* I really enjoyed Sir Paul McCartney singing the old songs he listened to growing up. Good background music for research. I especially like this one, although it is a song I had not heard before.
* Elliot Malkin has a unique vision of preserving his family stories. Check out his Everything I Know About Hyman Victor, Mother’s History of Birds, and Home Movie Reconstructions.
* This week I was looking for information about life in the County of Durham, England during the 1800s. I had hoped to write a comprehensive post about my great-grandfather in honor of the 145th anniversary of his birth. Instead, I spent waaaay too much time watching these videos. There are lots of them to view – here’s a list of the 129 videos from DurhamTelly. Not all are vintage footage, but many are.
* And I learned a lot about the history of coal mining in Britain from this series of vintage footage!
* My STRANGE family lived in Lincoln County Kansas for many years, so I enjoyed this article about the special Memorial Day activities which included erecting a marker to a Civil War soldier where none had been before. I’ve never met Tracee Hamilton, who discovered the tragic story of Edwin Simmons and his family while compiling obituaries, but know her through the gifts she gives in time and research through the Lincoln County Genweb. This effort is another of her gifts.
Hi!
I was looking for information on the internet of my ggg grandfather John Sylvester Strange when I found your blog with the awesome civil war pics! I am wondering though, if its possible that your pics are actually John Robinson Strange, not John Sylvester Strange. My ggg grandfather died in 1857 so the dates don’t work. If you can send me any info I would appreciate it! thanks!
Beth
Hi Beth! Well the pictures are of John Sylvester Strange, but I think there was more than one fellow with that name. I have a book that is a pretty comprehensive genealogy of the Strange family lines and the book lists a John Sylvester Strange (1800-1857) – from what the author calls the Strange of Waynesville line and John Sylvester Strange (1831-1915) – whom he calls the progenitor of the Strange of Lincoln (Kansas) line. It is possible that the two lines are connected (given the same names), but I don’t think he ever made a firm connection between the two. I descend from the Stranges who spent a number of years in Lincoln County, Kansas. The parents of my John Sylvester Strange were John Joseph Strange (1806-1858 in KY and IN) and Mary Elizabeth Bohanon Scott. So my John Sylvester’s father John Joseph would be close in age to your John Sylvester Strange.
My John Joseph Strange was the son of Ignatius Strange (1787-1851 – MD-Ky-IN) and Melvina Ash. Do any of these sound familiar?
I hope you will be back in touch to let me know if you think there is any connection. It looks as though both family lines lived not far from each other, so maybe there is a connection somewhere.