My Trails into the Past

About a month before the wedding of my parents, Bill and Lea Hork, they stood on the piece of land where their first house was built. [1] The housing development was called Shore Acres in what used to be called West Pittsburg, but is now known as Bay Point. They look so happy. The story, as I remember it, was Lea’s parents, Pansy and Tom Johnston, put up the down payment for the property as a wedding present. The deed mentions only Bill, a single man, as the grantee. He purchased “lot no. 606, as designated on the map entitled ‘Shore Acres, Unit No. 5, Contra Costa County, California’.” [2] The grant deed was signed 4 Jun 1953, two months after their wedding and recorded six days later. The deed of trust gives the address of the property: 35 Wharf Drive, Pittsburg, California. The holder of the load was Bank of America. The loan was for $6,350. [3] What was the occasion of the photo? Was this the day Bill agreed to purchase the house from the developer? Was the down payment put ...

From my heart to yours! Copyright © 2022 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.

I have completed one hundred (100) weeks of semi-lock down due to Covid-19. I went out to the History Center, the meadow for phenology, the library to pick up and drop off books, the bank to deposit a check, El Sobrante Historical Society for a tour, and went on three walks. Genealogy Blog Writing :  Maps – Placing the Amos Gorrell Farm on a Map I wrote about how I found maps that place the location of the farm of Amos Gorrell, my husband’s great-grandfather. One was a plat map and the other a soil map. This post was highlighted on "Friday's Family History Finds" at Empty Branches on a Family Tree . National Inventors Day: February 11 . I wrote about the patent my husband’s great-granduncle Thomas N. Davey received for a “useful machine for cutting splints for chair bottoms and for similar purposes.” I had received copies of the original papers from the National Archives, Kansas City. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Super Bowl LVI (2022) Sunday Our assignment ...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Night  again - time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Our mission from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings , is to: 1)    What is your favorite National Football League team?  [For those that are not American football fans, but a fan of another sports team, substitute your favorite team].  Why are you a fan of this team?  How long have you been a fan of your favorite team? 2)    What is the genealogy of your favorite team?  When did it start playing, what leagues has it played in? 3)    Have you worked for the team in any capacity, or attended games?  What is your best memory of your favorite team's history? 4)    Predict the score of the Rams-Bengals game on Sunday. Here's mine: I am not a fan of football, though in the early 70s I attended Oakland Raider football games with my father. I later got my mother a women’s guide to football an...

February 11 is National Inventors Day. My husband family has a couple on inventors who received patents for their inventions. U.S. Patent 45790 was awarded to Thomas N. Davey, my husband’s great-granduncle. The National Archives branch at Kansas City, Missouri, has the original patent documents and I ordered the file for this patent. The patent was issued 3 January 1865 to him and Thomas Davey Senior, both of Jeffersonville in Clark County, Indiana. It was for cutting splints for chair bottoms and for similar purposes. Thomas N. was not yet a citizen of the U.S., and still, he was able to receive a patent for his invention. The documentation was written in beautiful handwriting on eleven pages. Thomas N. signed at the end and his witnesses were Thomas Davey (his father) and Joseph Stealey (his wife’s uncle).  Do I understand it? No, but I can appreciate the thought process to try to improve on something and then go through the process to get it patented. Thomas would go on to r...

I have a genealogy presentation about discovering records to document farming ancestors. In that presentation I discuss Amos Gorrell, my husband’s great-grandfather, as he had a farm in Cooper County, Missouri, and kept a journal about his farming activities. It is really cool to find a map that shows your ancestor. Amos’ land, though not very large, can be seen The Illustrated Atlas Map of Cooper County, Missouri, published in 1877. [1] Deed records gave me the land description, so I knew I would find his land in section 2 of Township 48 in Range 19 west. [2] His journal mentioned he worked often clearing the land of trees for Daniel Clark, and there on the map we can see that Amos’ land adjoined Clark’s and we can see where the trees were located, too. These illustrated maps are very helpful in see a bit of the landscape. Another map that is helpful is a soil map. The Historical Soil Survey Maps located at alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/soilsurvey, cover all of the states in ...

I have completed ninety-nine (99) weeks of semi-lock down due to Covid-19. I went out to the History Center twice, to the meadow for phenology where it was again icy, train club to do some maintenance, and the library to pick up and drop off books. I did take two long walks outdoors. Genealogy Blog Writing : Branching Out – Watershed Mention in Deeds Can Help Place Property For this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks post, I wrote about how I tried to locate maps that would place the names of creeks, swamps, and branches mentioned in deeds. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Pick a Day in the Life of an Ancestor Our assignment was to pick an ancestor and a particular day in their life. I chose Jan 2, 1920, as it is the date of the 1920 census and chose my grandmother’s sister, Helena “Nellie” Sullivan Goe. Using the census, directories, and newspapers, I was able to write about Aunt Nellie. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended: I met with Jacqueline on Monday and we tal...