Cow Hampshire

Barking Up the Family Tree

Posted on 9 March, 2008 by Janice Brown

My article is going to the dogs–literally. Colleen of The Oracle of OMcHodoy, belongs to a blogging group that primarily features their canine pets. It started me thinking about the dogs and other pets in our family's lives, and how we often neglect to document them.

I would guess that many genealogists do not think it important to discover whether their ancestors had pets, what kind, and if they played a special role within the family. I believe that our pets shape our lives.

A good way to learn about pets is through our family photographs. And so I am challenging my blogging friends, to write a brief story about the pet(s) of your ancestors, or one of your own. Include photographs of either your current canine, or even better one pictured with an ancestor or relative.

Don't have a dog? Then the feline, equine, and avian branches of the pet family are acceptable too. Once you post your story, let me know (leave a comment) and I'll post your link here.

My family story, in photographs, follows below.

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***DOGS IN MY FAMILY***
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The photo above was taken of my father circa 1913. Okay, I agree, the dog in the photograph is stuffed (notice the wheels on its feet). That only made it easier to care for, and easier to photograph.

This next photograph was taken between 1900 and 1910 at the Reeds Ferry Station in Merrimack New Hampshire. Pictured is station agent and telegraph operator (and my grandfather) Clarence L. Webster and his ever-faithful dog.

This photograph was taken circa 1920 in Manchester NH. Pictured are my grandmother Addie Manning, with her grandson Richard “Dickey” Manning, and my mother's first dog, Buddy.

This final photograph was taken again circa 1920 in Manchester NH. My grandfather Charles Manning was a chauffeur, and here is is shown pictured with his limo and the pampered pet of his employer.

Most of our family dogs were “Heinz-49-variety” types. I may have been the first to buy a pure-bred dog (a West Highland White Terrier). Her name is Ladie Di.

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***BLOGGER FRIENDS WITH POSTS ABOUT PETS***
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–Lori Thornton's bossy cat-in-charge, Brumley, has taken over her blog at “Smoky Mountain Family Historian“–

Where Were You During the Great Depression?

Posted on 7 March, 2008 by Janice Brown

“Where were you (or your family) during the Great Depression?” is a question raised by the Gen Lady for her “Where Were You Carnival.” I can happily fess up that I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye during that unhappy time which ran for a decade mostly during the 1930s.

1933 is considered the worst year when one in four Americans who wanted to work, could not find a job. Some people set the starting date as October 24, 1929, the so-called “Black Thursday” when the stock market crashed. Others set the ending date as around 1941 during World War II. Continue reading →

Posted in Carnivals and Memes, History, Personal History | Leave a comment

March Genealogy Carnivals Bring Skills and Thrills

Posted on 5 March, 2008 by Janice Brown

March is not just the month of chill winds and mud, but also of some entertaining blog carnivals.

The 43rd Carnival of Genealogy has just ben posted by Jasia at Creative Gene. This month's topic has to do with genealogy and technology. The next edition (due March 15) has “A Tribute to Women theme.”

It is not too late for you to join the St. Patrick's Day parade over at Small-leafed Shamrock. The deadline is March 14th, and will be posted on the traditional St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day….

The infamous and strange Cabinet of Curiousities Carnival, will be featured at Walking the Berkshires, on March 17th.

Janice

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New Hampshire Glossary: Lucifers

Posted on 5 March, 2008 by Janice Brown

A “lucifer” was a nickname frequently used to describe friction matches. These matches were made of a sliver of wood tipped with a combustible chemical substance that was ignited by friction.

In the earliest days of New Hampshire's settlement, the fire of the domestic hearth was renewed by the use of flint, a steel, and a supply of tinder, (per Life & Times of Hopkinton, New Hampshire) or by borrowing some coals from a neighbor if you had one).

In 1827 an Englishman named John Walker had created the first friction match. The chemicals used were antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum and starch. The introduction of the lucifer match made lighting a fire immensely easier, and also reportedly contributed to the great increase in tobacco smokers due to the new ease in lighting cigarettes and cigars.

In New Hampshire friction match factories sprang up quickly. Lucifer or friction matches were first used in Bath NH about 1834. By 1857 a friction match factory existed in Winchester NH. The composition of these early matches were poisonous as demonstrated by an article appearing in the New Hampshire Sentinel of Keene NH, dated 1 July 1847: “A son of Mr. Edwin Mallory of North Adams, Mass, aged two years, was poisoned to death a few days since, by eating off the composition from the ends of a bunch of friction matches.”

**Additional Reading**

–The History of Matches–

–Antiques: Match Holders and Match Safes–

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