I’ve been a genealogist for more years than most folks can imagine. I was fortunate to be guided in my very early years by Christine Knox Wood. That single gift from one person to another has made all the difference in the world. I explained to her that I was a young mother, going to school, and far too busy. She said, “Just gather the information while folks are still alive. You can do something with it later.” She was SO right. So now in my dotage, I’m doing something with it.
The Germans are Haunting Me
I always grew up thinking of myself as English. Not surprising with a name like Lancaster. I even did a…
A Bridge Across the Generations
I know from my own experience that it’s often a challenge for one generation to have meaningful conversations with another.…
Memories for a Lifetime
My son-in-law and his daughter were here this weekend so he could install a rail down the back porch steps…
A Special Thanksgiving
This is the season when I look back over the photographs I’ve taken during the year trying to decide which…
Defining Family
Folks are often amazed that I gather together EVERYTHING on EVERYBODY when I’m doing family research. They tend to ask,…
Ella Scott DuVal and James Robert Lancaster
This newspaper clipping is hard to read yellowed with age. But it’s a priceless document. I have nothing else from…
Liston Bay Lancaster
It used to be said that getting one’s name in the newspaper was a sign of poor taste. That was…
Cosmic Impact
Each of us thinks we are unique – unusual – and memorable. We think our passage to and from this…
Tompkins Bible
There’s an old Bible that has had a place of honor on my credenza for many years. My children never…
I wasn’t always a Lake
My daughter commented this week that I was beginning to sound just like Baba (my mother-in-law) as I waxed poetic…