Las Trampas Cascade

Cascade, Las Trampas, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

One of the multiple cascades to be found along an unnamed creek in Las Trampas. There are still colorful red leaves on the ground from fall...and spring is here!

Morning Glory Peek-A-Boo

New Bloom

A new bloom on my Agrostemma githago plant.

Grateful for Greenways

In my fourth year of cycling in the greater Boston area, I admit that I often get impatient with the greenways that run through the city. Being multi-use paths, they are usually congested with pedestrians. The interruptions are not well thought out. And they don't always take me exactly where I need to go. More often than not, I find myself choosing to cycle on the road instead... which is a shame, because I miss out on the beautiful scenery and the fresh air, all in the name of saving time.





Last weekend the Co-Habitant and I did something we haven't done for almost a year: went on a slow, meandering ride along the Charles River. On a sunny Saturday.Some time ago we'd decided this sort of thing was the stuff of nightmares because of how crowded the trail gets this time of year on weekends. But something in the air made us want to give it a try again.



And yes, it was super-crowded, with everyone photographing cherry blossoms and wandering all over the path without looking where they were going. Dogs on those long, invisible leashes, unattended toddlers making sudden u-turns on trikes, the whole nine yards. We had to ride really, really slowly. We had to be patient. We had to not think of it as cycling, but more like strolling by bike. Every half hour we stopped to sit down on the grass, drink from our flasks, stare at the water, enjoy the sun... It was wonderful!





To think, we were smack in the middle of Boston and not a car in sight. Birds chirping. The smell of grass and flowers. Lovely boats swaying. People sunbathing and having picnics everywhere. Sure we did not do a 50 mile loop through hilly country roads that day. But who cares? It was revitalising. It felt like a mini vacation.



We have several beautiful greenway networks here in Boston, and I truly am grateful for them. Greenways are not merely about getting from point A to point B, but about creating a healthy, flourishing oasis in the middle of a busy city that everyone can enjoy. Yes, they will be crowded on the weekend. And that is a good thing - it means people are using them. Sometimes we all need to take it slow, take it easy, and find a way to share these beautiful resources.

Out of Egypt

Last night we camped at the Egypt trailhead in anticipation of hiking to Neon Canyon and the Golden Cathedral. In the morning, however, we decided that after yesterday's long hike we just didn't know if we were up to another long hike today, especially one that started and ended with a huge hill. So, we decided to part ways with Roger and head for the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch trailhead, which has the Spooky and Peekaboo Canyon hikes. The road out to the Egypt trailhead was very scenic, so I took several shots of the road on our way out. Here is one such photo that gives you a good idea of the type of scenery you drive through to get to these canyon hikes.

The Bike Shop Next Door

It is the hottest day of the summer when I visit the finished space - a space I have watched transform from a dusty vacant storefront around the corner from my house, to Boston's only transportation-oriented bike shop. Carice and the Small Brown Dog are basking in the morning glow of the homey sun-drenched interior.The newly installed air conditioning is blessedly strong. The phone rings, and it appears that someone wants to order a bike. It is official: Bicycle Belle is open for business.






I have known Carice for about 4 years now - an architect, local bike blogger, DIY addict and lover of vintage 3-speeds. On occasion, we would meet for tea. Funny to think it was only months ago that, engaged in that very activity, we discussed taking the cargo bike plunge. She was considering buying a Dutch bakfiets.I was leaning toward an Xtracycle Radish.We debated the pros and cons of each.








Now both cargo bikes stand side by side in her very own retail space. It was that quick: from idea, to decision, to action, to completion, in just a couple of months. And yet, what happened felt neither hasty nor impulsive. Sometimes an idea develops dormantly, swirling around under the surface for years, ripening, just waiting for something to crack that surface open. In the Spring of , Carice felt that something and the idea became reality. And once the decision was made, her organisational skills, work ethic, and industry contacts from years of bike blogging, made everything happen swiftly. A bit of luck with the retail space cinched the deal.





