Ford Strong ~ When the Two Families Merge

While researching last week's blog I discovered who I wanted to write about for this week's prompt STRENGTH.

John Strong & Abigail Ford had 14 children. John had 2 children with his first wife Marjory Deane. Of those 16 children  15 lived into adulthood.

This was rare for the time when so many children died. 

John & Abigail's oldest child was Jedediah. 
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 MAY 1637 • Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 22 MAY 1733 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA

On November 18th 1662 Jedediah married Freedom.
Freedom Woodward
BIRTH 1 JUL 1642 • Dorchester Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 MAY 1681 • Northampton.  Massachusetts, USA

Jedediah & Freedom had 13 children, 8 lived through to adulthood. Losing 5 children was typical of the time. It can't have been easy. 

Their first child, Elizabeth, lived till age 26.
At age 20 she married Ebenezer Wright. 
Elizabeth Strong
BIRTH 9 JUN 1664 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 FEB 1691 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their second child, Abigail, lived till age 23.
At age 17 she married Thomas King.
Abigail Strong
BIRTH 9 JUL 1666 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 24 JUL 1689 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their third child, Jedediah, lived till age 42.
At age 21 he married Abijah Ingersoll. 
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 AUG 1667 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 12 OCT 1709 • Wood Creek, New York, USA

Their fourth child, Ford, lived only 2 month.
Ford Strong
BIRTH 2 SEP 1668 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1 NOV 1668 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their fifth child was born still, or died soon after birth 
Infant Strong 
BIRTH 11 OCT 1669 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1669 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their sixth child, Hannah, lived till age 92.
At age 21 she married Benjamin Carpenter.
Hannah Strong
BIRTH 3 FEB 1670 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 20 MAR 1762 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their seventh child, Thankful, lived till age 70.
I wrote about her in last week's blog.
At age 18 she married the Deacon Thomas Root.
Thankful Strong 
BIRTH 15 APR 1672 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 APR 1742 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their eight child, John, was born still or died soon after birth.
John Strong
BIRTH 15 NOV 1673
DEATH NOV 1673 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their ninth child, Lydia, lived till age 42.
At age 19 she married David Lee (Brother to Preserved's wife Tabitha)
Lydia Strong
BIRTH 9 NOV 1675 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 JUL 1718 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their tenth child, Mary, was born still or died soon after birth.
Mary Strong
BIRTH 25 MAY 1677 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH MAY 1677 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their eleventh child, Experience, lived 29 days.
Experience Strong
BIRTH 19 AUG 1678 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 SEP 1678 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their twelfth child, Preserved. lived till age 85.
At age 21 he married Tabitha Lee (sister to sister Lydia's husband David Lee).
Preserved Strong
BIRTH 29 MAR 1680 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 26 SEP 1765 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their thirteenth child, John, lived till age 17.
John Strong
BIRTH 10 MAY 1681 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 21 APR 1699 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Freedom died one week after giving birth to her 13th child John. 

Jedediah outlived 10 of his 14 children.

After Freedom's death Jedediah married Abigail Bartlett in 1681. She was the widow of John Stebbins. They had one child, Mary, born in 1683. Abigail died in 1689. 

For his 3rd wife Jedediah married Mary Hart. She was the widow of John Lee, and mother-in-law to two of Jedediah's children: Lydia & Preserved.

I think I noticed Jedediah & Freedom while I was researching last week because of the name of their son Ford Strong. My connection to this family is through Ford's grandmother Abigail Ford. She was the sister of my 9th great grandmother Hepzibah Ford.  Ford is my 2nd cousin X9 removed. Once I started looking at the details of the family I decided this couple fit for strength in so many ways.

The name STRONG.

The losses the experienced, and yet they endured. 

I also thought about the Ford company slogan BUILT FORD TOUGH, and wondered if this family is connected to the Ford motor company.  

This is definitely a tale for another time.

I have included The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass. written by Benjamin W. Dwight in my sources below.

There is a lot of information about the Strong family & all of the other interconnected families like FORD and LYMAN & more.
It's the full pdf available for downloading. 

Knowing there will always be a new thread to tug in researching family!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

Dwight, Benjamin W. The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass. Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar II LLC, 2015. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from
https://ia600206.us.archive.org/16/items/cu31924092508682/cu31924092508682.pdf

Freedom Woodward, FindAGrave. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36163848/freedom-strong

Jebediah Strong, FindAGrave. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36163752/jedediah-strong

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

________________________________________________________________

Father & Son ~ Explosion At Work

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 15 (FIRE)


It was a Thursday.
January 19th 1905 when Michael Aspden went to work at the sawmill in Cultus, Ontario, Canada. He, like many of the local farmers, made extra money during the winter at sawmills. 

