Category : Historical Background

66 posts

Operator sending a message on a Morse electric printing telegraph, 1887. He is tapping out the message with a key using the code developed by Samuel Morse and Alexander Bain. Under the table are wet cells (batteries) supplying electricity. (Photo by Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images)
My husband’s great-grandfather worked for a few years as a telegraph operator in Ohio around 1880. I did some quick searches to find out more about this occupation. From Wikipedia: A telegrapher, or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by …
Paris, Henry County, TN, Map, 1888
Some of my early Smiths stopped in Paris, Tennessee, in the 1820s for a sojourn of a few years, before moving south to Mississippi. Most of the early growth in the Western District occurred on the gently sloping interior plateau where the land was fertile and the drainage better than along the Mississippi. One of …
High Street from P.R.R. Depot, Bellefonte, Pa
My husband has many family members from Bellefonte, PA, including his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We’ve visited a few times and very much enjoy this charming town. Things to See Bellefonte is a charming town and it’s fun to just stroll around and look at the architecture. But when you get tired of that, stop …
Cotton Plantation on the Mississippi, Currier & Ives, 1884
One of my ancestors worked for a time as a plantation overseer in or around Carroll County, Mississippi, in the 1840s or 1850s. I was curious about this employment as he was a small landowner himself – why would he leave his own property to work for others? Well, I still don’t know the answer …
Fourth St, Williamsport, PA
My genealogy research has led me to Williamsport, PA, in search of ancestors by the name of Furst, Aitken, and Harrar, particularly the following: Aitken, Elizabeth Rebecca (). Res: 1880 to burial in 1925 Furst, James Chamberlin (). Marr: 30 Apr 1913 Furst, John Shuman (). Marr: 04 Feb 1898; Res: 1900; Age: 24; Marital …
CumberlandGap by Harry Fenn, Harry, 1838-1911, artist, 1872, LOC
My Smith ancestors left Virginia in the 1820s, probably traveling along the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap to Tennessee. Here are some sources I’ve gathered while I’m learning about their journey. Images Sources: Florida Center for Instructional Technology at http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/ Library of Congress at https://www.loc.gov/ “Cumberland Gap and Heights, Tenn., from the Kentucky side. …
May 2017 Clifton House, Doug Smith Photo
My great-grandfather and second great-grandfather lived on Clifton Plantation in Carroll County, Mississippi. That’s interesting, I’d love to know more. I tried and failed to find it on my own, but luckily, some Smith relatives stepped up to help me locate it – thanks, Smiths!!! Although no Smiths own any of the property now, and …
St Johns Union Church April 2001
St. John’s Union Church may also be called Old Towamensing Church and is now known as St. John’s Lutheran Church. It’s located in Palmerton, Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is the second church built in what is now Carbon County. The land was purchased in 1798 and the church built the following year. The …
Seven Pines School, Hemingway, MS, 1907
Seven Pines School Hemingway, Carroll County, Mississippi November 11, 1907 Back Row, left to right: Ann Judson Smith, Teacher Sue Marian Pentecost Annie Lynn Smith Jimmie Ella Pentecost Annie Mae Browning Ruth Wells Hunter Browning Allie Browning Sue Darcus Pentecost Center Row: James Waders Smith Front Row, left to right: Phillip Pentecost Clinton McClellan Smith …
Herbs
Herbs are plants, parts of which contain essential oils useful in food, medicine and/or cosmetics. Herbs usually grow in temperate regions, both in the wild and as cultivators. Herbs would have been plentiful and inexpensive in colonial American households. Herbs should be distinguished from spices, which are generally derived from woody plants that grow in …
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