The retail space had several compelling qualities to recommend it. First, the address. Situated on the border of Somerville and Cambridge (quite literally: half the building is on one side of the town line, half on the other),it sits at the start of Beacon Street - a bicycle super-highway through two of Boston's most bike-friendly boroughs. With its triangular footprint, the structure is distinct and no doubt an architect's dream. Windows on all sides, the interior is penetrated by gorgeous natural light. The wrap-around storefront also makes the wares on display highly visible to local traffic.








Finally - and rather remarkably - the space was available for immediate occupancy. Carice saw an opportunity and took it.







At the start of July Bicycle Belle was soft-launched under the slogan "cycling for city life." At present, the core collection includes transportation bicycles from Bobbin, Papillionnaire, Beater, Paper Bike and Soma, cargo bikes from Workcycles, Xtracycle and Kinn, and a slew of accessories from the likes of Basil, Brooks, Cleverhood, Vespertine, Yepp, Burley, Iva Jean, Velo Orange, et cetera. With utility/ transport/ city/ family bikes (circle your preferred term) more popular in North America than ever, there is nothing unusual about the inventory - save for the fact that a store with an exclusive focus on this market did not already exist in Boston, a major US city teeming with bicycle commuters.





Over the years, many of us have wondered why that was so. Not only was there no transportation-specific bike shop, but many shops that did try to carry some of that merchandise would often drop it after only a year or two - citing lack of local interest. "Boston is too aggressive of a city for these types of bikes" bike shop owners have told me - meaning cargo bikes, utility bikes. And yet, more and more of "these types of bikes" kept filling the streets. Clearly locals were buying them, and they were traveling out of town to do so - or else ordering online. Bike shops in places as remote as Oregon, Florida, California and Washington State have reported routinely selling bikes to customers in Boston.



One possible explanation for the discrepancy, is that the shops citing a lack of local interest have not been sufficiently "into" utility bikes to successfully sell them. When you don't fully believe in a product, customers sense that and failure can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By committing wholly to the utility bike target market, Bicycle Belle hopes to experience a more positive response.






Will the approach work? After only weeks in business, it is far too early to tell. It's worked for a dozen or so successful city bike shops that have sprung up throughout the US. But there are also those that have failed. Since opening its doors, Bicycle Belle has received a healthy amount of orders. But initial buzz does not mean long-term success. In other words: Let's wait and see.





Last Thursday night, Bicycle Belle held its official opening party. Due to limited space, it was intended to be a semi-invitational, low key affair. Yet the turnout was impressive and the atmosphere charged with excitement.






It was good to meet local activists, such as Jessica Mink.





And local bike bloggers, like Bike Style Boston





and Car Free Cambridge.





There were also plenty of familiar faces, including cartoonist Bikeyface and fashion model Vorpal Chortle.





Many of those in attendance were dressed up - lots of skirts, heels, suits - all arriving by bike of course.





At first I thought they'd dressed up for the party, but actually this was simply what people had worn to the office, since the party was immediately after many finished work.





Another trend of the evening was pregnancy - I spotted at least half a dozen pregnant cyclists in attendance. (Perhaps a future group ride theme?)







It was a good evening of wine, food and sparkly conversation, that showcased Boston's utility and family bicycling scene.






And all the while, outside, a steady procession of cyclists could be observed through the storefront windows.






Business as usual for the end of the workday commute down Beacon Street.






Local reactions to Bicycle Belle have been mostly positive, of the "It's about time!" variety. As anyone in the industry knows, a bike shop is never a get rich scheme - not even close. But the business must prove sustainable, and I sincerely hope this one does. Boston has been crying out for a resource like this for some time, and it's exciting that we finally have it - in my very own neighbourhood, no less. If you're in the area, drop by and pay theBicycle Bellea visit! More shots of the space and opening party here.

