tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63873541951389023162024-03-13T05:10:27.241-06:00WRITE IN THE THICK OF THINGSWRITE IN THE THICK OF THINGS --
The Writing Adventures of Kym and Mark ToddKym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-35728059653500128632021-04-10T15:14:00.013-06:002021-04-18T11:05:15.653-06:00My Slaveholding Ancestors, Pt 2<p> <i>(a posting by Mark Todd)</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoweHsdctCw/YD_ugtdFzuI/AAAAAAAADV8/2XUUNvSx2gE52ODWA8k-X52ktqkFuFC_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s485/Slave%2Bhands.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="485" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoweHsdctCw/YD_ugtdFzuI/AAAAAAAADV8/2XUUNvSx2gE52ODWA8k-X52ktqkFuFC_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Slave%2Bhands.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>This post is the second in a two-part series describing my slaveholding ancestors and their slaves. <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-slaveholding-ancestors-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for Part One, which highlights selective slave-owner ancestors, their lives, and an overview of their slave holdings.</p><p>In this post, I enumerate below all the names, dates, and locations of the owners and their known slaves.</p><p>So far, I've identified thirty-three slave-owning great-great grandparents who, in the aggregate, owned about 200 human beings (actually, 190 enumerated individuals listed below besides verbiage that implies additional slaves). </p><p>The records below generally reference the male head of household only, except where a wife became a widow and I found specific records for slaves with her as subsequent head of household and owning slaves. These records include biographical data for the enslaved people when recorded but in only 28 cases the actual given names. As was typical of the times, after emancipation these individuals usually took the surname of the head-of-household of a given plantation.</p><p>Also note records report "Race" as either Black or Mulatto, the latter referring to a slave who is half Black and half White (see my previous post in this two-part series).</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CiDtDgUMqc4/YG8j-A12uXI/AAAAAAAADXI/e2uHzhAPJ_cwZRPgluG7IUaO7lxRHY_kQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="908" height="211" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CiDtDgUMqc4/YG8j-A12uXI/AAAAAAAADXI/e2uHzhAPJ_cwZRPgluG7IUaO7lxRHY_kQCLcBGAsYHQ/w617-h211/image.png" width="617" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="81" data-original-width="908" height="56" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DREI4um8DAY/YHHafHsS3TI/AAAAAAAADZk/3_uBPE8Qp9Qers304l7Iw3h9SZFjvgoAwCLcBGAsYHQ/w618-h56/image.png" width="618" /></a></i></div><i><br /><br /></i><p></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-scvruDBMhbE/YHHa1UZmDMI/AAAAAAAADZw/Of1ADB0tt3oFaJGcHO5rXmKA5c4y8d-hgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="908" height="272" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-scvruDBMhbE/YHHa1UZmDMI/AAAAAAAADZw/Of1ADB0tt3oFaJGcHO5rXmKA5c4y8d-hgCLcBGAsYHQ/w618-h272/image.png" width="618" /></a></i></div><i><br /><br /></i></div><i><br /><br /></i><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rdfym7Sfd7s/YHHbC00gt-I/AAAAAAAADZ4/s_bMPsswwFY8dvhIg3_d0bpgdLZeokdJwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="61" data-original-width="908" height="40" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rdfym7Sfd7s/YHHbC00gt-I/AAAAAAAADZ4/s_bMPsswwFY8dvhIg3_d0bpgdLZeokdJwCLcBGAsYHQ/w619-h40/image.png" width="619" /></a></i></div><i><br /><br /></i><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gSv7q-IR5fM/YHHba8weeFI/AAAAAAAADaE/ncyjcupSlmcbI_2pr4rISHMoIa0xq5HvwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="101" data-original-width="908" height="70" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gSv7q-IR5fM/YHHba8weeFI/AAAAAAAADaE/ncyjcupSlmcbI_2pr4rISHMoIa0xq5HvwCLcBGAsYHQ/w623-h70/image.png" width="623" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>As staggering as this list is, I found a number of statements in wills and probate that sometimes suggested intentions that slaves be well treated after probate. For example, Thomas Lewis expressed concern about his "old" slave Rebecca who, after his wife Judith's death, was to be allowed to choose which among Lewis and Judith's children she wished to live with. One practice of the times for which I found no evidence among my ancestors was that slaves were to be freed at owner deaths. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b7caa; font-family: Droid Serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px;">* * *</span></span></p><p><i>Below are resources and Websites where any readers who also have slave-owning ancestors can share their information to help African-American family genealogists find their roots.</i></p><p><i>First, watch this great video by Family Fanatics: <br /></i>“<a href="https://youtu.be/wWDoiH5L2cQ" target="_blank">What to Do When You Discover You Have Slave-Owning Ancestors</a>”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">And then these two articles for further guidance:<br /><i>America Magazine</i><br /><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/11/28/my-ancestor-owned-41-slaves-what-do-i-owe-their-descendants" target="_blank">My ancestor owned 41 slaves. What do I owe their descendants?</a>”<br /><br /></span><i>Family Tree Magazine</i><br /><i>"<a href="https://www.familytreemagazine.com/heritage/african-american/slave-schedules/" target="_blank">How to Find Slave Schedules and Share the Information in Them</a>"<br /> </i></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;">* * *</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: left;">The next post will cover select patriot ancestors involved in the French and Indian War and the War of Independence as well as English Loyalists.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">* * *</span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a>Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree. Profiles, sources, and documents for key individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br /><br /></p>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-11058100723831978962021-03-11T10:03:00.030-07:002021-04-10T15:26:49.515-06:00My Slaveholding Ancestors, Pt 1<p><i>(a posting by Mark Todd)</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoweHsdctCw/YD_ugtdFzuI/AAAAAAAADV8/2XUUNvSx2gE52ODWA8k-X52ktqkFuFC_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s485/Slave%2Bhands.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="485" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoweHsdctCw/YD_ugtdFzuI/AAAAAAAADV8/2XUUNvSx2gE52ODWA8k-X52ktqkFuFC_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Slave%2Bhands.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>That my heritage includes ancestors who owned slaves should not have come as any surprise to me: I descend from multiple ancestral lines in Colonial Virginia, the Colonial Carolinas, and the Antebellum South. <p></p><p>But the documented evidence took me aback--in fact, so much so I had to step away from genealogy for a while to process this information. (And it's made me think about appropriate ways to respond to the actions of my ancestors--see some of these avenues in the next post.)</p><p>So far, I've identified thirty-three slave-owning great-great grandparents who, in the aggregate, owned some 200 human beings (actually, 190 I could enumerate from available records, but with verbiage that sometimes made clear there were more). </p><p>In context, I actually have a total of 1,016 great-great grandparents in the Colonial American generations I've been researching between 1700 and 1860, so slave-owners only account for 3.24 percent of my ancestors in this pool, which means almost 97 percent were not slave owners. But that mathematical consolation somehow rings hollow.</p><p>In this blog, I'm going to tell the stories of two ancestral families who were part of multi-generational slave-owners. (In the next blog, I'm going to enumerate all the names, dates, and locations of the owners and their known slaves.)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Family of Josiah Todd and his wife Zilpha Thomas</b></p><p>If you've read my genealogy blogs before, you've already met <b>Josiah Todd</b> (1778-1853), my paternal great-great grandfather. He was born in Bertie County, North Carolina during the Revolutionary War, and died in Lowndes County (formerly Dallas County), Alabama. Josiah's father William was a slave owner in North Carolina, as were several of Josiah's children, including my great grandfather Hardy Todd. During the War of 1812, Josiah served as an ensign under Capt. John O'Hara with Youngblood's Regiment of the South Carolina Militia. He was a founding member of Bethany Baptist Church and even donated the land where the church stands. He owned considerable landholdings totaling more than 1,000 acres, and raised fifteen children with two wives. The second was my second great-great grandmother, <b>Zilpha Thomas</b> (1794-1871).</p><p>The 1850 Slave Schedule for Josiah records he owned 11 slaves, and his 1853 will specifically bequeaths to Zilpha "three negro slaves, namely, Annie a girl aged 23 years, Robin a negro man aged about 27 years, and Bill a negro man aged about 27 years." But then he states, "[T]he rest of my slaves shall be divided among [my ten living] children," which increases the total tally to at least 13 slaves.</p><p>After Josiah's death, the 1853 census records show Zilpha actually retained six slaves. The 1860 slave schedule shows her still with six slaves, her son Atha with six slaves, and her son Hardy with one slave (accounting for all 13 enslaved people bequeathed in Josiah's will).</p><p>The following year would see the beginning of the American Civil War and four years later the end of slavery.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Families of </b><b>William Kees Hardin and </b><b>his father-in-law </b><b>William McCandless </b></p><p>My maternal grandmother was always dismayed her father-in-law Watt Hardin Sr was the child of slave owners, but I don't think she realized he also represented the sixth generation of slaveholders on that line. And his father <b>William Kees Hardin</b> (1808-1889), my great-great grandfather, had the largest holdings within all six generations. In addition to hands-on oversight and work on his plantation, William was active in community affairs his entire life, having served at different times as a deputy sheriff, a U.S. postmaster and, throughout the Civil War, a justice of the peace. A newspaper article published at the time of his death states, "He was an energetic, painstaking man, a good farmer, a kind husband, and a loving father." By the time of the Civil War, he had also owned some 45 to 50 enslaved people.</p><p>Early Tax lists for Hardin County, Tennessee for both 1836 and 1837 report he owned a black male worth $650 at that time. By the 1840 census, he owned five slaves. And an 1850 Slave Schedule records he then owned fifteen slaves: eight males, respectively aged 70, 35, 11, 9, two at age 8 (of which one was Mulatto), 2, and 1; and seven females, aged 51, 24, 16, two at age 6, and two at age 4." </p><p>The 1860 Slave Schedule for Hardin County records that W. K. Hardin had increased his slaveholdings to thirty, of which eleven were Mulatto (M): fourteen males, aged 50, 19 (M), 19, 18 (M), 12, 12 (M), 11, 9, 8, 5 (M), 5, two aged 4, and 3; and sixteen females, aged 40 (M), 35, 30, 17, two aged 17 (M), 14, 14 (M), 9 (M), 8, 8 (M), two aged 6, 6 (M), 4, and 2. Mulatto refers to an individual who is half-white and half-black; the disproportionate increase in Mulattoes from 1850 to 1860 suggests W.K. Hardin was involved in the disturbing practice known as "growing slaves," to use a term supplied by historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. </p><p>William K. had married Sarah McCandless on 10 Dec 1838, daughter to another slave owner in Hardin County named <b>William McCandless</b> (1788-1851), my second great-great grandfather. The 1830 U.S. Federal Census records William as head of household in Maury County, Tennessee , including Sally (implied as the one Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39) in a household including eleven “Free White Persons” as well as nine slaves, consisting of two “Slaves - Males - Under 10,” three “Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23,” three “Slaves - Females - Under 10,” and one “Slave - Femals - 24 thru 35.”</p><p>The 1840 U.S. Federal Census records William as head of household in Hardin County, Tennessee, and his wife Sally (implied as the one “Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49). The household contains seven “Free White Persons,” but also records 14 slaves, including five males: two under age 10 and three between ages 10 and 14; and nine females: seven under age 10, one aged 10 to 24, and one aged 35 to 55.</p><p>The 1850 Slave Schedule for District 1, Hardin County, Tennessee, records "Wm McCandless" as owning seven slaves: three males ages 9, 10, and 17; and four females, ages 9, 13 (a Mulatto), and two that were 14.</p><p>And remember my maternal grandmother's dismay for her father-in-law? <b>Watt Hardin Sr</b> (1841-1933) enlisted in the Army of the Confederacy at Hampshire, Maury County, Tennessee, 1 Jul 1861, to defend slavery. According to records at the National Park Service (NPS) Civil War details, Watt was a Third Lieutenant with J.B. Biffle's 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry. The NPS details corroborate family accounts that Watt took his horse to war but leaves out that he was also accompanied by his "whipping boy" (a slave companion of the same age that he'd had since a young child) to saddle, groom, and care for the mount. (I think I recall grandmother saying this slave's name was "Robert," but I'm not certain.)</p><p>Watt served in the battles of Shiloh, Munford, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Brice CrossRoads, Harrisburg, Paducah, Franklin, Nashville, and others before his regiment surrendered on 3 May 1865 alongside the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana as part of T.H. Bell's command. After his release from internment after the Civil War, he returned to his home county and a year later in 1866 married my great-great grandmother Alberta "Allie" Gertrude Hall. </p><p>I hope Watt's former whipping boy Robert survived as well and got his freedom, but no records I can find tell that story's ending.</p><p><i>The<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/04/my-slaveholding-ancestors-pt-2.html" target="_blank"> next post</a> provides research notes for all thirty-three of my slave-owning ancestors as well as names (if known), locations, and ages for all 190 slaves in my research--all this in the hope that some African-American family genealogists might find useful clues in searching for their own ancestors. </i></p><p><i>I also list resources and Websites where any readers who also have slave-owning ancestors can share their information to help African-American family genealogists find their roots.</i></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;">* * *</div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a>Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree. Profiles, sources, and documents for key individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br /><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-2431" target="_blank">Josiah Todd</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thomas-17189" target="_blank">Zilpha Thomas</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hardin-2508" target="_blank">William Kees Hardin</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McCandless-277" target="_blank">William McCandless</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hardin-2503" target="_blank">Robert "Watt" Watkins Hardin Sr</a></li></ul>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-83476133979452630492021-03-03T09:42:00.002-07:002021-03-11T10:14:50.353-07:00DNA evidence of Marie de la Chaumette in Hardin line, Pt 2<p><i> (posted by Mark Todd)</i></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qr2otVASdk/YD6UZxfEriI/AAAAAAAADVs/zi4seZ9j7tYz16_WggkTm4j-Z3HTf-NzACLcBGAsYHQ/s290/Autosomal%2BDNA.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="290" height="156" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qr2otVASdk/YD6UZxfEriI/AAAAAAAADVs/zi4seZ9j7tYz16_WggkTm4j-Z3HTf-NzACLcBGAsYHQ/w266-h156/Autosomal%2BDNA.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>DNA findings of the last decade have certainly revealed surprises for many test-takers--sometimes awkward and surprising but other times an opportunity to confirm connections when documentation and paper trails are slim or nonexistent.<p></p><p>The following post is for genealogists and descendants of immigrant ancestors Mark and Mary Hardin of Elk Run, Stafford County, Colony of Virginia, detailing my genetic genealogy DNA research that supports Mark Hardin was married to Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette. This post is also a direct citation link from the WikiTree profile listed at the bottom of the page, and is published in tandem with a <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-french-huguenot-ancestors-marc.html" target="_blank">separate narrative account</a> of the story of these two ancestors, my fifth great-great grandparents on my maternal side.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>DNA evidence for connection to Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette</b></p><p>My initial DNA research, all autosomal since Y-DNA doesn’t track matrilineal lines, produced a convincing number of shared identical DNA segments comparing uploaded DNA kits on GEDmatch.com from Hardin, de la Chaumette, and Shumate (anglicized name for Chaumette) descendants, and initially revealed three triangulated, identical DNA segments comparing me, a documented Mark Hardin descendant, with two direct documented descendants of Marie Madeleine's brother, Jean-Baptiste de la Chaumette. </p><p>Subsequent research has so far additionally identified a total of <b>twenty-one instances of identical triangulated DNA segments shared variously by--and in many instances, by multiples of--twenty-two living descendants</b> of the Hardin, de la Chaumette, and Shumate lines. </p><p>For the pool included in this research, I (a Hardin decendant) shared instances of two or more identical DNA segments in common with many Chaumette/Shumate descendants, but of particular note were shared identical segments on</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Chromosome 1 for five different Hardin/Chaumette/Shumate descendants,</li><li>Chromosome 6 for four different Hardin/Chaumette/Shumate descendants, </li><li>Chromosome 10 for four different Hardin/Chaumette/Shumate descendants, and </li><li>Chromosome 16 for four different Hardin/Chaumette/Shumate descendants</li></ul><p></p><p>I plotted these segments using DNApainter and include a sample image below for Chromosome 16. This image reveals I share identical segments with two Chaumette/Shumate living descendants of the pool, a different identical segment with another descendant, and I share an identical segment with three others. (I have removed descendant names for this public posting. Contact me directly if you would like more particulars about any of the findings in this post.)</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SYAkPYM8KU/YD6j_BxFMsI/AAAAAAAADV0/wNQWerEEBmcnOp-yFRMW65scC61EFYeZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s414/DNApainter%2Bsample.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="414" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SYAkPYM8KU/YD6j_BxFMsI/AAAAAAAADV0/wNQWerEEBmcnOp-yFRMW65scC61EFYeZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DNApainter%2Bsample.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>implied match to me for each painted segment</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>These findings corroborate Mary Hardin’s name at birth as Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette</b>.</p><p style="text-align: center;">* * *</p><p><i>The <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-slaveholding-ancestors-pt-1.html" target="_blank">next post</a> will explore the dark legacy of my slaveholding ancestors in Colonial America and the Antebellum South. Stayed tuned!</i></p><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a>Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree. Profiles, sources, and documents for key individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br /><br /></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_la_Chaumette-23" target="_blank">Marc Hardouin and Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_La_Chaumette-15" target="_blank">Jean-Baptiste de la Chaumette</a></li></ul>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-65524739910656550172021-03-03T09:12:00.011-07:002021-03-11T10:13:30.418-07:00My French Huguenot ancestors Marc Hardouin and Marie de la Chaumette, Pt 1<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGxnvemuUG8/YDgEdJXSePI/AAAAAAAADVI/405la0vNMPAUhmx0y7Ri1HPn5XistG5bACLcBGAsYHQ/s369/Fam%2Btree.JPG" style="clear: left; color: #888888; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="369" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGxnvemuUG8/YDgEdJXSePI/AAAAAAAADVI/405la0vNMPAUhmx0y7Ri1HPn5XistG5bACLcBGAsYHQ/w189-h248/Fam%2Btree.JPG" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="189" /></a></div><i style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">(A post by Mark Todd)<br /></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">One of my early goals as a budding genealogist was to track the direct descent of the paternal surnames of my four grandparents at least as far back as their respective first immigrants to America. Those four surnames are Todd and Wilson, Hardin and Sims. That's been easier said than done since my heritage goes back seven or eight generations in this country on at least three of the four branches. I've hit a brick wall on the Wilson branch at only four generations--for now. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">(I've explored <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/06/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Todd </a>and <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-perplexing-parallels-of-pariss-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sims </a>lines for this blog series already.)</i><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">The three branches I have traced successfully all held varying degrees of controversy and mystery before I could bridge the respective connections for each surname between Old World and New. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">The story behind the immigrant ancestors for my mother's maiden name, Hardin, took a combination of paper-trail documentation and extensive genetic genealogy DNA research* to help me confirm the identities and eighth-generation stories for my fifth great-great grandparents, Marc Hardouin and Marie de la Chaumette.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><b> French Huguenots Marc Hardouin and Marie de la Chaumette</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"><b>Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette</b> was born in 1673 in Rochechouart, Poitiers, France, to Daniel de la Chaumette and Marie au Couturier.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">The Chaumette family were French protestants (Huguenots) in the Haute-Vienne, formerly the ancient Aquitaine controlled by the English, in the region of Limousin and the city of Rochechouart, where many of the Chaumettes lived. Marie Madeleine’s parents were married in de Confolens, Charente, France, on 30 April 1653, but against the church edict, which at the time would not record marriages for Huguenots.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Some members of the Chaumette family were weavers, and they began exporting serge cloth to<br />England at least as early as the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) They were members of the upper-middle merchant class (“le petite bourgeoisie”) but also public officials, including consuls, notaries, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers and barristers (defense attorneys). Marie Madeleine’s father, Daniel, was a barrister.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YpLI15caqY/YDgtmF9KU8I/AAAAAAAADVQ/CRfIL9EGQ9ImKPFa8bX7iIWI3P3zyYGFACLcBGAsYHQ/s315/Marc%2Band%2BMarie.JPG" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="226" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YpLI15caqY/YDgtmF9KU8I/AAAAAAAADVQ/CRfIL9EGQ9ImKPFa8bX7iIWI3P3zyYGFACLcBGAsYHQ/w143-h200/Marc%2Band%2BMarie.JPG" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="143" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Her future husband <b>Marc Hardouin</b> was from the Hardouins (or Ardouins) of the city of Rouen in Normandy, France, who were also from a weaver merchant class, but they had moved to the nearby Normandy Cotentin Peninsula to avoid the plague in the sixteenth century, very near the Channel Islands where members of the Chaumette family had moved to be nearer their own weaver trade with England.