Historic Houses August 15, 2017

  Heron Hall, Essex England     associated with my 17th Great Grandfather Sir William Tyrrell Sheriff of Suffolk and Norfolk  1408-1461  Southwick Hall (Knyvett’s Place) Northamptonshire England  associated with my 16th Great Grandmother Lady Eleanor Tyrrell 1465-1514

Historic House December 16, 2016

The oldest House in Glastonbury was built in 1649, by Lt. John Hollister, and originally stood on the bank of the Connecticut River. Due to frequent flooding, it was moved to its current location, on Tryon Street, near Roaring Brook, in 1721. The rear lean-to, added around 1830, gave the house a saltbox shape. Hollister probably did not live in this house himself, as he maintained his main residence in Wethersfield, across the river. Instead, he rented it to three tenants, the brothers Josiah, Jonathan and John Gilbert, who farmed his land on the east side of the river. Hollister’s descendants would later make the house their ancestral home for many generations.

 

Ancestral Home November 17, 2016

Working on my genealogy today, I found one of my ancestors, William Bullock 1522-1556, lived here in Arborfield Court in Berkshire England.  William Bullock was my 11th Great Grandfather.

From Glastonbury September 30, 2016

   This is a photo from 3 months ago, late June, when Ian and I and the other grandparents visited our son David and family in Glastonbury  Connecticut.  The picture was actually taken in Mystic Connecticut after a festive lunch.  Coincidentally we are about to gather again, minus one – Ian will have to participate via Skype or some such device.

I am here visiting before attending my 62nd high school reunion up in the Boston area and the other grandparents are winging their way to Hartford on the Aer Lingus inaugural direct flight from Dublin.

So here I am enjoying a quick few days doing my usual round of our favorite places and some new ones as well.  The weather has been on the cool side and the famous Fall foliage is just beginning.  We had a nice trip down to Mystic and this time we had lunch in a new (to me) restaurant called Red 39 – the number is that of a navigation buoy.  Nice setting right on the river and delicious fish of course.

After a quick stop in the yarn store, lunch, a purchase in Mystic Knotworks, we went to Old Mystic Seaport which was the real objective of the trip that day.  Fascinating.  I just love it. We just ambled around absorbing the atmosphere of that recreated village of yesteryear.  My favorites I think were the big scaled model of the former village and the timeline in the whaling museum building.  (Pictures to show when I get back to Seattle and can sync my camera with my computer – current technology! – the equivalent I suppose of waiting to get a film developed.)

The Museum Store has a large bookshop section – was I in Heaven?  One of my purchases was of course a history cum genealogy book very pertinent to my ongoing reading and research.

…….to be continued

Spring Blooms May 15, 2016

A few days ago I took a walk around the block.  What a colorful array of blossoms – it was beautiful!

               

                

My neighborhood’s blooms leads me to recommend a wonderful book

  Beatrix Potter’s Garden – inspiring for its art work, history, biography, photographs.  Wonderful inspiration for gardening enthusiasts.

Barkham Manor, Wokingham, Berkshire April 22, 2016

  Birthplace of 16th century ancestors (possibly)

Here is an item I just found on Wikipedia

“Another prominent farming family, that of Ball, is erroneously said to be that of George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington. They lived in the parish from the late 15th to the mid-17th century, but William Ball, the man once thought to have emigrated to Virginia and become Mary’s great grandfather, may have actually died in London and his family lived in the East Berkshire area for at least two more generations. This is still disputed by American relatives of Mary Ball.[3]”

I am currently struggling to establish the facts about this ancestor who emigrated to Virginia.  I thought all my ancestors came to New England.  Research  continues.

Lavenham Suffolk England March 30, 2016

An English village dating back to the 1400’s.  Lovely.  A center for weaving and the wool trade.  A very wealthy town in its day   Some of my ancestors lived here.  We visited during the late 1990’s and were charmed.

  The Crooked House

 

Parson Capen House January 21, 2016

An Historic House in Topsfield Massachusetts       The Parson Capen House      Think of the Salem Witch Trials