Leaves & Branches

This blog has, unintentionally, become the means for me to fill in gaps in my research.   When writing a post, my usual process goes something like this: (1) I choose a subject for my post, (2) I review the information I have on that subject, (3) I realize I don’t have as much information on the subject as I thought, (4) I do additional research on the subject, and (5) I compose the post.     This week’s post certainly fits this pattern.   James Rusk is my fourth great grandfather (James Rusk – Jane Rusk – James Donaldson – David Donaldson – Eddie Earl Donaldson – my mom – me).   I thought I had sufficient information on him, since I had his Revolutionary War pension file and he had a famous grandson about whom much was written.   But, as usual, once I looked a little closer at my research I realized I didn’t have as much information as I thought.      I even made a mostly unproductive trip to the Main Branch of the Public Library ...

Last week I shared my memories of the days surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.   This week, I have asked family members to help me out by sharing their memories of other modern historical events.    The family members who were kind enough join me in sharing memories are my mom, my cousins Mary and Sue, and my niece Alyssa.   In my early years of researching my family history, I tried to better understand my ancestors’ lives by considering the historical events during their lives.   However, I found that it wasn’t really meaningful to me because I had no idea how these events directly affected my ancestors or their feelings about these events.   Hopefully, this blog will survive the current generations of my family be meaningful to future generations of our family. Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day), August 15, 1945 My mom shared the following memories of V-J Day: When Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, I...

I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone that next Sunday is the 10 th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.   I’m also sure that each of us has a story to tell about the 9-11 attacks.   As I do my genealogical research, I am often frustrated that it is only possible to get small glimpses of my ancestors’ lives and not really get to know the person.   I would like to know how their lives were impacted by what we now consider history.   I hope this blog will survive in some form for a long time and that someday future generations of our family will be interested in how major historical events impacted our lives.   Today, I will share my recollections of September 11, 2001.   Next week, I hope to share other family members’ memories of the major events of our time. My 9-11 memory actually begins before September 11, 2001.   It starts on Sunday September 2, 2001, the day before Labor Day.   There is a carillon in Mariemont, Ohio with concerts every Su...