Birthplace of my great grandmother, Eleanor Hartley, and other famous persons

If I had not researched my genealogy and family history, I believe I would have missed out on many things in my Life's Journey that were worth knowing about. It has made my life ... well ... more ENLIGHTENED. Take for example the birthplace of my great grandmother on my father's branch. She was born in Cockfield, County Durham, in northern England (go to the center of map below).

Image (click to enlarge): Map from tourist brochure of County Durham, England

On my family research trip to the British Isles in 1996, I picked up several tourist brochures and guides in Durham City. In the guide, "Teesdale and Barnard Castle", it was written, "... Cockfield [in County Durham], a peaceful village based on the coal industry and the birthplace of JEREMIAH DIXON, known for the Mason-Dixon Line [the official border between Maryland and Pennsylvania]". More research indicated that Jeremiah was actually born in Barnard Castle and went to the John Kipling school there. He died in Cockfield. Jeremiah Dixon and his colleague, CHARLES MASON, were astronomers who indeed were called upon by Thomas Penn and Frederick Calvert to survey the border between the two American colonies. The survey was completed in 1766. Jeremiah died in Cockfield in 1779, about 66 years before my great grandmother, ELEANOR HARTLEY, was born in the same village in 1845.

It so happens that I re-read this brochure a couple of years after I bicycled a portion of the Heritage Trail which runs from York, Pennsylvania, for a distance of about 30 miles, across the PA/MD border, and through Gunpowder Falls State Park. As I passed the Mason-Dixon line, I took a picture of a concrete pillar which apparently was one of several marking the Mason-Dixon Line (and posted it on my blog). A nearby historical marker presented several more facts on the Mason and Dixon team and its survey.

Image: Historical marker on the Heritage Rail-Trail detailing the history of the Mason-Dixon Line. It reads, in part, “Since the Civil War it has served as the boundary between the North and the South …”

I will never again cross the Mason-Dixon Line without thinking of Eleanor Hartley. Incidentally, three members of my immediate family now live north of the Line, while I live south. I cross the Line at least 6 or 7 times a year.

Another thing comes to mind when I look at the tourist map above. Eleanor Hartley was enumerated in the 1861 census of England as a "House Servant", age 16 years, born at Cockfield. She lived in a household which was located in Hurworth upon Tees, south of Darlington (bottom, right corner of map). There were only two other persons enumerated: RICHARD NEWTON, age 83, and his wife, MARY, age 90. I knew of a younger Richard Newton, who married Isabella, or Margaret, Hartley, who was the sister of Eleanor's father, in other words, her uncle. So, I suspect that Eleanor's employer was the father of this uncle. Furthermore, Richard Newton, the elder, was a "farmer of 160 acres, employing one man" according to the census. This was a real find because it took me a while to find Eleanor. The rest of her family, that is Eleanor's father, William Hartley, and four of his other children, were enumerated in the same year in a different location- in the parish of Hunwick and Helmington, Durham.

So, I look at Hurworth upon Tees on the map and think of my great grandmother, only 16 years of age, and working hard as a servant girl on a farm of many acres taking care of a very old couple and their hired hand. By the way, The River Tees marks the boundary between County Durham and Yorkshire in the south. Matter of fact, County Durham is often referred to as "the land ‘twixt the Tyne and the Tees".

Pont du Mont Blanc and an Early Earth Day Celebration

This is my first blog entry associated with a group of Genealogy bloggers (so called geneabloggers) who upload vintage postcards to their sites- usually with a certain theme in mind. This month's theme is "white" which could refer simply to a black and white postcard or something white in the context of the picture card.

Following, is a black and white postcard from my collection. It depicts the Pont du (bridge of) Mont Blanc in Geneva, Switzerland. Blanc is French for "white" and refers to the distant snow-covered mountains in the upper left of the picture. Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps, about 15,700+ feet, and can be see from several points around the city of Geneva on a clear day. One can obain excellent views of Mont Blanc and The Alps by climbing to the top of the darker-colored mountain in the foreground which is called Le Saleve, and then, turn around and have spectacular views of Geneva and Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). Mont Blanc is located on the border of France and Italy.

