Sourwood color

It's like having penny loafers with tassles.  Those golden highlights on top of the russet leaves...glory.  AND these used to be our local honey source, though the bee problems have been limiting that.

Have a Happy Halloween !  May all the children in your life be joyful and full of sweetness, and may any pranks (the tricks of Trick or Treats) be minimal!

When a pot is not a pot

Play with negative space, peel open the side of a vase, then glaze with luminosity, raku fire so clay turns charcoal and this is what happens.

 Part of my studio display which will be available Nov. 16-17 from 10-6 in Black Mountain, NC. 

You can find 2 of us potters on Beech St., Sarah Vekasi and myself.  I'm the second house on the right, and she's at the top of the hill, a deadend.

Studio Tour is from the Blue Ridge Parkway to Black Moutain, called "Blue to Black."  I don't particularly like the name, but you do remember it, don't you?



If you look at the poster of all the artist's works, my mugs (with leaves on them) are pictured top row just below the top square of "Blue to Black Art." Sarah's plates are second from left on top row.  I made it so huge so you might be able to see the little squares of the artist's works.

I hope you come over to visit my little cottage studio on one of the days of this event!  See you soon!

French Silk Pie

Mine is without the strawberries, but with a cup of decaf on the side.  At the Pisgah Inn restaurant on Blue Ridge Parkway.

Berries

At Pisgah Inn's parking lot, Blue Ridge Parkway.

The McNeal married the McElhany

On May 1, 1787 in Paxtang Presbyterian Church, William McElhany married Elizabeth "Betsy" McNeal who was born in 1768, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Information about her parents is given later in this post.

Here's information about the Paxtang Presbyterian Church, PA (located in Harrisburg PA) which is the building where the McElhaney wedding took place.

Built in 1740 the church is the oldest Presbyterian Church building in continuous use in Pennsylvania, and the second oldest in the United States. The present stone sanctuary was erected in 1740, replacing a log meeting house which had previously served as the place of worship. A stone marker south of the sanctuary indicates the site of the log building. A replica of the log meeting house was erected north of the present sanctuary.

 When Betsy McNeal McElhany died Oct. 30, 1849 she was buried in Lyme, Huron County, Ohio.

Betsy McNeal McElhany was the daughter of  Robert McNeall who was born in 1738 and died Sep. 23, 1818, in Livingston County, New York. His monument is in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Geneseo, Livingston County, New York. His wife  Jane McNeall  was born in.1741 and died Mar. 28, 1818, and is buried also in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York.

War of 1812 Cemetery

200 soldiers were buried in Williamsville, New York

My ancestor, William McElhany  (abt. 1766 - 1815) was a veteran of The "Pennsylvania -- 22nd Regiment Infantry -- War of 1812" and he died  on Jan. 11, 1815, and was buried in The War of 1812 Cemetery, Williamsville, Erie County, New York, US. (See other details of his life in my post of Oct 24, 2013)

Monument to 200 veterans of War of 1812

War of 1812 Cemetery Located on Aero Drive, north side of Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

More Info on War of 1812 in Williamsville, New York:

Williamsville developed where the major road between Batavia and Buffalo crossed Ellicott Creek just above Glen Falls. The water power offered by the waterfall attracted millers. The first mill was built by Jonas Williams in 1811, giving the village its first name, "Williams Mills." It still stands today, next to Glen Park, and is known as the Williamsville Water Mill. 

Williamsville Water Mill.

During the War of 1812, American troops were stationed in Williamsville in the area between Garrison Road and Ellicott Creek. American soldiers and British prisoners were treated in a field hospital and log barracks that lined Garrison Road. A small cemetery, located on Aero Drive between Wehrle and Youngs Road, was used to bury the men who did not survive. General Winfield Scott used the Evans House as his headquarters in the Spring of 1813 when his entire army of 5,000–6,000 men were stationed in Williamsville. In 1813, when the British burned Buffalo, people fled to the safety of Williamsville and nearby Harris Hill. (Source: Wikipedia)

The War of 1812 ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent in February 1815.  The Battle of New Orleans had taken place after the treaty was signed in Dec. 1814 (in Belgium), but the treaty had to be ratified by the English Parliament, and the US Senate before the war officially ended.  Even then, with such distances to communicate across, several battles occurred after the war was officially over.

William McElhany didn't die until Jan of 1815. Was he still immobilized in Williamsville after the fighting was over there (maybe 1813?)  Had he been moved away to be treated for his wounds at home?  Or did his remains get sent to that cemetery later?

Questions in my mind that don't really expect answers.

A special Sepia Saturday indeed

I'm a "sometimes" entry into this blog.  In honor of it's 200th blog, we have been asked to post our favorite submission, so here's mine.  It's about how surprised I was to look for other people in my ancestry 69 years before I was born, since my blog is all about my 69th year and my ancestors.

