In Celebration of A Grandfather: Charles Aloysius Manning

1938 photograph of Charles A. Manning,
Addie (Ryan) Manning, and in between
them, my mother Mary in graduation garb.

Fathers Day: June 17, 2018
In the past I’ve written about the paternal side of my family, and several times about my father who I adored. It is quite easy for me to write about people who I knew and loved.

But how do I write about someone who I didn’t know at all, and who my mother disliked? Yes, its true. The attitudes of our mothers greatly influence how we feel about people. Though I researched my maternal grandfather, Charles Aloysius Manning, I didn’t like him either, but only because my Mom didn’t. Continue reading →

New Hampshire WWI Military: William H. Barrett of Lyman

Closeup of Lyman (NH) Town Hall by Raphael
Crawford-Marks; Flickr, some rights reserved.

 

The Town of Lyman, New Hampshire (NOT to be confused with the town of Lyme) is located in Grafton County, near Lisbon and Landaff. In 1910 the population was a small 374, and after World War I ended that number dropped to 310 by 1920. During the World War at least one man left the town, never to return– William Harry Barrett, the focus of this story. Continue reading →

Clairvoyant and Treasure Hunter of Lebanon New Hampshire: Nellie M. (Lewis) Titus (1864-1957)

Photograph of Mrs. Nellie Titus from
a 1905 Boston Sunday Globe
newspaper.

I am not writing this story to dispute whether clairvoyants exist, nor to argue whether Mrs. Nellie M. (Lewis) Titus of Lebanon New Hampshire was gifted or not with psychic visions. What I do know is that Mrs. Titus was an interesting, eccentric woman.  She was in the public eye several times as she claimed to see what others could not while in a  trance–a drowning victim, a murder scene, and buried treasure. That she led an intriguing life and she spent most of her time in New Hampshire qualifies her for a story here.

Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum mentions Mrs. Titus in her book “Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after Death” published in 2006. She says that William James of the Society for Psychical Research, a Harvard College philosopher and psychologist, reported on Mrs. Titus ‘seership.’ As a result of Mrs. Titus’ search for the body of Bertha Huse in New Hampshire’s Mascoma Lake (as mentioned later),  William James reportedly  concluded that “my own view of the Titus case consequently is that it is a decidedly solid document in favor of the admission of a supernatural faculty of seership.”[See full report in the Proceedings of the American Society For Psychical Research]. Continue reading →

New Hampshire WWI Military: Heroes of Greenville

Bird’s Eye view of Greenville NH, from an old
postcard owned by Janice W Brown.

On April 6, 1917, the U.S. joined its allies– France, Britain, and Russia–to fight in the World War (WWI). The citizens of Greenville, New Hampshire were quick to do their part. By June of 1917 events had already been held to benefit the Red Cross. Knitted and sewn articles for the military recruits were being prepared and the selectmen’s room was open to receive them. Continue reading →