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">The Hardouin family were also Huguenots, and were among those who also fled, like the Chaumette family, to England in the late seventeenth century after Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had protected French Protestants from persecution.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Marie Madeleine’s uncle Jean and father Daniel de la Chaumette (also father to Jean-Baptiste de la Chaumette) may have fled with their families to England as early as 1681 with Pastor Clovis Palasy.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">That both Hardouin and Chaumette families were engaged in the weaver trade with England, that both families were Huguenots, and that both families fled to England and lived for a time in the relatively small and contained area of Spitalfields, London – all suggest that the Hardouin and Chaumette families would certainly be acquainted at the time that Marc and Marie Madeleine were of marriageable age. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">By some accounts, Marc was friends with Marie's brother Jean-Baptiste. Research suggests Marc and Jean-Baptiste knew each other in England, and considering Marc and Jean were strong advocates of the Protestant Faith as French Huguenots, the two may have served together in the English army before emigrating separately to the New World.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Marc emigrated to Colonial Virginia no later than 1707. Mary (anglicized for Marie) Madeleine and Mark Hardin (also anglicized) may also have married before 1709 in Northumberland County, Colony of Virginia. (Their son, my own fourth great-great grandfather, Henry Hardin was born in 1710 in Prince William County, Colonial Virginia.)</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">An account on Jean-Baptiste (later anglicized to John) Chaumette’s WikiTree profile states he immigrated from the West Indies Island of Martinique to settle in Stafford County, VA, because Mark Hardin facilitated Chaumette’s purchase of 200 acres of land in that county. The Wiki Profile biography for Jean-Baptiste de la Chaumette also places his later death around 1728 inside Mark Hardin’s tavern: John "was killed by a blow in the head by a highwayman wielding the large door key of Marc Hardouin's ordinary"--that is, his tavern. </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">According to the account, years later after Mark's own death when the tavern was demolished, "workmen pulled up the treadle on one of the steps [and found] Spanish money galore."</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vt5Cuz3Z8oA/YDgugIycWxI/AAAAAAAADVY/uK0mFi5Zf1wse2krtCvtfWynxQQ04nPfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s221/colonial%2Bcouple.JPG" style="clear: left; color: #888888; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vt5Cuz3Z8oA/YDgugIycWxI/AAAAAAAADVY/uK0mFi5Zf1wse2krtCvtfWynxQQ04nPfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/colonial%2Bcouple.JPG" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Besides Mark's tavern, the couple apparently prospered in land acquisitions and sales, Mark having recorded a grant of 642 acres in Stafford County in 1707, as well as other land transactions naming both Mark and Mary (for relinquishing her dower rights for pending land sales) in Virginia for Richmond County in 1720, King George County in 1726, and Prince William County in 1733. Along the way, Mark and Mary had a total of ten children.</span><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Daniell [sic] Shumate (the anglicized name of the Chaumettes) and Judith Shumate both signed as witnesses for Mark Hardin’s will dated 21 May 1735, in Prince William County, Colony of Virginia, and then the same “Danl Shumate” also signed an oath for the probate of the will. The Hardin will also names witness Judith (Bailey) Shumate, Mary Hardin’s niece-in-law married to Jean (Chaumette) Shumate, another son of Mary’s brother John (anglicized from Jean-Baptiste). “Danl Shumate” in Prince William County would have been Mary’s nephew, the son of her brother John/Jean-Baptiste. Clearly, the Hardin and Chaumette/Shumate families remained close and intertwined in Colonial America.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Mary Hardin passed away after her husband Mark's death in 1735 but before March 1755 in Prince William County, Virginia (changing to Fauquier County after 1 May 1759).</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">Both Hardin and Shumate families were well-to-do when they arrived in the New World on account of the prosperity of their respective family's earlier weaver trades, so their experiences in Colonial America gave them material advantages and opportunities as planters and merchants from the very start. And they thrived in a New World that favored the very protestant values which had caused their persecution in the Old.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">* <i>The <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/dna-evidence-of-marie-de-la-chaumette.html" target="_blank">next post</a>, published in tandem with this one, documents the DNA evidence confirming the genetic link between the Hardin and Chaumette lines, and establishing Marie Madeleine de la Chaumette as wife to Marc Hardouin, a connection that has been debated for years by genealogists. This subsequent post will likely be of interest to </i><i>only</i><i> Hardin and Chaumette/Shumate descendants. For the rest of our readers...</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;">The <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-slaveholding-ancestors-pt-1.html" target="_blank">subsequent post</a> will explore the sobering legacy of my slaveholding ancestors in Colonial America and the Antebellum South.</p><div style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;">* * *</div><p style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a>Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree. Profiles, sources, and documents for key individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br /><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #0b7caa; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_la_Chaumette-23" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Marc Hardouin and Marie de la Chaumette</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_La_Chaumette-15" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Jean-Baptiste de la Chaumette</a></li></ul>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-11384876265690799272021-02-24T13:45:00.045-07:002021-03-03T15:27:28.741-07:00My Quaker Ancestors, or why can't we all just be Friends?<p><i>(Posted by Mark Todd)</i><br /></p><p>I've been reading Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Alan Taylor's <i>American Colonies</i>, a socio-political and economic account of the English colonies in the New World. Mainly I was prompted by wanting to know more about the forces that drove my seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ancestors to emigrate to and then often relocate within various colonies and colonial provinces in subsequent generations.</p><p>Some of my New England ancestors were protestants and separatists seeking religious freedom, and largely Puritans, Baptists, Anglicans, or Presbyterians. (For the record, they usually sought religious freedom for their own beliefs but rarely for the freedom of others who didn't conform to their own narrow-band convictions.) </p><p>Other ancestors were more southerly merchants and entrepreneurs motivated by opportunity and the promise of financial independence -- and usually at the expense of the pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants as well as by the exploitation of imported slave labor. (These ancestral scruples deserve its own blog posting, but I'm still coming to terms with this dismaying heritage.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw0ngTH9M04/YDGUz76MCBI/AAAAAAAADUs/dnuaUnGYPAoNyDdRS55kmdX16XBbOASYACLcBGAsYHQ/s169/Quaker%2Bflag.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="169" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw0ngTH9M04/YDGUz76MCBI/AAAAAAAADUs/dnuaUnGYPAoNyDdRS55kmdX16XBbOASYACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Quaker%2Bflag.JPG" /></a></div><p></p><p>But a number of my ancestors were also Quakers--in fact, some thirty or more (so far as I've been able to identify).</p><p>I'd like to share a few specific stories about selected Quaker ancestors, who fall within both my paternal and maternal lines, respectively, from Colonial Virginia, Colonial Maryland, and the colonial Province of West Jersey. <br /><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A bit of context</b></div>Quakers, or more properly the Religious Society of Friends of God, began in the mid-seventeenth century and largely founded by George Fox in Yorkshire, England, where a number of my ancestral branches originate.<p></p><p>Quakers tended to be pacifists who wouldn't bear arms, take oaths or swear allegiance to earthly authority, and they promoted gender equality, religious tolerance, the abolition of slavery, and true democratic principles within their communities. But such notions were not popular ideas--and certainly not ideals--during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries for both England and its American colonies, where Quakers were often persecuted.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>My Paternal Quakers</b></div><div>My paternal line has revealed at least eight Quakers.</div><div><br /></div>If you've read my three <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive_11.html" target="_blank">previous blogs</a>, you know over the past year I've discovered through Y-DNA and autosomal DNA results that my genealogically documented third great-great grandfather Thomas Todd was the product of a liaison between a son of immigrant William Goforth and his wife Anne Skipwith and a daughter of immigrant Capt. Thomas Todd and his wife Anne Lovelace Gorsuch. Ironically, both of these grandmothers were daughters of Quaker converts, and both due to tragic circumstances.<p></p><p>Anne Skipwith's mother was <b>Honora Saunders</b> (1620-1679) of Yorkshire. Her husband Willoughby </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3--v6fccTzo/YDVNPRX-caI/AAAAAAAADU4/686ePm9ea_svJndCim076aItHraATveCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s667/Clifford%2BTower%2Bprison%252C%2B1644.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="667" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3--v6fccTzo/YDVNPRX-caI/AAAAAAAADU4/686ePm9ea_svJndCim076aItHraATveCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w342-h199/Clifford%2BTower%2Bprison%252C%2B1644.JPG" width="342" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">York Castle's Clifford Tower Prison in the 17th Century</td></tr></tbody></table>Skipwith, a Yorkshire lord, died in 1658 during the English Civil War. He'd backed the wrong horse and when the Stuarts were restored, his lands were confiscated. Honora petitioned and was granted the return of her estate. Four years later, she converted to the Friends in 1662. She must have been fervent in her new faith because, according to Quaker meeting records of Yorkshire, she died "a Prisoner for Truth" in York Castle prison on 15 April 1679, a prison known for housing political prisoners including such a prominent Quaker as George Fox himself for a time. Her daughter Anne and son-in-law William Goforth Sr would be early colonists in the Province of West Jersey, and their son, William Jr (who is the likely father of my own ancestor Thomas Todd) would later be denounced in a Quaker monthly meeting at Falls, New Jersey, in 1682 because of his alleged activities in connection with privateering.<p></p><p>Another Quaker ancestor is Anne Gorsuch's mother <b>Anne Lovelace Gorsuch</b> (1639-1752). Her husband Rev. John Gorsuch was a staunch English Loyalist and at odds with Oliver Cromwell, who had him falsely accused and charged among hundreds of other ministers. But shortly after Rev. John was "ejected" from prison, according to the Visitation of London, he was soon found "smothered in a Haymow" in 1642. His widow Anne immigrated to Lancaster County, Virginia in 1651 with her brothers and several of her children. Her sons, Richard, Charles, Robert, and Lovelace, joined the Society of Friends there and were with the group of Quakers driven out of Lancaster County, Virginia by Gov. Berkeley in 1660. When they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, so did Anne, and also to Baltimore, where her daughter Anne Gorsuch was already married to Capt. Thomas Todd (one of whose daughters is the likely mother to my own Thomas Todd). </p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>My Maternal Quakers</b></div>My maternal grandmother's grandmother Lydia Hanna Jane Youngblood also descends from a line of at least sixteen Quakers on her great-great-grandfather's maternal line, also dating back to the 1600s origins of the Society of Friends.<div><br /></div><div><b>William Coale Jr</b> (1633-1678), was born in Jamestown, Colonial Virginia, and son of Quaker immigrant William Coale Sr, a famous Quaker preacher in the Colonies. William Jr also became an important Quaker minister. According to his WikiTree page biography, "He was instrumental in setting up the first Quaker meetings on the Western Shore of the [Chesapeake] Bay, at his home, West River Hundred in Anne Arundel County. In 1658 William refused to bear arms in the militia and was subjected to land penalties. In 1659, he and several other Friends challenged the provincial court by refusing to swear oaths to administer a Quaker orphan's estate. They lost their challenge, and the court stripped them of the estate to make an example of them. In 1660 William moved his family to the West River in Ann Arundal County, MD. West River is 30 miles south of Baltimore on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. He owned 150 acres called 'GreatBonnerston.' During the 1660's, William traveled throughout Virginia as an itinerant missionary with several other Friends. He was imprisoned for his efforts and one of his companions died in jail." </div><div><br /><p></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDx3p0ZQmEQ/YDVrpXm80oI/AAAAAAAADVA/h9cleYQVsDkYrR6HfSNzpx6HTYRuBmUqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s199/Puritan%2Bpunishment.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDx3p0ZQmEQ/YDVrpXm80oI/AAAAAAAADVA/h9cleYQVsDkYrR6HfSNzpx6HTYRuBmUqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Puritan%2Bpunishment.JPG" /></a></b></div><b>Thomas Thurston</b> (1622-1693), born in Gloucestershire, England, emigrated to Colonial America, and was a well-known early Quaker missionary. According to his WikiTree biography, "While persecuted in several colonies[, he] was well-treated by the Native Americans who visited him while he was imprisoned in Virginia." According to the Maryland Historical Society, "[Thomas] was banished from Boston before his travel through Maryland ... in 1658" and "made a prisoner in Anne Arundel County for his efforts to seduce the people, and the Governor and Council of Maryland issued orders directing Justices of the Peace to seize any Quakers that might come into their districts, and to whip them from Constable to Constable until they should reach the bounds of the province. Anyone helping him would also be in trouble."<p></p><p>Thomas's daughter Elizabeth (born about 1650 in Dedham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony) would marry <b>George Skipwith</b> (1629-1683), a Quaker from Leistershire, England, who emigrated to Colonial Maryland probably in the late 1650s, but the life for Quakers in this colony were much improved by the 1670s: George was prosperous, and he and his wife established a plantation called Silverstone in the Herring Creek Hundred, where records describe him as "George Skipwith, Anne Arundel County, merchant," according to a deed of 7 April 1679. And a Third Haven Monthly Meeting of Friends refers to a meeting to be held at his home on 7 June 1679. </p><p>Clearly, true religious freedom was a hard-fought battle in the early days throughout the American colonies. One of the personal ironies is how many of my other ancestors--Puritans, Anglicans, Baptists, and Presbyterians--stood against the "heresies" of my Quaker ancestors. What would they have thought to know so many of these opposing bloodlines would later merge into the likes of me! </p><p><i>(<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-french-huguenot-ancestors-marc.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the next post, which explores the French Huguenot immigration experience through ancestors on my maternal line by focusing on immigrants Mark Hardin and his wife Marie de la Chaumette.)</i></p><p style="text-align: center;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ely_AnH11wE/Xmf32LI464I/AAAAAAAADP4/5kAtqWavwgAetcSSdm0tXyH46xmPjzGPgCPcBGAYYCw/s147/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ely_AnH11wE/Xmf32LI464I/AAAAAAAADP4/5kAtqWavwgAetcSSdm0tXyH46xmPjzGPgCPcBGAYYCw/s0/WikiTree.jpg" /></a></div>Here are links to the WikiTree profiles for the key ancestors I discuss above, which includes additional documentation and sources.<p></p><p>Paternal Quakers <br /><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Saunders-160" target="_blank">Honora Saunders</a> (1620-1679) <br /><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gorsuch-26" target="_blank">Anne Lovelace Gorsuch</a> (1639-1702)</p><p>Maternal Quakers<br /><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cole-18297" target="_blank">William Coale Jr</a> (1633-1678) <br /><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thurston-177" target="_blank">Thomas Thurston</a> (1622-1693) <br /><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Skipwith-40" target="_blank">George Skipwith</a> (1629-1683)</p></div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-62563870299151723072021-02-11T11:08:00.056-07:002022-03-31T10:23:42.453-06:00Josiah Todd (1778-1853), and his elusive ancestors, pt 3<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(<i>The third and final in a three-part blog series.)</i></span></p><p><a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" target="_blank">In the previous posting</a>, I reported my research establishing and identifying Thomas Todd's mother, either Frances Todd or else Averilla Todd, both daughters of Maryland planter and merchant Thomas Todd Sr and his wife Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, based on a combination of genealogical records and DNA matches with 15 living, direct descendants of this Todd+Gorsuch line.</p><p>The next step was to determine the father, which follows.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thomas Todd’s father, my 4GGgrandfather
and the great-grandfather to Josiah Todd</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhspJ8NbsJk/YCL_815lilI/AAAAAAAADUY/tW0cWJfHQqcpjeNwTTRmOt_JJiA15RbngCLcBGAsYHQ/s308/Y-DNA%2Bimage.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="280" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhspJ8NbsJk/YCL_815lilI/AAAAAAAADUY/tW0cWJfHQqcpjeNwTTRmOt_JJiA15RbngCLcBGAsYHQ/w181-h199/Y-DNA%2Bimage.JPG" width="181" /></a></div>Y-DNA suggests my 3xGGgrandfather
Thomas Todd’s patrilineal heritage comes from the Goforth line rather than the
Todd line. My test results confirm that I have substantial Y-DNA matches with members of the Goforth family, as do the two other Josiah Todd descendants who have also taken the FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA test, and they also show these same Goforth matches.<div><br /></div><div>We even know the specific family, William Goforth and Anne
Skipwith, arriving in West New Jersey in 1677 as part of the Quaker movement
in the New World, with their six sons: George Goforth (1663-1732), William
Goforth (1665-1748), John Goforth (1667-1750), Miles Goforth (1673 to before
1734), Zachariah Goforth (1675-1736), and Thomas Goforth (dates of birth and
death unknown, but presumably died quite young).<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">William Goforth Sr died in 1778, within
months of arriving in the New World, but his sons lived their entire lives
during the window of time that would have made a liaison between one of them
and a daughter of Thomas Todd Sr and Anne Lovelace Gorsuch feasible. (<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" target="_blank">See the previous blog post</a> for those findings, and my high confidence that this daughter is Frances Todd.) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The following brief quoted excerpts
and highlighted summaries for each of William Goforth Sr and Anne Skipwith's sons all come from Goforth family
historian and genealogist George Tuttle Goforth’s (GTG) excellent and well
documented manuscript <i>The Goforth
Genealogy: A History of the Descendants of George Goforth of Knedlington,
England</i>, 2001:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ol><li><b style="font-weight: bold;">George Goforth</b><b> (1663-1732) </b><br />Born 1663 in Yorkshire, England; died 1732 [about 10 miles from Trenton] in Burlington,
New Jersey; eldest son; married JANE ROBINSON; “called himself a ‘Mariner,’
having been a Captain of a boat on the Delaware River, he owned a farm for many
years. In 1681, George Goforth was apprenticed to George Hutchinson, and in
1682 he carried dispatches to New York City from the Acting Governor Markham of
PA., protesting the action of Lord Baltimore” (GTG p. 8). Spent his whole life
in New Jersey farming. “He named in his will his wife, Jane, and son, William
as his heirs, but as neither was then ‘in the province [New Jersey],’ the
condition was set forth in the will that unless they returned to claim the
property within 5 years, it was to pass into the possession of his brothers,
John and William” (GTG p.8). <br /><br />George is <u>not a strong candidate</u> for the father of our GGgrandfather
Thomas. Despite George’s self-designation as a “mariner,” his work was clearly
farming in Delaware, and both his lifestyle and activity do not reveal a
likely proximity to or affiliation with the Maryland Todds.<br /><br /></li><li><b style="font-weight: bold;">William Goforth</b><b> (1665-1748) </b><br />Born 1665 in Yorkshire, England; died 1748 in Talbot County, Maryland; married
1694 to Sarah Preston, daughter of John and Joan Preston of Talbot County,
Maryland, [near St. Michaels and Oxford, Maryland.] “[E]ngaged in seafaring (possibly privateering, to some extent).
He was denounced in a Quaker monthly meeting at Falls, New Jersey in
1682 because of his alleged activities in connection with privateering. In his sailing trips he must have visited
often the ports on the Chesapeake Bay, for in 1694, he married Sarah Preston,
who lived near old Oxford, some 30 miles across the bay from Annapolis, on the
Eastern shore of Maryland (GTG p. 8). <br /><br /><u>William is a strong candidate for
fathering our GGgrandfather Thomas</u> (see further rationale below).<br /><br /></li><li><b style="font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in;">John Goforth</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b> (1667-1750) </b><br /><div style="text-indent: -24px;"> Born 1667 in Yorkshire, England; died 1750 in Newcastle, Delaware. Lived most
of his life in Philadelphia and Red Lyon, New Jersey (GTG p. 9). Further, GTG’s
account of John relates a lengthy record of his dealings as a farmer. Married
twice—first to a “Hannah” and after her death to a “Lydia.”<br /><br />John is <u>not a strong candidate</u> for the father of our GGgrandfather
Thomas. No believable proximity for association with the Maryland Todds.<br /><br /></div></span></li><li><b style="font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in;">Miles Goforth</b><span style="font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in;"> (1673 to before 1734) <br /></span>Born in Yorkshire, England, and died in Kent County, on the eastern shore of
Delaware (on the Dover Bay). “Miles Goforth was living in Philadelphia in 1704
[where he operated a transfer business, arranging for passengers and
freight]. He removed into what became
Delaware sometime later in life, as he was in Kent County [Dover] during and
before 1734” (GTG p. 10). Of note, his first wife was named Frances, but not Thomas Todd Sr's daughter Frances, who died prior to 1706 and Miles's wife Frances died prior to 1734.<br /><br />Miles <u style="text-indent: -0.25in;">is not a strong candidate</u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> for the father of our GGgrandfather Thomas.
No believable proximity for association with the Maryland Todds.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal;"> </span><b style="font-weight: bold;"><!--[endif]-->Zachariah Goforth</b><b> (1675-1736)</b><br />Born 1675 in Yorkshire, England; died 1736 in Kent County, Delaware. “Lived in
Philadelphia when a youth…. Zachariah was living in New Castle Hundred, Delaware
in 1696. [Early Delaware Census, 1665‑1697]
About 1700, or somewhere around that time, Zachariah bought a tract of
land in Dorchester County, Maryland adjoining Talbot County, on the Eastern
shore, where his brother William had settled.