Joslin Family :: 1850 Whitley County Federal Census

As shown previously, the household of Jonas Joslin was the only 'Joslin' family in the 1840 Federal Census in Whitley County, Indiana. In 1850, 'Joslin' families can be found in the ancestry online index in seven counties in Indiana including Carroll and White in the west-central part of the state; Brown, Owen, and Vigo in the southwest; and Starke and Whitley in the northern portion. There are two 'Joslin' households in Whitley County: James and Lysander. The entire census for Whitley County has been viewed on microfilm and there are no other Joslin households in the county.

1850 Census, Whitley County, Indiana, dwelling 270, family 278, page 472a

James Joslin, 54, farmer, born L. C. [probably Lower Canada although it has been interpreted as South Carolina by some researchers]
Abigail, 46, born Ct [Connecticut]
Edwin, 20, farmer, Real Estate valued at $200, born O [Ohio]
Joseph, 17, farmer, Real Estate valued at $160, born O [Ohio]
Emily E., 12, born O [Ohio]
Mary L., 6, born Ia [Indiana]
Bela Goodrich, 74, born Ct [Connecticut]

Lysander Price Joslin was married on August 23, 1843 to Lydia Robinson. Their family is listed in the 1850 census on the page preceding that of James and Abigail.

1850 Census, Whitley County, Indiana, dwelling 262, family 270, page 471b

Lysander P. Joslin, 25, farmer, Real Estate valued at $350, born O [Ohio]
Lydia, 24, born O [Ohio]
Ann E., 5, born Ia [Indiana]
Melissa M., 11/12, born Ia [Indiana]

Fanny Joslin, the sixth 'child' of James and Abigail, was married to Joseph Shoemaker on February 5, 1843 and they were also living in Whitley County in 1850 (page 460).

While the 1850 census does not provide relationships to the head of household, the fact that James Joslin was the only 'Joslin' found in Whitley County in 1840 carries a certain amount of 'weight' indicating that he is the father of the children listed in his household in 1850 and he is really the only candidate to be the father of Lysander and Fanny as well.

Cottonwood Tree

This is the biggest cottonwood tree that survived the fire in this little area. Paseo del Norte highway is to the left of it. The pathway runs to the right of it. You can see the dead cottonwood trunk that has the sandhill crane on top of it. The Rio Grande River is farther on beyond the tree and park.

Unexpected Interludes

Back in the city now from our stay on the shore, I am looking back in bemusement at what had been intended as a bicycling-heavy trip, but turned out to be anything but.



It did rain a great deal. But even when the weather was good, we hardly did any substantial cycling. In fact, we probably cycled less during this trip than at any other point since winter ended. Like everyone else who rides a bicycle, I go through periods when my enthusiasm for it waxes and wanes. But this was probably the strongest and most unexpected case of the latter I have experienced since I started this blog. Why?..



On a superficial level it was really very simple: I lost interest in cycling when I discovered that the water was warm enough to swim. You see, I love swimming in the ocean but can't tolerate hot climates, so my options are severely limited and I've been swim-starved for years. In Northern New England the water is too icy, but in Southern New England(let alone popular vacation spots such as Florida) the weatheris already too hot and humid for me. It is as if there is an imaginary line somewhere along the MA/RI border where the climate and the water temperature undergo a dramatic change and what I really need is a place that is north of that imaginary line as far as climate goes, but south of it in terms of water temperature. And unexpectedly, I found such a place in Rockport, MA. Despite it being August, it was never above the low 80s, and dipped as low as the 60s on cooler days. Yet, the water remained swimmable the entire time and I found myself perfectly content to spend my waking hours at the beach: swim, read, eat, repeat. I cannot remember the last time I've been able to do anything like this!



I also must admit that we did not enjoy cycling here as much as we hoped during the few times we did it. Going north to Ipswich and beyond, water views were limited, car traffic was pretty heavy and there was not a whole lot of shade.Weknow from experience that once you get up the coast to New Hampshire and Maine it gets better, but we never made it that far.Truthfully, cycling "at home" - along the tree-lined, quiet country roads Northwest of Boston - is, on the whole, considerably more enjoyable.



