A few Skinners in Malden, MA for Tombstone Tuesday

Thomas Skinner*, above and below, with head stone and foot stone.

Here Lyes Buried Ye

Body of Mr.

Thomas Skinner.

Who Departed

This life

June 1st 1757. Aged 50

10 Months and 25 Days.

Mehetabel Skinner

Daughter of Mr. Thomas and

Mrs. Mehetabel Skinner

Died Sept. 19th 1718

Aged 16 Months

Here lyes the Body of

Bejamin Skinner. Son

of Mr. Thomas and Mrs.

Mehetabel Skinner who

Died December 16th 1727

Aged 8 Years and 2 Months.

Here lyes the Body of

Jonathan Skinner. Son

of Mr. Thomas and Mrs.

Mehetabel Skinner who

Died November 1st 1733.

* Thomas Skinner was my 1st cousin, 9 times removed.

Happy New Year's from Lowell, MA and New Zealand

Several months ago, I received a handmade 2013 calendar from a friend who wanted to show her appreciation for some genealogy research and connections I provided to her. Her love of photography has been incorporated into this great desk-size calendar. This is a wonderful benefit of helping people, and it came totally unexpected.

Something a Little Different for the New Year

Which blog has 4,500,000 pageviews? You'll have to continue reading, because you won't be able to guess it.

Bloggers love writing and at the beginning of a new year, many will write what they accomplished the previous year, and what they hope to accomplish in the new year. I don't bother with the resolutions.

Instead, I've decided to post some of the very enjoyable blogs I follow that have no genealogy information. They are also the ones I usually read first. After 23 years of doing genealogy and over three years of writing this blog, it's time to discover what else is out there. If anybody has a few favorite, non-genealogy blogs, please leave me a comment. I'll include them to this list.

The most recent blog I discovered is, My Castle in Spain. Lala says, "I’m an ex Parisian living a village life in Andalusia (southern Spain). I create paper objects, I make aprons, I bake cakes for a restaurant and I occasionally translate to earn the extra bucks. Andalusia, gardens, pastry making, flowers, cakes and books and my Spanish boyfriend are my constant inspirations."

Do you like Paris and food? If so, you'll enjoy Paris Breakfast by Carol. She writes, "Paris breakfast is an 'amuse bouche', a little bite of daily Parisian life to savor with your coffe and inspire your dreams. I paint Paris dreams." I had never seen a blog with over 4,500,000 pageviews" That give you an idea of how popular it is.

The Library History Buff Blog, by Larry, a retired librarian, wrote, "Promoting the appreciation, enjoyment, and preservation of our library heritage." His blog has been a long-time favorite of mine.

One blog I can relate to and really love is Elizabeth's  About New York She has some of the best photos of the city, and this was my go-to site as Hurricane Sandy hit. She lives in lower Manhattan and captured real life days following the storm.

Now I know gardening is a huge hobby, maybe more popular than genealogy. Finding Growing with Plants was a real treat. Matt of Worcester, MA wrote, "Growing with plants began as a little project where I could document my daily adventures in my glass greenhouses and in the garden, here in central Massachusetts.  To show this blog's popularity, he has over 1,000,000 pageviews!   

Another fun blog is Shortbread and Ginger. The owner, Liz writes, “I also love rummaging through charity shops for vintage bits and pieces." If you enjoy needlework, beads, antiques, you'll enjoy this site.

Heather Rojo recommended a cooking blog, Cooking without Dairy.

Wendy Grant Walter recommended a blog about quilts called, Crazy Mom Quilts.

Rockport, Massachusetts -- War Memorial

These Our Dead in Honored Glory Rest

Located in Rockport, Massachusetts

World War I

1917    1918

James E. Bryan

John A. Carlson

Dwight P. Dutton

Edward R. Everett

Harold T. Grover

Edward Peterson

World War II

1941    1946

Carl E. Bannon

Robert M. Barrett

Phillips H. Bradley

Vincent Charte, Jr.

George L. Costa

Garder J. Garrett

William Hakala

Arthur L. Johnson

Leon W. Kantala

Donald F. MacEachern

George C. Mills

Anthony J. Pascucci

Glenn M. Rowe

Charles W. Sears

George A. Sears

Dean K. Selig

I couldn't decide which photo I liked the best of Motif Number 1, so I posted them both.

Smokestack or Christmas Tree?

"The smokestack tree contains 5,440 light bulbs over 32 cables anchored to a 102-foot diameter angle ring at the base. The tree is topped with a 19-foot star." Information from The Lowell Sun newspaper, December 2011 (I had it linked, but the article has been removed.

The tree is located in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Reflection in a nearby mill.

From Wikipedia, "The Wannalancit Mills are an example of adaptive re-use as they contain offices. Part of the mills are owned by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In 2000, the owners of the mill utilized their smokestack for the city's largest Christmas tree, reaching two hundred and fifty six feet in height."

Originally posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2011.

They Married on Christmas Day

My great-grandparents, Everett R. Bishop and Mira J. Kilborn, were married on December 25, 1888. The Marriage License below, was one of the first official documents I obtained become a DAR member.