About 1707, Zachariah moved to Kent County in what is now Delaware,
where he became a land owner and prominent citizen” (GTG p. 10).<br /><br />Zachariah’s association by locality with his brother William places him closer
to the Maryland Todds, but by then both Frances and Averilla had likely died, so <u>Zachariah is
not a candidate</u><b>.</b><br /><br /></li><li><b style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas Goforth</b><b> (dates of birth and
death unknown) </b><br />Presumably died quite young, so <u>not a candidate</u> for the father of my GGgrandfather Thomas.</li></ol><div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Of these six sons, William seems
the best candidate for a number of reasons:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">* </span></span>By 1682, William Goforth was engaged in
seafaring and “[i]n his sailing trips he must have visited often the ports on
the Chesapeake Bay, for in 1694, he married Sarah Preston, who lived near old Oxford,
some 30 miles across the bay from Annapolis, on the Eastern shore of Maryland,”
(GTG p. 8). These facts suggest that William was affable or credible enough to
win approval for marriage from a reputable family—or even visiting rights in
the Maryland Todd household.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>*</b> </span></span>Frances Todd’s father Thomas Todd Sr was a
planter and merchant, holding a share in the ship <i>Augustine</i>, and the family lived in Baltimore, which has a major harbor
opening onto the Chesapeake Bay (<i>Biographical
Dictionary</i> at Archives of Maryland online). In fact, Thomas Sr died at sea in
1677 during a voyage to England to sell tobacco from his plantation (see letter
attached to his 1677 will). These facts suggest a not unreasonable opportunity
for William to have become acquainted with the Todds of Baltimore.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>*</b> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The Goforths were Quakers, and the family of Frances and Averilla Todd’s mother, Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, became converts to Quakerism by 1652,
only five years before Anne married Thomas Todd Sr, again providing an
opportunity by religious affiliation for William Goforth to have become
acquainted with the Todd family since he was also likely to have frequented
major ports such as Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>*</b> </span></span>According to George Tuttle Goforth, William “was
denounced in a Quaker monthly meeting at Falls, New Jersey in 1682 because of
his alleged activities in connection with privateering” (p.8). That William
Goforth received this rebuke reveals a moral latitude for the time that could
account for his <i>ungentlemanly</i>
relationship with either Frances or Averilla. <br /><br /><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">* Biographical facts for William’s
other brothers do not reveal any details that suggest they had ever visited
Baltimore nor would their occupations or business engagements have taken them
to places other than Delaware or Pennsylvania.</span><br /><!--[if !supportLists]-->
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Since Y-DNA evidence suggests
these brothers represent the family and generation that would have fathered our 3GGgrandfather Thomas Todd, <b><u>William
Goforth Jr seems the most likely candidate for our Goforth 4GGgrandfather</u></b>,
and paternal great-grandfather to Josiah Todd.<b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b>In conclusion, genetic genealogy suggests the parents of Thomas Todd, and
the paternal great-grandparents of Josiah Todd, were <u>William Goforth Jr</u>, son
of William Goforth Sr and Anne Skipwith, and either <u>Frances or Averilla Todd</u>, sibling daughters of Thomas
Todd Sr and Anne Lovelace Gorsuch.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/my-quaker-ancestors-or-why-cant-we-all.html" target="_blank">The next post</a> explores selected Quaker ancestors and their experiences during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Colonial America, including the </i><i>ancestors of </i><i>my third great-great grandfather Thomas Todd discussed above.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a>Here are links to the WikiTree profiles for the key ancestors I discuss above, which includes additional documentation and sources.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-2431" target="_blank">Josiah Todd</a><br />(my great-great-grandfather)<br /><br />Josiah's parents:</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-3712" target="_blank">Thomas Todd</a> -- if born before 1706 (my 3xGGgrandfather)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hardy-3108" target="_blank">Charity Hardy</a> (my 3xGGgrandmother)</li></ul><p> Thomas Todd's rerouted patrilineal line, per DNA and genealogical findings:<br /></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Goforth-44" target="_blank">William Goforth Jr</a>, Thomas's proposed father (my 4xGGgrandfather)<br /><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Goforth-9" target="_blank">William Goforth Sr</a>, Thomas's paternal grandfather (my 5xGGgrandfather)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Skipwith-11" target="_blank">Anne Skipwith</a> Thomas's paternal grandmother<br />(my 5xGGgrandmother)</li></ul></div></div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-30120124198069771442021-02-09T10:22:00.135-07:002022-03-31T10:18:16.527-06:00Josiah Todd (1778-1853) and his elusive ancestors, pt 2<div class="separator"><i>(This is part two of a three-part blog series. <a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/06/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" target="_blank">Click here to see part one</a>.) </i></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator">Kym and I are real fans of Skip Gates's PBS series <i>Finding Your Roots</i>. We never miss an episode.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qYm1stRTF3k/YCG16f41R_I/AAAAAAAADUA/v5YXxur7_AIdLOIGvqu2XnJIHILNzg-0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s347/brick%2Bwall.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="347" height="236" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qYm1stRTF3k/YCG16f41R_I/AAAAAAAADUA/v5YXxur7_AIdLOIGvqu2XnJIHILNzg-0QCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h236/brick%2Bwall.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>And we've become fascinated by his genealogy crew, who often use a combination of paper trail and DNA evidence to confirm or point the way when their research into program guests hits a <b>brick wall</b> in the search for a previous generation.<p></p><p>The availability of online records has provided a real boom for the present-day genealogy research, but the explosion of available DNA data has opened up tools and avenues of exploration by amateurs like us, helping us break through our own bricks.</p><p>My own search for the grandparents of Josiah Todd (1778-1853), is a case in point. </p><p>I've used a combination of painstaking research into genealogical records to narrow the field, but DNA matches have provided leads in some instances, while in other instances DNA data has confirmed hunches--even to the point of helping me to build a strong case for the identity of my mysterious ancestors: the parents of Josiah's father, Thomas Todd, my 3xGGgrandfather. </p><p>In this blog, I'll walk through what the DNA evidence leads tell me, and then I'll narrow the field even further by revealing what the genealogical records reveal about who Thomas Todd's mother, my 4xGGgrandmother, may well be.</p><p><i>(In the following blog, I'll do the same for the identity of Thomas Todd's father, my 4xGGgrandfather.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">DNA Evidence for the family of my 4xGGgrandmother,
Thomas Todd’s mother</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YGSvsWtWl3c/YCGxR86QaSI/AAAAAAAADT0/2SJh4PSmHTEgxoOHEtYE8t6T0agUAn6iwCLcBGAsYHQ/s196/DNA%2Bimage%2B2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="196" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YGSvsWtWl3c/YCGxR86QaSI/AAAAAAAADT0/2SJh4PSmHTEgxoOHEtYE8t6T0agUAn6iwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/DNA%2Bimage%2B2.JPG" /></a></div>My DNA research, all autosomal
since Y-DNA doesn’t track matrilineal lines, produces a convincing number of
shared identical DNA segments with uploaded DNA kits on GEDmatch.com from <b>descendants of Capt. Thomas Todd Sr
(1619-1675) and Anne Lovelace Gorsuch (1638-1694)</b>. These shared segments are with 15 living, confirmed descendants from
Todd+Gorsuch sons <b>Thomas Todd Jr</b> (eight
living descendants with shared identical segments totaling 220.5 cM) and <b>William Todd </b>(seven identified living
descendants with shared identical segments totaling 215 cM), for a total 435.5
cM. (To be clear, this number represents the aggregate of ALL matching segments
with me from all 15 descendants. But subtracting the 57.9 cM overlapping shared
segments still produces 377.6 cM of unique matches with me by living Todd+Gorsuch
descendants.)<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here’s the breakdown of identical
segments with the living descendants of the two Todd+Gorsuch sons, revealing <u>two
identical triangulated segments in five instances</u> with two varying
descendants: one pair matching mine on my Chromosome 2, one matching pair on my
Chromosome 12, one pair on my Chromosome 21, two matching pairs on my Chromosome
22. To clarify, these identical segments on each chromosome recur for three
living descendants, including me.<br /><br />I also share <u>three identical
“triangulated” segments in six instances</u> with varying living descendants of
Todd+Gorsuch sons: one triple match to a segment on my Chromosome 1, a triple
match on Chromosome 2, a triple match on my Chromosome 10, a triple match on my
Chromosome 15, a triple match on my Chromosome 17, and a triple match on my Chromosome
20. To clarify, these identical segments on each chromosome recur for four living descendants, including me.<br /><br />Among these matches, I share a
total of 53.4 cM with a 9<sup>th</sup> great-granddaughter of Thomas Todd Jr
(son of Todd+Gorsuch) and a total of 41.6 cM with a 10<sup>th</sup>
great-granddaughter of Thomas Todd Jr. I also share a total of 46.5 cM with an
8<sup>th</sup> GGranddaughter of William Todd (another son of Todd+Gorsuch), a
total of 42.2 cM with a 9<sup>th</sup> GGranddaughter descending on a different
line of descendants of William Todd, and a total of 38.8 cM with another 8<sup>th</sup>
GGranddaughter of William Todd. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p>Tracing the family trees for the
six above higher-shared matches with descendants reveals no other recognized
divergent surnames other than the Todd+Gorsuch line. (I did the same for all
the other descendants as well and with the same results: no other recognized
divergent surnames other than the Todd+Gorsuch line.) <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Additionally, I share identical
segments on Chromosomes 2, 5, 10, 11, 15, 19, and 20 with three living
descendants through a separate Gorsuch line descending directly from Anne
Lovelace Gorsuch’s parents John Gorsuch and Anne Lovelace. This line is via
great-granddaughter Elizabeth (Gorsuch) Howard. Eight of the identified 15 living
descendants of the Todd+Gorsuch sons included in my pool also share these same identical
segments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">All the shared segments with living
descendants of the Todd+Gorsuch sons for whom I have documentation suggest <b><u>my 4xGGgrandmother, the grandmother
of Josiah Todd, is an unidentified daughter of Thomas Todd Sr and Anne Lovelace
Gorsuch</u></b>, one who has no officially recorded offspring that I can find
in official records.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAeKl9hUsg4/YCLCsFHItOI/AAAAAAAADUM/ApoyTiWbhFIEDE3aRMksf6MRQWqR22BzACLcBGAsYHQ/s276/genealogy%2Bpaper%2Btrail.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="276" height="181" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mAeKl9hUsg4/YCLCsFHItOI/AAAAAAAADUM/ApoyTiWbhFIEDE3aRMksf6MRQWqR22BzACLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h181/genealogy%2Bpaper%2Btrail.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>But which daughter? According to the paper trail, the
Todd+Gorsuch couple had eight children, including the following four (maybe
five? See below) daughters:<p></p><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Ann Todd</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> (1658 to sometime between 1684
and 1694). Born and died in Baltimore MD; documented as living at home in 1669,
when her father Capt. Thomas and family officially emigrated to MD; still lived
at home in 1677; married Miles Gibson in 1677. <br /><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><span style="text-indent: 0px;"><br />My 3xGGgrandfather Thomas Todd has a presumed birthdate between 1710 and 1715, so
Ann is </span><u style="text-indent: -0.25in;">only a candidate if our Thomas was born much earlier</u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">: if Ann died
between age 26 (1684) and age 36 (1694), then she could have been the mother in
or before that window.<br /><br /></span></div></span></li><li><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Frances Todd</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> (1669 to possibly as early as 1697, per findings in </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">VA Mag</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> 25.1: 85-86).
Born in Gloucester VA; died in Baltimore, MD. Included under head of household
Thomas Todd Sr in 1677 when the family officially emigrated to MD. (He already
had land holdings in both VA and MD.) Frances appears in Thomas’s will of 1677
in MD and again in stepfather David Jones’s will of 1686 for 230 acres from his
“dwelling plantation.” However, Frances's inherited land belongs to Baltimore merchant Richard Cromwell , according to the Baltimore County Rent Roll for 1700. Although no document records that land transfer, none would be required if Frances married Cromwell. However, since Cromwell married Ann Besson on 26 Oct 1697, Frances would have died before that date if she indeed married Cromwell.<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />If my 3xGGgrandfather Thomas Todd </span><span style="text-indent: 0px;">were born a few years earlier than supposed</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">, Frances would have been at most 28 at the time of her death if born in or before 1697. <br /><br />So<u> Frances may be </u></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><u>a candidate</u> for my 4GGgrandmother if my 3x
GGgrandfather Thomas<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: 0px;">was born prior to 1697. </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <br /> </span></div></li><li><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> . <b>Johanna Todd</b> (1669-1686). Came to VA in 1669 with father Thomas Sr and in his will of 1677 in MD. Died at age 17. So not a candidate unless the range of dates for my 3xGGfather Thomas are very much in error.<br /><br /></span></div></li><li><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Averilla Todd</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> (birth date before 1669 and
died prior to 1700). Came with father Thomas Sr to VA in 1669. She appears in her
father’s will of 1677 in MD. In stepfather David Jones’s will of 1686, she
received 250 acres from his “dwelling plantation.” Died before 1700 when
recorded rent from this inherite tract goes to her brother James alone. Approximate age at death was
likely no more than 30. <br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /><u>Averilla </u></span><u style="text-indent: -0.25in;">may be a candidate</u><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> for my 4GGgrandmother if my 3xGGgrandfather
Thomas was born prior to 1700.<br /><br /></span></div></li><li><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> ??? Elizabeth Todd Kennedy</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> (1670-1743?).
Born in Baltimore, MD; died in Augusta, VA. <br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">This presumed daughter is problematic. No records reference or mention this
presumed “daughter” of Thomas Todd Sr and Anne Lovelace Gorsuch among </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">any</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> primary Todd documents. And the
reported death date of 1743 only appears on one WikiTree profile and one
Ancestry.com profile—both managed by the same researcher. The 1743 death date
pertains to an Elizabeth Todd buried in Scotland only two days after supposedly
dying in Virginia. So we have no certain end date for this presumed daughter. However,
the nine discovered living descendants of this line nonetheless share many DNA
segments with me and with the other descendants of Thomas Todd Jr and William
Todd, both confirmed sons of Todd+Gorsuch.<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />I have discounted this person as a candidate because of the lack of historical
documentation connecting her to Thomas Todd Sr and Anne Lovelace Gorsuch..</span></div></li></ol></div><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><u>Both sibling sisters Frances Todd</u></b><u> <b>and Averilla </b></u><b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">seem the most likely candidat</b><u><b>es</b> </u><b><u>as for mother of my 3xGGgrandfather Thomas Todd</u></b>, and
paternal great-grandmother of Josiah Todd.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i>(<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive_11.html" target="_blank">Click here</a>, to see the final part of this three-part blog series.)</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a>Here are links to the WikiTree profiles for the key ancestors I discuss above, including documentation and sources.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-2431" target="_blank">Josiah Todd</a><br />(my great-great-grandfather)<br /><br />Josiah's parents:</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-3712" target="_blank">Thomas Todd</a> -- if born before 1706 (my 3xGGgrandfather)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hardy-3108" target="_blank">Charity Hardy</a> (my 3xGGgrandmother)</li></ul><p> Thomas Todd's rerouted matrilineal line, per DNA and genealogical findings:<br /></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-2550" target="_blank">Frances Todd</a>, one proposed candidate for Thomas's mother (my 4xGGgrandmother)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-12045" target="_blank">Averilla Todd</a>, a second proposed candidate for Thomas's mother (my 4xGGgrandmother)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-660" target="_blank">Thomas Todd Sr</a>, Thomas's maternal grandfather<br />(my 5xGGgranfather)</li><li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gorsuch-26" target="_blank">Anne Lovelace Gorsuch</a>, Thomas's maternal grandmother<br />(my 5xxGGgrandmother)</li></ul>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-75436889883802554122020-06-02T09:09:00.020-06:002021-02-09T11:15:16.868-07:00Josiah Todd (1778-1853) and his elusive ancestors, pt 1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn9zsCckkNA/XVHpcFYGsiI/AAAAAAAADIA/lkh5sP-U-MM4I3DBjAmeBYbIy5g9neargCLcBGAs/s1600/Josiah%2BTodd.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn9zsCckkNA/XVHpcFYGsiI/AAAAAAAADIA/lkh5sP-U-MM4I3DBjAmeBYbIy5g9neargCLcBGAs/s1600/Josiah%2BTodd.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possible photo of Josiah Todd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(Post by Mark Todd) </i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Part One of a three-part series<br /></i>
<br />
One of
the more perplexing brickwalls I've encountered in my genealogical
researches into my paternal ancestors has centered on the
great-grandparents of Josiah Todd.<br />
<br />
Josiah was born on
17 Dec 1778 in Bertie County, North Carolina, during the War of
Independence. He moved to Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1805,
where he raised family with his first wife Nancy Asbill and, upon her
death, with his second wife Zilpha Thomas. After service in the War of
1812, he moved in 1817 with his second wife to Collirene, Lowndes
County, Alabama, where he later died on 11 Aug 1853.<br />
<br />
My
Y-DNA 111 and Big Y-700 testing results from FamilyTreeDNA has revealed an
unexpected ancestral plot twist, we could call it, but it may answer the
question of why no one has been able to source – or, at least, to
convincingly document – the paternal ancestors of Josiah Todd earlier
than his grandparents Thomas Todd and Charity Hardy.<br />
<br />
My
Y-DNA testing results also correlate with the genealogical findings of
Richard McMurtry, whose intensive DNA compilations suggest that Josiah
Todd’s ancestry represents a Todd family group that is American born but
with no known immigrant progenitors, nor is that group related to any
of the other Todd families living in the Americas at that time by
following Y-DNA lines.<br />
<br />
What’s going on, and what are
our roots? The Y-DNA test results show that there seems to have been a
Goforth fox in the Todd henhouse in the second, or possibly third,
generation prior to Josiah Todd!<br />
<br />
My test results
confirm that I have substantial Y-DNA matches with members of the
Goforth family, as do the two other William Josiah Todd descendants who
have also taken the FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA test, and they also show these
same Goforth matches.<br />
<br />
Further, the particular Goforth
matches all come from the same immigrant progenitor-couple: WILLIAM
GOFORTH, born 1631 in Hampshire, England; died 1678 in Burlington, N. J.; married
July 11, 1662 at a Quaker Meeting in Hull, Yorkshire, England to ANNE
SKIPWITH, daughter of Willoughby and Honora [Saunders] Skipwith, born
1642 in England; died February 3, 1723 in Philadelphia, PA., buried in
the Roce Street Quaker Meeting House burial grounds, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mNZ8tBNUO7I/XVHp4Hd5hfI/AAAAAAAADII/1PBAMfJj6hUH-jS9lu0TO7UvtTpmtlx3QCLcBGAs/s1600/Goforth%2BCoA.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="155" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mNZ8tBNUO7I/XVHp4Hd5hfI/AAAAAAAADII/1PBAMfJj6hUH-jS9lu0TO7UvtTpmtlx3QCLcBGAs/s1600/Goforth%2BCoA.JPG" /></a>William
and Anne Goforth arrived in the New World aboard the fly-boat “Martha”
on 18 Oct 1677, settlers for the new Quaker colony in the area which
later became Burlington and West New Jersey on the Delaware River, about
30 miles from the site on which Philadelphia was founded five years
later, in 1682, by William Penn<br />
<br />
Although William
Goforth died only a year later, the couple brought with them six sons:
George, born 1663, died 1732; William, born 1665, died 1748; John, born
1667, died 1750; Miles, born 1673; died before 1734; Zachariah, born
1675, died 1736; and Thomas, dates of birth and death unknown (although
likely born 1676).]<br />
<br />
These sons, though officially married, are potential
candidates. However, it's also possible that the Todd-Goforth liaison occurred inYorkshire, England, in the generation(s?) prior to William and Anne's arrival in the Americas.<br />
<br />
When William Goforth died, his wife Anne
would later remarry another member of the immigrant passengers on the
“Martha,” a man named William Oxley, and with him would settle in
Philadelphia. This may be significant since one of William Josiah Todd’s
sons, Lewis (brother of Josiah and Henry Hardy), would later marry an
Oxley (related only by marriage rather than blood).<br />
<br />
Of
interest is that Anne Skipwith Goforth Oxley has documented lineage back
to King Edward I, and therefore back to the original lords of the
Norman Conquest.<br />
<br />
This revelation of genealogical
origins doesn’t, of course, diminish the percent of ancestral Todd DNA
but simply routes those chromosomes through the mother rather than the
father. Since this Todd DNA line doesn’t appear to belong to one of
McMurtry’s classification of 200-plus other Todd DNA family groups
living in America at the time (our group is classified as Todd Family
Group 158 by McMurtry), this (great?-)grandmother of Josiah’s would have
come from Todd immigrants not yet identified.<br />
<br />
My
working hypothesis at this time is that the Todd line of immigrants
would likely have arrived after 1677 (when the William Goforths arrived
in the Colonies) but before 1710 (the earliest possible date of birth
for Josiah’s grandfather Thomas Todd). And a promising course of inquiry
would lie in trying to identify locations where Todd families overlap
with Goforth families during this window of time.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2021/02/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to continue to part two, which proposes an answer to the identity of Thomas Todd's mother.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<br />
Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.<br />
Profiles, sources, and documents for individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-2431" target="_blank">Josiah Todd</a><br />(my gg-grandfather)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Asbill-106" target="_blank">Nancy Asbill</a><br />(first wife of Josiah)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thomas-17189" target="_blank">Zilpha Thomas </a>(second wife of Josiah, and my gg-grandmother)<br /><br />Josiah's parents:</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-3712" target="_blank">Thomas Todd</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hardy-3108" target="_blank">Charity Hardy</a></li>
</ul>
Josiah's rerouted patrilineal line, per Y-DNA:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Goforth-9" target="_blank">William Goforth</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Skipwith-11" target="_blank">Anne Skipworth</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br /></div></div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-50286619653964296342020-05-19T10:48:00.010-06:002021-03-23T15:44:00.055-06:00The Ancestral "Scrabble" Name Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8VzQSAA2w4s/Wq7iWizoCLI/AAAAAAAAC4U/W02g5Tlq3-QVLvrPbQoY2YihaIpzwF09QCLcBGAs/s1600/Alphabet%2Bsoup.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="357" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8VzQSAA2w4s/Wq7iWizoCLI/AAAAAAAAC4U/W02g5Tlq3-QVLvrPbQoY2YihaIpzwF09QCLcBGAs/s200/Alphabet%2Bsoup.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
Earlier
generations countered the battle against higher mortality rates by
raising larger numbers of children, hoping to beat the odds for surname
survival. But that meant having to come up with more names for more
children than parents these days generally face.<br />
<br />
It
reminds me of the period in my life when I was a musher, and when it
came time to breed and raise a litter to replenish the ranks of our sled
teams, we noticed that other mushers (those who raised multiple litters
to use or sell) would often give theme names to their litters. I recall
one musher who had dogs with the names Exxon, Texaco, and Mobile (and
these littermates clearly looked alike). The solution my first wife,
Sharon, had was to call our own little littermates by the names of
famous department stores -- hence, our pups received the names Penny,
Macy, Bloomie (for Bloomingdale's), Tiffy (for Tiffany's), Alex
(Alexander's), and Bucky (a stretch for Sears and Roe<i><b>buck </b>-- </i>good thing for us the litter only had six pups!)<br />
<br />
<br />
The
experience did, however, give me empathy for what my grandparents were
in for when they elected to populate the Texas Panhandle with extra farm
hands named Todd. My father's first and middle names (Dexter Lamar) as
well as those of his brothers and sisters -- for a total of eight
siblings -- are a case in point.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D92e-LNYgho/Wq7iDPa9L0I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/BZQVt8xnPsc7wkeqEAxm6niqDyc-KpijwCLcBGAs/s1600/Scrabble.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="281" height="147" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D92e-LNYgho/Wq7iDPa9L0I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/BZQVt8xnPsc7wkeqEAxm6niqDyc-KpijwCLcBGAs/s200/Scrabble.JPG" width="200" /></a>I
always marveled at the odd and sometimes strange names my paternal
grandparents chose for their children, and a little digging revealed
those names were mined (mostly) from my grandmother's side of the family
tree. Nonetheless, it's been quite an eye-opener to realize why my
grandmother saddled so many of her children with names that sounded like
desperation Scrabble words, compelling many of her children to invent
alternative nicknames for themselves.<br />
<br />
Okay, you get the
idea. For other genealogists who wander onto this post, enough said.