Image (click to enlarge): Vintage view of Pont du Mont Blanc (white mountains in upper left), with forested Ile de Rousseau on right. View looks south toward the old city of Geneva.

Image: Reverse of postcard

The bridge in the postcard crosses the Rhone River as it exits Lake Geneva (on left) and then continues on to France (on the right). The small island with trees in the middle of the river and to the right of the bridge is the Ile (Isle) de Rousseau. It is named for the philosopher, Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778), who was born in Geneva and whose family lived there. Rousseau's "Discourse on the Origins and Basis of Inequality Among Men", published in 1755, is generally believed to have influenced the French Revolution. He dedicated the Discourse to his hometown of Geneva which he considered the most civil state in Europe.

The significance of this postcard is that it reminds me of the time my young family and I lived in Geneva for about two years between 1973 and 1975. I was on a post doctorate program researching diabetes at the University of Geneva. In our first month, my wife and our two young daughters, 4 and 6 years old, joined me in a walk to the edge of the city, and then we took a ride in a cable car to the top of Le Saleve. There was a little bit of snow on top and we threw a few snowballs.

Later in the Spring, the populace of the whole city celebrated Earth Day by abstaining from driving cars. Riding in the electric trams was OK. I rode my bicycle down to the Pont du Mont Blanc; the bridge was covered with bicyclists and pedestrians- and one very lonely taxi. Incidentally, Earth Day is celebrating its 40th anniversary next year, 2010. So the following pictures taken in 1974, were taken on about the 4th annual Earth Day.

Image: From a 35 mm Kodachrome of Pont du Mont Blanc on Earth Day, 1974. The end of the bridge runs into the old city of Geneva. La Seleve can be seen rising above the city in the distance. Only bicyclists and pedestrians are on bridge and a red-colored electric tram at far end of bridge. In warmer weather, colorful banners and flags were hung on the poles slanting over the bridge railings.

Image: All kinds of bikes were found on the bridge on Earth Day, 1974

Image: A lone taxi tries to negotiate a path through a disapproving crowd on Pont du Mont Blanc. The passengers were probably coming home from the airport. The lady inside appears to be smiling in good spirits.

If you got here from Therialt's Festival of Postcards, click here to return to the Festival.

LINKS and REFERENCES:

Look up "Rousseau" and "Mont Blanc" on Wikipedia.

For more information on "Festival of Postcards" see Evelyn Theriault's "A Canadian Family" Blog.

Traces of coal mining in Fayette County, PA, along Youghiogheny River trail

Unfortunately, Blogspot will not allow me to place images where I want to in relation to the text. I hope the powers that be will someday fix this irritating glitch. But for now, we must push on and play by their rules.

(Click images to enlarge)

Earlier this Fall, I took a side trip on my way home from a family history gathering trip to Westmoreland and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. After a day of taking photos of tombstones at Mount Pleasant cemetery (see last entry), I camped that night at Ohiopyle State Park along the Youghiogheny River. The next morning, I took a bicycle ride on a portion of the Rail-Trail that follows the river from the state park all the way to McKeesport near Pittsburgh. The trail is part of the Great Allegheny Passage which stretches several hundred miles from Pittsburgh, PA, to Georgetown, Washington, DC. I met one bicyclist who was traveling the whole trail, end to end, and when he reached DC in few days, he was planning to box up his bike and take the Amtrack back to Pittsburgh. I thought that one day I would like to bicycle the same route and dedicate the ride to my mother's Gailliot Family Line who, in 1880, emigrated from Germany to Braddock, PA, to work in the steel mills, and then, in 1920, migrated to a farm in Alexandria, VA. No, they did not bike it.

At one point on my bike ride, I passed a cut in a steep cliff along the trail. There was an historic marker at the bottom of the cliff which gave a brief description of the coal mining era in the region. The text began by pointing to a vein of coal on the cliff high above me (directly above the dashed line, colored red, in image above). Also shown, was an enlarged copy of a vintage postcard depicting coal miners standing around a mine shaft in Connellsville, PA. Rail cars loaded with coal were being pulled by mules from the mine shaft.