So at some point we decided to just let it go and accept that there wasn't going to be a whole lot of cycling during this trip.



We used the bikes for transportation when necessary, but gave up even trying to go on "real" rides after the first week.



By the time we loaded up the bikes again to head back, I felt as if I'd gotten completely unaccustomed to it and the weight of our luggage was challenging. There are many short, but steep hills en route from the place where we stayed to the train station, and the bike fishtailed wildly every time I attempted to feather the brakes on a downhill. Given the huge amount of Saturday tourist traffic and the narrowness of the road, this made me so nervous that I was shaking and covered in sweat by the time we got on the train. Ironically, the final leg of the trip home - from the train station in the center of Boston to our house on the outskirts - was less stressful, but by the time we got home I was completely drained and did not want to look at another 100 lb luggage-laden bike again for a long, long time.



24 hours later, I still can't shake that feeling - a feeling that somehow morphed from that of being tired of just the trip home, to being tired of cycling in general. Maybe the hot, dusty, overloaded final ride was just a particularly cruel contrast to the cool, light feeling of being on the beach - swimming so far out from shore as to be surrounded by complete silence, submerged in the blissfully perfect temperature of Rockport's water. Also, maybe having taken a step back from cycling has made me realise that I've been neglecting other activities that I used to love - still love, in fact, but just don't get a chance to do. Maybe I ought to try harder to find time for them. Take swimming for instance: After all, Rockport is just a commuter rail's ride away and I can take one of my upright transportation bikes on the train, and... Ah, there. I guess I am still thinking of everything in terms of bikes, and there is really no danger of Lovely Bicycleabruptly ending as I run off to spend all of my time on the beach. Everyone needs an interlude, but cycling is such an inherent part of me now that I can hardly imagine life without it, at least in some form.

My Genea-Mecca Sojourn is Coming to an End

After six weeks in Salt Lake City, I'll be leaving Sunday morning. It has been a satisfying and frustrating experience. Although no breakthroughs have been made, more documents have been gathered that add to the understanding of some of the ancestors. Of course, some of those documents have generated more questions - a few which will likely never be answered. But that is the nature of genealogy and family history research, which is a seemingly never-ending obsession.



In addition to research at the library, I've also been working on cleaning up my Legacy database. It is a slow and tedious process but I'm starting to have a good feeling about it. There is still a lot to be done with it but there is light at the end of the tunnel. One of the benefits of this process is that some of the "holes" in my research have been identified and I was able to obtain a few of those missing documents here in Salt Lake City.



One of the highlights of my visit here was being able to spend some time with Denise Levenick, The Family Curator. Denise was here for five days, coming a few days prior to the Utah Genealogical Association's Spring Conference where she was the keynote speaker and gave several presentations. It was a very nice change of pace to have someone to bounce ideas off of and just talk about stuff.





One evening, A.C. Ivory joined us for dinner at The Garden restaurant on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Building. Lots of laughing and talking - and we also enjoyed the sunset over the valley!







What's up next?



The coast of California will be my next stop, for about a week of "just relaxing" then I'll be meeting up with some of my Joslin cousins in Missouri in mid-May. After that, I'll be returning to Indiana to "settle down" into a somewhat "normal" life - whatever that is!



G.R.I.P. is on the agenda in July. I'll be attending "Your Immigrant Ancestors’ Stories: Writing a Quality Narrative" with John Philip Colletta and Michael Hait and in August I'll be going to the FGS Conference in Fort Wayne. I'm looking forward to seeing some of genea-peeps again and soaking in some knowledge that will, hopefully, help with the research process.

Ziva

Photos

Laura and I spent the day at Upper Meadow Run last friday. The weather was beautiful, the ice was soft and everyone there was smiling. It was a fun day out climbing...

