frances Poole who is in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington. You have provided a photograph of her grave marker to Find A Grave and I would be most grateful if you would allow me to use it in my Register. I will, of course, place your name against it, as an acknowledgement. It seems likely that she is an ancestor of yours and so if you have a photograph of her that I might use that would be a bonus. I hope that you will give me permission. I look forward to hearing from you, Kind regards, Jim"

Of course he could use the photo, I give everybody permission to use my Find-A-Grave photos (shown above). But I needed to tell him that my Great-Aunt wasn't an ancestor (nor ancestor)! So, I dashed off the below message to him, to make sure this was a legitimate request, I mean who doesn't know about ancestors?

"Yes, you may use my cemetery photo, thank you for asking first. Frances was my great-aunt, so, unfortunately, she wasn't an ancestor, but a sister of my grandfather. No, I don't have a photo of her, only one of her brother and a small photo of her sister, obtained through a passport application I found on Ancestry.com.

Frances wasn't in the war, she had just become a nurse but went to care for soldiers who had the flu. I wrote about that in my blog, which you may see here, and have permission to use anything in the blog.

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2013/01/frances-and-flu.html."

"Hello Barbara, Thank you for coming back to me. I am most grateful to you for allowing me to use your photograph of her grave. You have corrected me on one thing. I always thought that an ancestor was anyone, back through the generations, that had the same blood source. A quick look at the meaning on wikipedia I see that it is just going back through parents and parents of parents, etc.

He quoted and answered my question: "I'm curious, how did you happen to find her on FindAGrave?"

My project is 20+ years in the making (so far). I have a listing of all WW1 serving female casualties which is virtually complete. This is for British, Canadian, South African, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and other British overseas territories. In addition, virtually all of the US women who served and died serving their country in wartime or died as to a consequence of the war. Your great-aunt was one of these. She did not have to work overseas to be classed as a casualty of the war. Just dying "in harness" was enough. So I have her name and her date of death. With this, it was not difficult to search Find A Grave (or Billiongraves) to find out where she was interred. I have a successful hit of about two out of three. I do not have a great deal on your great aunt so far but what I have I have put below. If anything is wrong I should be grateful if you would let me know.   Kind regards, Jim"

Two reasons for posting this, the first is to show that not everybody knows what an ancestor is and second, if you are a blogger, you'll always be surprised by some of the emails you receive. The above link is to one of my more popular posts called Frances and the Flu. The cemetery is in Washington, D.C., and I made a special trip from Massachusetts to see where my great-grandparents were buried, and his sister, the above Frances. The trip was six years after I left my Washington job, and never knew they were there, buried within miles from where I worked!

Note: Jim gave me permission to use what he wrote.

Two Lowell Actresses Won An Academy Award, and I Met One!

The 87th annual Academy Awards will be given out this Sunday, February 22, 2015. I'm sharing some information on two women who were born in Lowell, Massachusetts and each was a winner. One of them, I actually met, in London of all places.

Photo by Barbara Poole

Bette Davis was born in Lowell on April 5, 1908, and only lived there a few years. Her former house isn't too far from where I live.

22 Chester Street (off of Westford St.)
Lowell, MA

Photos by Barbara Poole

Winter is a great time for me to watch DVDs from Netflix, so I've been getting my fix of her wonderful movies. So far, I've seen about 12*, and don't have a favorite yet. She was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won twice for Best Actress for her role in Dangerous and Jezebel.

Bette has always been a favorite of mine, and I was quite fortunate to see one of her gowns worn in a movie in the exhibit called, Dressed for the Part at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell. I volunteered at this exhibit every Thursday evening, and it was a joy to see the public appreciate the costumes.

See my post about that exhibit along with my piece on seeing Princess Diana HERE.

The second Academy Award winner born in Lowell was Olympia Dukakis. It seems that I've always known that, or maybe since she won her Best Supporting Actress award in 1987 for Moonstruck. Since I was living in Virginia, I must have seen or heard something about where she was from. This memory tidbit came in handy one afternoon in the early 1990s when I was alone in London. While waiting to talk to the concierge at the Russell Hotel, I listened to the lady in front of me (she was relaying information to her husband who was standing a few feet away). Dressed in casual clothes, she didn't stand out...but her voice did. When she turned to leave, I asked if she was Olympia Dukakis. (Note: little if any make-up on.) She said, "Yes" and I told her that I had lived in Lowell. She was quite excited and probably pleased that somebody from Virginia would know that fact. I must have asked for an autograph (since I was collecting them at that time), but I didn't have any paper. She did, and wrote, "To A Fellow Lowellian" Regards, Olympia Dukakis.

Property of Barbara Poole

From Olympia's book, Ask Me Again Tomorrow, her autobiography published in 2003, I chose a few lines to quote. "My mother's family emigrated from the Mani region of southern Greece to Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1907, when she was six years old." "Those who chose to emigrate to America came because it offered them a place where their hard work would be rewarded, where they would be able to improve their circumstances in life. And Lowell offered them a place where they could, at the same time, maintain their Greek values." By the time my brother and I and all of our cousins were born, Lowell had become known as 'the Acropolis of America.'"  They lived at 57 Clare Street. In June 20, 1931, Olympia was born and in 1939, the family moved to Somerville, MA.