I was reminded of the Russell family that I had just studied the day before in Mt. Pleasant. Some members of the family resided in a coal company town at the Royal Mine and Coke Works, according to census reports. Indeed, I found out later, that the funeral for Robert M. Russell was held at his married daughter's house in Royal. His daughter, Christine, was married to James Eaton. At a web site called The Virtual Museum of Coal Mining in Western Pennsylvania there is a detailed description of the neighborhood where the Russell family once resided:

"Approximately ninety coal company built houses ... laid out along four parallel streets ... The bulk of the houses are semi-detached dwellings with their gable ends facing the streets. Of standard wood-frame construction, they are four-bay on the ground level and two-bay above; they rest on coursed-stone foundations. the houses have shed or hipped-roof front porches and their two interior brick chimneys are either on opposite sides of the roof ridge or piercing the ridge. ..."

Royal was later called Chestnut Ridge, but you will not find either town on a road map of Pennsylvania today. Most of these "Patch" company towns have been dismantled. I am glad that at least a description of the town survives.

Bicycling Thru History on the W and OD Rail Trail

On Tuesday, I started out on the 400 mile trip from Monroe, NC, to Wheaton, MD, not on my bicycle, but in my car. I am on my way to visit Mom in Hanover and hopefully gather more family history. But first, I made a stop at Duke University Medical Clinics to see my prostate cancer specialist. Also, I wanted to take a few pictures of Duke University's grand architecture, but it was pouring rain- perhaps on the way home it will be better picture-taking weather.

In any case, I wanted to celebrate the good news that my hormonal therapy continues to hold my blood levels of Prostate Specific Antigen in check, from 3.7 two months ago to 3.4 today. The details are boring but very important to me of course. So, when I arrived in the Washington, DC, area, I hopped on my bicycle at the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Trail and rode about 18 miles total, to and fro. At my starting point in Vienna, Virginia, I took this picture of my bike leaning against a mural painted on a nearby building.



The rail trail runs from the Potomac river, crossing the I-495 beltway, fortunately on a pedestrian bridge, and then continues on through never ending suburbia to Purcellville, VA. However, today, I rode from Vienna to the renovated railroad station at Herndon, VA. The trail is a regional state park, 100 feet wide and 45 miles long. That's a skinny park. The trail touches several other regional parks on the way.

The trail has been paved and now follows the Virginia Power Company's right of way. Thus, any tall trees have been cleared leaving the trail open to constant sun. Thus, you can be exposed to electromagnetic radiation on a pretty wide spectrum- not that it makes much difference heath wise- at least on today's knowledge. I guess the opportunity for good exercise overrides any negative impacts.

The trail follows the old railroad bed that was layed out about 1857. There is a quite a bit of Civil War history along the trail. During the War, the rails were removed by both Federal and Confederate troops to disrupt supply lines. Therefore, the Herndon Rail Station (image above) fell out of the railroad business for awhile. It was then used as a residence and store. After the War, the station was re-established and expanded. Rail transportation came to a dribble in the 1960s and eventually shut down all together. The Herndon Station was again threatened for demolition to be replaced by a parking lot. However, the townspeople came to the rescue and preserved the building making it into the Herndon Historical Society headquarters and store.

I sat on one of several benches in the restored town square; soaking in the sun, taking pictures and enjoying the final petunia blooms of Summer. Across the street, I noticed a new store, named "So Addictive Dessert and Internet Lounge". Just what could a store with a name like that offer a person like me? Only, HEAVEN.

Inside the station, one can find old records, pictures, and a collection of vintage items that continues to grow by donations. Each of the loose-leaf photograph albums layed open on a table inside the station contains numerous 8x10 inch reproductions of historical interest. A computer in the corner of the room will contain an index of surnames and a list of preserved items. The curator told me it was almost ready for use. So, if you have family that lived in Fairfax County, in particular, Herndon, VA, you have a treasure trove of historical information awaiting you.

And, now I can end this entry on a genealogical note. Along the trail, I took a break and sat on a bench which had a dedication plaque- a nice and practical way to memorialize the Razick Family- whoever they were. Makes me want to do an Ancestrydotcom investigation. Wonder what YEAR they came to America.