So here's my re-posting.  Don't forget to check out other Sepia Saturdays here. See below for more notes from today.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Eugenia Booth Miller, 69 years before me

Since there are more things known about the past than the future, let's consider my ancestors relative to 69 years, (the magic number of my age that this blog is memorializing.)

That's why time traveler stories touch only briefly on a future, and a lot of past times.  So if I look back to an ancestor that would have been 69 in 1942 (the year I was born) ...they would have been born in 1873.  Mmm, I dare say I can look on the good old family tree and find someone.  It doesn't matter if they didn't actually live to 69, because it's the magical birthday I'm tracking this time.  (In the future I'll check and see how many ancestors did make it to the year of their 69th birthday)

Oh my goodness...the woman I was named after was born Jan 30, 1873.  She was my great-grandmom, Eugenia Almetta (Almeda) Booth Miller, and she died Jan 1, 1936. She raised my mom and my grandmom, and had married Charles Mueller (Miller) October 28,1896, an immigrant from Germany.  They had 4 daughters, including my grandmother, Mozelle Booth Miller.  I was named Barbara Booth, rather than Eugenia.

I'm going to share this great news (well, only if you put a parameter on history that says, look at it this way...) on Sepia Saturday this week.  See what other folks are sharing here.
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2013/01/sepia-saturday-158-5-january-2013.html

14 comments:

tony said...

Eugenia looks the cameraman Squarely & Honestly in Eye.A fine looking woman .

January 3, 2013 at 1:07 PM

Helen Bauch McHargue said...

Eugenia is one of those names that should be resurrected! I'll be looking for the story about how you were named Barbara instead.

January 3, 2013 at 9:46 PM

Wendy said...

I like the concept of finding ancestors who were (or would have been) 69 when you were born. I might have to apply this idea to my own blog. Thanks for the inspiration!

January 4, 2013 at 10:04 AM

Alan Burnett said...

It is a fascinating game you play with family trees, dates and ages. You make me want to carry out the experiment myself. Now who was born in 1884?

January 4, 2013 at 10:08 AM

Bob Scotney said...

I think you have started a hare running with this post. I shall have to check back on the family tree I have put together to see what I can find. There will not be an Eugenia that's for sure.

January 4, 2013 at 2:14 PM

Karen S. said...

Oh I agree with Alan, although we all know that wasn't his birth year! hahaha! But this was such a cool idea, and very interesting, so fun that you thought of it.

January 4, 2013 at 3:36 PM

Kristin said...

You know I will now have to go find someone who was or would have been 66 when I was born in 1946. Very interesting post.

January 4, 2013 at 5:25 PM

Postcardy said...

I think you need a lot of ancestors to play this game, unless you are really lucky.

January 4, 2013 at 8:21 PM

Mike Brubaker said...

An interesting idea to combine numerology with genealogy. I like the name Eugenia and it deserves to come back. It may be only a coincidence but one of the most popular women of that name was Empress Eugenia, the wife of Napoleon III who was Emperor of France from 1853 to 1871. She lived to 1920, aged 94, but her husband died on 9 January 1873, a curious coincidence with your great grandmother's birth.

January 4, 2013 at 11:36 PM

ScotSue said...

I think you have started something here. Like other bloggers, the idea of identifying coincidences in birth years appeals to me. I have only come across one so far which delighted me - my own daughter was born January 15th - 114 years to the day after my great grandmother.

January 5, 2013 at 10:56 AM

B. Rogers, Alchemy of Clay said...

It has been really fun to read the comments, especially to hear all the ideas that have been generated from my little one of looking for the 69th year ancestors. Will keep looking for more fun here!

January 5, 2013 at 1:42 PM

Tattered and Lost said...

Interesting concept. Sadly I only look back at the relatives that died the year I was born. Were they sad to have missed out on my birth? I'm sad I never got to meet each of them.

January 6, 2013 at 1:32 AM

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

She looks like a smart, wise, kind and no-nonsense kind of a woman. Like a teacher or a librarian.

Thanks for sharing her with us,

Kathy M.

January 6, 2013 at 11:31 AM

Kathy said...

Yes - a fun idea to explore! When I saw 69, it resonated with me because I am in one of those (dreaded?) "9" years myself.

January 6, 2013 at 11:48 PM  

 

NOTES FROM OCTOBER 26, 2013
Alan has also asked if we'd like to have this anniversary post included in a book.  I'm all for that!  What fun to share with folks from all over the globe.  Here I sit in North Carolina, writing about my ancestors in Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts ,Louisiana, Connecticut etc. and most of them have their ancestors in Western Europe...so I love being a melting pot child...and now learning about folks everywhere.

William McElhany, West Hanover, and Paxtang, PA

William McElhany was born in about 1766 in West Hanover Twp, Dauphin, Pennsylvania. (See below).  His only daughter was Jane McElhaney (McElhany) Booth (See post about her yesterday)

He was a veteran of  The "Pennsylvania -- 22nd Regiment Infantry -- War of 1812" and died on  Jan. 11, 1815.   See details in tomorrow's post about the War of 1812 Cemetery.

