Matilda Small Russell was born September 13, 1846, in Bloomington, Indiana. She was my great great grandmother. Matilda Russell, like many members of the maternal line of my family, was a descendant of Scottish Covenanters. For several centuries, this sect of Scottish Presbyterians fought for the right to uphold their own church government and practices… Continue reading On This Day: Birth of Matilda Small Russell
Street Scene - Junction City, Kansas - 1874 Born September 10, 1854, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Jack Taylor was my great great grandfather. Jack Taylor was born on this day in 1854 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His parents, John McKeney Taylor, Sr. and Jane White Taylor, had married in their twenties and emigrated from Ireland… Continue reading On This Day: Birth of John “Jack” McKeney Taylor, Jr.
Ernest Arthur Laney (1889-1958) was my father’s paternal grandfather. He was a miner in the lead and zinc mines that at one time dotted the landscapes of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. One generation further removed on my father’s maternal side, his great grandfather, David Williamson (1846-1908) was also a miner. David Williamson, along with numerous… Continue reading Intergenerational Solidarity
Talking Leaves 