Whitehead's Sawmill, 1905

That day, like any other winter day, he probably said goodbye to his wife & children. Maybe he kissed his wife Maggie goodbye?  

Michael & Maggie (nee Murphy) Aspden
My husband's X2 great grandparents

Maybe his kids chased after him?  Maybe he left with a full heart?  Maybe he left worried about things?  What exactly he was thinking about we don't know.  

What we do know is that Michael went to work at the sawmill. He was working that day with his oldest child John, and third oldest child Tom.  He likely met them at work. 


By 1905 Tom likely was not living at home. In the 1901 census he was listed as  living nearby with the Fleming family. By 1905 he may have moved back home since he was not married. 

Oldest son John had gotten married just a few weeks before on December 28th to Jessie Burger. He and Jessie likely lived nearby as was typical of that era. Maybe John met up with Michael & Tom to go to work, or maybe he met them there.


The day likely began & progressed just like any other work day. Just before quitting time John bent over to pick something up off the floor. That moment would save his life. 


At about 5:00 p.m. the boiler at the sawmill exploded. Tom and coworkers Charles Hainer, and George McCallum were killed instantly.  Michael & Freeman Moffatt critically injured. 

Simcoe Reformer, January 27th 1905 

An Aspden family member wrote the following after hearing the stories at a family reunion. 
"We can imagine the horror of John when he straightened up and gaped at the wreckage around him. His younger brother, Thomas, was dead. So too was the hired help, Charles Hainer. At first glance, Michael was in shock, badly burnt, but looked like he was going to make it."1


It was 6 days later that Michael succumbed to the injuries he sustained that day. 

Thomas Aspden & Charles Hainer died instantly
Michael Aspden died from inernal injuries 6 days later

When I decided to write about Michael & Tom Aspden for this week's blog, using the prompt, FIRE I thought I knew the story well having heard it from my husband's aunt who had heard it from her father who was 21 at the time of the explosion that killed his father and brother. 


I found researching fairly difficult because of the errors and misspellings in the past. There were a lot of media articles that listed Tom as George Aspden. The name Aspden was spelled as Ashben, Aspben, and Ashpen, and other ways. Once I finally figured out the sawmill wasn't owned by Michael as the family believed, but was owned by a gentleman named George Whitehead, researching became a little easier. 


It was known as Whitehead's Sawmill. The family story only included two killed, and one injured. There was much of the tale that we didn't know.


The insurance company released the information below. It doesn't list Charles Hainer who was included in the death registration above. Nor does it list Michael as dying from the injuries.I wasn't able to find Charles Penard so it's possible that the Charles listed below is the same Charles listed above. Which name is the correct one can't be determined, but likely the burial information is correct. The death registration isn't fully correct since Charles' age was not 18. Charles. This burial record appears to be accurate:

Source: Ancestry.ca

"(36.) — A boiler exploded, on January 19, in Whitehead's sawmill, at Cultus,
a small town near Langdon, Ont. Charles Penard, George Aspden, George McCallum, and Freeman Moffat were killed, and George Whitehead, Michael Aspden, and Charles Whitehead were injured. The property loss is estimated

at $15,000." 2

Below is part of an entry I found in a local history book: 
"Another incident occurred at the Whitehead sawmill east of Fairground on December 19, 1904, when a steam boiler ran dry and someone tried to replace the water with the result that four men were killed and a fifth died on January 25, 1905. Four other men were injured. Charles. Hanner and Thomas Aspden were killed instantly, the latter by a brick driven through his skull. Freeman Moffatt of Cultus lived ten hours and George McCollom lived just a few minutes after being carried to the nearby boarding house. Michael Aspden died later in Langton on January 25, 1905. The injured were John L. Gee, Wally Whitehead and Allan Moffatt. Aspden was blown out of the fire hole about thirty feet beyond the west end of the mill. Wally Whitehead, nephew of John Whitehead, the owner of the mill, had just arrived on the scene when the explosion occurred and was hit by a flying object in the shoulder and arm, disabling his arm. John Aspden and Walter Stansell were the first to gather up the dead. The latter was mistaken for a doctor as he came upon the scene carrying a satchel." 3

After the explosion
Lower right of the photo is a hat - believed to be Michael Aspden's

In the photo above you will see a hat in the lower right. The family had been told it is Michael's hat. The family was told that Tom was decapitated. In the excerpt above it was described that a brick was driven through Tom's skull. It must have appeared to the family member who identified him that he had been decapitated. 