You get the drift. What follows is perhaps of more interest to the
descendents of my own immediate family of Todds.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A.P. and Mae Todd's Children</b> </div>
<br />
Let's
list my dad's siblings in order of birth, ending with my dad's own
name, and including the nicknames many of them adopted. I've emboldened
those names on the list that have analogues to earlier relatives (at
least, the antecedent relatives I've identified so far).<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Maggie </b>Alice (b. 1901)</li>
<li>Thomas Clifton <i>"Cliff"</i> (b. 1903)</li>
<li>Byron <b>Franklin </b><i>"By"</i> (b. 1905)</li>
<li><b>Milton Lewis </b><i>"Bill"</i> (b. 1908)</li>
<li><b>Cyrus </b>Edwin <i>"Ed"</i> (b. 1911)</li>
<li>Lola Bess (b. 1914)</li>
<li><b>Hardy </b>Buford <i>"Boots"</i> (b. 1915)</li>
<li><b>Dexter </b>Lamar <i>"Deck"</i> (b. 1918)</li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r24r2iEP0ls/WrMSHptkbmI/AAAAAAAAC40/yM16ggIr5c4eg0PzjezVDPdtAqXHbWbIgCLcBGAs/s1600/Mary%2BWilson%2BTodd.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="384" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r24r2iEP0ls/WrMSHptkbmI/AAAAAAAAC40/yM16ggIr5c4eg0PzjezVDPdtAqXHbWbIgCLcBGAs/s200/Mary%2BWilson%2BTodd.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mae" (Wilson) Todd<br />
on her wedding day, 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hL0HlGYto4k/WrMSfjRillI/AAAAAAAAC44/-2_EYUolsAwxqPLR-8-yYIF69Y846VkNwCLcBGAs/s1600/A.P.%2BTodd.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="384" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hL0HlGYto4k/WrMSfjRillI/AAAAAAAAC44/-2_EYUolsAwxqPLR-8-yYIF69Y846VkNwCLcBGAs/s200/A.P.%2BTodd.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A.P. Todd, on his<br />
wedding day, 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Certainly, the continuous string of birthdates -- an
average of almost one new child every other year for seventeen years --
seems to me sufficient justification for my grandmother, Mary "Mae"
(Wilson) Todd, to have earned naming rights. And she exercised that
right until the final two children (doubtless too exhausted to care by
then), when she seems to have ceded to my grandfather, A.P. Todd, the
opportunity to offer a couple of names from his side of the family. But
he, too, must have felt compelled to go with his wife's trend of using
more -- shall we say, distinctive? -- names from his lineage.<br />
<br />
My
maternal grandmother's parents were Benjamin Frankin Wilson and Sarah
Hoover. (In the late eighteenth century, the latter's surname changed
from H<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">ü</span>ber
to Hoover only one generation after that branch of the family
immigrated from Bavaria to Pennsylvania, but that curious name-change
phenomenon is blog grist for a separate mill.)<br />
<b><br /></b> Here's
the siblings list again, but this time with the antecedent namesakes and
relationships to my dad's mother (#s 1-6) and father (#s 7-8):<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Maggie </b>Alice (Mitchell) -- Mae's older sister was named <b>Maggie</b>.</li>
<li>Thomas Clifton <i>"Cliff"</i> -- still looking for antecedents for these names.</li>
<li><b>Byron Franklin </b><i>"By"</i> -- AP's paternal uncle was named Byron Sawyer (maiden name for AP's mother) Todd. Mae's father was Benjamin <b>Franklin </b>Wilson. (And the antecedent for her father's name was clearly an homage to the famous eighteenth-century American statesman.)</li>
<li><b>Milton Lewis </b><i>"Bill"</i> -- Mae's grandfather was named John <b>Milton </b>Wilson
(antecedent given and middle names for the famous English Renaissance
poet?) while Mae's grandmother had the maiden name of <b>Lewis</b>.</li>
<li><b>Cyrus </b>Edwin <i>"Ed"</i> -- Mae's older brother was named <b>Cyrus</b>.</li>
<li>Lola Bess -- still looking for antecedents for these names.</li>
<li><b>Hardy </b>Buford <i>"Boots" -- </i>AP's father<i> </i>was named <b>Hardy</b>. (And this name recurs in almost every previous generation, beginning as a common family name in my Todd branch after an early Welsh great-grandmother's maiden name of Hardy.) </li>
<li><b>Dexter </b>Lamar <i>"Deck"</i> -- AP's initials stand for Atha Poin<i><b>dexter</b></i>. (And the antecedent relative for Atha's first name was his great-grandfather, Athanathan, and great-great grandfather before that, Athanacious!)</li>
</ol>
Of the sixteen given and middle names for these eight siblings,
half have clear ancestral antecedents within the family's previous three
generations, which is consistent with the common practice of drawing
upon the names of forebears as a source of subsequent generations'
names.<br />
<br />
In my own generation, I got my dad's first name
for my middle one (fortunately, my folks refrained from reinstating the
"Poin-" prefix for Dexter); to his chagrin, my brother Stephen got his
middle name of Watt as a namesake for the nicknames given to our own
mother's father and grandfather (their real names were both Watkins but
both father and son went by "Watt"); and our sister got our mother's
first name of Mary although our sister decided to go by her middle name
of Suzanne.<br />
<br />
The Ancient Egyptians believed that a
person never died as long as their name was spoken by the living. In
some ways, the tradition of naming descendants for ancestors
accomplishes the same thing. Besides, it's reassuring to realize how our
ancestors live on not only in our DNA but also by what we're called.<br />
<br /><i>(<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/06/josiah-todd-1778-1853-and-his-elusive.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the next article, "Josiah Todd (1778-1853) and his Elusive Ancestors.")</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.<br />
Profiles, sources, and documents for individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilson-49552" target="_blank">Mary "Mae" (Wilson) Todd</a> <br />(Mae's profile page provides links to her siblings and her ancestors.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Todd-6594" target="_blank">Atha Poindexter "AP" Todd</a> <br />(AP's profile page names siblings but provides links, so far, to only his direct ancestors.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-61810692934974326312020-05-10T10:56:00.010-06:002021-06-05T22:05:39.986-06:00Pioneering Women - Juliana King and Grizel Sims Cocke<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TEAoxkrZKHk/WqyYyheLNhI/AAAAAAAAC28/w1B-IeZtllgZHIUzQEVDtBtDreQCWMAQwCLcBGAs/s1600/Captivities.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TEAoxkrZKHk/WqyYyheLNhI/AAAAAAAAC28/w1B-IeZtllgZHIUzQEVDtBtDreQCWMAQwCLcBGAs/s320/Captivities.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Woodcut from <i>Narrative of Mary Rowlandson</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Given the patriarchal nature of historical European
and American recordkeeping, it's often easier to document the lives of
men rather than women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in
early America.<br />
<br />
But on occasion, stories emerge -- even
though limited by available statistical and vital records -- that
provide glimpses into the courage and determination of our maternal
American ancestors.<br />
<br />
Two such women came to my attention in my research efforts to chart family records
during the Colonial period in American history: the life of Juliana
Connor King (my maternal eighth great-grandmother) and the life of
Grizel Kessiah Sims Cocke (the wife of a first cousin, six times
removed).<br />
<br />
Both proved resilient, resourceful, and more
than capable of surviving and even thriving, despite the loss of one or
more husbands.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Juliana Connor (1637-1680)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>(My grandmother Lola Sims Hardin was the daughter of Mary Clementine King, whose fifth great-grandmother was Juliana Connor.) </i></div>
<br />
Gullian
("Juliana") Connor was born about 1637 in England. Nothing is known of
her parents or her circumstances, but she may have secured passage to the
New World as an indentured servant.<br />
<br />
She sailed from
England, apparently alone, to the Isle of Wight, Colonial Virginia, with
Capt. William Canfill, who transported her to the westward side of
Lyons Creek near Hoggs Island Creek on 24 Jan 1656.<br />
<br />
Juliana
arrived in Colonial Virginia at about age 19, and she may have sought
marriage as soon as possible: Young women were emancipated from
servitude as soon as they married, but she also arrived as a
"headright," an immigrant entitled to 50 acres of land upon marrying,
which would have made her a prize in a world where single women were
scarcer than in the colonies further north.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SG26zSBsLgw/Wq05AXCREFI/AAAAAAAAC30/I_K86FFzooA-nirrruGqmueM59dH27rzQCLcBGAs/s1600/Isle%2Bo%2Bf%2BWight.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="294" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SG26zSBsLgw/Wq05AXCREFI/AAAAAAAAC30/I_K86FFzooA-nirrruGqmueM59dH27rzQCLcBGAs/s200/Isle%2Bo%2Bf%2BWight.JPG" width="149" /></a>And,
in fact, she did marry William Henry King, a planter, that same year of
1656 in Surry, Isle of Wight County, Colony of Virginia, British
Colonial Amerca, and the couple had a child, Henry, the next year, 1657.<br />
<br />
But
her time with husband William lasted only a few years: He died,
possibly before 1660 but no later than 1670, which was the year Juliana
remarried "since the courts would have appointed a guardian for young
Henry and she would have lost control of her son,” according to a King
historian, Jeane Austin King Gelau.<br />
<br />
Juliana's new
husband, Darby Stantlin, ill at the time of the union, recorded in a
will on 25 Apr 1670, in Upper Parish, Isle of Wight, Colony of Virginia,
"wife Gulian, sick at present time, if she should die, my friend Mathew
Waikley [is] to remain on my plantation until Henry King becomes of
age; in case of wife's death and of her son Henry King my plantation
[goes] to Mathew Waikley."<br />
<br />
She survived, but husband
Stantlin did not, and that same year on 25 Oct 1670, she once again
married, this time to Waikley, according to court records: "acknowledged
in open court by Gullian Stantlin and confiremed [sic] by Mathew
Waikley her now husband."<br />
<br />
Times must have been tough
and trying despite her multiple alliances because "Gullian" died in or
before 1680, at the age of 43, since Waikley recorded a will on 18 Mar
1680, for which the abstract states, "by noncupative will, whole estate
to Henry King."<br />
<br />
Juliana's life reveals her ability to
navigate legal and civil limitations of the time and the requirements of
marriage in order to make her way in the New World from the very start,
and to marry twice again to preserve the future inheritance for her son
Henry.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Grizel Kessiah Sims Cocke (1768-1820)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>(My
grandmother Lola Sims Hardin's third great-grandfather, Pariss Sims,
was uncle to Parrish Sims, whose wife was Grizel Kessiah.)</i></div>
<br />
Grizel Kessiah was born on <time datetime="1768-Jan-15" itemprop="birthDate">15 Jan 1768,</time> in <span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">Amelia, Culpepper County, Colonial Virginia.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">She married Parrish (his mother's maiden name but often written "Parish") Sims on </span></span></span><span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name"><span itemprop="marriage" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><time datetime="1788-Feb-05" itemprop="startDate">5 Feb 1788, when Grizel was 20 years of age. The </time></span></span></span></span><span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">family moved to Hawkins County, Territory of North Carolina (later to become Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1793)</span></span></span><span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name"><span itemprop="marriage" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><time datetime="1788-Feb-05" itemprop="startDate">.</time></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">According to Sims historian Almon Sims, </span></span></span>"Both
Parish and his father were large land owners, had slaves, and were
active in the early development of Hawkins County which in the early
days included Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties, all in North
Carolina territory."<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmZMSriGLAs/Wo3vKpc43EI/AAAAAAAAC2k/r16JS6BXEnc9G0FS-rm-HGYwZX3BWz-_ACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Sims%2BSettlements.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="355" height="127" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmZMSriGLAs/Wo3vKpc43EI/AAAAAAAAC2k/r16JS6BXEnc9G0FS-rm-HGYwZX3BWz-_ACPcBGAYYCw/s200/Sims%2BSettlements.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sims Settlement, Alabama</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Almon Sims's account goes on to state, "Parish Sims,
with his wife Grizel (Kessiah) and their children, his widowed mother
and most of his brothers and sisters . . . started from Hawkins County
in East Tennessee in the Spring of 1807 with four boats. When the boats
had ascended Elk River . . . [they] concluded to stop and settled what
was long known as Sims Settlement, in Limestone County, Ala."<br />
<br />
Later
that same year, on 26 Nov 1807, Parish wrote his last will and
testament, stating, "I, Parrish [sic] Simes . . . give to my beloved
wife, Grizel, all of my estate." He died only a few months later in Sims
Settlement, Limestone County, Alabama.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOGWKs2mCUg/WqysCVVS4uI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/bV9Qi2cFUpAB0AmcVpfhUjSZfCPfUaV6ACLcBGAs/s1600/William%2BCocke.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="126" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOGWKs2mCUg/WqysCVVS4uI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/bV9Qi2cFUpAB0AmcVpfhUjSZfCPfUaV6ACLcBGAs/s1600/William%2BCocke.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Cocke</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But Grizel's story cotinues. After her husband
Parrish died in 1808, Grizel married William Cocke in 1810. At the time,
Grizel was 42 and William, 62 (his first wife Mary having passed away
earlier that same year.)<br />
<br />
Cocke had spent time
trailblazing and settling lands in Kentucky and later East Tennessee in
the company of Daniel Boone. According to an entry in Wikipedia, Cocke
"was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a colonel
of militia; in 1776, he led four companies of that militia into to what
became Tennessee for action against the Indians," who had allied with
the British during the War of Independence.<br />
<br />
Later,
Cocke was appointed as the Agent for the Chickasaw Indians in a First
Nations' dispute against the Sims Settlement inhabitants as trespassers.<br />
<br />
Almon
Sims records, on "September of 1810, a petition was sent to President
Madison, and one of its signers was Grizell [sic] Sims, widow of Parish.
. . . This petition asked the President not to allow the removal of the
settlers even though their purchase of the land from the Cherokees was
in dispute by the Chickasaws. This 'trouble with the Indians' is
significant in that it may be how widow Grizel Sims, referred to in some
records as Kissiah Sims, came to meet and know William Cocke."<br />
<br />
Grizel's gumption must have made quite an impression on Cocke since the two married that same year.<br />
<br />
The
couple later moved to Columbus, Mississippi, where they lived "in the
dogtrot cross hall two-story log house on the bluff above the
Tombigbee," according to the family records cited by Sims descendant
Hershel Parker. Cocke continued a political career and, at times,
serving in appointed positions for the President, including a commission
as General in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812.<br />
<br />
Grizel
died in 6 Aug 1820, and was buried in Columbus, Lowndes County,
Mississippi, where her second husband was later buried in 1828, and
where they share a joint tombstone.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Lives between the Lines</b></div>
Available
records don't do justice to either of these women, but we nonetheless
see glimpses -- albeit at times almost between the lines -- that they
were often actors on the stage of early America in ways we can only
surmise as compared to the lives of their better-documented husbands.
However, they often persisted beyond the lives of those husbands,
leaving their own marks in the record books and in the lives and
traditions of subsequent family generations.<div><br /></div><div><i>(<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-ancestral-scrabble-name-game.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the next article, "The Ancestral 'Scrabble' Name Game.")</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.<br />
Profiles, sources, and documents for the individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Connor-2036" target="_blank">Juliana Connor King</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/King-26904" target="_blank">William Henry King</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kessiah-3" target="_blank">Grizel Kessiah Sims Cocke</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sims-5124" target="_blank">Parish Sims</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cocke-292" target="_blank">William Cocke</a> </li>
</ul>
</div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-79607222158825860082020-03-21T14:45:00.012-06:002021-03-23T15:25:10.420-06:00The Perplexing Parallels of Pariss and Parish Sims<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--oLLfZ1uajI/Wnsg9HPmhOI/AAAAAAAACz8/G6RbFXNS4TINxzMopzS_dkYmqxgT-okGgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Pariss%2BSims%2BTombstone.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="336" height="177" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--oLLfZ1uajI/Wnsg9HPmhOI/AAAAAAAACz8/G6RbFXNS4TINxzMopzS_dkYmqxgT-okGgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Pariss%2BSims%2BTombstone.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pariss and Keziah Sims's tombstone,<br />
erected by descendants in 1974,<br />
Giles County, Tennessee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(posted by Mark Todd) </i><br />
<br />
My Ulster-Scots ancestor Pariss Sims was as perplexing in genealogy as he was in life.<br />
<br />
Some
genealogies maintain his name was Pariss while others insist it was
Parish, disputing whom he married, who his parents were, and where he
was born and died. There are verifiable records that back up both
accounts -- and sometimes at different locations at the same time.<br />
<br />
Who was Pariss/Parish Sims?<br />
<br />
Clearly, they are two individuals because of the records. But their narrative lives are complicated by several similarities:<br />
<ul>
<li>Pariss had a <b>father named James Barlett Sims, born in Belfast</b>, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland.</li>
<li>Parish also had a <b>father named James Barlett Sims, born in Belfast</b>, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland.</li>
<li>Pariss had a wife named <i><b>Keziah</b></i>.</li>
<li>Parish had a wife named Grizel <i><b>Kessiah</b></i>. </li>
<li>Both emigrated <b>to Tennessee from North Carolina</b>.</li>
<li>Both found their final homes <b>in 1807</b>.</li>
</ul>
The initial confusion stems from the often-sourced 1948 book by Almon Sims, <i>The Pariss Sims Family.</i>
Then Almon Sims published a 1965 revision, in which he corrects the
first book, announcing in a new forward that he made a "serious error, by
confusing Pariss Sims, our ancestor of Giles County, Tenn., with Parish
Sims who made Sims Settlement on Elk River, just south of Giles County,
in Limestone County, Ala., in 1807, the same year our Pariss arrived in
Tennessee from North Carolina. This error was caused by the two being
confused in an early history of Giles County, Tennessee."<br />
<br />
It took me months to sort out Pariss from Parish, and it turns out the two <i><b>were </b></i>related: Pariss Sims's brother was James Bartlett Sims <i><b>Jr</b></i>,
whose first-born son was named Parish Sims. What follows are snapshot
sketches of each of their lives, piecing together how these two
individuals became so entangled.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Pariss Sims (1740-1833)</b></div>
Pariss
Sims (my fifth great-grandfather) was born between 1740 and 1750 in
Belfast, Antrim County, Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland, to James
Barlett Sims <i><b>Sr</b></i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YIQO2Tf6n_Y/Wo3udF9rEeI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/HQB-WcX0oqkxPpsV6IEUeEWEhyOonBNvwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Ulster-Scots.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="355" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YIQO2Tf6n_Y/Wo3udF9rEeI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/HQB-WcX0oqkxPpsV6IEUeEWEhyOonBNvwCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Ulster-Scots.jpg" width="198" /></a>Pariss and his brother James Bartlett Sims <i><b>Jr</b></i>
were both born and grew up in a region where state-sponsored
settlements were part of the Plantation (colonization) of the Province
of Ulster in Northern Ireland, which had begun in 1609. This scheme,
instituted by James VI of Scotland when he became King of England, was
intended to confiscate all the lands of the Catholic Irish nobility in
Ulster and to settle the province with Protestant Scottish and English
colonists on confiscated land.<br />
<br />
Ulster-Scots weathered
the turbulent relocation and colonization, but throughout the 18th
century, considerable numbers of these Plantation settlers began
immigrating to the North American colonies.<br />
<br />
Pariss's older brother, James Bartlett Sims <i><b>Jr</b></i>,
emigrated to British Colonial America in the early 1760s, and Pariss
followed with two younger brothers in 1765, settling first in
Pennsylvania, but with Pariss later moving near Salem, North Carolina.<br />
<br />
According
to Continental Army pay vouchers, Pariss enlisted during the American War of
Independence. Family tradition claims he served in Gen. George
Washington's personal body guard, wintering at Valley Forge and even
crossing the Delaware with the commander-in-chief.<br />
<br />
He
married Keziah Royster of Granville County, North Carolina, in 1782. The
family moved from North Carolina to Tennessee in the summer of 1807:
"With all their possessions loaded into a covered wagon, drawn by oxen,
Pariss Sims and his family set out on a rugged trek," a trip that took
some 40 days, and settled in what is now Giles County, Tennessee,
according to Almon Sims.<br />
<br />
Pariss Sims died in 1833 and is buried in English Cemetery, Campbellsville, Giles County, Tennessee.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Parish Sims (1762-1808)</b></div>
Pariss's
older brother James Bartlett Jr, had come to the Colonies in the early
1760s and married Elizabeth Parrish, who gave birth to their son Parish
on<b> </b><time datetime="1762-Feb-14" itemprop="birthDate">14 Feb 1762</time> in <span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">Patrick
County, Virginia Colony. Presumably, Parish (sometimes spelled Parrish)
was named for his mother's family. That birth occurred three years
before Pariss Sims arrived in the New World.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">James's
family moved from Patrick County to Hawkins County, Territory of North
Carolina (later to become Hawkins County, Tennessee), and Parish married
Grizel Kessiah on</span></span></span><span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name"><span itemprop="marriage" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"> <time datetime="1788-Feb-05" itemprop="startDate">5 Feb 1788.</time></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="birth" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Event"><span itemprop="location" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Place"><span itemprop="name">According to Almon Sims, </span></span></span>"Both
Parish and his father were large land owners, had slaves, and were
active in the early development of Hawkins County which in the early
days included Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties, all in North
Carolina territory."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmZMSriGLAs/Wo3vKpc43EI/AAAAAAAAC2k/r16JS6BXEnc9G0FS-rm-HGYwZX3BWz-_ACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Sims%2BSettlements.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="355" height="127" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmZMSriGLAs/Wo3vKpc43EI/AAAAAAAAC2k/r16JS6BXEnc9G0FS-rm-HGYwZX3BWz-_ACPcBGAYYCw/s200/Sims%2BSettlements.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sims Settlement, Alabama</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
His father James died in 1793. Almon Sims's narrative
states, "Parish Sims, with his wife Grizel (Kessiah) and their
children, his widowed mother and most of his brothers and sisters ...
