When I first saw the picture of my Great Grandmother as a little girl, my breath caught and time transported me to that moment. Her eyes captivated me. She was so young, but I could see longing and sadness in those eyes. What was she thinking in that moment? What had she seen that could give her that expression? I wanted to reach through the picture and hug her. Put my forehead up to hers and wordlessly acknowledge her old soul in that moment. The second thing I noticed in the picture is the locket that is around her neck. I immediately wanted to find out what happened to it. I needed to know it was not lost to time. That where ever it ended up, it was being cared for. It seems silly to say such a thing, but it was the reaction I had.
Four years later, I have found out what happened to that locket. It is still in the family, thank goodness, worn by Italy's granddaughter and great granddaughter. They love that locket so much that they share it. One day, I hope to see it in person. This locket has been in my family for well over a hundred years, since at least 1910. I wish it could speak. What would it say if it could? Would it cry out for my great grandmother? Would it tell tales of adventures she had? Would it sing songs from her youth with a laugh and a twinkle? Would it cough, in remembrance of the time spent on the mountain, trying to get rid of the "bugs" from Tuberculosis? Would it weep at the memory of Italy's losing her siblings when she was young or for losing her mother? I wish it's shallow depth could hold the scent of my Great Grandmother. I would wrap myself around it and breath in the life that I am constantly reaching for.
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I am starting a book! I have always wanted to write a book, and today I have taken the first steps to do that. Well, technically my research has been the first step, but today I took a step closer to making my dream, of being an author, a reality. I purchased software/ an application that will help me to print family reports, check facts and gather statistics and charts for the book. I am very excited! Also, I am a bit overwhelmed with the inconsistencies in my tree. I have been doing genealogical research for over 20 years, and expect some inconsistencies with the way I entered information- but not this many! ha.
I have decided to focus on Cornelius Bond's family and his descendants for my book. He was married twice. At this stage I am not sure what information I will include on his first wife, yet. I am very excited to learn more about Hannah Frances Englar Bond, his second wife, and my Great Great Great Grandmother. I am not going to give myself timelines. I feel it would stress me out too much. I am instead going to focus on the research and the people. I will try to devote certain days to certain individuals. Cornelius fathered 19 children (that I have found, unsure if there were miscarriages or early deaths) and there is therefore a lot of information to double check and research. I want to try to find birth records (might not be any), death records (more likely a reality), marriage records (not everyone married though), newspaper clippings (records are not digitized), church records (unknown what church they went to at this time), and land records (Red Level is identified as the farm Hannah lived on). So much to do! I better stop gabbing here and get to it! My great grandmother saved (what appears to be) a community or church bulletin from 1918 in Union Bridge, MD. Her brother, Howard Bond, was featured on the front. I have had this in my possession for a month or two now. It wasn't until today that I carefully scanned it, however (look in files page for full pdf). It gave me pause to think of other community or church bulletins that we never knew about which have information on our ancestors and relatives in it. It also made me grin and think of my cousin, Jodi, who puts out a yearly Smith newsletter- letting people know what her family (husband, herself and her 3 beautiful children) have been up to.
NTS: I need to find more Friendly Visitors and search them for info. Remember the Union Bridge Fireman's Carnival? Well, we went back to check on things I had bid on in the silent auction (some Union Bridge newspapers and a book "125th Anniversary Union Bridge Fire Company; Carroll County, MD.") and Mrs. Keeney hurried over to us. Kris said we weren't even there 2 minutes before she spotted us, ha. She said she had a man there that knew my Great Great Grandfather!
We followed her to the dining area as he was eating lunch. I identified that I did not wish to disturb the poor guy as he was eating and she shooed my comments off easily. She introduced us as he was brushing crumbs off his face. I reiterated that I did not wish to disturb him while he was eating. He brushed my comment away as if it were a silly fly, and invited us to sit down with him. Mr. Wilson joined the Union Bridge Fire Company in 1945. In June of 1946 the entire company travelled to Frederick for the Maryland State Fireman's Convention parade. Mr. Gordon Fogle drove their 1938 Seagrave (500 GPM) Pumper there, and HH Bond sat in the front the way there and throughout the parade route. Mr. Wilson remembered HH Bond to be a soft-spoken man to whom everyone listened to. "When he spoke, everyone listened," he recalled, and added "but he would listen to you too. Even if he didn't agree, he would listen." It was an honor to be able to shake Mr. Wilson's hand and to think that his hand probably at least once shook my Great Great Grandfather's. It was amazing to hear his stories. I listened with interest at how his life in Union Bridge was and we both commented on 'today's younger generations' and how different they are. We have plans to meet up next week, at the local diner Buttersburg Inn, where I will bring my Great Grandmother's photo book to show him the old pictures of the town before he was born. I can't wait! But I need to try to get it in shape so it doesn't fall apart so easily (that's today's plan). My Great Great Grandmother was in Hauvers, Maryland (now Sabillasville) in the Tuberculosis center for at least 6 months between Sept 1919 and Jan 1920 (certain on those months, unsure on the rest of her time there). She took pictures of her time there. I transcribed the census record I posted in the Files page to try to identify the people in the pictures with her. Names scrawled on pictures such as "Riggin" "Mary Bottowe" "Mish" "Vogt" "Wooden" are each their own mysteries, and I would love to be able to share these pictures with anyone related to those names. But first, I need to sleuth who the names are! Below is a table for my guesswork.
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