Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
A chronicle of the extraordinary lives of eight great grandparents who lived between 1840 and 1953. Among them…
- A Civil War hero and another the son of a Civil War hero
- A hero of the New York City Police Department
- A founding pioneer of the California citrus industry
- A descendant of patriots who fought with, and defended, George Washington at Valley Forge
- A descendant of loyalists expelled from the United States after the American Revolution
- Two who died early, tragically
- A descendent of the man who built the bridge after which Bridgehampton NY is named
- One whose heritage and family was the subject of a prominent American novel and film
- A descendent of the man upon who’s farm Yale University was built
- One with family that included a United States Senator from New York and the owner of an inn famous in the early history of Connecticut
- Abraham Lincoln’s envoy to China, who corresponded routinely with William Seward
- A revered Baptist minister who worked tirelessly for the advancement of the youth in his community, and another who betrayed his trust.
- Descendants of the founders of American cities including Hartford CT, New Haven CT, Lynn MA, Hempstead NY, Danville PA, Le Sueur MN, Portland ME, and Ontario CA
- A fourth cousin of Aaron Burr
Please join my exploration of the many stories of these lives, and maybe help me solve some mysteries.
Records from the 1950 Census reveal one more chapter in the lives of James and Bessie Hynes
The recent public release of 1950 census records provides an additional data point from the lives of great-grandparents James Louis Hynes and Bessie Gordon Hynes. In 1950 they lived at 107-29 134th street in Queens, New York. A search of today’s maps places this location in the industrial periphery of JFK airport, near the intersection…
March Commemorations
Died during March, 1943 (79 years ago) in Morristown, New Jersey. Hannah Cobb Hynes, 2nd great grandmother Died during March, 1972 (50 years ago) in New York. Addie Gordon, great grandaunt Married Thursday March 12, 1863 (159 years ago) in Maine. Edward Thomas Sandford, great grandfather, to first wife Sadie Spear Born Monday March 25,…
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Bridging the Silences 