started from Hawkins County in East Tennessee in the Spring of 1807 with
four boats. When the boats had ascended Elk River ... [they] concluded
to stop and settled what was long known as Sims Settlement, in Limestone
County, Ala."<br />
<br />
Later that same year, on 26 Nov 1807,
Parish wrote his last will and testament, stating, "I, Parrish [sic]
Simes . . . give to my beloved wife, Grizel, all of my estate." He died
only a few months later in Sims Settlement, Limestone County, Alabama.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A Tale of Two Sims's</b></div>
Uncle
Pariss and nephew Parish were both sources for multiple generations of
namesakes in the lines of both Pariss and his brother James. Not too
surprisingly, confusion and conflation of the different lives of Pariss
and Parish persist to this day -- not only for genealogists but even
through the hand-me-down stories of their descendants.<br />
<br />
But I know I'm on the right track: Through diligent research and comparisons made by my third cousin Patty Sims (or maybe third cousin once removed -- it's complicated) and me using GEDmatch, we've confirmed we share DNA -- Patty through Parish and me through Pariss. It never hurts to have a little bit of scientific corroboration to back up our genealogical digging!<div><br /></div><div><i>(<a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/05/pioneering-women-juliana-king-and.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the next article, "Pioneering Women--Juliana King and Grizel Sims Cocke.")</i></div><div><br /></div><div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.<br />
Profiles, sources, and documents for the individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sims-3961" target="_blank">Pariss Sims</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sims-5124" target="_blank">Parish Sims</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sims-5125" target="_blank">James Bartlett Sims Sr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sims-3962" target="_blank">James Bartlett Sims Jr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parrish-2403" target="_blank">Elizabeth Parrish</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-90934919249184459542020-03-13T15:40:00.008-06:002021-03-23T15:21:28.456-06:00Not all Ulster-"Scots" were Scots!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFZ_dI2nEzw/WoXKE7CUjoI/AAAAAAAAC0U/opKNpB6wVF8rgJJh1poqS6Rxd1IEEWJ-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Ulster%2BImmigrants.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="248" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFZ_dI2nEzw/WoXKE7CUjoI/AAAAAAAAC0U/opKNpB6wVF8rgJJh1poqS6Rxd1IEEWJ-wCLcBGAs/s200/Ulster%2BImmigrants.JPG" width="174" /></a></div>
<i>(posted by Mark Todd) </i><br />
<br />
One
of the more satisfying aspects of genealogy research is those moments
when information goes beyond mere statistical data, and a person's
history begins to take shape and tell a narrative -- sometimes revealing
glimpses of an individual's personality.<br />
<br />
Such an
instance emerged when I began researching one line of my dad's
ancestors, going back five-plus generations to the eighteenth and
seventeenth centures.<br />
<br />
British Isles history buffs and
genealogists are likely to be familiar with the so-called Ulster-Scots
who immigrated to British Colonial America in droves during the
eighteenth century, fleeing the turbulence of the Province of Ulster in
Northern Ireland at the time.<br />
<br />
But fewer casual
researchers realize that Ulster was home to not only relocated Scots but
also a large population of resettled English during Ulster's Plantation
conlonization, initiated by James VI of Scotland when he became King of
England in the seventeenth century. In effect, the colonization was
intended to confiscate all the lands of the unruly Catholic Irish
nobility in Ulster and to resettle the province with not only Protestant
Scottish but also Protestant English colonists on the confiscated
lands.<br />
<br />
But several generations of resettled Ulster
colonists had grown weary of the strife and feuding that resulted, and
many determined to relocate to the Americas.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIskAp7OTAo/WnlG3uspdeI/AAAAAAAACzc/-sufXB_uTu0hy2xdQ_iKlnaIQ-am3UhMQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Word%2BNgram.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="122" data-original-width="163" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIskAp7OTAo/WnlG3uspdeI/AAAAAAAACzc/-sufXB_uTu0hy2xdQ_iKlnaIQ-am3UhMQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Word%2BNgram.jpg" /></a>Not
too surprisingly (given my strong roots in the American South), I had
already discovered a strain of true Ulster-Scots from the family of my
maternal grandmother (born a Sims, and more on this controversial lineage in a future post). So when I found another group of
transplanted Ulster colonists on my paternal side by the name of Gray, I immediately assumed
they were also Scots. But as I delved deeper, I discovered they had
hailed three generations earlier from Essex, England, just north of
London -- a far cry from the English-Scottish borderlands.<br />
<br />
It
took a bit of further investigation to make the connection: these paternal
Ulster ancestors had settled in the town of Derry in Northern Ireland,
which was soon renamed Londonderry by the settlers, to reflect their
origins. That group was also comprised almost entirely of families from
the London area-based "great guilds." So much for the mystery of the
English rather than Scottish origins on that branch of my family tree.<br />
<br />
But
when I started tracing down records and documents for the branches of
both grandparents who had arrived from Ulster to the Province of
Massachusetts Bay, the story started to become more personal --
especially since it involved two separate immigrant families who remained unrelated until joined in
marriage by my ancestral fourth great-grandparents.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Story between the Lines </b></div>
<br />
Matthew
Gray Jr (my fourth great-grandfather) arrived in Worcester County,
Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1718 as a ten-year-old, accompanying
his father Matthew Sr and his grandfather John Gray Jr, alongside other new
immigrant families from Londonderry, Northern Ireland.<br />
<br />
The
new arrivals were not particularly welcome in Masschusetts Bay,
shunned, as it were, by the second-generation Puritan descendants
already in Worcester County. Only 26 years earlier, in 1692, the English
king had issued the colony a new land charter that shifted voting
rights from Puritan church membership to land ownership.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2euehe_uv9w/WoY3u9cxvNI/AAAAAAAAC14/ddtqwjdz97AN2Qcu5Uc_a1dpXsBummfSACLcBGAs/s1600/Cotton_Mather.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2euehe_uv9w/WoY3u9cxvNI/AAAAAAAAC14/ddtqwjdz97AN2Qcu5Uc_a1dpXsBummfSACLcBGAs/s200/Cotton_Mather.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cotton Mather</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
According to historian Charles Bolton, Matthew Sr’s
father “John Gray had land laid out to him by the town's committee
November 26, 1718.”<br />
<br />
Bolton explains, Puritan forefather
and minister "Cotton Mather had in mind very early that the emigrants
from Ulster would be useful settlers on the frontier. In 1718 the
village of Worcester could claim a position on the Massachusetts
frontier, although it lay only forty miles from Boston. First settled in
1674, it was deserted in King Philip's war, 1675, and again in Queen
Anne's war, 1702."<br />
<br />
According to Bolton, however, the
Ulster Presbysterians "came to act as a buffer against the Indians, and
instead of welcome they received surly conversation from the few
inhabitants who turned out to meet them."<br />
<br />
Another
Ulster family had arrived in 1718 from Londonderry: Hugh Kelso, his wife
Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter Jean (my fifth-generation
grandmother). By trade, Kelso was a wheelwright, a craftsman who built
and repaired wheels for wagons and carriages.<br />
<br />
Ten-year-old
Matthew Jr would not likely have paid much attention to two-year-old
Jean (my future fourth great-grandmother) on the two-month voyage to the New World. But the town was small
and both the Gray and Kelso families attended the same church in
Worcester and participated in the same circles of community
involvement. Sixteen years later, when Matthew was 26 and Jean was 18,
the two married in 1734 in Worcester.<br />
<br />
By trade, Matthew Jr was a "Scaler of leather" (leather-tooler) and "Hogreeve" in 1724 in Worcester. (A "hog-reeve" was a Colonial New England constable whose job it was to prevent or appraise damages made by swine.) <br />
<br />
After 1737,
according to records reported by Bolton, "The lands now included in the
town of Pelham were being opened for settlement, and on the 21st of
January, 1738-39, John Stoddard arranged to settle a number of families
... such as were inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ireland or their
descendants, being Protestants." Names included in this resettlement as
"proprietors" included John Gray Jr and Matthew Gray Sr.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qhEDfGHNjyg/WoYHvKF_lPI/AAAAAAAAC08/-_z5_wd6rUsiC4xXkfgPM2tNkAA8WKCNQCLcBGAs/s1600/Matthew%2BGray%2BJr%2Band%2BJane%2BGray%2BDeath%2BRecords.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="694" height="118" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qhEDfGHNjyg/WoYHvKF_lPI/AAAAAAAAC08/-_z5_wd6rUsiC4xXkfgPM2tNkAA8WKCNQCLcBGAs/s200/Matthew%2BGray%2BJr%2Band%2BJane%2BGray%2BDeath%2BRecords.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Record of deaths for both Matthew<br />
Gray Jr and wife Jean (Kelso) Gray</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But records suggest that Matthew Jr did not relocate
to Pelham with his father and grandfather, some 30 miles from Worcester.
Instead, Matthew Jr and Jean remained where her parents Hugh and Sarah
Kelso still lived. Matthew's father-in-law signed a will on 14 Jun 1737,
in which he refers to Jean's husband as "my well beloved son Matthew
Gray," and to whom Hugh bequeaths his "wearing cloaths [sic]," a gesture
that suggests Matthew and Jean were regularly present in the Kelso
household in Worcester at that time, and Matthew had become like a son
to Hugh Kelso.<br />
<br />
Hugh died only two months later, and he
named Matthew's grandfather John Gray Jr as co-executor to his estate, revealing how
close the two families had remained.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xEaJObntANk/WoYGf4FlBGI/AAAAAAAAC0w/v60CQR7emFA6a_Gt1O_uEs9cYKsOfrQyACLcBGAs/s1600/Worcester%2BBurial%2BGround.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="229" height="151" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xEaJObntANk/WoYGf4FlBGI/AAAAAAAAC0w/v60CQR7emFA6a_Gt1O_uEs9cYKsOfrQyACLcBGAs/s200/Worcester%2BBurial%2BGround.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Common Burial Ground in<br />
present-day Worcester, Massachuestts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On 14 June 1742, Matthew and Jean had a daughter in Worcester named Jemima (my third great-grandmother).<br />
<br />
Jean
died 22 years later in 1764, and Matthew would go on to marry twice
more before dying himself in 1783. But at his death, he was buried next
to his childhood sweetheart in the Old Common Burial Ground in
Worcester.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/03/not-all-ulster-scots-were-scots.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the next article, "The Perplexing Parallels of Pariss and Parish Sims."</i></div>
<br />
Mark and Kym Todd are volunteers on WikiTree, a project to create the entire human tree.<br />
Profiles, sources, and documents for individuals described above are on WikiTree:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVw_CGLgkVc/WoYahSH1adI/AAAAAAAAC1c/wXR-pAv-89cIzx_n5PRRKeGmaHtSlotoACLcBGAs/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gray-14610" target="_blank">Matthew Gray Jr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kelso-680" target="_blank">Jean (Kelso) Gray</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gray-18514" target="_blank">Matthew Gray Sr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gray-18517" target="_blank">John Gray Jr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kelso-681" target="_blank">Hugh Kelso</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gray-18370" target="_blank">Jemima (Gray) Todd</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-80088557462346074592020-03-10T14:45:00.014-06:002021-03-23T15:18:13.879-06:00Welcome to our Genealogical Adventures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B9LWDexDQOw/WnlAGES-mzI/AAAAAAAACyw/2dCfvUpWrRUhLZ-RZohNljEBvmA0upYGACLcBGAs/s1600/Tree.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="137" height="168" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B9LWDexDQOw/WnlAGES-mzI/AAAAAAAACyw/2dCfvUpWrRUhLZ-RZohNljEBvmA0upYGACLcBGAs/s200/Tree.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
For
us, it started with DNA tests that whetted an appetite for discovering
our own roots. Before long, we were exploring the ancestors who gave us
those genes.<br />
<br />
From family records and relatives' anecdotes, we learned names, dates, places, and stories about our parents and grandparents.<br />
<br />
But it didn't take long to exhaust those resources in reconstucting our earlier generations.<br />
<br />
One branch of Mark's
family came over from England during the Great Puritan Migration of the
1600s, plus a bit of Cherokee mixed in later. (Or so he thought!)<br />
<br />
Kym's family came to this country only three generations ago from Norway and Germany. (Or so she thought!)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIskAp7OTAo/WnlG3uspdeI/AAAAAAAACzU/n5sEGZNBbO0tZPcG3hoyif1ZpJ_0C_mMACLcBGAs/s1600/Word%2BNgram.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="122" data-original-width="163" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tIskAp7OTAo/WnlG3uspdeI/AAAAAAAACzU/n5sEGZNBbO0tZPcG3hoyif1ZpJ_0C_mMACLcBGAs/s1600/Word%2BNgram.jpg" /></a>We
next researched available genealogical resources and services, trying
out several as a way to methodically recreate our respective trees. At
first, it seemed easy enough, and within a few short months, we had each
compiled enough second-hand sources to track our seperate roots back a
couple of thousand years!<br />
<br />
Problem was, we soon
discovered not everyone researches their own roots as meticulously as we
wanted ours to be. We knew we had to look harder to get the facts
straight.<br />
<br />
And so began our real initiation into genealogy.<br />
<br />
It's
an ongoing project with surprising stories and unexpected roots. Mark's
ancestors weren't Puritans after all (nor did he have a lick of
Cherokee), and Kym's relatives from Germany turned out to be from a
small Friesian island that was as much Danish as German.<br />
<br />
We had our work cut out for us.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpudqvdVhOI/WnlHSIrT5gI/AAAAAAAACzY/a4NA_lalm085JUppz31raN9Bue-kFfAEACLcBGAs/s1600/word%2Btree.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpudqvdVhOI/WnlHSIrT5gI/AAAAAAAACzY/a4NA_lalm085JUppz31raN9Bue-kFfAEACLcBGAs/s1600/word%2Btree.jpg" /></a>And
so began our serious exploration of our genealogical roots. It's an
on-going passion, and the lessons we're learning in how to research (and
where to verify the "facts" we'd collected earlier) have been
eye-opening -- not only for our own family stories but also for the
connections we've discovered to the larger human tree.<br />
<br />
In
this blog, we share personal family stories but also the genealogical
journeys we discover along the way. And we plan to share the lessons
we're learning as well as a few tips that just might save others the
time and trouble of having to back-track and correct earlier mistakes.<br />
<br />
Despite
the detours we've taken already, the journey has turned into a
marvelous journey we never expected -- one we hope will reward those
who choose to look over our shoulders as we forge ahead.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2020/03/not-all-ulster-scots-were-scots.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for our first article on our genealogical adventures, entitled "Not All 'Ulster'-Scots were Scots."<br />
<br /></div>Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-59629973781325419322020-03-10T14:38:00.000-06:002020-03-12T12:49:10.679-06:00Our Farewell to the ParanormalDear readers and fans,<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mkov5XVZeiM/Xmf2Z2Q818I/AAAAAAAADPo/NM0qeNJYaqgU0stbbJQIPEeNtxFua09mgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/XFilesBelieve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mkov5XVZeiM/Xmf2Z2Q818I/AAAAAAAADPo/NM0qeNJYaqgU0stbbJQIPEeNtxFua09mgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/XFilesBelieve.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
What a journey it has been!<br />
<br />
From UFOs to ghosts, from field investigators for MUFON to Wild West Paranormal Investigations -- we've conducted over 150 investigations in the past nine years for our own "X-Files," experienced more than our share of unexpected encounters, and have had to re-assess what we thought Reality was.<br />
<br />
But we've also come to realize some mysteries will never be solved -- at least, not in this world. We feel we're no longer making new contributions to the conversation, and so it's time to pass the baton to others in terms of active research into the unknown.<br />
<br />
Our warm wishes to all of you who have joined us on this journey, albeit often vicariously through our accounts, our live Tweets, and our vid clips.<br />
<br />
<br />
We still seem to be obsessed with The Dead, but ironically, it's now become more personal! <br />
<br />
Our journey has now led us to a new passion, our genealogical roots, which has consumed more and more of our time as we research and seek out our forebears. We realize this will be an entirely new audience, and many of you will no longer care to follow our historical exploits.<br />
<br />
So to many we say farewell. To those of you with leanings toward the fascinating and often surprising revelations of who all of our ancestors were, we say welcome!<br />
<br />
For the past two years we've divided our time between "ghosties" and our explorations on WikiTree, FamilySearch , and Ancestry, and what a rollercoaster ride this new jounrey is becoming. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ely_AnH11wE/Xmf32LI464I/AAAAAAAADP0/I_QJO0IA_KgmqJnZTfdkg3aQNtPVhSaJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ely_AnH11wE/Xmf32LI464I/AAAAAAAADP0/I_QJO0IA_KgmqJnZTfdkg3aQNtPVhSaJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/WikiTree.jpg" /></a>In future postings, we look forward to sharing the complex discoveries we've been making about our own ancestors but we hope to contribute these findings as specimens of what lies behind all of our pasts.<br />
<br />
<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-35392948714122673852017-10-25T22:57:00.015-06:002023-01-02T10:34:15.414-07:00Investigating with #ZakBagans at the Museum of the Mountain WestWith at least six reported violent deaths in the various buildings on the premises, it's no wonder the Museum of the Mountain West (MMW) in Montrose, Colo., is one of the most haunted locations we've investigated.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dxIj9MyuVKg/Wbfuj-us0QI/AAAAAAAACsw/N8vuCDnsalQk2_KMrBApaa_lM7aC0WniACLcBGAs/s1600/Bagans1%2528web%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="288" height="153" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dxIj9MyuVKg/Wbfuj-us0QI/AAAAAAAACsw/N8vuCDnsalQk2_KMrBApaa_lM7aC0WniACLcBGAs/s200/Bagans1%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark, Zak, and Kym</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So it's little surprise it would draw the attention of the Travel Channel's most popular and continuously long-running reality ghosthunting show, #<i>GhostAdventures</i>, hosted by an investigator who could only be described as ghosthunting's most famous celebrity, #ZakBagans.<br />
<br />
But we never anticipated we'd get to meet him -- let alone have an opportunity to investigate alongside him!<br />
<br />
But we did both.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How did this happen?</b></div>
Having the <i>Ghost Adventures</i> team focus on this faux frontier town one mile east of Montrose was not a matter of good fortune: MMW curator Bob DeQuinze and Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators' (HPI) founder Hector Zeferino had courted execs at the Travel Channel for three years to make the visit a reality. (It didn't hurt that Hector had also conducted investigations at two other sites previously investigated by <i>Ghost Adventures</i> and had consulted with Zak about what to expect. We had the good fortune as well of teaming up with HPI for one of these investigations.)<br />
<br />
By the time the Travel Channel and <i>Ghost Adventures</i> decided to visit the museum, our own team, Wild West Ghosts, had already conducted three investigations at the site as well, one as a joint initiative with HPI. We had our own findings and multiple documented encounters (see these links: MMW Investigation <a href="http://tinyurl.com/j8qh8dw" target="_blank">Part I</a> and <a href="http://tinyurl.com/z2pj42l" target="_blank">Part II</a>) that became part of the television series' research into whether or not the museum was worth their time.<br />
<br />
And then they invited us to be part of their on-site preliminary investigation.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Our small part</b></div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRpiawu-rPc/Wc01_E-rZrI/AAAAAAAACtw/l9avIW3Xc8AOuIFVSMlg4f0NYP6TAe7MgCLcBGAs/s1600/Bagans%2BTweet.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="432" height="181" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRpiawu-rPc/Wc01_E-rZrI/AAAAAAAACtw/l9avIW3Xc8AOuIFVSMlg4f0NYP6TAe7MgCLcBGAs/s200/Bagans%2BTweet.JPG" width="200" /></a> Zak turned out to be a regular guy -- ya never know if fame will change someone's personality. But we found him friendly, a bit mischievous, and actually on the shy side. He interviewed Mark on camera about his ghosthunting class at the university (Mark's day job), the class that had participated during one of our earlier investigations. And then he offered a chance to help conduct a preliminary investigation inside the Carriage Works building at the museum.<br />
<br />
Naturally, it was around midnight!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3qzt1gQFuWs/WfFffOuIyTI/AAAAAAAACvU/cx06N52hMKM9HHsw8w5irC3DG7QBwneWQCLcBGAs/s1600/GA%2Bteam%2Bat%2BMMW.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3qzt1gQFuWs/WfFffOuIyTI/AAAAAAAACvU/cx06N52hMKM9HHsw8w5irC3DG7QBwneWQCLcBGAs/s320/GA%2Bteam%2Bat%2BMMW.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
For those who follow our accounts, you may recall that the Carriage Works has a dark history that includes a vigilante lynching and a man kicked to death by a horse, plus a fair amount of current paranormal activity.<br />
<br />
Zak invited us to conduct a prelim investigation in that building prior to their own team's lock-down. We hadn't placed such an opportunity on our bucket list but quickly penciled it in, so we could check it off.<br />
<br />
After spending some time on the floor level inside the old livery building, we steered him to the stairs leading to the second floor. We'd previously obtained some intriguing responses by both KII and spirit boxes on the stair landing, so we suggested he give that area a try with his digital audio recorder.<br />
<br />
When we encountered a cold spot on the landing, Zak called for one of the team's Mel meters, and we spent several minutes while Zak asked for interaction with whatever inhabited that area. At the point where we started to ascend the flight of stairs just above the landing, we all felt a tingling in front of us that seemed to pass through us, and Zak asked if someone (unseen, of course) was there.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EYRmS4aGi64/WgffOucFJFI/AAAAAAAACwM/vwT8SoMg2xYxxrSm4hAHTY403sWlevHZACLcBGAs/s1600/MMW%2BEVP%2B2%2B%2528sm%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="576" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EYRmS4aGi64/WgffOucFJFI/AAAAAAAACwM/vwT8SoMg2xYxxrSm4hAHTY403sWlevHZACLcBGAs/s200/MMW%2BEVP%2B2%2B%2528sm%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>Eventually, we climbed the steps up to the second level and stopped to see if we'd captured anything on the digital audio recorder. Reviewing the audio for the period of time we spent just above the landing, we listened to Zak's question asking if anyone was there, and the recorder immediately captured a clear EVP that responded, "Behind you." In other words, the landing directly behind us.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOP5TlXWJoM/WgiKaLYxSVI/AAAAAAAACwo/ccKhFxdyDogLO4Nrr97zpx5ILRVsW9rvgCLcBGAs/s1600/MMW%2Bbehind%2Byou%2B%2528sm%2529%2Bcopy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="493" height="131" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eOP5TlXWJoM/WgiKaLYxSVI/AAAAAAAACwo/ccKhFxdyDogLO4Nrr97zpx5ILRVsW9rvgCLcBGAs/s200/MMW%2Bbehind%2Byou%2B%2528sm%2529%2Bcopy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
At that moment, Zak became dizzy and decided to go outside. After about ten minutes, he hadn't come back, so we returned to the first level and out the main doors, where we found Zak sitting on a bench, head in hands. He looked up and asked if we had felt anything strange while we were listening to the recording. Truth be told, guess the excitement of conducting an investigation with THE Zak Bagans made us giddy, but not dizzy, and we had to confess that we hadn't felt anything.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Later, when just the GA team returned to the Carriage Works, something more did happen and team captured a shadow figure on camera on the second floor. (See the episode for that documentation.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1_AJzJICDoU/WfFl-2ZilgI/AAAAAAAACvo/NVzuEp_3wO8kKzgo1OE72qLHcY-vM_xlwCLcBGAs/s1600/Bagans1%2528sm%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="838" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1_AJzJICDoU/WfFl-2ZilgI/AAAAAAAACvo/NVzuEp_3wO8kKzgo1OE72qLHcY-vM_xlwCLcBGAs/s200/Bagans1%2528sm%2529.jpg" width="181" /></a>Alas, it was a GA-team-only lock-down for that investigation, and we all had to wait for the airing of the episode to find out what happened to them.<br />
