Week 35 2026 - A Spot on the Map - Porter

In 1820 Jefferson County, Indiana had a population of only 8,038. The town of Madison had been settled about 1810 and was located on the Ohio river. When my 3x great grandparents Aaron and Lavina (Chapman) Porter arrived from the Lake George, New York area with their four children the surrounding countryside would have been heavily wooded.  Early descriptions of the region emphasized the tree-covered hills and the beauty of the Ohio River valley. One early settler even marked the location of what would become Madison by carving his name into two large beech trees. The Ohio River marked the southern border. 

New settlers were slowly arriving from Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and other eastern states. The pull of western migration, the offer of free and/or cheap land were a great incentive to make the hazardous trek.

They would have built a one or two room log cabin, a small garden and planted a patch of corn. Maybe an outbuilding for oxen and a cow. The forest would have come right up to the edge of the clearing. The area was quickly settled and by 1836 the railroad had arrived.

After enduring the westward trek and the sweat and labor of helping to make a settlement in southern Indiana, the Porter family made a conscientious decision to continue to go even further west. Pulling up roots, they moved on with newly made friend, Nathan Howe and his family. The families would intermarry and help mark momentous occasions; births, deaths and marriages over the next few decades.

The Black Hawk War had resulted in the United States acquiring a large tract of land along the Mississippi River—the area known as the Black Hawk Purchase. By June 1833, the government had opened much of the eastern Iowa area to white settlement. The two families set their sights on heading west, although at that time the area was actually a part of the Wisconsin territory and became the Iowa territory in 1838.  

Route (in red) from 

Madison, IN to Cedar County, IA in 1836

Traveling by wagon it would have taken 4-6 weeks through harsh conditions and averaging 7-10 miles a day to complete the move. In 1830 I find both the Porter family and the How family in Edgar County, Illinois (just northwest of Terre Houte, Illinois).  In 1841 I find Aaron Porter has arrived in Cedar County, Iowa located on the Southwest quarter of Section 8 comprising 160 acres.  Also, in 1841 Nathan How of Edgar Co, IL purchased land in Section 8 in Cedar co, Iowa near Aaron Porter. 

A research trip in 2016 to Iowa allowed me to match up Aaron Porter's homestead to a plat map. Two miles east of Rochester, Iowa and just north of Lime City on Crooked Creek in Section 8, I was able to stand on Aaron Porter’s first land purchase where he and his wife Lavina (Chapman) and their 6 children settled in 1836. It was here that he built the ‘Little Savior Mill’ that would help the settlers make it through their first couple of years by grinding wheat and corn crops.

It's amazing to me how a tiny spot on the map holds so much of my family's history. 

Barbie

Week 34 2026 - Long-lasting - Porter

I grew up with my mom having five or six pieces of Guardian service Cookware. They were given to her by my grandmother Nellie (Dillingham) Porter.  As I am older now, I wonder why Grandma Porter would have given them to her?  Did she not like the way they cooked? Did she have other pieces and the ones she shared were extras? I never heard that they were a wedding gift.... boy, I sure wish I had asked a whole lot more questions.

When J Holly founded the Guardian Service Cookware company in 1930, he never realized that the durability of his cookware would survive generations of homemakers. He was looking for a product that would incorporate long-lasting aluminum (a fairly new product), innovative design that would produce successful heat conductivity and help women to create a satisfying meal.

The hammered aluminum pieces had domed shaped aluminum lids that helped with 'waterless' cooking and maintained moisture so the food would cook in its own juices and at a lower temperature. During WWII in the 1940's the company changed to glass lids to help the war effort. They were made to be used on gas stoves, electric stoves, in the oven or on a grill.         

                                                         Medium Roaster

                                                                               

The only way to purchase these products was with a home-based demonstration party where the salesman would actually make a meal for the attendees to sample before buying the product. It was the modern-day Tupperware style of sales.

Guests were encouraged to purchase one or two pieces at a time as purchasing a complete set in the 1940's was equivalent to about $2,500.00 in today's dollars.

Today many of these products are available for purchase from eBay and antique shops.

          Large meat platter 

After Mom passed away, each of us sisters chose a piece of that cookware to keep. Some of those pieces are still being used today, carrying on the tradition that began with Mom. I hope they will continue to be passed down to the next generation, keeping a little piece of our family history alive for years to come. 

Doing the research for this article, I found out that the Dutch Oven that I have from mom is NOT a Guardian Service Cookware piece. Although it is of hammered aluminum, has a domed shaped lid it is actually a Club Aluminum Cookware piece that was manufactured during the same time span, was made in Chicago, Illinois and in the 1930's was sold via home-based sales parties. In the 1940's they became available in retail stores.

          

Although I am a little sad that my Dutch oven is not part of that original set, I am thankful to have a piece of Mom’s kitchen history—the pan she always used for her “mac ’n cheese.” Whenever it is used, I think of sitting with Mom around the dining room table, with saltines and real butter always close at hand. 

Barbie

Week 33 2026 - Multiples - Dillingham

Not having a lot of multiple births in my family or accountants that are into multiple numbers, I chose to write about my great-aunt Lois Ann Dillingham. 'Loattie' was the oldest of 12 children of Sidney and Katherine (Sweet) Dillingham, my 2x great-grandparents. Of those 12 children, 10 lived to adulthood and there were no multiple births.

She was the original 'Loattie' in the family although there were multiple descendants that also carried that nickname. She also married multiple times and had a total of 11 children.

She was born June 23, 1837, in New York. The family had moved to Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois by the 1850 census, after a stop in Michigan for a few years. At the young age of 15, she married John Beard July 17, 1852, in Winnebago County, Illinois. They had four children: Catherine, Margaret, William and Alicia. William and Alicia both died in 1864 at ages four and three. John enlisted in the Civil War in the 52nd Illinois Infantry, Company E. But by 1865 Lois applied for a widow's pension. I can find no death record for John, nor a burial. John's death is based on her application. Lois and her children then joined her parents in Iowa where they had settled in 1864.