Tool demo day at Upper Meadow Run

Checking out the creek side boulders

Dr. Bob climbing U.M.P. (upper meadow pillar) WI5-

The Improved Tropical Paradise

My tropical garden after the addition of blooming plumerias, a king palm, and an imperial taro (Colocasia esculenta).

Delving into the Deeds

In addition to the Yarians, Ruperts, and Switzers I have Berlin, Coy and Hoffman ancestors who lived in Columbiana County, Ohio. All of them in the 1803-1860 time period and all in the northeastern tier of townships: Unity, Fairfield, and Salem, and Green (which would become part of Mahoning County when it was formed in 1846).



By the beginning of my second week in Salt Lake City, I had pretty much gotten through my original, rather short, “to do” list except for one item that I knew would consume a huge amount of time. It simply said “Land Records – Columbiana County.” I've had good luck before with land records naming heirs of an ancestor and was hoping for some more luck, especially in the Rupert and Switzer lines.



If you have never done any work with deed records, be forewarned that it can be tedious and confusing. But it can also be extremely rewarding. First you have to search for the desired name in the General Index to Deeds. There are generally separate books for those purchasing land (grantee) and those selling land (grantor). The index will provide the name of the grantor and grantee, the date the transaction was recorded (could be just the year, and the recorded date could be many years after the date of the transaction), the location of the land (in the case of Ohio it is by Range, Township, and Section), the type of deed, and the volume and page number of the deed book in which the transaction is recorded.



This nice tutorial Taking The Mystery Out of Land Records is helpful as a reminder or as an introduction to working with deeds as is this list of Terms used by the Register of Deeds. (There are many others “out there” on the internet, these are two that I've used in the past.)



There were four rolls of microfilm with the grantee index and five rolls with the grantor index covering the years 1798-1897. It would take nearly two full days, but I transcribed each entry in the index books for my known or presumed ancestors John D. Berlin, Henry Coy, Detrick Hoffman, John Hoffman, John Rupert, Jacob Switzer, and Conrad Yarian along with a few entries for others with the surname Rupert and Switzer..



The first day I made it through the grantee index, writing them out by hand. Then, that night back at the campground I typed each entry into a spreadsheet. Duh! Duplicate work. The next day I arranged the netbook so I could type directly into the spreadsheet. A little awkward, but it worked quite well.



After getting the entries from the grantor index entered I sorted the spreadsheet several different ways to review the data. One was attempting to match up the sale of a piece of land to its corresponding purchase, another sort was by township, and yet another by surname.



All of that was done so that I could determine which deeds should actually be looked at. There were too many of them to review them all. Top priority was given to those that were sold by “so and so, etal” (etal means “and others” which could indicate a sale by heirs of the owner of the land) and to those that were sold with a “Quit Claim” deed (sometimes indicating a sale to another family member). I then went to the Library Catalog to get the film numbers and added that information to the spreadsheet.





A small portion of my list of deeds.

I actually looked at about 1/3 of the entries on my list. I had highlighted the records that I really wanted to look at and had sorted the list by film number so I could see what else was on the same roll of microfilm. Even then, I didn't always look at everything from my list on the same roll of film – sometimes I got distracted by what I found in certain deeds and went off on another tangent looking for something else! That's the beauty of being at The Library where a wide variety of sources are available.



As I looked at the deed records I abstracted information from those that were “of interest” to me, adding that information to the spreadsheet. Some documents were scanned while others were just abstracted. There simply wasn't enough time (or even a need) to scan them all.





The spreadsheet with data added after reviewing the deed.

Was it worth the time it took to make that extensive list of land transactions? Yes, indeed! (Pun intended.) It was definitely worth it. What I found in those deed books was cause for more than one Happy Dance and in future posts, I'll summarize a few of the things I found and the discoveries which followed.

The Gift

Twinki was more than willing to unwrap the gift but it was Cassi that preferred to play with the toy mouse.