<br />
Still, we did get a selfie with Zak that night, and a check-off on our bucket list. Plus they took a copy of our book and are considering some of the locales we include in our book for future investigations!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: cyan;"><b>Watch this episode: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/show/SCL69Hdc4ZwgeuJJBrvFCYLg?season=19&sbp=CgIxORoaChhVQ0N1aXNBbFFvRGhzQ0piMlR2UndFeUE%253D" target="_blank">Season 19, Episode 10 online</a></b></span><span style="background-color: cyan;"><b>. </b></span></div>
<br />
Wild West Ghost Paranormal Investigators (that's us!) returned to the museum for an encore investigation the weekend before Halloween, armed with info the <i>GA</i> team shared with us about their findings not only in the Carriage Works, but also in the Empire House (the so-called Murder House) and Saloon. (Details to follow in the next post.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
Until next time, happy hauntings and Happy Halloween!</div>
</div>
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<br />
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<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-27045972974324086772017-04-23T15:11:00.000-06:002017-04-26T08:52:33.351-06:00Investigation: Old Bank Building, Fruita, COIn mid-April, we had the opportunity to investigate the Old Bank Building in downtown Fruita, Colo., at the invitation of the Lithic Gallery and Bookstore, which occupies half the second floor.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfzF3ljNCH0/WPwsknLvJnI/AAAAAAAACqs/T0Ph2d57KYcPtHL1ZyazPrB8faN5mU0oQCLcB/s1600/Fruita%2BBank%2Bext%2Bsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfzF3ljNCH0/WPwsknLvJnI/AAAAAAAACqs/T0Ph2d57KYcPtHL1ZyazPrB8faN5mU0oQCLcB/s320/Fruita%2BBank%2Bext%2Bsm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Bank Building today</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bookstore owners Danny Rosen and Kyle Harvey sponsored a presentation about our book on haunted hotels and also invited the public to observe our investigation of the premises following the reading. About a dozen stayed on and participated.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, we'd invited our good friends at Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators (HPI) to join us, so we were able to divide the observers into two groups.<br />
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We also had on our own team an additional seasoned guest investigator from the area, Deb Anderson. Were we ever glad she agreed to help out! Read on.<br />
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<b>History of the Building</b> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VklhSM3AfrE/WPwuhreiRaI/AAAAAAAACq4/rt5B7hbXVtE0h4AcLkhaENI6tnmhbGMLwCLcB/s1600/PO%2Binterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VklhSM3AfrE/WPwuhreiRaI/AAAAAAAACq4/rt5B7hbXVtE0h4AcLkhaENI6tnmhbGMLwCLcB/s200/PO%2Binterior.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postmaster Frederick S. Bruner in 1914</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="_5yl5">Courtesy of the Lower Valley Heritage Chapter, via Steve and Denise Hight, we learned that the building was erected in 1904. According to Steve and Denise, "It was designed as a business block, meaning it had three suites with their own entrances on [the ground floor], and some upstairs suites with one common entrance on South Park Square. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_5yl5">"The Odd Fellows Lodge was upstairs for many years, and they shared their space with the Freemasons. The Bell Telephone switchboard was also upstairs for many years. Earlier tenants downstairs included the Fruita Post Office."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_5yl5">In 1905, robbers broke into the building, and dynamited the safe in the Fruita Mercantile Company downstairs. and then tried to dynamite the bank safe, Steve and Denise reported. A telephone operator in the building heard the uproar and contacted the police, but the culprits fled before getting into the safe. They were never caught.</span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"><br /></span>
<span class="_5yl5"><b>The Investigation</b> </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QvquHHs9xnc/WP9iPTpXSRI/AAAAAAAACr4/Hu6JuTVNCgkAiU0IYiLa-soIQki87uFKwCLcB/s1600/PO%2Bexterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QvquHHs9xnc/WP9iPTpXSRI/AAAAAAAACr4/Hu6JuTVNCgkAiU0IYiLa-soIQki87uFKwCLcB/s200/PO%2Bexterior.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post Office in 1913</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="_5yl5">Our inquiries produced only one account of paranormal activity in the building, but it's an intriguing one. Juanita Marie Freeland writes, "My mom would always see an older lady go through our fridge and disappear. My dad moved the fridge one day and there was a small room behind a door. We would also hear a noise coming from upstairs that sounded like someone dragging something very heavy. This always happened at 3 a.m. Nobody lived directly above us. Our place was set up kind of weird and we had bars on some of our windows. This was in 1979-1981."</span><br />
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<span class="_5yl5">Her home would have been on the first floor, southeast corner of the building -- the former location of the Fruita Post Office (shown above as it looked in 1913). The dragging sounds coming from the second floor would have occurred in space now occupied by the Lithic Gallery.</span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"></span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cHq_iRM7Pzw/WPwxqGKtVQI/AAAAAAAACrQ/dtDvhJbFEfAbknbMl8kDqpVrYjsQWZyOwCLcB/s1600/Debra%2BAnderson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cHq_iRM7Pzw/WPwxqGKtVQI/AAAAAAAACrQ/dtDvhJbFEfAbknbMl8kDqpVrYjsQWZyOwCLcB/s200/Debra%2BAnderson.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deb Anderson with sidekick "Oscar"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="_5yl5">This account came to us after our investigation, alas. And since the location referenced in the above account is occupied by a current business, we didn't attempt to gain permission to investigate that area of the building. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_5yl5">In the portions of the structure available to us (and that constituted some 5,000 square feet in six occupied and unoccupied office spaces), we didn't pick up any unexplained activity on our instruments through most of the evening. But </span><span class="_5yl5"><span class="_5yl5">then, at one point, Mark asked if any unseen
presence could identify members of our team. The immediate responses were "Deb, "Debra," and "Debbie," two with a male voice and one time with a female voice.</span> </span><br />
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<span class="_5yl5">Deb announced she thought she heard the voice of her dead brother coming through. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_5yl5"></span>
<span class="_5yl5">A walk-in to the investigation?</span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"></span><br />
<span class="_5yl5">(Actually, it's not that uncommon to pick up voices that have some sort of a connection with those present during an investigation, whether or not they're connected to the premises where that investigation occurs). </span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"><br /></span>
<span class="_5yl5">We invited Deb to take over the conversation. Below is the exchange that took place. (The stick figure you'll see on the video is our Kinect infrared camera mapping one of the other investigators -- not an entity!):</span><br />
<span class="_5yl5"><br /></span>
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<span class="_5yl5"><i>Deb's EVP conversation with deceased relatives</i></span></div>
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In the above exchange, the ghost box repeats the name, "Bub," which Deb later told us was her deceased brother's nickname. On a previous occasion, she told us she had heard him say, "Hi, Deb," but that came through only once using her own ghost box. This time we also heard someone call her "Debbie," which is what her mother called her before she died.<br />
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When Deb shared the above video clip a few days later with her two nieces (Bub's daughters), they both confirmed that the male voice sounded like their dad.<br />
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During our session using the EchoVox in the Old Bank Building, Deb was also able to successfully use our K-II electromagnetic (EMF) meter to elicit on-command responses using lights on the K-II that correspond to increased EMF. (Most paranormal investigators report that EMF disturbances accompany paranormal activity, and that's been our own experience as well.)<br />
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It's so nice when multiple instruments reinforce one another during our experiments!<br />
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After the Deb's exchange using the EchoVox and K-II, one of our observers asked if we ever got responses in other languages. Actually, we had documented responses in German at a hotel in Cripple Creek, where frontier mining operations had included immigrant German miners.<br />
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Then the guest observer at the Fruita investigation, whose name was "Cristal," asked a question in Spanish. We didn't realize it at the time, but in later analysis of the audio recording, we were surprised -- and pleased -- to discover that we captured on the EchoVox several responses to her in Spanish. [We'll add those findings to this account at a later date. Stay tuned!]<br />
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On another note, while we were conducting our investigation in one part of the bank building, our sister investigators from HPI also experienced their own activity. Using an entirely different kind of ghost box, an SB-7, that team did manage to have an entirely different interaction: They captured rude responses involving a lot of cursing. When we investigated that same space later in the evening, however, we got nothing. (Be sure to check out their findings on the <br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hotchkiss-Paranormal-Investigators-339572346112279/videos/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">HPI Facebook</a> page.)<br />
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***</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing
investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book,
WILD WEST GHOSTS.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair
musings or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the fascinating
world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!</div>
</div>
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<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-51638856223467544212016-11-22T22:01:00.000-07:002016-11-22T22:01:33.326-07:00Halloween Investigation: Museum of the Mountain West, Pt 2This is the second of our two-part account of the investigation on Halloween weekend October 2016 at the Museum of the Mountain West (MMW) -- a collaboration of three paranormal research groups that conducted round-robin investigations at six locations within the museum's sprawling grounds near Montrose, Colo.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of the Mountain West</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(<a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2016/11/halloween-investigation-museum-of.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see Part 1 of this two-part account.) </i><br />
<br />
The investigation included 18 researchers consisting of Wraiths in the Thick of Things, Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators (HPI), and a group of university students that Mark and Chris have been training as part of the next generation of critical paranormal investigators. (We'll publish more on this project in a forthcoming article for the <a href="http://national-paranormal-society.org/nps-focus-magazine/" target="_blank">National Paranormal Society's <i>Focus</i> Magazine</a>.)<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
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<b>A note on our methodology</b> </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp1oIJddZtE/WDPX3GTuqvI/AAAAAAAACoo/AW3X6-ECVHc3p2kScBJerHFVBqJKOa9GQCLcB/s1600/Dry%2BGoods%2BK-II%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp1oIJddZtE/WDPX3GTuqvI/AAAAAAAACoo/AW3X6-ECVHc3p2kScBJerHFVBqJKOa9GQCLcB/s200/Dry%2BGoods%2BK-II%2Bslide.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mel on the left and K-II on<br />
the right, with investigator's<br />
finger pointing at the device</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You'll notice for the following video clips that each team employed a combination of K-II and Mel meters. Both meters used in these experiments are designed to register EMF (<b>E</b>lectro<b>m</b>agnetic <b>F</b>ield energy), and increased EMF is a phenomenon often reported during paranormal activity.<br />
<br />
Key to the experiments, however, is using two meters, where investigators ask for interaction with one meter (generally the K-II) but not the other. This helps us, as investigators, to eliminate the variable of random EMF emissions from the surrounding environment that could affect both instruments during each session.<br />
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We're also careful not to actually touch the K-II unit when pointing to it (cautious about contamination due to a possible grounding effect).<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE INVESTIGATIONS</b></div>
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<b>The Main Building Dry Goods Store</b><br />
The team Mark led with student trainees first swept this one-room store to establish baseline EMF readings and then preceded to ask a set of agreed-upon questions that both Wraiths teams asked in each locale. In the following clip, you'll hear some of those scripted questions. At one point, however, a team member asked about attachment to particular garments in the store (see <a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2016/06/museum-of-mountain-west-prelim-para.html" target="_blank">our earlier article</a> on paranormal accounts by museum staff and visitors), and that question prompted an unexpected conversation via K-II responses. Here's that exchange:<br />
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<i>Our K-II conversation in the Dry Goods Store</i></div>
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This Dry Goods Store interaction was one of the most surprising of the evening since that session suggested an intelligent haunting through a conversation with an entity well aware of our presence, and the respondent was willing to help us locate not only the particular dress but also a particular pair of shoes.<br />
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<b>The Louise House</b><br />
At one point during the night, Wraiths investigator Chris led another set of student trainees in a session conducted in the so-called Louise House, an early-day Montgomery Ward mail-order home that was later relocated to the MMW. In this session, Chris's team used not only the K-II/Mel meter combo but also consecutive sessions first with the Spiritus and then with the EchoVox spirit boxes. See their results in this clip:<br />
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<i>Coordinated K-II and spirit box responses</i></div>
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What really got our attention is how the two separate spirit boxes both produced the name of "Annette" and how the K-II responded when Chris repeated that name later on in the session. Listen carefully to the spirit box recordings to hear what additional responses you think the team may have captured.<br />
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<b>The Empire House</b><br />
We've saved sharing the most intriguing investigation for last, one that took place in a building only recently moved to MMW, and so named because of its Empire-style architecture. However, this former home has a darker name applied to it by locals: "The Murder House."<br />
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The structure once stood near the middle of town in Montrose, and it was the site of a murder-suicide.in the 1940s. HPI investigated the location before its removal to MMW and reported a number of chilling experiences, including invisible scampering footsteps of children and a dark energy that menaced their team. (See HPI's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hotchkiss-Paranormal-Investigators-339572346112279/videos" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> for those accounts.)<br />
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Wraiths team member Egan (our resident sensitive) also scouted out the building prior to its move to MMW, and she reported that the Murder House also contained a dark presence as well as the persistence of the woman who was murdered there. During our Halloween weekend investigation at MMW, Wraiths student-trainee Trenton saw from outside the house the shadow figure of a woman cross the bay windows of the living room. (At the time, no one was inside the building.)<br />
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Once we entered the house, Wraiths student trainees conducted a session on their own in the stairway where the woman was murdered on the third step and may have interacted with that murder victim:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A K-II conversation with a murder victim</i></div>
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While the above session took place, in another part of the house Egan reported that she no longer sensed the dark energy she'd felt before the building was moved to MMW. But of equal interest was her impression that the woman was still in the house, and now content. It was an intriguing corroboration to what the student trainees captured in the above clip.<br />
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Further corroboration of that finding occurred when HPI conducted their separate investigation of the Murder House later that same evening (shared here with HPI's permission):<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>HPI's EVP capture in the Murder House</i></div>
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This extraordinary EVP, which HPI captured on the audio track of their video recording, seems to confirm our own findings that the dark energy was no longer in the Empire House. (EVP stands for <b>E</b>lectronic <b>V</b>oice <b>P</b>henomenon.)<br />
<br />
Our joint investigations at the Museum of the Mountain West were ambitious, but it was also very fruitful. We want to return on a future date, of course, to see if we can replicate not only the responses we obtained but also the same kinds of interactions we recorded.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-80278913681933128992016-11-06T18:29:00.001-07:002016-11-23T14:04:30.173-07:00Halloween Investigation: Museum of the Mountain West, Pt 1Our investigation on Halloween weekend October 2016 at the Museum of the Mountain West (MMW) was perhaps our most ambitious: a collaboration of three paranormal research groups that conducted round-robin investigations at six locations within the museum's sprawling grounds near Montrose, Colo.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qGZx6JCHO4/V2rsg02b55I/AAAAAAAACh0/-SLaVW04dZ0nOX57sASd0DoFE5W57qv2QCPcB/s1600/Museum%2BMountain%2BWest%2B1%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qGZx6JCHO4/V2rsg02b55I/AAAAAAAACh0/-SLaVW04dZ0nOX57sASd0DoFE5W57qv2QCPcB/s320/Museum%2BMountain%2BWest%2B1%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of the Mountain West</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(<a href="http://tinyurl.com/zbbvnhk" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see the history of this reconstructed and assembled frontier town as well as the paranormal accounts we previously collected from staff and visitors.) </i><br />
<br />
The investigation included 18 researchers consisting of Wraiths in the Thick of Things, Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators (HPI), and a group of university students that Mark and Chris have been training as part of the next generation of conscientious and critical investigators. (We'll publish more on this project in a forthcoming article for the <a href="http://national-paranormal-society.org/nps-focus-magazine/" target="_blank">National Paranormal Society's <i>Focus</i> Magazine</a>.)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O9y4xIno3y0/WBtZbjA9WlI/AAAAAAAACnA/lszPizvKekA-e3FonOSoccfd81RvbmCpQCLcB/s1600/MMW%2Binvestigators%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O9y4xIno3y0/WBtZbjA9WlI/AAAAAAAACnA/lszPizvKekA-e3FonOSoccfd81RvbmCpQCLcB/s200/MMW%2Binvestigators%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our para team collaborators</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before we go into details, a shout-out to museum curator Bob DeQuinze, MMW board member Carolyn Bellavance, the whole MMW volunteers and staff (who made us so welcome, and even fed us!), and HPI co-founder/lead investigator Hector Zeferino as well as his dedicated team.<br />
<br />
What a pleasure this whole experience was.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE INVESTIGATIONS</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yfxHUSaP9LU/WBtjRWx2v8I/AAAAAAAACnY/_Ofx5Mua_w4QjR5hlIAHe7523TLR4yp_QCLcB/s1600/MDP%2Bphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yfxHUSaP9LU/WBtjRWx2v8I/AAAAAAAACnY/_Ofx5Mua_w4QjR5hlIAHe7523TLR4yp_QCLcB/s200/MDP%2Bphoto.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Student investigators Chrissie and Doug<br />
during our MMW investigation<br />
<i>(photo by Paul Hurschmann, <br /><a href="http://www.telluridenews.com/the_watch/news/article_de521b54-9bd6-11e6-a3cd-b3266ce6796d.html?mode=jqm" target="_blank">Montrose Daily Press 10-30-2016</a>)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After preliminary sweeps of the MMW grounds on previous, independent dates by both Wraiths and HPI, the collaborating teams decided we had an unprecedented opportunity to break participants into four coordinated sub-teams. Each group could then rotate sessions round-robin through agreed-upon locations. And we each used the same methodologies, asked the same initial questions, and performed the same experiments -- all while carefully logging findings and recording time-stamps for every procedure, response, and encounter.<br />
<br />
We also agreed not to share findings in between our musical chairs relocations, so we wouldn't bias one another on what occurred during the ongoing investigations.<br />
<br />
The onsite experience is over, and the real work of analyzing what evidence we collected is now underway. However, we can already share a few striking moments from the investigation.<br />
<br />
<b>The D&RG Railroad Section House</b><br />
The 1882 Section House was dismantled and moved from Olathe, Colo., to MMW in 2006, and the structure originally served as a bunkhouse for Denver & Rio Grande Railroad workers. At least one of those workers may still be present. (See our earlier article.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUp5WLskncY/WBtvlVrn5JI/AAAAAAAACnw/onJ3t44vNXYWkvdCquPR7Xh2TvPHi--9gCLcB/s1600/MMW%2BLantern%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUp5WLskncY/WBtvlVrn5JI/AAAAAAAACnw/onJ3t44vNXYWkvdCquPR7Xh2TvPHi--9gCLcB/s200/MMW%2BLantern%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A haunted brake light?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wraiths investigator Egan, who's a sensitive, had previously visited this building and encountered a strong presence that seemed possessive and protective of one brake-light lantern displayed on the south wall inside the section house. Curator Bob DeQuinze had earlier related to us that a museum visitor reported seeing a figure in that building who announced the lantern was his and demanded the visitor get out.<br />
<br />
On the Halloween weekend night investigation, Team Mark (consisting also of Wraiths team member Egan as well as students Frances, Kane, Lily, Marlida, and Trenton) approached the section house, but the unlocked door wouldn't open at first. Egan later reported she'd felt intense negativity both outside the door and when we entered. In fact, it almost overpowered her.<br />
<br />
We checked the door afterwards, and it both opened and closed freely, and had done so earlier in the evening for the previous team.<br />
<br />
We set up our instruments (camcorder, K-II and Mel meters, and spirit box) and began asking the scripted questions. While the team conducted the interview and monitored equipment, Trent felt an undeniable touch on his left side under his arm. And as our questions became more insistent with regards to the brake-light lantern, Egan became nauseous and both Egan and Trent felt simultaneous sharp spikes of pain to the right back side of their heads.<br />
<br />
Here's what we captured on K-II and Mel meters as well as on the EchoVox spirit box at that time:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The K-II and Mel meters used in this experiment both register EMF (<b>E</b>lectro<b>m</b>agnetic <b>F</b>ield energy), a phenomenon often reported during paranormal activity. Key to the experiment, however, is using two meters, where investigators ask for interaction with one meter but not the other. This helps us, as investigators, eliminate the variable of random EMF emissions from the surrounding environment that could affect both instruments since investigators request interaction through only one of the devices.<br />
