Bloodlines Though I knew not the uncles who slept in gold dust I've been told whom they hated and whom they could trust. I read which ones fiddled, who sang and who danced; I hear they worked hard—wonder if they romanced. I've met not the aunts, the women of kind but can guess of their hopes and … [Read more...]
Ancestry Poems and Prose
Chatfield Line: The End…
CHATFIELD FAMILY LINE AND HISTORY "You," said my cousin LeRoy Chatfield after apparently one too many calls to him about his direct family line in one too many days, "are neurotic!" "Neurotic? Neurotic? Well, I may be a tad obsessive-compulsive, but I've never thought of myself as neurotic," I … [Read more...]
Lord Love a Duck!
Lord Love A Duck! There once were three brothers, from England did flee, Sailed on the St. John in good company. Our line comes off George—ten progeny past— Begetting the Chatfields from which I am cast. They're an interesting bunch, left their mark in the world With a wide path to follow, a … [Read more...]
Disturbing the Dead, Annoying the Living
What calls us to find the ancestors? It goes beyond a simple curiosity. We are taken over, compelled, as if possessed by something bigger than us, begging to be revealed. There is one of us in almost every family called to be the scribe. I am but one of many in our clan’s long line of storytellers. … [Read more...]
Lineages
(Listen to Audio) I am. I am from Leinen and Nigon, from Chamberlin and Hoy. I am from Clemens and Chatfield, from Surdam, Sumner, Smith, Shade, Mastick, and Tomlinson too. From Matthew, Isaac, Finley, and Charles. From Barbara, Eliza, Emily, and Nellie. I am from soldiers who fought for the Union … [Read more...]
The Chatfield Story
Dec 26, 1894, Fruita, Mesa County, Colorado ~ In a ceremony in her parents' home, twenty-one-year-old Nellie Chamberlin, married Charles Henry Chatfield, a ranching man of twenty-four. Nellie was a no-nonsense Catholic girl and exceedingly religious, but she also had a … [Read more...]
Civil War Journal of Finley Chamberlin
Finley McLaren "Frank" Chamberlin: 1845 - 1905 ~ My maternal great-grandfather, the father of Nellie (Chamberlin) Chatfield, my mother's mother. Military: Civil War, Union Army Aug 15, 1861: 9th Regmt Mich Infantry, Co I; private (age 15 yr, 11 mo) Dec 7, 1863: Re-enlists in same company; sergeant … [Read more...]
Isaac and Eliza Chatfield
Isaac Willard "I.W." Chatfield: 1836 - 1921 Ohio to California ~ Isaac Willard Chatfield, my paternal great-grandfather, was born in 1836 in Middlefield, Ohio, the first of four children of Levi Tomlinson Chatfield and Lovina Mastick. Isaac married the young Eliza Ann Harrington on May 20, … [Read more...]
Emily and Those Hoy Boys
As rivers cut canyons through Rockies to bays, the Hoys traveled westward in pioneer days. They fought for the Union (Frank, wounded in battle), then homesteaded Brown's Hole where they branded their cattle. They were ranchers and farmers and bull-whackers of yore, horse breeders, schoolteachers, … [Read more...]
Toss of the Cosmic Dice
Why bother? I mean really? ~ They’re dead. Who cares about the past, and what difference does it make? But here’s the deal, sometimes we do something for its own sake, other times because we want to. And then, if for no other reason, just for the fun of it. There was a five-year period … [Read more...]
Bloodlines (original version)
This tale is a history, a fable, a prayer; of those gone before me, now gathered with care. Can’t start in the middle—too confusing, not clear, can’t start at the end—will be over I fear. So I’ll start from the first as far back as I can and nudge you along ’til you’ve met the whole clan. When you … [Read more...]
Keeper of the Lines
Why bother? I mean, really. They’re dead. Who cares about the past, and what difference does it make? However, there are occasions when we do something for its own sake, simply because it’s interesting or satisfying, or it feels worthwhile. For several years I’ve researched my genealogy, gathering … [Read more...]
Visions of Hell on Earth: Chatfield Story
The Chatfield Story: Guest post from my cousins, Terry and Peg Chatfield-McCarty The flood of memories, the details of countless events recalled at late evening fireside, the myriad of horrid private images never shared with anyone—we can only begin to imagine how this original O’Dea Andersonville … [Read more...]
Teller of Tales
Teller of Tales This tale is a history, a fable, a prayer of those gone before me, now gathered with care. The diaries and pictures and letters enclosed deciphered my kin and what they supposed. Those who are living—their stories intact, Those gone before us—who knows what was fact? I met … [Read more...]
Sevenau Line: Sideways and Down
With more than their share of scandal and drama, the Sevenau line was definitely not boring to research or write about. There are not many with this name, and within the last month with the passing of brothers Steve and Mike Sevenau (both in August 2014), became two less. … [Read more...]