REFERENCES and LINKS:

Friends of the W&OD Trail: History, maps, and lots of trail pictures.

Washingtonpost dot com article by reporter, Francine Uenuma, appearing in Fairfax Extra section of newspaper on 19 June 2008. Interview and video about Paul McCray who managed the WOD Trail for 20 years and knows its history better than anybody. Permalink (I believe this is a never changing link to the Post article)

For visitors or residents, this site provides a great summary of all the trails in Washington, DC, area. Which ones are your favorites?

Bicycling across the Mason-Dixon Line

Digital image above was taken with the wide angle setting (16:9 aspect ratio) on my Canon Power Shot A570 IS (image stabilization). I re-sized the image to 1024 x 576 before uploading it to this blog. Click on image to see full view. The 16:9 image is nice if you have a wide screen on your computer which most do these days. However, most of the images in this blog are uploaded in the 4:3 aspect ratio.

The path shown above is the Heritage Rail Trail County Park in York Co., PA. The trail runs from the historic district of York, PA, south to the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, a distance of about 21 miles. Then the trail runs directly into the Northern Central Railroad Trail in the Gunpowder Falls State Park which runs 20 more miles from the border to Ashland, MD. Thus, the 41-mile trail is preserved in a County park in PA and a State park in MD. Good going rail-trail people.

Today, I parked my car in Glen Rock Boro, York Co., PA, and bicycled about 6 miles to the Mason-Dixon Line; crossed into Maryland; and biked another 4 miles; then turned around at Bentley Springs and returned.

I didn't realize until I bicycled 6 miles to SUMMIT Grove that I had been going uphill since Glen Rock. I thought it was my advanced age that was slowing me down. In fact, the trail in York County averages about 0.8% but then doubles to 1.5% in those 6 miles. I read about it all on an Historical Marker at the Summit which is 825 feet above sea level. I can here someone chuckling all the way out in Colorado ... and no, there is no panoramic view from here. The summit was once the location of a Methodist Summer Camp Meeting and is still active today. I also read that a "helper" engine was used in the old days to help push a heavy passenger or freight train up the grade. Good idea, but where was that helper engine today.

Thank Goodness, there was a good place to take a rest stop before reaching the Summit. I bought a big Lipton Ice Tea at the renovated train station in the village of New Freeland. I had to wake up the proprietor who had fallen asleep, sitting up, with his arms across a portable DVD player. I can understand his fading out; I was probably the second person in the cafe that day- it was Tuesday after Memorial Day. When he woke up, he also said he was tired from moving house and preparing for a wedding- his. Hope he doesn't fall asleep at the alter ... or on his honeymoon.

A little German Heritage: New Freedom was named after a Peter Free, a son of a German immigrant who had bought a large tract of land in the area in 1780. The village thrived on grist mills and lumber camps, and being close to the railroad.

About a mile and a half south of New Freedom near Summit Grove is the border between PA and MD. However, once the border was in dispute, and so, the astronomers, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired to survey a boundary, called the Mason-Dixon Line, between the two colonies and to set markers. The south face of each marker bore the seal of Lord Baltimore; and on the north face, the seal of William Penn. I believe I passed one of these M-D markers on the trail near the Line but no seal was evident. Understandably, if this was one of the ancient markers and it was indeed identified, it would be just a stump in no time because every bookshelf in every home in America would be displaying a piece of the rock. Let it be. Sh-h-h-h-h.

The remaining images are a bit of wildlife I enjoyed seeing along the trail. I wish to emphasize that this is an isolated, quiet trail, especially during the week.

How about them wonderful ferns growing in Pennsylvania, the state whose name means "Penn's woods".
This wildflower in present on what I believe is the Honey Suckle bush. You can see through the trees to the rippling waters of Gunpowder Creek.
It's hard not to take your eyes off the path while riding through such beautiful scenery. But watch out for those black-colored speed bumps. And keep your camera ready to shoot.

These are not city squirrels. These wild creatures stalk you and then let out a loud chatter to let you know you've invaded their territory.

REFERENCES:
The official Heritage Rail Trail County Park web site.