William McElhany was married on May 1, 1787 in Paxtang Presbyterian Church to Elizabeth "Betsy" McNeal McElhany  b. 1768, (See post under her name on Oct. 26).

Info on West Hanover Township, Dauphin, Pennsylvania (part of present day Harrisburg) from Wikipedia:

Originally a part of the County of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Paxton Township, West Hanover Township was formed by action of the court of Lancaster in 1785.  On March 4, 1842 East and West Hanover Townships of Dauphin County were finally designated as separate governmental precincts.

Historical sources list the earliest settlements in the area of West Hanover as prior to 1735.  Many of these settlers, were of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian origin that came in large numbers with English Presbyterian and Protestant refugees to Penn’s Woods.

Census records from 1800 list 1,862 inhabitants and thirteen (13) slaves.  For the year 1820 there were 2,618 inhabitants.

Jane McElhaney Booth

Jane McElhaney Booth, b. 10.30.1794, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, d. Oct. 3, 1833, Green Creek, Sandusky County, Ohio. She died 3 years before her husband, Isaac Booth (1795-1836). For information on Isaac Booth, go to my blog HERE.

Her monument was inscribed with name, birth, death dates and "wife of Isaac"
buried 6 Oct 1833. It has worn completely away. (see cemetery photo) (both the Booth's monuments are in McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio. Plot: Plot Section 1, Lot 43, Site 2)

Jane McElhaney Booth was sister to two brothers and daughter of William McElhany (b. abt 1766  West Hanover Twp, Dauphin, Pennsylvania) veteran of  War of 1812  (Come back here for my post on the War of 1812 Cemetery on Oct 26.)  For information on the place of William McElhany and Betsy McNeal's marriage, see my post tomorrow.

Isaac and Jane Booth's children were:

• William Lewis Booth (1818-1894)
   
• Charles Marcellus BOOTH (1820-1897)
   
• Lucinda Booth (1823-1906)
   
• Daniel Matthew Booth I (1825-1826)
   
• Daniel Matthew Booth II (1827-1892)
   
• Legrand Booth (1831-1832)
   
• Jane Brintha Booth (1833-1834)

 As you can see, three of these children lived about a year.  William Lewis Booth was to become my ancestor.  Until recently I had never heard of naming a next child the same name when a child died early, but in my research have found it happening several times.

Jane had two brothers. Older brother was Matthew who lived in Green Creek Township, Sandusky County, Ohio.  The youngest brother, Robert, was born 17 years after Jane, in 1811.  According to one of my cousins (many times removed) Matthew, being the oldest, and one year older than Jane...

...was obviously the caregiver of the family.  He never married. He had his mother, Elizabeth and brother Robert living with him on 1820 census;  his mother Elizabeth with him on 1830 census;  his mother, and his sister Jane’s children,  Charles,  Lucinda and Daniel Booth on 1840 census.  Upon his death, in 1845, he willed a portion of his property to Isaac and Jane Booth’s children and his brother Robert and his mother, Elizabeth.  He named his brother Robert as the administrator of his estate.

Matthew must have also been the one in charge of chosing a plot for his sister Jane and brother-in-law Isaac's burial in McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio, in 1833 and 1836 respectively.

 19th century women in domestic tasks

I find it so interesting that my cousin could figure all this out about Matthew from the few records that are available through Ancestry.  It's amazing.

Good bye to pots I've loved

The turquoise pitcher.  I will be sad to see this go, but so far it's still in my home for me to enjoy looking at.
I sold the last of my pumpkin jars and jack-o-lanterns last weekend, except for the ones I gave away.  So glad they have gone to new homes.

I am reposting this pitcher to talk about heavy pottery.  There is a point in making pots that a potter is interested in making very thin walls on them.  I also believe there is a reason to have heavy pots.  The heat or coolness is held by the walls of the pot.  They will almost never break because they are so sturdy.  They also will outlast me probably.  Oh dear, I'm not sure I wanted to think about that.

All of these have gone to new homes...

And so have their little brothers.

North Cove overlook and Altapass Apple Orchard

A view of Atlapass apple orchards, with the Blue Ridge Parkway running along the top of the slope.

This is one of my favorite overlook sites I've ever found on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It just felt person-friendly, rather than the sterile concrete, and sometimes walled off overlooks, (though there was also that area.)  Well, part of it was shaded by trees, and there was still plenty of viewing space.  Nothing too exciting besides the apple orchard to see, but as an artifact of humans efforts on the landscape, it's much better than a mine.  Drive over to Spruce-Pine (very close by) to see how strip mining can glare over a town on it's mountains.

Again you can see the rows of apple trees in the distance going parallel to the ridge.  When I took this picture I didn't realize what they were, and just thought it was a strange tree farm where they were definitely not Christmas trees.  (There are several farms of Christmas Trees in the area however.)


(source of this picture, Romantic Asheville)