Grandma’s Memories: Part XI

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part X

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part IX

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part VIII

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…” My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Notes About the Ramby Family

This letter to my great-grandmother, Grace McKee (1887-1964), was tucked inside a notebook with several other letters. Although it is not dated, has no envelope, and is not signed with a full name, I believe it must be from her first cousin, Helen McKee (1890-1958). It could have been written in the 1940s or early... Continue Reading →

Halloween Memories

Dad: My dad doesn't remember a lot about Halloween as a child, but he remembers going to a corn field in the fall – this was when he lived in Franklin, so under 11 years old – getting some ears of dried corn and shucking the kernels off the cob. Then they would throw the kernels... Continue Reading →

Memorial to James Emlen (1792-1866)

This memorial to my 4th great-grandfather, James Emlen (1792-1866) was published in the minutes of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1867. I have done my best to transcribe the text faithfully, including spelling errors. The long passages of religious musings from James' writings have been included in a separate post: Writings of James Emlen. Testimony... Continue Reading →

How I Made an Ancestor Video

Although my attempts to begin writing about my ancestors have fallen flat in the last year or two, I have found a new method of sharing that I do enjoy: making videos! It all began last summer when I was taking an online local history course for my library science degree. I was tasked with... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part IV

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Walter Bell’s First Marriage

There are two ancestors in my family tree that I continue to revisit whenever I'm up for a challenge. One of those is Walter H. Bell (1881-1934), my great-grandfather. Chipping away at Walter's past has been tricky but fascinating. He moved all over the country during his life. It seems he had three or four... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part III

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part II

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

Grandma’s Memories: Part I

“This is Peggy Barbour Straughen and I am on my way back to Ohio from a family reunion and I thought I would report some of my childhood memories of my grandparents. As I am speaking of this, I am now 60 years old.  Let’s see…" My grandmother grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, living for... Continue Reading →

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