Abia Minor was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania in about 1815, the son of stock drover John Pierson Minor and his first wife, Hannah McClelland. As a young man Abia (a-bye-ya) followed his family's tradition, bought and farmed land near the town of Bridgeville in what was then western Virginia. But he had aspirations that … Continue reading Transcription: A Letter Home-Abia Minor
Minor
Namesakes: Francis Marion Minor
I have always been curious about the name of my 2nd great-grandfather, Francis Marion Minor. Neither Francis nor Marion makes an appearance among family tree leaves until his birth in 1828, a strange happenstance in an era that often confounds modern genealogists with its generation-lapping of names. So what's up with John Pierson and Isabella McClelland Minor … Continue reading Namesakes: Francis Marion Minor
Fences Are For White Folks
I am currently enrolled in a MOOC, HIST1.1x The Civil War and Reconstruction - 1850-1861, taught by respected historian, Eric Foner. Each week our online student body analyzes a primary resource, an activity I enjoy immensely. This week's challenge was the above envelope. Who was the audience for this 1860s product? What message was it trying … Continue reading Fences Are For White Folks
A Raise in the South: Vintage Postcards
A road winding through the hilly farms of 1910 Greene County, Pennsylvania was likely to be pitted and ice pocked in late February. Nevertheless, birthdays, particularly of beloved grandpas, required festive acknowledgements. The Ruse family decided to let the mail do the travelling for Christopher's seventy-third birthday, and, via USPS, invited young and old to … Continue reading A Raise in the South: Vintage Postcards
The House that Jacob Built
Yellowed from one hundred eighty-four years, the paper unfolds with a pungent, almost yeasty smell. Ink, now walnut brown, spreads line after line across the long, creased sheet. When pen touched this page, the roads west of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains were detestable. Neither railroad nor canal connected Greene County stock and crops to eastern metropolitan markets. Small farms dotted … Continue reading The House that Jacob Built
Shoots, Roots, and Leaves 