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The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

New, No Old House in Concord, Massachusetts


Caesar Robbins House, Concord, Massachusetts
This lovely house is situated in a most unusual location. Practically in a parking lot, not any parking lot, but one that belongs to the National Park Service at the site of the Old North Bridge in Concord. For the better part of 2012-2013, I wondered what this was going to be, perhaps a visitor's center at the entrance to the Bridge. Last year, I finally noticed a sign, so my husband and I walked to it and around the house. When it opens this year, in late spring, I will take a tour, and post new photos here.
The Caesar Robbins House
Concord's African American and Abolitionist History Center
The below information about Caesar Robbins and the house came from the DrinkingGourdProject.

"The Robbins House is a home built by the son of slavery survivor and Revolutionary War veteran Caesar Robbins in the early 1800s. This house was originally located on a small farm at the edge of Concord’s Great Meadows, in an area where a handful of self-emancipated Africans and their families established their homes. The last African American occupants left the house in the 1860s, and in the winter of 1870-71 the building was moved to Bedford St. In 2011 the Drinking Gourd Project moved the house to land adjacent to the North Bridge parking lot, where it is prominently displayed for Concord visitors. It will serve as an interpretive center for Concord’s early African history."


What I saw, peeking into a window (above and below).

The house, taken from the parking lot, a few days ago.
 Article with photos of the house being moved.
 Some good pictures of the old house, before and after, thanks to Google Images.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Mr. and Mrs. Fiske of Lowell, Massachusetts -- Tombstone Tuesday

William O. Fiske
BVT Brigadier General
U. S. V.

June 4, 1838
Feb. 2, 1886

Mary Augusta
Wife of
William O. Fiske.
Died Apr. 19, 1876
Aged 27 Yrs.

They were buried in the Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Massachusetts

Monday, January 27, 2014

Watertown, Massachusetts -- World War II Memorial


To These Gallant Heroes of
World War II
This Memorial is Reverently Dedicated

Leonard Almeda
George H. Elms
Douglas C. Kenney
Felix T. Murphy
George Andreotes
John A. Fantasia
Paul L. Kenney
George M. Natale
Joseph F. Arone
Jessie J. Farese
Armand Keshishian
Paul Nugent
Haig G. Barmakain
Romeo A. Farese
Bruce S. Kindred
Joseph M. O’Callaghan Jr.
Lloyd E. Beckwith
Ernest B. Ford
Robert A. Krancer
Michael  C. Papadopulos
John A. Bedrossian
Robert M. Ford
William H. Kremin
George A. Perkins
Raymond W. Braffitt
Arthur O. Furfey
Walter F. LaFort
Alfred W. Pezzella
Gerald C. Breen
Louis W. Gahran Jr.
John M. Lambert
Ralph A. Piteri
Thomas P. Brennan
George M. Gaitanis
Joseph F. Lennon
Clarence D. Powell
Thomas J. Cannalonga
Leopold W. Gierwiatowski
Minas L. Loisou
Robert F. Prest
Richard A. Carmchael
Joseph H. Gilfoil Jr.
Robert E. Looney
Vincent J. Ranucci
Lawrence L. Cashin
Charles E. Griffith
Charles J. Mackin
Lawrence N. Rice
Louis K. Chaberlain
George F. Harris
Gordon G. MacKennan
John A. Richards
Harry A. Chapanian
Robert E. Hartenstein
John J. Maloney
Henry H. Roberts
Carl I. Christianson
Charles R. Hasekian
William F. Mann
Edward T. Roche Jr.
Alfred B. Coffin
Lester W. Haynes
Paul S. Maroubian
Bernard F. Romano
Maurice L. Cohen
John W. Hennessey
Fredrick N. Martin
Angelo Russo
Alfred F. Cole
Richard K. Henry Jr.
Leo J. Martin
Dominic J. Russo
Nicholas Conti
Thaddeus R. Hubbell
John M. McCall
Edward A. Safer
John M. D’Alanno
Paul W. Hughes
Allan McClay Jr.
Raymond E. Sargent
Philip Z. Darch
Alfred Iodice
Stanley J. McEachern
Stephen F. Sawyer
Harold D. Davis
Eric B. Ives
Warren F. McManus
Charles J. Shutt Jr.
Fred Devenney Jr.
Myron L. Jevelekian
Harold H. Melkonian
Warren S. Studley
Joseph A. D’Onofrio
Charles E. Johnson
Suren Melkonian
Otto M. Theurer
James J. Donovan
Henning E. Johnson
Edward F. Moran
Albert C. Todino
Arthur O. Doria
Malcom E. Johnson
John J. Moran
Simon Torossian
Raymond G. Dougan
Louis W. Juliano
Murad Mouradian
Thomas J.Trapasso
Theodore J. DuBois
Aram G. Kadehjian
Richard S. Movsessian
Samuel Tungrain Jr.
Melville B. Eaton
John R. Keane
Harry C. Moyles
Thomas A. Waldron



Earl H. Wellch
Frank D. Borghetti


Michael F. White



Robert S. White



Jack Wiltshire



George F. York




Friday, January 24, 2014

Plum Island, Massachusetts

Since many of this year's blog posts have been based on photos I took last year, this one is no exception. From Wikipedia, "The island is located in parts of four municipalities in Essex County. From north to south they are the city of Newburyport, and the Towns of Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich." We visit there at least once or twice a year. From the view above, we are facing the area where my husband's parents had a cottage for many years. His father, along with two other friends built it, and they all shared it during the summer months. We also stayed there.





While looking into the lighthouse, all I saw was the reflection behind me.

Very near this spot is where the Atlantic Ocean (above) and the Merrimack River (fresh water) meet. The River is formed in New Hampshire and flows southward, then northeast until it meets the Ocean, a short distance from the above spot. What is interesting is the Merrimack River is a mile from where I live (see below).



Thursday, January 23, 2014

Amherst, New Hampshire -- Horace Greeley Memorial

In Memory of
Horace Greeley
Born February 3, 1811.
Founder of the New York Tribune
Member of Congress
Candidate for President
Died November 29, 1872

Erected by the State of N. H.

* Find-A-Grave site with a lot of information.

Wikipedia site.


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

War Memorial, Amherst, New Hampshire -- Wordless Wednesday

Honor Roll
1917 - 1918

Town of Amherst
A Tribute of Respect
To Those who Served in the
World War
______________

*Paul G. Blandin
*Percy N. Davis
Guy E. Bills
Guy E. Kidder
Elgin J. Bartlett
Leland C. Kidder
Horace R. Boutelle
Ralph G. Manning
Leon K. Boutelle
Everett W. Merrill
Harold B. Burtt
Willard H. Parker
Everett E. Byrd
Frank G. Pettengill
Samuel A. Caldwell
Tracy I. Raymond
Carroll C. Carkin
Earle Roberts
Malcolm D. Clark
Fred Sanville
Peter F. Clarkin
William Sanville
Royal E. Chase
Fred E. Sprague
Ralph W. Chase
Henry L. Stockwell
Albert W. Converse
Carl H. Vogel
James P. Doyle
Byron B. Walker
Daniel J. Doyle
Robert T. Weston
Wendell W. Greenlee
Walter K. Weston
Henry E. Hall
Kenneth B. Wetherbee
Rodney J. Hodgman
William R. White
Elmer E. Hodgman
William F. Whitehouse
William H. Hodgman
Walter R. Whitehousse
Frederick V. Howard
Fred Whittemore
* I assume these two men died.
In May 2013, I did a post with photos of the Amherst common, it may be seen HERE.