It all started with a Prince

In 1632 Edward Dillingham immigrated into Massachusetts from Cottsbach, Leicestershire, England and settled in the town of Lynn.  In 1637, Edward was one of ten men who were sent by the King of England to found the town of Sandwich, the first English town on Cape Cod. All ten men received land grants for their work. Initially a Puritan, Edward later embraced Quaker beliefs. He played an active role in the community's civic affairs. Edward had married Ursula Carter in 1614, and they had a total of seven children. I descent through their son Henry and his wife Hannah (Perry). Edward was my 8x great grandfather on my paternal side. (My grandma Porter was a Dillingham). The oldest of my ancestor's burials in America would be that of Edward who was born 6 December 1594/1595 and died 1 May 1667 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts.    The original headstone for Edward has disappeared, though he shows on the cemetery map as being buried in plot #264. Old Town Cemetery in Sandw...

As a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's, there was a weekly routine that was followed by our family pretty much all the time.  As the middle of five daughters, I grew up with seven of us—Mom, Dad, and all us girls—crowded around the table at every meal. Monday through Thursday, dinner went on the table at 6:00 PM. And you better be there. We all sat down together, ate together, said please and thank you and at the end of dinner, you asked to be excused and took your plate to the kitchen. My job was to set the table and then after dinner I was expected to sweep the dining room floor. My older sisters would start the dishes, but the younger ones were excused from those nightly chores. On meatless Fridays it was pancakes, French toast, macaroni and cheese or tuna casserole.  On Sunday's we would all read the paper and fight over the funny pages.  By the time all five of us, plus Mom would read the paper it was a total mess. I loved reading Ann Landers and checking out ...

The 1880 Agriculture Census of Gratiot County, Michigan shows a complete listing of animals that were on the original Sheridan farm that was located just south of the town of Fulton. To those that read these missives...Fulton became the town of Perrinton. My 2x great grandfather Patrick Sheridan and his wife Margaret started the farm and grew it into a thriving homestead. Their son Michael and his wife Elizabeth (my great grandparents) expanded the farm into supplying the Poultry Hall with the excess animals that were produced on those acres.  The agriculture census reads like a farm diary. It starts with land owned (160 acres), land tilled (80 acres), woodland and forest (80 acres), products grown - Hay, clover, oats, corn, wheat, potatoes (Irish!), orchards with apples and peaches. Vineyards with grapes and harvesting lumber from the wooded areas of their land. And animals! Milch cows, beef cattle, hogs, sheep and lambs, chickens and other poultry, and horses. To put it into pers...

My grandparents John and Pauline (Prince) Sheridan took over the family business from grandpa's parents, Michael and Elizabeth (Holland) Sheridan. Michael had taken it over from his parents Patrick and Margaret (Hughes) Sheridan. It was named the M E Sheridan Poultry Hall, and they processed chickens, turkeys, etc. and also shipped eggs and meat to Detroit to market. All the poultry were raised on the family farm that was located south of the town of Perrinton, Michigan. It was a small community with a population of approximately 300 people.  ME Sheridan Poultry Hall - John O Sheridan on right at upper level Michael Sheridan standing in front with moustache It was a thriving business for the area and the times. I grew up with the story that when my mom was a baby the business burned down, and all was lost as they did not have insurance on the building or contents. From then on, it seemed like they moved around a lot into different houses never straying from town. Grandpa worked oft...

This prompt conjures up lots of ideas...schoolteachers, students, what I loved and hated about my school years. Here are two people from the same small town, 44 years apart in age and from two different generations, yet they impacted youth, each in their own way. My favorite person involved with school was my mom. Lorraine (Sheridan) Porter. The year I went into the 7th grade at Central Intermediate School in Midland, Michigan my mom went to work in the cafeteria! Horrors! My mom would be able to know everything I was doing. The friends I made, teachers that didn't like me. She would suddenly 'know all'! Thanks Carolyn (my sister) for talking her into applying at the school just so she would be able to be off in the summers and Holidays to make it easier for the 'littles'...my two younger sisters.  But actually, mom going to work in 1965 made it easier for me. She always had change in her pocket so if I forgot to get my 35¢ for lunch, I just went through her line in...