A Different Kind of Pedal Cycle

I was thinking earlier this year that I would like to test drive the recumbent tricycle. While on my present trip, I was going to stop by a bike shop in State College, PA, which I found on the Internet that advertises such vehicles. Y'see, I am getting sort of old and I feel a little unstable on the traditional bicycle especially because of the torn cruciform ligment in my right knee. It's really becoming quite arthritic. If I go down ... No, ... WHEN I go down, I certainly don't want to break a leg. Just the other day, I braked my bicycle to a stop and tried to dismount the bike before it fell over, but it did fall over and with me on it. My pants had wrapped around the seat. I only scraped my knee- this time.

So, when I saw this gentleman riding what looked like a tricycle on the C&O canal towpath, I had to stop him and take a closer look. His tricycle is very unique. I would love to have one, but I don't think I could find one on the market. I learned that this tricyle was purchased about 25 years ago at a bike shop in College Park, Maryland. It was designed and made by an individual in England named Bob Jackson. I will have to do a little more research, but at least I have a picture to show of this one-of-a-kind cycle. It would be difficult to describe in words- especially the colors.

World War II Monument and Register of Veterans

World War II monument on the Washington, DC, mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. South end of the elliptical monument memorialized our military engagements in the Pacific Arena.

Yesterday, I drove down to the Clara Barton Parkway near Washington DC, and parked my car near Lock 7 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. From there I bicycled about 7 miles to the Lincoln Memorial, rounded it and continued to the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool. Here is situated the Nation's WW II memorial to Veterans. Behind me in the picture below is the registration building where one can contribute information on the veterans in their family who served in WW II (or apparently, other military engagements). The information is on computer and indexed by name, and is also available on the internet at http://www.wwiimemorial.com/. Contributors are individuals or organizations such as the American Legion. On the computer, I typed in our family's Gailliot surname and the following data was provided. The information was contributed by my Uncle Edward A. Gailliot:

Charles [Anthony] Gailliot. Worked as a Pattern Maker at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC. Deceased 1948.

Charles [Joseph] Gailliot. Signal Corps 13th Air Force. Repaired radios on 13th Air Force aircraft B-24s and B-25s.

Joseph Stolarczyk Bailey, of Binghamton, New York; U.S. Navy; Honored by Brother-in-law, Mr. Edward Gailliot; Activity: Stationed in the Pacific Theator on the U.S.S. Barataria, AVP-33, Sea plane tender. [From the Registry's web site]. Joseph Bailey was the husband of my aunt, the former Helen Rose Gailliot.
Bob Kramp in front of the Registration building at WW II Memorial in Washington, DC.
A colorful scene along the Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal at Fletcher's Boat House on the banks of the Potomac River. The bicycle/ recreational trail is to the right of the canal. At this point, the trail consists of two lanes, one gravel, the other paved. It is also at the junction of the C&O Canal trail (Cumberland, MD, to Rock Creek in Georgetown, DC) and the Capital Crescent Trail (local 10 mile trail).

First Week of Retirement

Before I depart Southport, NC, I thought I would spend a few days exploring the area. I can extend my stay at St. James Plantation for only a fraction of what they normally charge.

The picture above was taken at the town park in Southport, NC. The azaleas are at almost peak bloom and the dogwood and Redbud are also in bloom. I love to see the majestic and gnarled limbs of the water oak. Ferns grow on the top sides of the limbs.

My daughter and grandchildren met me for a few days of their Spring break from school. We took a walk on the beach and dug ponds and lakes in the beach sand. Then we hopped on our bicycles and took a tour around St. James Plantation. Their bike lanes are great for safe biking with the children. I wish more roads were built with bike lanes. Perhaps they will be when gas reaches 10 dollars a gallon.

On our tour we saw beautiful gardens and wildlife such as deer and fiddler crabs as we biked silently over the boardwalks which have been built above the marshes.

The Kennedy Wedding, Newport, RI

While bicycling around Newport, Rhode Island, in the Spring of 2004, taking pictures of the exquisite mansions, including the Berwind home mentioned in the previous entry, I came upon another historical event of my generation. Here at St. Mary's Catholic church, John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier were married on 12 Sep 1953.