After John died, she married Tracey Shepard April 29, 1866, in Cerro Gordo, Iowa. In October 1866 Tracey was involved in an altercation with a neighbor regarding an issue with cattle. The neighbor Mr. Dedham shot him in the leg and although it was not an instantly fatal wound, a few days later (October 17) he died from his injuries. Lois was pregnant at that time and also a newlywed and in February 1867, they had a daughter Minnie Harriet Shepard, who never knew her father.

....a fatal shooting affray recently occured in Cerro Gordo County. Mr. Shepard and Mr. Dedham had both been troubled with each others cattle during the season, and frequent disputes had arisen. The Republican says:---"At the time the shooting occurred, Shepard was loading sand on the bank of the creek. ---The boy came up on the opposite side, and the old quarrel was resumed, during which he called Shepard a liar. The latter threatened to whip him if he repeated it, which he did. Taking a short whip in his hand, Shepard crossed the creek to him and was met on the bank with the muzzle of his cocked gun. ---Seizing the gun in his hand, Shepard tried to turn it aside, but before he could do so, the boy fired, and the charge entered Shepard's thigh. Remaining where he was for some time, he was at length assisted to recross the creek by a young man living at Dedham's and reaching home, Dr. Hurd of Hampton was called, but last evening, the 17th, at 4 o'clock the patient died from the effects of the wound."

Next Lois married John Meehan. John was born June 22, 1825, in Sligo, Ireland. They married April 14, 1869, in Rockwell City, Calhoun County, Iowa. At the time of their marriage, Lois had three children, ages 15 and under. Lois and John would go on to have six children: Mary, Edward, Bartly, Lois Ann, Ida and James.

Lois Ann Dillingham Beard Shepard Meehan died April 30, 1893, in Aredale, Franklin County, Iowa. Her husband John died Sept 19, 1898, in Aredale. 

Loattie lived a long and remarkable life, spanning four different states during a time of tremendous change in American history. Her journey would have taken her by wagon and train as she and her family moved from one place to another, experiencing firsthand the challenges and opportunities of a growing nation. She lived through the aftermath of the Civil War, endured the heartbreaking and unfair deaths of children, and faced the loss of two husbands. Yet, despite the hardships that marked so many chapters of her life, Loattie continued forward.

Her legacy lives on in the generations that followed her, allowing her story—and the strength and perseverance of the woman she was—to become part of our family history.

Barbie

NOTE: Aredale, Iowa is known for dairy farms and their contributions to cheese making by supporting a large cheese factory in town. 

Aredale is also known for the race for mayor when on November 8, 2011, Butler County showed that a senior at the local high school was elected. Jeremy Minnier, age 18, won with 24 write-in votes. Incumbent Mayor Virgil Homer received eight votes.

In April 2012, Mayor Jeremy Minnier appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Minnier discussed life in the small town and displayed photos.

Week 32 2026 - Neighbors and Community - Lorraine Sheridan / Perrinton

The Sheridan family has been in Perrinton, Gratiot County, Michigan since the 1850's when Patrick Sheridan filed for 80 acres of land in Gratiot County through the Bureau of Land Management in Ionia. 

The first school in Perrinton was built in 1888 and had 52 total students with one teacher. The brick Perrinton High School was built in 1917 and was the one that my mom (Lorraine Sheridan) would have attended. 1939 was the last graduating class when Perrinton and Middleton consolidated and they built the Fulton High School that we know today.  At the time of my mother's High School years (1939-1942) the town's population was less than 400 persons.  Including students from Middleton along with Perrinton, 33 were in the graduation class of 1942. Mom's sister Alice Sheridan was in the first graduation class of the new High School in 1940.

My mom's 'Autograph Book' from 1939 has comments from friends from her community.  Some were neighbors and others were just school friends. Lucille Ayers, Isobel Sowers, Judy Thomas, Curly (June) Norton, Byron Wright, Mary Frances Howe, and Elinor Martin, are some names that are included.

Lucille Ayers graduated in 1941 and in December 1942 while she was working in the Lyons Plant in Detroit with her brother Lewis and my mom Lorraine, she met and married Hansford Hancock, a soldier from Kentucky. They eventually settled in Westland, Wayne, Michigan and are buried there.

Dear Lorraine: Crackers are dry and so is cheese, 

and so is a kiss without a squeeze.

Byron Wright, served in WWII in the South Pacific, married and settled in Lansing, Michigan.

Dear Lorraine: May your life be like a piano 

Grand upright and square.

Elinor Martin and mom were good friends and lived in the same area of Perrinton. Her father worked at the Borden's Condensary in Perrinton.  She married Robert Baker of Perrinton and they settled, raised a family and died there. 

Dear Lorraine, may your life be like a ford

 "a rattling success"

Every community has families who were once familiar faces—neighbors who shared in the daily life of the town before eventually moving on. Some remained lifelong friends, and their connections endured through letters, visits, and shared memories. (Ex: Geraldine Vinton Wilkinson) Others disappeared from the community, becoming little more than names recalled in passing. 

Perrinton has unfortunately never grown into the thriving community its early settlers envisioned. Men and women arrived with hope, investing their savings, labor, and dreams in the promise of a prosperous village that would support generations to come. They built homes, opened businesses, established churches and schools, and believed they were creating a lasting legacy.

Today, with a population of about 500, Perrinton remains a quiet reminder of the hopes and hardships of its earliest settlers. While the village may not have become the bustling town and community they envisioned, the lives they built there continue to echo through their descendants.

Barbie