On this anniversary of Robert Minor's death, I am seeking cousin-ly review. Robert is shown here in front of his home on Ceylon Lane. With confidence I can identify his wife, May, and his two children, Helen and Donald. But who are the rest of the folks? What say you, descendants of John P. and … Continue reading Robert Minor of Greene County, Pennsylvania
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Unknown Woman In Day Cap: The Minor Family Album
This middle-aged woman sat for her portrait, held motionless by a photographer’s head rest for the minutes-long exposure. The discomfort of such stillness couldn’t keep an impish grin from her face. Woman in a Day Cap’s identity and relationship to my family has been lost. Her photograph, however, can serve now as a mid-nineteenth century fashion … Continue reading Unknown Woman In Day Cap: The Minor Family Album
Digging For The Roots Beneath An Heirloom Cabinet Card
Mary Jane Minor left no diary, no ledger, no written clues about her daily life, but she did include a photograph of her preacher, Charles W. Tilton, in the Minor Family Album. If this cabinet card, this tangible thing, is an entry point into my great-great-grandmother's life, where can I go? What intersections existed between the lives of … Continue reading Digging For The Roots Beneath An Heirloom Cabinet Card
Swiped, Stolen, Borrowed…What To Do When Your Work Is “Shared”: Tuesday’s Tip
Light colored eyes, weak from age and illness, stared out from between a headful of thick, wavy hair and a chinful of white whiskers. The photograph was among a list of search returns for John P. Minor on a major genealogical website. The problem? This is NOT John P. Minor. The PROBLEM? Two different ancestry.com users … Continue reading Swiped, Stolen, Borrowed…What To Do When Your Work Is “Shared”: Tuesday’s Tip
Re-Viewing the Past: Wordless Wednesday
Stuck between some sheet music bearing my grandfather's signature was a photograph. A faded copy of a copy, it depicted a mid-19th century cane-carrying gentleman astride a large dapple gray horse. Establishing provenance of the photograph is almost impossible, but the copy appears to have been among Donald Minor's possessions, which were then stored by … Continue reading Re-Viewing the Past: Wordless Wednesday