Snowman, 1961

 

Photo by K. Jones. Indianapolis, Dec 1961.

The Moon Rock

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Taken 26 Oct 2016.

Yesterday's news about the return of China's Chang'e 5 mission with lunar samples brought back memories of my own experience with a potential connection to the Moon. The story goes that my grandfather received a small Moon rock in the 1970s as a gift when he was working in Houston for Oakite Products. NASA used Oakite cleaning products at its facilities, and Gumpy was involved in the sale of those products to NASA. My Uncle Bob (Gumpy's brother) was the CEO of Oakite between 1963-1972. The rock in its original case is pictured above. When he died in 2013, the rock went to my Dad, and when he died in 2016, the rock went to me.

I read about how NASA was interested in seeking the return of lunar samples. In October 2016, I reached out to NASA's Lunar Rock Curation team, but initially received an out-of-office reply. I followed up again in January 2017 and in July 2018. On the third try their team lead responded, suggesting that I send the rock to their office in Houston where it would be examined to see if it was a lunar sample. If it was, they would send back a letter explaining the likely source if possible, which mission, and it would be returned to the collection for use by scientists in the future. If not, they'd send it back with an explanation of what it is.

I sent the sample off to Houston, and I know it was received, but never heard back. I followed up in November 2018 and July 2019, and didn't receive a reply to those queries. They're certainly busy, but I had hoped to get some clarity on whether the rock was just a rock or something more. In any case, I have the story that my Gumpy had a Moon rock, and maybe I did too.

Hiking in the Smoky Mountains, 1965

 

Uncle Bill & my Dad, 1965

I'm helping my Mom go through old photos that belonged to my Nana for a Christmas break project. Above is a shot of my Uncle Bill (on left) and my Dad (on right), taken while they were hiking in the Smoky Mountains in 1965. There are many more photos in this set and I'll post a selection during this project as I move them to digital storage.

Revisiting Records

Ancestry. Ohio Wills & Probate Records.

The section above is from the will of my 5th-great-grandfather John Conner, written 3 January 1825 in Guernsey County, Ohio. I wrote about this back in February 2014. At the time, I didn't pay close enough attention to the text. In the line I've highlighted above, John left his daughter Jean (my 4th-great-grandmother Jane Conner) a horse, saddle and bridle valued at $57, a cow, and one bed and bedding. She was seventeen at the time. Jane later married my 4th-great-grandfather Azariah Davis in Guernsey County on 12 January 1832.

When I wrote about the will in 2014, I didn't follow up and write about the rest of the Conner family, so I'll do that now.

John Conner Sr. was born in Pennsylvania. He married Mary Stevenson, and they had the following children:

- Rebecca Conner (1787-1854)

- James Conner (1788- )

- John Conner Jr. (1790-1873)

- Joseph Conner (1792- )

- Catherine Conner (1793-1874)

- Thomas E. Conner (1796-1876)

- Robert Conner (1800-1870)

- Mary S. Conner

- Eliza Conner

- Jane Conner (1808-1842)

Mary Stevenson Conner died in 1840. The Portrait and Biographical Record of Guernsey County, Ohio (available on Archive.org) mentions the Conner family and has a section on John S. Conner (grandson of John Conner Sr.). Based on the will, there appear to some errors in this recap on the family history. The text states that John Sr. was born near Pittsburgh, and in his early life he was a tailor, but later devoted himself to farming. In 1808 he settled near Claysville on 160 acres in Guernsey County, Ohio, and acquired a similar sized plot of land in Spencer Township, which he gave to his sons.

A screenshot of his land patent from Guernsey County is below.

BLM Land Patent, 26 Oct 1820.

His son John Conner Jr. served in the War of 1812 and has a large pension file (54 pages) available on Fold3.

This time last year

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Istanbul, 12 Dec 2019

Last year this week I was finishing a multi-country trip by visiting the Istanbul office. The shot above is from a rooftop view overlooking the Bosphorus, taken after a dinner with colleagues. I'm looking ahead to 2021 and hope for a return to travel in the coming year.