<br />
You'll notice in the above experiment, and the one below, that the Mel meter remained constant while the K-II meter registered changes repeatedly upon request.<br />
<br />
<b>The Main Building Saloon</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ENzzgw_Bmk/WB1iY5ahlMI/AAAAAAAACoQ/0zSfff8jKlcJcCmitlBmiZd2Enqz6MmJACLcB/s1600/MMW%2BSaloon%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ENzzgw_Bmk/WB1iY5ahlMI/AAAAAAAACoQ/0zSfff8jKlcJcCmitlBmiZd2Enqz6MmJACLcB/s200/MMW%2BSaloon%2Bslide.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pool table at the center of the saloon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While the above experiment progressed, Team Chris (including students Caitlyn, Doug, Chrissy, Emma, and Sam) investigated the saloon inside the main building. (Again, see our earlier article for paranormal accounts in this locale.) The team decided to focus their investigation at the center of the room on top of the antique pool table.<br />
<br />
The investigators followed the agreed-upon scripted questions, using an EchoVox spirit box first and then repeating questions using a Spiritus spirit box. They also simultaneously incorporated both K-II and Mel meters.<br />
<br />
But their interviews soon took a different turn when both boxes produced references to the pool table. See the following video for results from their session:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Note in the above clip a number of intelligent-response EVP that correspond to playing pool, including the term "rookie" to taunt Chris as well as the term "break." (EVP stands for <b>E</b>lectronic <b>V</b>oice <b>P</b>henomena -- voices generated by the spirit boxes.) The team also twice received the clear response of "Faye" when asking for the name of the entity.<br />
<br />
Earlier in this session, they had heard "black ... white" on the spirit box and subsequently, whenever team members brought up those words immediately prior to the above clip, the K-II would light enthusiastically once the team figured out the EVP referred to the white cue ball and black eight-ball on the table. Notice how the K-II in the above clip continues to respond to their mentions of black and white.<br />
<br />
The night was just beginning, and with many encounters yet to come.<br />
<br />
<b>And in the next article ...</b><br />
<a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2016/11/halloween-investigation-museum-of_22.html" target="_blank">Click here to continue to Part 2</a>, where we share additional on-the-ground interactions and encounters the teams experienced that night and then turn to insights we gained about the haunted Museum of the Mountain West when we compare experiences and findings with the other investigative teams.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-43380028886692375842016-06-22T15:53:00.000-06:002016-10-31T12:44:28.042-06:00Museum of Mountain West prelim para investigationThe West is full of violent history -- a fair share of it paranormal -- and the Museum of the Mountain West is an active contributor to the phenomenon. The location contains two documented murders (one by lynching and one by gunshot) and two additional deaths (one by heart attack and one from a kick by a horse!) within various buildings on the premises. But that's not all. Read on.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qGZx6JCHO4/V2rsg02b55I/AAAAAAAAChw/nDzck8KbK4g8Fv_KyYrW-wlIui8zhTFWQCK4B/s1600/Museum%2BMountain%2BWest%2B1%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qGZx6JCHO4/V2rsg02b55I/AAAAAAAAChw/nDzck8KbK4g8Fv_KyYrW-wlIui8zhTFWQCK4B/s320/Museum%2BMountain%2BWest%2B1%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of the Mountain West</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In anticipation of a full investigation scheduled right before Halloween, we visited this recreated frontier town just outside Montrose, CO, reconnoitering reported paranormal hot spots and collecting accounts of paranormal encounters by museum staff and visitors.<br />
<br />
The site is home to multiple relocated historical buildings and over a half million artifacts and antiques. And if ever there was a case to be made for magical contagion, the Museum of the Mountain West ranks near the top.<br />
<br />
The museum is brain child to former Colorado state archaeologist Richard Fike, who has collected Old West memorabilia all his life. (For an interview with Fike and a non-paranormal video tour of the museum, see this <a href="https://www.blogger.com/">TouristTrekker YouTube feature</a>.) Founded in 2002, the museum focuses on restored buildings and objects from the 1880s to the 1930s, some artifacts even dating to the 1400s.<br />
<br />
Museum curator Bob DeQuinze gave us a private tour of the paranormal side of things at the faux frontier town. (He also serves as the facility's wedding planner -- the museum offers weddings in a historic, relocated Lutheran church.)<br />
<br />
Here are a few candidate hot spots for our upcoming investigation:<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0LsC_wUUUY/V2r3YfTCwUI/AAAAAAAACh8/ix_Xyd7bws4W_fjtVoZV5puirw7L0h3xgCK4B/s1600/MMW%2BSaloon%2BClock%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0LsC_wUUUY/V2r3YfTCwUI/AAAAAAAACh8/ix_Xyd7bws4W_fjtVoZV5puirw7L0h3xgCK4B/s320/MMW%2BSaloon%2BClock%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ghost" clock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>The Saloon</b><br />
Along one wall next to the billiard table, an antique clock sits atop an upright piano. But the clock has never worked -- except for the three days after a visitor died of a heart attack in front of the piano. The clock ran until her burial.<br />
<br />
Bob also once saw an apparition walk past the saloon window one night after the facility was closed. He ran outside to look for a trespasser, but no one was there.<br />
<br />
And investigators from our good friends at Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators carried on intelligent conversations in the saloon by asking the light fixtures to blink on and off. (See archival videos of HPI's investigation of the museum <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/videos/?q=hotchkiss%20paranormal%20investigators" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nm7Ujqj6twQ/V2r62WK2XeI/AAAAAAAACiI/pAdzzXGJGco_1GJt9cAlFyYj8pvhEFnHgCK4B/s1600/MMW%2BMercantile%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nm7Ujqj6twQ/V2r62WK2XeI/AAAAAAAACiI/pAdzzXGJGco_1GJt9cAlFyYj8pvhEFnHgCK4B/s200/MMW%2BMercantile%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="148" /></a><b>The Dry Goods Store</b><br />
Bob recounted that the Dry Goods Store one time developed an unsettling aroma near the display of antique clothing. Searches to identify the source of the smell proved fruitless, but when Bob and his wife were on a trip to the Denver area, they visited a psychic who told them the museum was displaying undergarments owned by a very proper Victorian woman who felt unhappy at having her private clothing publicly on view. The psychic told him the spirit had created the aroma to discourage visitors from invading her privacy. Once those garments were hidden, the odor disappeared. Bob also related one couple captured in real time as he observed a picture of the spirit, dressed in Victorian garb. (We had no such luck on the afternoon we were there.)<br />
<br />
<b>The 1895 Carriage House </b><b>Works </b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaR2au-Anac/V2r8-pi2TSI/AAAAAAAACiU/EHGy9cKsRCA0OZOUxmAlrftYnLz1TAoJwCK4B/s1600/MMW%2BCarriage%2BHouse%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaR2au-Anac/V2r8-pi2TSI/AAAAAAAACiU/EHGy9cKsRCA0OZOUxmAlrftYnLz1TAoJwCK4B/s320/MMW%2BCarriage%2BHouse%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Site of an early-day lynching</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One hot spot of particular interest to us is the Carriage House Works. Richard Fike had this building moved from Delta, CO, to the site in the early 2000s, preserving and restoring the building to resemble its original design. In the early days, enraged townsfolk had lynched a Tabagauche Ute from the rafters of the building after he had mistreated a local prostitute. In that same building, another man died after a horse kicked him while unhitching a team. Modern-day restorers have installed electric illumination inside the Carriage Works, and these lights often come on in the middle of the night, which staff have to routinely return after hours to switch off.<br />
<br />
And during their investigation, HPI captured a remarkable video on the second floor of this building, where an amorphous shape half emerges from an antique mirror (see the aforementioned link to HPI.)<br />
<br />
Definitely a building high on our own list when we visit for our own investigation!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7x9-3aRRlU/V2r_9G2jlNI/AAAAAAAACik/Ihirp6XGQkME7AJMNBuJUp1tAjgiiJPfgCK4B/s1600/MMW%2BLantern%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7x9-3aRRlU/V2r_9G2jlNI/AAAAAAAACik/Ihirp6XGQkME7AJMNBuJUp1tAjgiiJPfgCK4B/s200/MMW%2BLantern%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="143" /></a><b>Railroad Section House</b><br />
The 1882 Section House was dismantled and moved in from Olathe, CO, in 2006, and had originally served as a bunkhouse for Denver & Rio Grande Railroad workers. Wraiths team member Egan had visited the museum on another occasion and told us to check out the Railroad Section House, where she had sensed an unfriendly energy near a certain antique brake-light lantern. (Egan has proven to be a bit of a "ghost magnet" on some of our earlier investigations, notably the one to Norwood. See that account <a href="http://tinyurl.com/h3plxzy" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
When we received our paranormal tour, Bob pointed out the same lantern and recounted how another visitor had seen an apparition hovering near this lantern, an unfriendly sort who told him the lantern was his!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YzbScHVXf18/V2sAPnK-pnI/AAAAAAAACis/jDt6zLJPw9ktyHvBnF4KelAXpyWIyNfqwCK4B/s1600/MMW%2BEmpire%2BHouse%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YzbScHVXf18/V2sAPnK-pnI/AAAAAAAACis/jDt6zLJPw9ktyHvBnF4KelAXpyWIyNfqwCK4B/s200/MMW%2BEmpire%2BHouse%2B%2528slide%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Empire" House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>The Empire House</b><br />
This recent addition to the museum is a home built in Empire architecture style and was site to a gun-related homicide. HPI had investigated this building before it was moved, and we'll be interested to see if the house brings with it any remnants of that former violence.<br />
<br />
Certainly, many locations and objects on the premises seem to have retained some sense of magical contagion.<br />
<br />
Bob pointed out spots where three different "lady ghosts" have manifested to visitors in various locations at the museum, as well as the recurring pull of a slot machine after hours.<br />
<br />
Should prove an interesting investigation.<br />
<br />
Why the delay until October for our own inquiry? Wraiths team members Mark and Chris will offer an Honors course this fall at Western State Colorado University entitled "Are Ghosts Real?" It'll be a chance to train the next generation of ghost hunters in how to think critically and conduct careful investigations as they document and learn to conservatively interpret their findings. Plus, what a great way to spend the weekend before Halloween! (But more on this Wraiths course project in a later article.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-35783525310305229642016-04-29T14:50:00.002-06:002016-04-29T14:50:31.853-06:00Gunnison Arts Center InvestigationAfter hearing all the first-person accounts of paranormal activity at the Gunnison Arts Center (GAC), our on-site investigation did not disappoint.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YTWWRjmBZUs/Vx7z45Hf-lI/AAAAAAAACgg/n8Zcsz6oBVgFN56CpK41Q5sv5WArt9aqwCK4B/s1600/N%2Bhall%2B2nd%2Bfloor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YTWWRjmBZUs/Vx7z45Hf-lI/AAAAAAAACgg/n8Zcsz6oBVgFN56CpK41Q5sv5WArt9aqwCK4B/s320/N%2Bhall%2B2nd%2Bfloor.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IR of second-floor hallway, where a previous GAC<br />
director chased a darting shadow figure one night.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(If you missed the report on the staff and volunteer accounts we collected, c<a href="http://tinyurl.com/j265xq3" target="_blank">lick here</a>.)</i><br />
<br />
Team Wraiths brought seven investigators to the building and broke into three teams to rotate through reported hotspots on all three levels: the storage basement (affectionately called "the crypt" by GAC staff -- and not without good reason); the first-floor theater and art gallery; and the second-floor art galleries, staff offices, and dance studio.<br />
<br />
<br />
We'll focus on hotspots where our separate teams each reported recurring anomalous activity.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Basement "Crypt"</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KGEJuvW0VyU/Vx72rIn8muI/AAAAAAAACgs/DNgFPbdxkDMLrM5qEKJGOimtdu8K8zVMACK4B/s1600/GAC%2Bcrypt%2Bdoor%2B2%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KGEJuvW0VyU/Vx72rIn8muI/AAAAAAAACgs/DNgFPbdxkDMLrM5qEKJGOimtdu8K8zVMACK4B/s200/GAC%2Bcrypt%2Bdoor%2B2%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crypt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Everyone wanted to investigate this area, particularly after the recent report of a shadow figure. But Team A (Yvonne and Toni) went down first -- and got results with both K-II light-flicker responses and Mel-meter spikes from zero up to 4.7 mG when requesting communication.<br />
<br />
But somebody -- or something -- didn't want them around: Yvonne (our guest team member from sister investigative group Hotchkiss Paranormal) asked if the presence there wanted them to leave and got a solid K-II response in the affirmative, twice!<br />
<br />
When Team B (Chris and Doug) settled in with the Crypt inhabitant(s), they noticed the strongest activity centered in the vicinity of a small black table with three tiers of shelving at the bottom of the stairs. Chris obtained repeated results asking unseen presences to flicker specific colored lights at his request. See for yourself:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9oFzlMmLz-k/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9oFzlMmLz-k?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>On-command light flickers using a K-II meter</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
By the time Team C (Kym, Mark, and Marisa) got to the basement, the party was over and the local inhabitants weren't talking. However, the absence of interactivity at this point served as a good control, suggesting the area wasn't always active -- which would have been suspicious. On the plus side, Team A later collected information that the black table was a donation from a house in town reputed to be haunted! (Wraiths will report on that location as a forthcoming, separate investigation.)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The First Floor</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QXjrsCOAPwI/Vx77gSE6L6I/AAAAAAAACg4/hptfMj_D-ogJeHFn0neYT6Sagx6MbD9fQCK4B/s1600/Theatre%2Bstage%2B%2528web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QXjrsCOAPwI/Vx77gSE6L6I/AAAAAAAACg4/hptfMj_D-ogJeHFn0neYT6Sagx6MbD9fQCK4B/s200/Theatre%2Bstage%2B%2528web.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The theater stage on the first floor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But Team C had better luck getting responses on the theater stage and in particular in the public women's restroom on the first floor. Turns out there seems to be a vertical concentration of paranormal activity running through all three floors that includes the restroom -- a possible indication of a spirit portal in the building.</div>
<br />
Using an EchoVox spirit box, Team C picked up several intriguing EVP in both first-floor locations, including a request for Mark to "Please stop talking!" Guess they thought it should be their turn.<br />
<br />
But the strongest activity occurred in the women's restroom, where the spirit box wouldn't shut up:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Intelligent haunting EVP responses</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Both Teams A and B also reported the most active responses on the first floor to experiments in the women's restroom, and both captured additional EVP, EMF spikes, on-command light flickers, and anomalous streaking lights. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Second Floor</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLEFDGq4EQg/Vx7_XKxI58I/AAAAAAAAChE/GgkZTUV0FFskDHU9gnov_Z5DmHL194xKQCK4B/s1600/GAC%2BRock%2BRoom%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CLEFDGq4EQg/Vx7_XKxI58I/AAAAAAAAChE/GgkZTUV0FFskDHU9gnov_Z5DmHL194xKQCK4B/s200/GAC%2BRock%2BRoom%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rock Room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The two strongest hotspots on the top level of the building centered in the Rock Room (so named because of its preserved, exposed rock-masonry inner walls) and the Dance Studio Foyer.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As reported in our previous article, the second floor of the building originally served as the "European Hotel" -- code for one of the town's early-day brothels. That might explain the EVP response we captured, assuring us that (early day) prostitution in the building only operated as "legal sex."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Equally intriguing were our findings in the Dance Foyer (as well as at certain other locales in the building), where we captured on both camcorder and full-spectrum camera a number of light anomalies that often coincided with our K-II communications:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9_JOtA0byks/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9_JOtA0byks?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Light anomalies captured during the investigation</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The staff report the distinct feeling they're unwelcome after about
10 p.m., so we determined to spend time on the second floor during that
"witching hour." But we never did feel any urging to vacate the
building premises. In fact, we felt instead our investigation confirmed there's something going on in the Gunnison Arts Center that wants to be recognized. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One of our most "haunting" findings was the EVP assertion there are hundreds of spirits in the basement (see the "Intelligent Hauntings EVP" vid clip above), perhaps referring to the
possibility of a portal connecting seen and unseen worlds. And perhaps such goings-on reflect a combination of residual and intelligent hauntings that will always make this building an active paranormal site.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing
investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!
</div>
Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-85971000161603842402016-04-15T22:56:00.000-06:002016-04-25T22:24:32.408-06:00Haunted History of the Gunnison Arts CenterThe 134-year-old building housing the current Gunnison Arts Center has long held a reputation for unexplained occurrences. In anticipation of our investigation, we interviewed a dozen first-hand witnesses to the building's haunted history. According to the Arts Center current staff -- even the former skeptics on staff -- this place is haunted.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dxn57IBZ4E/VxHA1XzkqhI/AAAAAAAACfs/SOMxVCo6BSYwXJQi-ynt7mW_ehijnQoKQCK4B/s1600/GAC%2Bext%2BNW%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dxn57IBZ4E/VxHA1XzkqhI/AAAAAAAACfs/SOMxVCo6BSYwXJQi-ynt7mW_ehijnQoKQCK4B/s320/GAC%2Bext%2BNW%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>Following are highlights of what we learned:<br />
<br />
One woman related that, as a child, she and her little sister were playing in the basement in the early 1990s while the parents worked as volunteers building sets upstairs on the theater stage. The children repeatedly heard an unseen woman's voice in the room giggling at their antics. Only the parents were also in the building.<br />
<br />
A community play director was in the basement in the 1990s where costumes were then stored and had the three lights (each with independent switches) all go off simultaneously. As she stumbled toward and reached for the light switch, she felt "a weird cold, thick air sensation" just as all the lights turned back on. No one else was downstairs at the time.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jxVBBYQFVxA/VxHBEimicXI/AAAAAAAACf0/CwBljfZRMR0B3Yd9o33iCMnU3H2KuF1lwCK4B/s1600/GAC%2Bcrypt%2Bdoor%2B2%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jxVBBYQFVxA/VxHBEimicXI/AAAAAAAACf0/CwBljfZRMR0B3Yd9o33iCMnU3H2KuF1lwCK4B/s200/GAC%2Bcrypt%2Bdoor%2B2%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The basement "crypt"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the early 2000s, a theater tech heard noises in the basement and went down to investigate. Although he saw no one, he had the distinct impression he wasn't alone and called out, "Who's here?" He received the clear reply of "Sheila." On another occasion while working in the theater, he heard running water and found the source in the nearby women's restroom. The faucets in all three sinks were flowing. He shut them off and returned to work, but heard the sound of water again. He found all three faucets running again.<br />
<br />
An interim GAC director during the 2000s used the second-floor Rock Room as his office.
One night around 10 p.m. while he caught up on paperwork, he caught a
blur of motion pass the door, heading down the connecting east hall with the sound of running footsteps. The director gave
chase, fearing an intruder in the locked-up building. He checked out the building but found no one.<br />
<br />
On another occasion, that same director was copying documents in the basement -- once again late at night -- and heard the clopping of footsteps overhead. He went up stairs but found no one. When he returned to finish making copies, once again he heard clopping footsteps overhead.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LWD1dmwImHs/VxHCCI1bZ7I/AAAAAAAACgE/OwXrx0xsTncw-6m2nMzGt-qJMzZYjctkACK4B/s1600/GAC%2BGallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LWD1dmwImHs/VxHCCI1bZ7I/AAAAAAAACgE/OwXrx0xsTncw-6m2nMzGt-qJMzZYjctkACK4B/s200/GAC%2BGallery.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where's the "party"?<br />
Oh, in the Gallery!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While closing up in the evening, one staffer stood at the first-floor front door and reported hearing the distinctive sound of footsteps coming from the second floor. That same staffer recently went down into the basement (which current staff have dubbed "the crypt") and immediately saw a "slight, short" shadow with the clear outline of head and shoulders dart out the far end of the room and through the entrance into the crypt.<br />
<br />
Multiple staffers and volunteers have reported hearing the noises and voices of a party going on in the first-floor gallery -- when no such activities were occurring.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZOwb7B-860/VxHCsWLajPI/AAAAAAAACgQ/y4PNJdXOSdokMUdNYYpx3DYW0HnvobOQwCK4B/s1600/GAC%2Blatch%2Bdoor1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZOwb7B-860/VxHCsWLajPI/AAAAAAAACgQ/y4PNJdXOSdokMUdNYYpx3DYW0HnvobOQwCK4B/s200/GAC%2Blatch%2Bdoor1.jpg" width="124" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rock Room door</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The current Director of Operations has her office on the second floor. She recently passed by a second-floor gallery, only to have it fling wide open. And this past February while she worked late, the eye-hook latch closing the door connecting to the adjacent Rock Room snapped open and the door swung open 180 degrees. [Wraiths note: The eye-hook latch is stubborn to open -- we tried it ourselves.] She left immediately but returned an hour later to turn off the radiator heater in her office, and she smelled the distinctive aroma of freshly lit pipe tobacco in the Rock Room. Many staffers have smelled that same aroma intermittently through the years and during varying seasons as well as at varying times of day in both the Rock Room and on the first-floor theater stage.<br />
<br />
The security motion detectors in the building go off frequently at night and the service elevator changes floors without hitting the call button. Different inspectors have checked out both the detectors and the elevator but found them in perfect working order. They have no explanation for this anomalous behavior. Nor can anyone explain the regular occurrence of various lights going on and off throughout the building, which has gone through thorough renovations in recent years.<br />
<br />
Neither do two staffers have an explanation for the recent appearance on the second floor of a "chalky, crumbly" white powder sprinkled on furniture and tracking along one hallway. The staffers had crossed that area only five minutes before and only found the disturbance on their return.<br />
<br />
All the staffers report separately that they feel something or someone wants them to leave the premises after ten o'clock at night. "It's just a feeling that we're no longer welcome that late," the director told us.<br />
<br />
The next article will share our own investigative findings, with video clips documenting the Wraiths team experiences. Is the building haunted? Uh, yeah!<br />
<br />
[Update, 4-21-2016: We've already started posting clips from the investigation on our YouTube channel. <a href="http://youtube.com/c/KymnMarkTodd" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a preview of some of our startling findings.]<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing
investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!