John was first to gather up the dead which included his father, brother, and colleagues. If he wouldn't have bent over right at that moment in time he too would have been injured or killed. His wife left a widow after only 22 days of marriage. His first child born 11 months later would never have been.  Like Tom's family line John's would have ended that day at work. 



In the book excerpt above the date of the explosion is wrong. After reading it I realized I needed to research this story more. I was able to confirm the date with the registration of Freeman Moffatt's death. I was not able to find George McCallum's death registration, but did find his death information on Find-A-Grave (sourced in the section below). Death records for both confirm the date of the explosion as January 19th 1905. 

Once the details were correct it was possible to find articles about the explosion. 

The Daily News, January 21st 1905

The Ottawa Journal, January 21st 1905

Manitoba Morning Free Press, January 21st 1905 

Toronto Daily Star, January 20th 1905

The Buffalo Times,  Jan 23rd 1905

The Windsor Star, January 20th 1905

When considering all the details presented the story passed down to the family regarding this tragic accident are mostly correct. The family's belief that the sawmill was owned by Michael Aspden isn't correct. I can find no connection between the owner George (or John or Charles) Whitehead and the Aspden family. 


There were 10 men working at the sawmill on the day the explosion happened. 5 were killed, 3 recovered from their injuries, and 2 were uninjured. 


The lack of safe work practices in the past is why we now have rules & legislation around safety at work. Everyone should come home at the end of their work day. 





Taking a moment to remember those who didn't come home from work in our Bramble Bush Family Tree. 






This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Footnotes:

1 Our Aspden Roots In Lancashire, England: A Tradition of Stationary Engineers and Sawmills, Aspden, Murray Bruce.  Self published eBook, 2016, pg 4

2 The Locomotive, Vol. 25, The Hartford Steam Boiler Insepction and Insurance Company, The Case, Lockivood & Brainard Company Printers, Hartford, Connecticut, October 1905, pg 213   Retrieved April 14th 2020 from
https://archive.org/details/locomotive25hart/mode/2up

3 Sims' History of Elgin County Volume III.  Sims, Hugh Joffre. Elgin County Library St. Thomas, Ontario,  The Aylmer Express Ltd., Aylmer, Ontario, Canada, 1988, pg 160.  Retrieved April 12th 2020 from

https://inmagic.elgin.ca/ElginImages/archives/ImagesArchive/pdfs/REF15_Sims%20History%20of%20Elgin%20County%20Book%203.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0Ujt5P2b81GpcST5fBqzx6FLc39j24nNTvgJALmnYw8l3xLJiBw3J8qDo


Sources:

McCallum, George Thomas. Find-A-Grave, Retrieved April 12th 2020 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109151264

News Articles unsourced belong to the newspaper who published them.

Our Aspden Roots In Lancashire, England: A Tradition of Stationary Engineers and Sawmills, Aspden, Murray Bruce.  eBook, 2016

Vital statistics records, Ontario, Canada, Ancestry.ca


Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Uphill Both Ways ~ The Shaver Family Moves To Canada

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 5 (SO FAR AWAY)



My husband's X4 great grandmother was Anna Shaver. 

She was born on April 5th 1791 at Oxford, Warren, New Jersey, United States, and died December 13th 1875 at Saltfleet Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. 

Her parents were  John and Margaret (nee Hone) Shaver. 

John William Shaver
BIRTH 4 AUG 1739 • Reinland, Preussen, Black Forest, High, Germany
DEATH 4 AUG 1795 • Ancaster Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
&
Mary Magdalen (Margaret) Hone
BIRTH Abt. 1761 • High Germany
DEATH 27 MAR 1836 • Ancaster Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

Margaret's birth name was Mary Magdalene, but she was known as Margaret. She was John's second wife, and they had 9 children. 

John's first marriage was to Katrinka (maiden name unknown), and they had 4 children.
Charity Katrinka (Karinka)
BIRTH Abt. 1739 • Germany
DEATH Abt. 1780 • New Jersey, United States

The Shaver name can be found spelled in many different ways: Schaeffer, Shaeffer, Shaffer, Shafer. 


Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches on Page 578 written by W. H. Lee, Junr. explains the long journey Anna and her family traveled from New Jersey, USA to Ontario, Canada. 