* Bette Davis movies I've seen:
Now, Voyager
Dark Victory
Old Acquaintance
Jezebel
All About Eve
All This, And Heaven Too
The Nanny
Mr. Skeffington
Death on the Nile
Deception
The Old Maid
The Letter
The Great Lie
The Petrified Forest
In This Our Life
Marked Woman
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Three on a Match
The Bride Came C. O. D.
Of Human Bondage
The Anniversary
The Watcher in the Woods
Satan Met a Lady
Dead Ringer
Phone Call From a Stranger

The Star  --  1952

The Great Lie  --1941

Payment on Demand  --  1951

Storm Center  1956 (I loved this movie)

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Along the Merrimack River in Four Seasons

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

Along the Merrimack River in Four Seasons

The Merrimack River From Wikipedia: "it is a 117-mile-long river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport."

Pawtucket Falls

There is a man-made beach, a popular spot during the summer. The river can be very rough, high or smooth (above and below).

Six bridges cross the river, the city is on both sides.

There are walk paths on both sides of the river, and even in the middle, as shown above (with man-made canal on left and river on right).

While looking up information about the river, I found a site, I wasn't aware of. It's the NOAA National Weather Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, they track the height of the river (see their colorful chart below on the left).

Since Lowell currently has the most snow of any city in the United States (February 16, 2015, at 111") I'll be watching  the gauge readings frequently. We all remember the recent floods in 2006 and 2007.

Flood Categories (in feet)

Major Flood Stage:	58
Moderate Flood Stage:	54
Flood Stage:	52
Action Stage:	50

Historic Crests

(1) 68.40 ft on 03/20/1936

(2) 60.60 ft on 04/23/1852

(3) 60.57 ft on 09/23/1938

(4) 58.84 ft on 05/15/2006

(5) 58.09 ft on 04/17/2007

Snow chart, posted February 16, 2015, by Mill City Weather. (Permission granted to use.)

His Little Green Book Was So Organized, Why Can't I Be?

Since 1981 this little green book has been looked at many times because it contained a wealth of information about my Grandfather's many trips. At the time of his death, this was one of several things I decided to keep. It was in good condition, but I looked at it so many times that page holes had torn and the binding had to be taped.

When my grandfather married in 1953 to his secretary three months after his wife passed away, I believe they decided to spend their time together (he was 61, she 52) traveling around the world. There is no date on this book, but the fact that they went to Cuba is an indication it was before 1962, and Cuba is #1 in the index and first page, shown below. I believe their honeymoon was in Cuba and Mexico.

Many years later, I received over 2,500 slides that corresponded to the pages in this book. I had seen many of the slides when they shared them with my family during our infrequent visits to Connecticut. They not only traveled the world, but spent winters in Florida, and summers in England. Some of you might remember the hand-made Christmas cards he made when I posted them to my blog.

I believe I inherited my love of travel, genealogy, and photography through him, but not the ability to be organized. He was a NYC architect, so that accounts for his neatness and organizational skills, I believe. Many years later, when the widow was moving, she wanted to get rid of the slides, all in trays, in about 10 Xerox paper boxes. Nobody wanted them, but I did express an interest. Ultimately, I got them, and they remained in my basement for about 15 years...never looked at them, so they collected mold.

I know, that's sad and I should have known better. My grandfather would be horrified with me, especially if he knew I had to toss after I went through each slide. I kept maybe 10. To clarify a bit, all slides with family members had been kept by the widow, and I have no idea why this index book wasn't with the slides. I assume she knew about it.

Regretting isn't going to help me now. I can hear my genealogy friends' voices now, and believe me, I don't know what I was thinking. But a lesson to those who have old photos and slides, don't keep them in the basement.

Since this is the beginning of a new year, I'm going to try very hard to be more organized in my life. Not just with genealogy, but with personal papers as well. Actually, I am going to put the person before the genealogy as we move into February. He'll be watching me, and telling me to go quicker so I can get back to genealogy!

The index (top and bottom) consisted of two pages. You can see for Cuba and Mexico there are two pages,  some countries had many pages.

 There are 5 pages on the ships list.

The Blizzard of 2015

Right now, on January 27, 2015 the storm is still blowing, and I've decided to use this post to share photos, once I am able to get outside to take pictures.

In the meantime, HERE is a link to the Live Storm Cam from the Lowell Sun newspaper located on Dutton Street. As of 9:20, you can't even see across Dutton Street to the parking lot area of the National Park Service. NOTE: The webcam is now turned off. I believe it will be turned on again, for the next major storm, as it was last year.

We have received 33" as of 9:30 pm, and it is still snowing.

These photos were taken January 28th and January 31st. 

Both Central and Merrimack Streets are two-way, and as you can see, there are no cars and no places to park.