<br />
<br />Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-29817729662291378702016-03-30T12:31:00.003-06:002016-03-30T12:31:38.026-06:00Our follow-up lockdown in Taylor Hall, Pt 2We knew that Taylor Hall Auditorium was haunted -- too many first-person accounts of paranormal activity to be otherwise.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHyNPvHC_j8/VvB5pCB8oJI/AAAAAAAACcw/_1qyMeiSNfAt0E7J0nCzQDJOA4lkLKf4Q/s1600/TH%2BExt%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHyNPvHC_j8/VvB5pCB8oJI/AAAAAAAACcw/_1qyMeiSNfAt0E7J0nCzQDJOA4lkLKf4Q/s200/TH%2BExt%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Central Hall of Taylor<br />
(the Auditorium is<br />
right up those steps!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But our prelim sweep of the building a few months back confirmed we had to find out more. And that's why we invited Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators (HPI) to join us -- more boots on the ground and more para tech to document what was going on.<br />
<br />
<i>(This is the second of a two-part account of our overnight lockdown investigation inside Taylor Hall. To read the first half of this investigation, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/jl7og9d" target="_blank">click here</a>. And if you want to know more about the building's haunted history and the earlier interviews we collected of witness sightings and experiences, </i><i><i><a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2015/12/haunted-taylor-hall-part-i.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. To check out HPI's separate account and vids of this current lockdown investigation, see the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hotchkiss-Paranormal-Investigators-339572346112279/" target="_blank">HPI Facebook page</a>.</i>)</i><br />
<br />
Team Wraiths and Team HPI broke into three commingled teams, giving each team the opportunity to rotate and spend an hour at each of the three paranormal hot spots we had identified during our prelim investigation. By the time we all compared notes at the end of the night, everyone walked away convinced the Auditorium was the (haunted) heart of Taylor Hall.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Taylor Auditorium Investigation</b></div>
The first team in the Auditorium encountered a shadow figure even before they could set up. (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/hdjdqa3" target="_blank">See the earlier prelim account for stories involving earlier sightings of a shadow figure</a> in the Auditorium.) It appeared near the south stairs leading onto the main stage. And they soon saw a second figure, this time near the north steps leading to the stage. Chris from Wraiths captured on film a bluish orb near the location of the (second?) shadow figure. The team also noted two unconfirmed cold spots in the north backstage wings but
concluded these might be the result of uneven heat distribution in this
large space.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1GUqZkhrZyA/VvsETDmuasI/AAAAAAAACdk/vwgzmTp_mjwMFL359hhozwcoieqBoHPXw/s1600/TAY%2BAud1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1GUqZkhrZyA/VvsETDmuasI/AAAAAAAACdk/vwgzmTp_mjwMFL359hhozwcoieqBoHPXw/s320/TAY%2BAud1.jpg" width="320" /></a>The second team, arriving an hour later, began setting up recorders and mapping the Auditorium with thermal imagers. That's when they heard scuffing steps (like the sound made on carpet) that traveled behind the curtains at one end of the proscenium stage. Team members found the carpet, but nothing or no one else. They then heard footsteps at the other end on the wooden part of the stage. The rest of the team was accounted for at the time. Who was this" The team requested some form of communication and next heard sequential rapping on a series of metal-backed theater seats.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b05VXICGLF8/VvsFHuoFdeI/AAAAAAAACds/kL6PNW7b0M4_0UZxatAwfQ0GETAZ8w0ww/s1600/TAY%2BAud2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b05VXICGLF8/VvsFHuoFdeI/AAAAAAAACds/kL6PNW7b0M4_0UZxatAwfQ0GETAZ8w0ww/s320/TAY%2BAud2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When the team went to investigate, they saw a shadow figure standing almost front-row-center below the stage. The figure ducked and scrambled back toward the north aisle. Team members raced down the aisle to meet it, but by the time they arrived adjacent to the row, the figure had disappeared.<br />
<br />
By then, their camera started malfunctioning anyway. (It worked perfectly as soon as they left the Auditorium, of course!)<br />
<br />
The third team conducted the final phase in the theater space and set up a full-spectrum camera pointed in the vicinity of the earlier rapping noises from the auditorium seats. The following video clip captures anomalous light sources in that vicinity.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7RhRfyJmsU4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7RhRfyJmsU4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Anomalous Auditorium Lights</i></div>
<br />
While it's possible that these lights are environmental contaminants lit by infrared lighting, their anomalous presence is consistent with the location of the observations made by the previous team. This vid footage is inconclusive, but interesting as a correlating finding.<br />
<br />
Although two consecutive teams separately witnessed one (or more?) shadow figures in the theater space, it seems this entity or entities weren't willing to pose for close-ups. But the multiple sightings during the investigation, together with the orb-capture, vid lights capture, and anomalous sounds -- all occurring in the same portion of the theater -- seem to add collaborative weight that something is, indeed, going on in the Auditorium.<br />
<br />
When we packed up our gear around 3 a.m., one HPI team member, who is a sensitive, said she felt a presence escorting us down the hallway as we headed for the exit.<br />
<br />
Both the Wraiths and HPI teams were ready to get some sleep, but no one felt like the time had been wasted in Taylor Hall that night.<br />
<br />
Be sure to check out our new Facebook page, <a href="http://fb.com/WraithsintheThick">fb.com/WraithsintheThick</a><span id="goog_1003354490"></span><span id="goog_1003354491"></span>, for updates on our ongoing investigations.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing
investigations as we did conducting the investigations for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-64156899172804149272016-03-23T13:16:00.001-06:002016-03-30T22:37:32.377-06:00A follow-up lockdown investigation in Taylor Hall, Pt 1After our prelim investigation of Taylor Hall back in December 2015, we decided to return for a full-blown overnight lockdown -- this time collaborating with the folks at Hotchkiss Paranormal Investigators (HPI) so we had enough boots on the ground (and high-tech equipment) to do it right. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHyNPvHC_j8/VvB5pCB8oJI/AAAAAAAACcs/OwvnBROCI64KPFyKtAt87gd4ByaH1EIIw/s1600/TH%2BExt%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHyNPvHC_j8/VvB5pCB8oJI/AAAAAAAACcs/OwvnBROCI64KPFyKtAt87gd4ByaH1EIIw/s320/TH%2BExt%2528web%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>(If you want to read about the building's haunted history and the earlier interviews we collected of witness sightings and experiences, </i><i><i><a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2015/12/haunted-taylor-hall-part-i.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. To check out HPI's separate accounts and vids of this lockdown investigation, see the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hotchkiss-Paranormal-Investigators-339572346112279/" target="_blank">HPI Facebook page</a>.</i>)</i><br />
<br />
Our eight combined investigators -- four from HPI and four from Wraiths -- broke into three commingled teams that rotated sequentially through the three sites we identified as most promising during the prelim investigation:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The <b>second-floor main entry hallway</b> in front of the Auditorium, site of multiple reports of shadow figures</li>
<li>The <b>Auditorium </b>itself, site of even more shadow reports, plus unexplained electrical and sound disturbances</li>
<li>A <b>second-floor faculty office</b>, site of repeated, presumed poltergeist activity</li>
</ul>
The beauty of the current investigation was that each of the three sites got the full attention of three consecutive teams for an hour each. And then we met up to debrief and compare notes. And notes aplenty did we have to share. Read on!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The second-floor main entry hallway</b></div>
The first team, consisting of Mark & Doug from Wraiths and Hector from HPI, began in the entryway hall in front of the Auditorium theater. That hallway has been the site of witnessed full-bodied apparitions on several previous occasions.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N2wzTlt2GKg/VvCGGb_8M9I/AAAAAAAACc4/6zCgldf-rZEpamboNblL_bIMBfcZH94ug/s1600/TH%2BHall%2BIR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N2wzTlt2GKg/VvCGGb_8M9I/AAAAAAAACc4/6zCgldf-rZEpamboNblL_bIMBfcZH94ug/s320/TH%2BHall%2BIR.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hallway investigation illuminated by infrared lighting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The team decided to conduct an EVP session using Wraiths' EchoVox spirit box. During our earlier prelim investigation, we had received several EVP identifying the name of "Em" (M?) -- the only place we'd encountered this persistent and repeated reference -- so we determined to see if we could reestablish communication.<br />
<br />
Almost immediately, "Em" announced herself and then gave us new information -- multiple tragic mentions of the word "rape" followed by Em's name. We asked for more information and the voice of Em said, "I'll try." Another voice told us Em was "Thea's friend" and that second voice seemed to tell her, "Don't cry." Watch the following vid for that thread of conversation:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Taylor Hall EVP conversation</i></div>
<br />
Shortly after the EchoVox session, Hector captured on camera the fleeting appearance of a mist that manifested just outside the Auditorium doors (see HPI's Facebook page), where a late-night facilities worker had previously reported witnessing a full-bodied apparition. Hector also reported smelling the aroma of something resembling the menthol of muscle rubbing cream in that area.<br />
<br />
When the second team (Tessa from Wraiths and DJ from HPI) conducted their subsequent investigation in the entryway, both also detected an intermittent aroma of what they described as a sort of aftershave. (All teams members refrained from wearing any fragrance for the investigation.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
But perhaps their most intriguing finding came when using their SB-7 spirit box, which produced the clear name of "Malcolm." <b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The second-floor faculty office</b></div>
The above SB-7 recording became significant because Chris (Wraiths), Chris (HPI), and Yvonne (HPI) were in the faculty office where recurring poltergeist activity of an electrical nature (see our prelim account) had taken place over the previous six months. Of particular interest to us was an antique electroshock box sitting on top of a bookshelf in that office.<br />
<br />
The team placed a KII meter on top of the box in an attempt at communication. (A KII meter lights a series of colored lights in progression as the unit senses increasing levels of elecromagnetic field charge -- such field a commonly reported phenomena when paranormal activity is involved).<br />
<br />
Investigators asked any paranormal presence in the office to illuminate a yellow light for "No" or an orange light for "Yes." Eventually, the team began getting responses to their questions, and determined the presence wanted them to leave.<br />
<br />
The team proposed they would leave the office if the spirit gave its name on the SB-7 spirit box currently being used outside the office by DJ and Tessa, near the Auditorium entryway. At that moment, Tessa and DJ heard a male voice announce on the SJ-7 the name "Malcolm."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lUmDYro8ncI/VvLlhZUq1JI/AAAAAAAACdc/ZgoU3ZcCdKcEJWFc4C8VgBq_9gmXv3ccw/s1600/TH%2Bentry%2Baroma%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lUmDYro8ncI/VvLlhZUq1JI/AAAAAAAACdc/ZgoU3ZcCdKcEJWFc4C8VgBq_9gmXv3ccw/s200/TH%2Bentry%2Baroma%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Location of intermittent aroma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The two teams switched investigative locations, with DJ and Tessa entering the faculty office while Chris, Chris, and Yvonne moved to the Auditorium entryway (and who later also confirmed detecting the intermittent aroma of aftershave at the previously mentioned hallway location.)<br />
<br />
DJ and Tessa continued their interview with "Malcolm." (Both teams listened to the voice of Malcolm and the subsequent male voice in the office, and all agreed that the two voices seemed to match.) DJ placed the SB-7 directly on top of the electroshock box.<br />
<br />
The ensuing conversation was remarkable, with investigators learning that Malcolm was attached to the antique box, had died at the age of 25, and that he would now have been in his early 90s. (A subsequent interview with the faculty member who had inherited the antique from an uncle revealed that the device was indeed in use in an asylum in Upstate New York around 1950, which would match the time-frame reported by the SB-7 voice.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jtsUoAbohQ/VvDL4M76qyI/AAAAAAAACdA/718IdlRfeyUDaVCmBJE1Xc5NibWm3IZnQ/s1600/Electroshock%2Bcabinet%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jtsUoAbohQ/VvDL4M76qyI/AAAAAAAACdA/718IdlRfeyUDaVCmBJE1Xc5NibWm3IZnQ/s200/Electroshock%2Bcabinet%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The antique electroshock box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
DJ asked Malcolm if he could tell them how many spirits were in Taylor Hall. No response. But when he asked if there were too many to count, the voice immediately said, "Yes." (The building is constructed on bedrock, with a flow of subterranean water underneath. Such a geological feature is believed to facilitate the passage of spirits from one dimension to another -- i.e., a portal.) <br />
<br />
Malcolm then clammed up and would answer no more questions until DJ asked if the spirit wanted them to leave, which provoked the immediate response of "Please, please leave" -- twice! So they did.<br />
<br />
When Mark, Doug, and Hector next rotated into the office, Malcolm wasn't talking. But the full batteries of HPI's second -- and up until then, unused -- SB-7 drained in less than 60 seconds in that office. A clear enough signal that Malcolm had had enough of everyone's company.<br />
<br />
[Update: On 3-23-2016, Wraiths revisited this faculty office and conducted an additional session by placing our EchoVox spirit box on top of the electroshock box and captured the following EVP:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Eletroschock Box EVP captures </i></div>
<br />
What intrigues us most is that this box has been moved 2,000 miles and hasn't been used since the 1950s. Does that mean that objects can retain both intelligent and residual hauntings even when displaced in space and time? Food for thought...]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/zzrdqep" target="_blank">Click here</a> to continue to Part 2, where we describe what happened in the Auditorium -- the most haunted location in the building. And be sure to check out our new Facebook page (<a href="http://facebook.com/WraithsintheThick" target="_blank">Facebook.com/WraithsintheThick</a>), dedicated entirely to our on-going investigations.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, also be sure to check out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hotchkiss-Paranormal-Investigators-339572346112279/" target="_blank">Hotchkiss Paranormal's Facebook page</a> for additional video and audio clips from this investigation.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing
investigations as we did conducting the investigations over the past
year and a half for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!
Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-64452469739783535682016-01-09T16:15:00.001-07:002016-02-17T21:49:04.785-07:00Haunted Taylor Hall, Part 2The 114-year-old Taylor Hall on the campus of Western State Colorado University in
Gunnison, Colo., has a multi-generational tradition of paranormal goings-on.<br />
<br />
<i>(If you missed Part 1 of this investigation, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/zxajdnz" target="_blank">click here</a>.)</i> <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wq4OKdgPm7Q/VooCGqHVe4I/AAAAAAAACaY/DYVS1GSIccY/s1600/TAY%2BHall%2B1937%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wq4OKdgPm7Q/VooCGqHVe4I/AAAAAAAACaY/DYVS1GSIccY/s320/TAY%2BHall%2B1937%2Bslide.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Hall in 1937</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But perhaps the most persistent accounts center around Taylor Auditorium, which occupies much of the space inside Central Hall -- the final center addition to the three-part Taylor complex, completed in the 1930s.<br />
<br />
That Auditorium can house over 800 attendees and has a full stage with a thrust proscenium. and a warren of passageways and connected rooms.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
Our collected interviews uncovered recurring reports of shadow figures and mischievous pranks both in the larger auditorium and backstage.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f-Q-Crxvjtg/VooMw-8HcKI/AAAAAAAACao/ILf9GUAXrpA/s1600/TH%2BAud%2Bcatwalk1%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f-Q-Crxvjtg/VooMw-8HcKI/AAAAAAAACao/ILf9GUAXrpA/s400/TH%2BAud%2Bcatwalk1%2Bslide.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking into Auditorium's vaulted <br />
spaces 50 feet up, near catwalk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We collected one story about a janitor who, in the early days of theater operation, had fallen to his death from the catwalk, housed some 50 or 60 feet above the main stage. So far, we haven't been able to confirm this story, but it may explain some of the activity staff and students related.<br />
<br />
One alum shared with us an event from the early 2000s, when she and two other students were painting sets on stage after midnight. They saw a shadow figure pass across the light booth window (no one else was in the building) and then the lights flickered off. At the same time, they both felt a sudden drop in temperature as though someone had opened all the outside doors. They decided it was time to leave -- and watched as the main doors opened for them. When they darted out, the door slammed shut behind them.<br />
<br />
Another account we collected was from a long-time theater prof who told us he was working late one night in his nearby office and heard a racket in the theater. Like the previous account, he was alone in the building at the time -- or so he thought. He found the main corridor theater doors locked but opened them anyway and went in to find all the stage lights inexplicably on. He checked the small locked light booth and found it empty, and then entered the main Auditorium again to call out if anyone was there. At that moment, all the lights went out (which could only be performed from the "empty" light booth.)<br />
<br />
We couldn't wait to explore the Auditorium for ourselves.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vni2-yDxSkM/VotPdPSseAI/AAAAAAAACa4/9FPFpdtP0ug/s1600/TAY%2BAud%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vni2-yDxSkM/VotPdPSseAI/AAAAAAAACa4/9FPFpdtP0ug/s400/TAY%2BAud%2Bslide.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auditorium from center stage, light <br />
& sound booth beyond seating</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While Wraiths team members Kym and Chris explored the main stage and theater seating, taking EMF readings and a series of pics, the rest of the group headed backstage beneath the catwalk to conduct both audio-only and ghost box EVP sessions.<br />
<br />
Chris captured on camera several orb-like anomalies near the north wall of the theater seating, and then the two joined the rest of the team for the EVP sessions. Although we recorded nothing through the digital recorder, we did manage to record what seemed like intelligent responses with our ghost box.<br />
<br />
That recording yielded several Class A EVP (words and phrases clear to everyone) as well as Class B (not everyone agreed) and Class C (sounded like words but little agreement on interpretation): <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>EVP in the Auditorium by ghost box</i></div>
<br />
When we asked for the names of those with us, early on we got "Pearl" and "Tom" (this latter name twice, once as a whisper). And both names also occurred later in the session. Listen for "Pearl" again during the Burst Mode.<br />
<br />
Other seemingly intelligent responses came when Elizabyth asked if anyone had a message ("Best not"), when Kym asked for how many joined us ("Three" repeated twice in succession), and when Chris asked for the date ("May 10" -- which it wasn't for us but might have been significant for the voice that replied). Listen also for the response to Mark's question about why they remain there ("For help") and a Class A EVP from the Burst of "Don't be terrified." We weren't -- but then, the message might have been for another unseen presence.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8Nv1XjZ4O8/VotVwG4XHmI/AAAAAAAACbI/Q-uq3-v63So/s1600/Taylor%2BHall%2Btypewriter%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8Nv1XjZ4O8/VotVwG4XHmI/AAAAAAAACbI/Q-uq3-v63So/s200/Taylor%2BHall%2Btypewriter%2Bslide.jpg" width="200" /></a>We next moved to the costume shop below the main Auditorium, where cast and crew have reported tapping noises from an old electric typewriter stashed in the hallway next to the shop. (Before the investigation, Wraiths team member Doug had placed a sheet of paper in the typewriter even though the machine was unplugged and the ribbon didn't work.) We checked the machine during the investigation for elevated EMF -- and for typed words -- but no joy in either case.<br />
<br />
We conducted an EVP session in the costume shop and captured EMF spikes as we recorded an exchange between two voices that seemed largely oblivious to our presence (except for one early mention of "Hey, Kym" -- EVP <i>often </i>acknowledge her!) That exchange was brief:<br />
MALE VOICE: What's up?<br />
FEMALE VOICE: Zach?<br />
MALE VOICE: Yes, ma'am. Zach.<br />
<br />
When Mark later asked the names of spirits present, a different male voice clearly said, "Zach."<br />
<br />
Our final stop was in the Taylor South Hall, where a faculty member had given us permission to investigate his office. The prof's room was situated in a suite of faculty offices, and on more than one occasion, he had heard commotion in two unoccupied empty offices directly across the hall when he worked after hours.<br />
<br />
Only three days before our current investigation, he had been working at his desk and noticed his analog watch's minute hand had began to spin around the face. Almost immediately, a book firmly lying on the desk toppled off the edge to the floor. These events occurred later on the same afternoon Wraiths team members Mark and Doug had conducted a preliminary sweep of the building, taking readings and announcing to any unseen presences that we'd return in a few days.<br />
<br />
In that prof's office, we conducted an EVP session via ghost box and captured a response of "Five" to the number of spirits present and, once again, the announcement that "Em" was there. (See our previous account of the session in the Taylor Hall main corridor, where "Em" spoke to us several times.)<br />
<br />
To Mark's query of why they were there, we recorded responses of "Ask, we can help." When Kym asked if the spirits present were okay with that particular prof sharing <i>their </i>space, the answer was immediate: "We shall see." We all remarked on the grammatically correct modal verb of "shall" for first person rather than the more common "will" these days. A response from an earlier, more proper era? Perhaps just a spirit mindful of the halls of higher learning.<br />
<br />
[We'll soon insert a portion of that EVP session in the office, once
we've had the opportunity to refine the raw audio file. Check back!]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L7veCJWHacY/VpGPwEj8W7I/AAAAAAAACbY/BlyHh3V2cF0/s1600/Electroshock%2Bcabinet%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L7veCJWHacY/VpGPwEj8W7I/AAAAAAAACbY/BlyHh3V2cF0/s200/Electroshock%2Bcabinet%2B%2528web%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>When we'd first entered the office for the investigation, we noticed an antique wooden cabinet that was once an electroshock unit. The device sat adjacent to the toppled book event reported above, and we wondered if it might be related to possible poltergeist activity in that and the nearby offices.<br />
<br />
We couldn't help but muse that perhaps not just the walls but even the furnishings *do* sometimes "talk."<br />
<br />
The Taylor Hall investigation was a success, in our opinion, and we plan to revisit to see what further evidence we can gather at a future date.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our next posting will recount our recent adventure in an isolated rural 1880s ranch house, which current owners had asked us to investigate. Seemed that unhappy spirits had driven off previous tenants and the new owners wanted to make peace with the long-term "caretakers." We were joined by a psychic, and boy, was that place ever haunted!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're
still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations
as we did conducting the investigations over the past year and a half
for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
<br />
There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
<br />
You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, happy hunting!
Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387354195138902316.post-73634146602591463132015-12-22T23:02:00.002-07:002016-03-21T17:26:30.896-06:00Haunted Taylor Hall, Part IOld buildings seem ripe for paranormal investigation, and several of the structures on the campus of Western State Colorado University in Gunnison have legends and stories to support that hunch. Some structures even have recurring sightings and unexplained activity that sustain the ghostly traditions of this 114-year-old institution right up to the present.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66hXD84vgTE/Vnhz7rQWsQI/AAAAAAAACZE/v5EYivLbGS8/s1600/taylor-historic-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66hXD84vgTE/Vnhz7rQWsQI/AAAAAAAACZE/v5EYivLbGS8/s400/taylor-historic-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Hall in 1911</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Take the original Taylor Hall, built in 1911 as a preparatory college for teachers, a so-called Normal School.<br />
<br />
But the goings-on in this facility can be anything but normal, to talk to alums, current students, faculty, and facilities staff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YsmE15e_TFs/Vnh3PwEjGZI/AAAAAAAACZQ/8tWO-31wmlc/s1600/SavageLibrary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YsmE15e_TFs/Vnh3PwEjGZI/AAAAAAAACZQ/8tWO-31wmlc/s320/SavageLibrary.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Savage Library's West Wing</td></tr>
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Western State has recurring reports of hauntings in at least four campus buildings. Generations of students continue to report sightings on the third floor of Roubidoux Hall of the ghost of a man who died of smoke inhalation in the 1970s. Some students say they’ve seen his apparition at their bedside at night.<br />
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Nearby Ute Hall harbors accounts of a shadow figure in the basement known to pass through the wall of an off-limits storage and boiler room, harmless if a bit unnerving to those who’ve witnessed the apparition.<br />
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Staff and students have reported additional paranormal activity in Savage Library inside the oldest and original building, now called the West Wing, designed by Denver architect Temple Buell as a WPA project during the Depression Era.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSBts3J5JmU/Vnh3sjaoWbI/AAAAAAAACZc/eIrI3Oihuqw/s1600/TAY%2BHall%2B1937%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSBts3J5JmU/Vnh3sjaoWbI/AAAAAAAACZc/eIrI3Oihuqw/s320/TAY%2BHall%2B1937%2Bslide.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor's North, Central, & South Halls in 1937</td></tr>
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By the time the original Taylor Hall had become North Hall (so delineated because of the chronological additions of South Hall and the connecting Central Hall), campus residents had noted accumulating paranormal happenings aplenty -- full-bodied apparitions on the second floor of North Hall, ghostly voices and moving objects in South Hall, and shadow people playing havoc with the lighting inside the auditorium in Central Hall.<br />
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We had to find out for ourselves what all the paranormal fuss was about.<br />
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With so much ground to cover for even a preliminary investigation, we called in the full complement of our six-member team, consisting of the two of us (Kym-n-Mark), plus Chris, Elizabyth, Douglas, and Doug. Hey, it gave us more more boots on the ground -- not to mention more eyes to cover everyone's back.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q239I8QhkSg/VniJkQGIZCI/AAAAAAAACZs/YoHb6mbNvQo/s1600/West%2BWing%2Binterior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q239I8QhkSg/VniJkQGIZCI/AAAAAAAACZs/YoHb6mbNvQo/s200/West%2BWing%2Binterior.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Wing Interior</td></tr>
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First stop, Savage Library's West Wing. We visited during the building's rare closed hours, assisted by a longtime librarian who pointed us to alleged hot spots. With his help, we debunked a number of reports, determining reported tapping sounds were caused by the expansion and contraction of heat flow in the building's vast array of ventilation shafts, which produced sounds that sounded like wall rapping at intermittent intervals. We also determined unexpected toilet bowl flushes in the bathrooms were triggered by quirky motion sensors.<br />
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Undaunted, we recorded EMF readings. (For readers who haven't followed our earlier accounts, EMF stands for <b>E</b>lectro<b>m</b>agnetic <b>F</b>ield, and ghosts are said to draw on this energy to manifest their presence.) Not surprisingly, we recorded EMF spikes near all the mechanicals and electrical hardware equipping even this oldest portion of the library, but natural causes explained all our readings.<br />
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Our audio-only digital recordings produced no EVP. (EVP stands for <b>E</b>lectronic <b>V</b>oice <b>P</b>henomena, or disembodied voices captured by electronic means). Nor did our flashlight and ghost box sessions produce results in the building. Despite staff reports to the contrary, we found nothing amiss or remotely paranormal during our investigation.<br />
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Then again, sometimes ghosts just don't come out to play!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyrMoQbELHY/VnjWb2KjziI/AAAAAAAACaI/QrvVe5gYGXk/s1600/TAY%2B2nd%2Bfloor%2B2%2Bslide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZyrMoQbELHY/VnjWb2KjziI/AAAAAAAACaI/QrvVe5gYGXk/s1600/TAY%2B2nd%2Bfloor%2B2%2Bslide.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A late-night tech saw a full-bodied<br />
apparition at the end of this hall.</td></tr>
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We moved our investigation to Taylor Hall during closed hours for that building as well. We decided to start on the second-floor where a late-night-working tech saw a full-bodied apparition standing in the North Hall main corridor, a figure that had disappeared moments later. (During an earlier interview, she confessed she's refused to work in the building alone late at night ever since.)<br />
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We set up our equipment, started recording baseline EMF readings, and conducted both audio-only and ghost box sessions, including an invitation to communicate with us using our flashlight. (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ogfrpwm" target="_blank">Click here</a> if you're unfamiliar with ghost box tech and want to learn more.)<br />
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Although we captured no audio-only EVP during this session, we had much better luck with the ghost box and, concurrent with the EVP, recorded corresponding spikes in EMF readings at this location.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H6q0CMtnZBs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6q0CMtnZBs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<i>Ghost Box EVP captured in the North Hall corridor</i></div>
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Many investigators classify hauntings as either residual and intelligent.
Residual hauntings play out scenes or verbal exchanges that seem oblivious to the presence of witnesses. Intelligent hauntings include communication that
recognizes and interacts with the presence of others. The excerpt from our investigation included above falls into the second category. </div>
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We expected a male voice from the ghost box because most apparition-sighting witnesses report seeing a male ghost, but the ghost box first captured two women's voices followed by a man's. The immediate greetings we captured during the session let us know we were welcome, nonetheless. And all electronically vocal entities seemed talkative and receptive to our efforts to communicate with them. </div>
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We've yet to track down any meaningful correlations to the names "Em" (Emily?), "Coffey" (a last name?), and "Anne," but we were pleased to confirm recognition of two of our attending team members, a confirmation that our unseen hosts were aware of the team's presence at that time.</div>
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One response was a plea for help, which dismays us a bit. Often we don't fully understand all the responses we captured. Maybe we can do more during a subsequent follow-up investigation.</div>
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But the current investigation wasn't over. We had hot spots to check out in the Central Hall auditorium and one South Hall office, where a faculty member had experienced possible poltergeist activity only a few days earlier.</div>
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<a href="http://writeinthethick.blogspot.com/2016/01/haunted-taylor-hall-part-2.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to continue on to Part 2.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s1600/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYYieBAedWI/VUMDUEQruZI/AAAAAAAAB_k/D20VwGugUiU/s200/Wild%2BWest%2BGhosts%2Bcover.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
We're still having as much fun documenting current and ongoing investigations as we did conducting the investigations over the past year and a half for our book, WILD WEST GHOSTS.<br />
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There are puzzling experiences and encounters aplenty out there, and you
just may want to pick up a copy of that book for either armchair musings
or else as a guide for your own expeditions into the
fascinating world of the paranormal.<br />
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You can buy the book as either an e-read or a trade paperback. Visit our <a href="http://writeinthethick.com/books.html" target="_blank">Website </a>for links.<br />
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In the meantime, happy hunting!
Kym-n-Mark Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05314439278090348652noreply@blogger.com0