"Anna Shaver Lee, daughter of John and Margaret Shaver, was born in the State of New Jersey, April 5, 1791. When three years old her parents removed to Canada as refugees, walking the entire distance, her father carrying an axe and a bundle of bedclothes, and her mother carried a child six months old, while the oldest child rode on horseback and held Anna before her. They settled in the Township of Ancaster, Wentworth County, and at the time their only neighbors were the Indians and the wild denizens of the forest. They erected a rude hut, and life commenced in earnest. Under such surroundings Anna matured, but after a long, useful and faithful life in the walk of the church she, on December 13, 1875, fell asleep in death, and her remains rest in Stoney Creek Cemetery."  1


Google maps tells us that the walk is 121 hours of straight walking. The Shaver family would have needed to take breaks traveling with small children. They traveled such a long way to their new home in Canada. 

Source: Google Maps

In 1808 at the age of 17 Anna married Samuel Lee. 


William Samuel (Samuel) Lee
BIRTH 25 AUG 1786 • Frederick, Maryland, USA
DEATH 22 AUGUST 1848 • Saltfleet, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

Between the age of 19 and 45 for Anna & 23 and 49 for Samuel they had 16 children. I have found records indicating 15 of their children grew to adulthood. I am unable to find any information for one of their daughters. 


My husband's X3 great grandfather was their 5th born child
William Henry Lee Sr
BIRTH 11 AUG 1814 • Stoney Creek, Wentworth Co., Upper Canada (Ontario)
DEATH 22 OCT 1887 • Northfield, Burford Township, Brant, Ontario, Canada
married to
Phoebe Swayze
BIRTH 26 OCT 1818 • Saltfleet, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 21 JAN 1890 • Burford, Brant, Ontario, Canada






Following ancestors on their long walks to a new home!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Footnotes:

1 Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches, Page 578 W. H. Lee, Junr. 




Sources:

Ancestry.ca, variety of records and trees

Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches, H. Lee, Junr. 

Find-A-Grave, Anna Shaver Lee, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44614706/anna-lee

Geni.com, John William Shaver, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Shaver/6000000007664116561

Google Maps, Retrieved January 23th 2020 from
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Oxford+Township,+New+Jersey+07863,+USA/Ancaster,+Hamilton,+ON/@41.5780294,-79.1567871,7.31z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c478670eecb887:0xba1347c2febc4d1c!2m2!1d-74.999813!2d40.8132568!1m5!1m1!1s0x882c889872f6aa3d:0x3accdb9f1bf8d9dc!2m2!1d-79.9872835!2d43.2177791!3e2?hl=en&authuser=0

RootsWeb, Brant County, Ontario Biographical Sketches, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~onbrant/biosbran1.htm

Shavers of Ancaster, Schaeffer, Wilhelm, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.shaversofancaster.com/?q=node/150



Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Preserved Strong (the person) ~ Preserving Fall Harvest (the bounty)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 40 (HARVEST)

When I first thought about the prompt HARVEST I looked to see if we had anyone in our family tree named Autumn. 



Nope!  


Then I remembered a branch of my tree that included early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. I knew there were many Thankfuls and wondered about anyone named Bounty or Blessing - None! Feeling disappointed I kept looking through the unusual names. I found Preserved Strong. Born to Jebediah & Freedom (nee Woodward) Strong. 

"He was born March 29, 1680, and is said to have received
his name from the fact that he was born in a great snow storm, and preserved,
'notwithstanding its severity, and the extreme cold weather following.'" 1

I have always thought of the word preserved in reference to maintaining or retaining. 

The early Puritan settlers viewed it differently when naming children. 

"PRESERVED   m & f    English (Puritan)       Name given to a child when spared from certain death during childbirth."  2

Preserved Strong's Grandparents 

Abigail Ford (sister to my 10th great grandmother Hepzibah Ford)
BIRTH 8 OCT 1619 • Bridport, Dorset, England
DEATH 6 JUL 1688 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
at the age of 16 she married widower
John Strong (Elder in the Puritan Church)
BIRTH 1610 • Taunton, Taunton Deane Borough, Somerset, England
DEATH 14 APR 1699 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA

John had 2 children with first wife Margery/Marjory (one survived to adulthood), and 16 children with second wife Abigail (14 survived to adulthood).



Abigail & John's first born (of the 14) was 
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 MAY 1637 • Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
DEATH 22 MAY 1733 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
who married
Freedom Woodward
BIRTH JUL 1641 • Dorchester Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 MAY 1681 • Northampton Hampshire County Massachusetts, US

Jebediah's second wife (1 child) was 
Abigail Bartlett (widow of John Stebbins, 10 children)
BIRTH 1637 • Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 15 JUL 1689 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA

Jebediah's third wife (no children) was
Mary Hart (widow of John Lee, 6 children
BIRTH 14 AUG 1630 • Hartford Hartford County Connecticut, USA
DEATH 10 OCT 1710 • South Hadley Hampshire County Massachusetts, USA



Jebediah & Freedom 12th child (of 14) was 
Preserved Strong
BIRTH 29 MAR 1680 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 26 SEP 1765 • Coventry, Tolland County (Tolland), Connecticut, USA
On October 23rd 1701 he married his step-sister 
Tabitha Lee (Mary (nee Hart) Lee's daughter)
BIRTH 11 NOV 1677 • Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA
DEATH 23 JUN 1750 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA

They were married 9 years after Jebediah's father and Tabitha's mother were married.

