Ellen Goodman's column

Ellen Goodman is a columnist for the Boston Globe her column Sunday was "The secrets buried under my family tree." The secret is that her grandparents married just five months before her Mother was born. I really liked this paragraph.

But what we really want from the generations past are not just the facts or the DNA. We want the stories. Love, passion, success, disappointment, humanity. There may be no way to know - really know- their interior life. But how many of us would trade in the data for one good diary?

I don't know how long the link work but this is the column.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/04/18/the_secrets_buried_under_a_family_tree/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Ellen+Goodman+columns

I love quilts

I love quilts. Love the colors, the patterns, the fabric, the creative / artistic part, the social part that was a quilting bee ... did I mention I love quilts?

This double wedding ring quilt is hanging in my den now. It was made by Almira Griffith, my great great grandmother, for my Dad. I also have the one she made for my uncle. She had six grand kids so I guess she made one for each.

I sew but I don't like to hand sew so I can't image
all those tiny stitches.

William Leachman and The Frontiersman

Copied from Kentucky Ancestors, Volume 7, Number 4 dated April 1972 contributed by Robert Jobson of Jeffersontown, Kentucky

“Regarding the article on Leachman Family Bibles in Kentucky Ancestors, Volume 5, Number 1, July 1969, I thought it appropriate to bring to your attention the following story which I have extracted from various sections of The Frontiersman, a narrative by Allan S. Eckert….

Simon Kenton, born April 3, 1755, in Price William County, Virginia (now the northeastern section of Fauquier County), fell in love at the age of 15 with Ellen Cummins, three years his senior. She, however, did not reciprocate and married in 1770 William Leachman, born 1750, son of Sam Leachman. In 1771, Simon, previously beaten in a fight with Leachman, beat Leachman unmercifully and, thinking him dead, departed for the Middle Ground and his place in Kentucky history. He changed his name to Simon Butler, by which name he was known until 1780, when he learned that Leachman was living. Meanwhile, due to Leachman's bloody appearance and Simon’s disappearance, Leachman was tried for his murder but was acquitted.

William and Ellen had a son born 1772, and she died a few months later. William with his son removed to Kentucky in December 1784, and settled at Simon Kenton’s Station on Lawrence Creek, where he was given land by Simon. He hung himself April 1, 1804.”

I borrowed The Frontiersman from the library. I did not read all 400 plus pages but enough to decide that the summary does match the book. The funny thing is the author spells Kentucky as Can – tuck – ee. Which reminded me of the Ben Stiller spoof from Last of the Mohicans.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=66350
Watch all the way to the end where he says “Can-tuck-ee”

The Leachman Bible, which I posted earlier, says Sampson Leachman went to Kentucky with Simon Kenton.

Mattie 1999-2008

I know this is supposed to be about family history but Mattie was a part of our family. We adopted her Christmas Eve 2000 from the SPCA. We were often asked, "What kind of dog is she?" Our answer was, "Only God really knows what kind of dog Mattie might be." The SPCA said she was part spaniel, our vet said she had some basset hound because she was too short for as big as she was otherwise. From the neck down she looked like a Chow. She also looked somewhat like a cattle herding dog, and she loved to run laps around the yard.

She knew to stay off the furniture, well except that one chair when no one was home. But you could feel that it was warm and you knew she had been in it. She did not bark much. She had stopped jumping up on people. She walked well on the leash. And she was our sweetie-pie.

Bummer Part II and the great grandmother

I got my husband's great grandmother, Viola D'Augustine's death certificate. I was hoping for a place of birth but all it has is Austria ... I knew that. For her parents, it says Father's name Jacob _________. Maiden name of Mother Augustine Barbara. So, maybe that is supposed to be first name Barbara last name Augustine. But I have Viola's maiden name as Augustine from the SS-5 of one of her kids. So that means Jacob's last name would be Augustine and Barbara's maiden name probably not Augustine.

I am going to try again for Gioacchino Salvaterra's death certificate. When I filled out the form I was looking at the pictures from the cemetery. But, I think he Americanized his first name to Jacob. So I guess it is worth $9.00 and a two month wait to see if there is a record for Jacob Salvaterra.

No record found, Bummer!!!!

Two months ago, I ordered death certificates for my husband's great grandparents from the state of Pennslyvania. Today one of them finally came and said, " No - Record Certification." At least it's printed on very nice heavy paper with the official seal of the Department of Health, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - like that's suppose to make it all better.

Gioacchino Salvaterra died in 1929 so I thought there was a decent chance of finding a record. I was really hoping for a specific place of birth and maybe his parent's names.

Maybe I'll have better luck with the great grandmother's certificate.

Happy Easter