Note: This is re-posted from December 25, 2011.

The Delight of Christmas Lights

The Cape Neddick ("Nubble") Light located in York, Maine. These photos were taken on December 21, 2012. There is a live webcam.

 

Bedford, Massachusetts World War I Memorial

Note: New photos will be taken of monument, and name of church will be posted soon. The church is not next to the monument. It was taken because of the design I love.

In Memory of

The Men of Bedford

Who Gave Their Lives in the World War

And in Appreciation of All Those Who Served

To the Credit of Their Town, State and Country.

*Alexander Robert Anthony     *Hugh I. Hunt      * William Walter Hamilton
Lionel Reginald Anthony
Vernon Richard Anthony
Abigail Bacon
Albert Bierenbroodspot
Andrew Cornelius Bierenbroodspot
Howard Drown Brawn
Charles Elmer Brock
Charles Elmer Brock
Thomas Butler
Roland H. Brown
Franklin Harwood Canlett
Arthur Everett Carson
Hermann Emil Christiansen
William James Crier
Frank Bellows Davis
Howard F. Davis
Clifford Louis Day, Jr.William J. Durkin
Michael Lawrence English
John Stephen Fanning
Basil Edward Fletcher
Milton Currant Ford
Benjamin Charles Freeman
Nicholas Genetti
Edward Loren Goulding
Arthur Holden Hayden
Gunnar Hemmingson
Edward Amos Hunnewell
William James Hunt
Henry Clare Isnor
William Jackson
David Theodore Keay
Francis Joseph Kelley
Henrick Hans Johan Larsen
Hubert H. Loomis
Ralph Loomis
Samuel Loomis
William F. Loomis
Francis Colin MacDonald
Walter Francis Manning
Johanna Elizabeth McMahan
Martin Francis McMahan
Philip Edward McMahan
Edward Joseph O'Dowd
Philip Stephen O'Dowd
Frederic Parker, Sr.
Henry McBurney Parker
John Stanley Parker
W. A. Parker
George Henry Peterson
J. H. Philbin
Fred A. Proctor
Paul Rhoderick Raymond
John Harold Riese
Nicholo Silverston
Peter Snyer
Frederick H. Sullivan
Nicholo Silverstone
Peter Snyer
Stephen Tackney
James J. Walsh
Rev. Arthur Stanley Wheelock
William Albert Wilkins
Harold Edward Willson

Justin Bieber, Trash Pickup, Lost Portrait, Louisa May Alcott and Ducklings

The first sign that yesterday was going to be a little different was, I got tangled up in the crown of people rushing to get in line to buy Justin Bieber tickets to his concert, to be held at the TD BankNorth garden (North Station) in Boston (July 20th, I think). It's been a long time, since I've seen that many people in a line, but they were all happy, and that's a great thing to see first thing in the morning.

The sun was shining, temperature was warm, and I was on my way to the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) to use their library, by way of several detours. First was to the Massachusetts State House (aka Capitol), to take additional photos of my ancestor, Simon Bradstreet. Right away, I couldn't locate him, and had to ask an employee. He tried to find the location, but he and nobody knew where it was. Where could he have gone, I was just there a few months ago. I really thought I'd have a quiet day in the building, but no, there were so many people, listening to live Christmas music, and lots of school tours of the building were being given. Hum, I'll go back in January.

Second detour was to tour the Beacon Hill area (super wealthy) of Boston, with all the steep hills and cobblestones. I thought the Christmas decorations on the old townhouses would make for nice pictures. Not so fast...it was trash day. Bags and bags of trash on the sidewalks and every once in a while, I'd see the dump trucks. To make it worse, most doorsteps had the day's newspaper/s on the steps and many had notices from UPS or FedExpress telling the owners that a package was ready to be picked up. My two hour walk to NEHGS left me exhausted to say the least.

Once at the library, I had had it, there wasn't any energy left. I spent a half an hour chatting with three employees, and then left. Can you imagine not having energy to do some simple research? It was a first. I took the subway back to North Station, a television there changed my entire day.

I decided to share some happy photos of yesterday. John Kerry's town house, the house where Louisa May Alcott died, Boston Public Gardens (it looked like spring), some Christmas decorations, and a surprise for your young children, it seems appropriate.

 Massachusetts State House.

 Stately mansion on Mt. Vernon Street.

 John Kerry's house (with flag) taken December 15, 2012.

Home of Louisa May Alcott, this is where she died. John Kerry lives across the street.

 Boston Public Gardens, looks like spring.

 House along the way, decorated for Christmas.

 Acorn Street, Beacon Hill.

 For the children. I have seen them many times, but for some reason, I decided to take the picture.

For fun, a YouTube video of Beautiful Boston by Little Big World.

Simon Bradstreet at the State Capitol in Boston Massachusetts

Portrait of Colonial Governor, Simon Bradstreet of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Located at the State Capital, Boston, Massachusetts. Other posts I wrote about him: where he is buried, see HERE, information about his life, see HERE.

If you are interested in his wife, Anne Dudley, please see HERE, I was fortunate to attend a dedication in 2000 in the North Andover, MA cemetery, where she probably was buried.