Preserved & Tabitha had 8 children

Noah Strong
BIRTH 20 SEP 1702 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 23 JUN 1771 • Addison, Addison County, Vermont, USA

Elizabeth Strong  ***
BIRTH 27 SEP 1704 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 4 MAY 1792 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
*** (7th great grandmother of Princess Diana who married her not so distant cousin
      Joseph Strong, but that is a tale for another time )

Moses Strong (Twin)
BIRTH 14 MAY 1708 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH Unknown

Aaron Strong (Twin)
BIRTH 14 MAY 1708 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1764 • Southampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA

Tabitha Strong 
BIRTH 13 AUG 1710 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 20 NOV 1730 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA

Mary Strong
BIRTH 10 JUN 1714 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 9 JUL 1754 • East Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

John Strong (a General)
BIRTH 25 FEB 1715 • Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, USA
DEATH Prob. Coventry, Tolland, Connecticut, USA

Enoch Strong
BIRTH 16 JUL 1720 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
DEATH 1790 • Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA



Returning to the topic of fall harvest and preserving the bounty!

Growing up my mom always scooted us kids away while she was preserving the garden harvest. She told us it was too dangerous for us to be underfoot. Once I was grown she confessed it was her way of getting some alone time, but it was too late for me to not be afraid of the process.
    

The first time my husband said he wanted to try canning I argued with him that the process was subject to explosions in the kitchen and if he wasn't careful the food he made could kill us. I have repeated a variation of this sentiment for 25 years. 



Luckily for our family he doesn't listen to me. All winter long we enjoy HIS jams, pickles, salsa, canned fruit, and frozen vegies. I take no credit for any of the harvested preserves. My fear is still solidly in place. There are times I suspiciously look at the jar to see if it looks like it holds my impending death. I avoid the kitchen (or crane my neck suspiciously from the doorway) while he is processing his preserves. I am visualizing explosions that involve goo dripping down the walls with ginormous shards of glass embedded everywhere. Now that he wears glasses I no long discreetly place safety goggles on the counter. I am only slightly exaggerating my fear of the preserving process.




 

Childhood fears taken into adulthood!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
This lady in waiting --- too late to meet my famous cousin
somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/this-lady-in-waiting-too-late-to-meet.html

Footnotes:

1 JOHN LEE: Of Farmington, Hartford County, Conn., and His Descendants
written by Sarah Marsh Lee, 2nd edition compiled by Leonard Lee & Sarah Fiske Lee, Norwich, 1897, p. 467 retrieved October 1st 2019 from 
https://books.google.ca/books?id=I-q3AE_JbngC&pg=PA467&dq=%22he+was+born+march+29,+1680,+and+is+said+to+have+received+his+name%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4h-jxt_7kAhXVIDQIHVJ2DQ8Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=%22he%20was%20born%20march%2029%2C%201680%2C%20and%20is%20said%20to%20have%20received%20his%20name%22&f=false

2 Behind the Name, Puritan Names, Preserved, retrieved October 1st 2019 from 
https://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/puritan

Sources:

Ancestor Biographies Blog Spot, Father or Step-father to 32 Children — Jedediah Strong, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from     
http://ancestorbios.blogspot.com/2012/03/father-or-step-father-to-32-children.html

Ancestor Biographies Blog Spot, Pregnant Each Year of Married Life – Freedom Woodward, Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
http://ancestorbios.blogspot.com/2012/03/mother-of-fourteen-children-freedom.html

Ancestry Island, Monday Is for Mothers : Freedom Woodward (1642 - 1681), Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
http://ancestryisland.blogspot.com/2015/08/monday-is-for-mothers-freedom-woodward.html

Find A Grave, Mary Hart Lee Strong,  Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36254936/mary-lee_strong

Find A Grave, Preserved Strong,  Retrieved October 2nd 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36164159/preserved-strong

John Lee and His Descendants 1634--1878, Sarah Marsh Lee, Norwich, 1878, retrieved October 1st 2019 from
https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/john-lee/27342962




Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

_____________________________________________________________________