A family connection to history, detailing my great-grandpa Frank Bowers’ ownership of a book on the Titanic, their grandma meeting survivor Frank Goldsmith, and the tale of my other great-grandfather, Carl Ekstrom, who immigrated to the US via the Titanic’s sister ship Olympic in 1914.
The post shares a transcribed love letter from the author’s great-grandmother, Sallie Gillespie, to William Bowers from 1898 Georgia. Sallie expresses her affection for William and details some local happenings. The couple married later that year and had six children. The author reflects on this family history, connecting it to their own relatives and seeking to learn more about the people mentioned in the letter.
My great-grandmother Fox would ask about her husband’s parents, especially his father’s family but very short answers were given. “He was born in New York or New Jersey.” This is a branch that continues to be a mystery to us.
Tracing the Nevins family origins in England to their immigration on the S.S. Borderer to Boston, they faced hardships in America they were hoping to avoid back in England. Records and family keepsakes would preserve their story for generations to come.
Michael Nevins just vanished from family history four years after marrying Ellen and having a daughter—my great grandma. So what really happened to him? Were the family rumors of divorce in the early 1900s true?
The “Paint Me House” was an eyesore on Eastern Avenue. Neighbors pushed to demolish it, and it finally came down in 2013. Originally built in 1923, it was home to the McKay family for over three decades, witnessing many life events before falling into disrepair.
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