First Baptist in Monroe, NC, on a Fall day

I can upload this image from my cell phone camera but can't edit it beforehand. I'll have to crop it later. I just dropped off my car at the garage in Monroe to be fixed. I piggy-backed my bicycle so that I wouldn't have to wait for the job to be done. So now, I'm biking back home stopping to take a picture and passing by Jule's for cup of java on the way. And also praying that it won't cost an arm and leg to get my car fixed. The brake light on the control panel stays on, blinking red danger, and yelling, "this is going to cost you". Well ... there is always the bicycle. Though it would take a little while to bike from NC to PA in time for Thanksgiving.

Cincinnati Southern Railroad Bridge Chattanooga

Cincinnati Southern Railroad Bridge as seen from the Riverpark Trail near Chattanooga, TN. The bridge is owned by the city of Cincinnati and was built to carry passengers and goods from Cincinnati to Chattanooga as that city was then a hub for railways fanning out to the southern states. A reporter riding out of Cincinnati on the new line in 1880s called it the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The alliteration was made famous in tune by Glenn Miller's swing band orchestra in 1941.

River Park Trail along Tennessee River Chattanooga

I brought along my bicycle on this trip to a job contract at Sequoyah nuke plant. Glad I did because I discovered a nice hard-surface trail which follows the left bank of the Tennessee River about 8 miles from Chickamauga dam near Hixson, Tennessee, to the cultural center of Chattanooga. By cultural center, I mean the trail ends at the Hunter Museum of American Art. Picture was taken along a section of the trail on which the rider can see the river and Lookout Mountain in the distance.

Resizing Experiment- image taken at 1280 x 960 pixels

Experiment: Which size digital image, in terms of pixels, should I upload to my blog? This image was sent as a picture message from my new LG enV cell phone which has a 2.0 MB camera. I can choose pixels sizes of 320 x 240, 640 x 480, 1280 x 960, or 1600 x 1200. I took the above landscape at 1280 x 960 pixels and sent it as a "picture message" to go(at)blogger.com. The POSTED image was re-sized by BloggerSpot to 328 x 248 pixels, 33.2 KB, so it could apparently fit into the column width of this blog. Right click on image and then click on "properties" to see this information. Now, if you left-click on the image here, it appears by itself in a new window. If the "expand" icon in lower right-hand corner of window is then clicked, the image re-sizes to 1024 x 768 pixels, 298.2 KB. All these images are in 4:3 aspect ratio. How do I know? Divide the second number by 3 and then mulitply the result by 4 and get the first number. See next entry below for continuation of experiment.

Incidentally, the picture here was taken along the C&O Canal towpath above Great Falls on the Potamac River.

Picture taken at 640 x 480 pixels

Cliffs, canal, and towpath along the C&O canal above Great Falls on the Potamac. Picture was taken at 640 x 480 pixel setting with my cell phone and sent as Picture Message to this blog. Right-click on image and then click "properties". Note that the image size is 328 x 248 pixels, 33 KB, as is all other images uploaded earlier to this blog. However, you can see larger sized image of this photo by left-clicking on image. The image properties then indicate an image of 640 x 480 pixels, 133.8 KB.

I also took the same landscape at camera settings of 1280 x 960 pixels (see above) and at 1600 x 1200 pixels. When I tried to send a picture message of the largest image, I received an error message, "Message size exceeds limit. Try another".

Conclusions:

1. All uploaded jpeg images will display in the blog at 328 x 248 pixels, ~33 KB, regardless of the size when posted. However, if the uploaded image is larger, the full-sized image can be displayed by clicking on the picture in the blog. The maximum image size which can be DISPLAYED is 1024 x 768 pixels.

2. If the uploaded image is 320 x 240 pixels, ie. smaller than 328 x 248, there will be very minor pixelation (fuzziness) of image.

3. Better to upload 1280 x 960 pixel size of complex landscapes, but close-ups of persons can be sufficiently taken and uploaded at 640 x 480 pixels.

4. The 1600 x 1200 pixel image taken by my cell phone can not be sent via picture messaging.

5. It is not necessary to resize all my digital images before posting to this blog, since they will not show up as huge, overwhelming images, but instead, be displayed within the margins of the blog column, that is 328 x 248 pixels.