Mappy Monday - Wabash County, Illinois

The map below is of Wabash County, Illinois and its surrounding counties Edwards and Lawrence. This is taken from the Combined History of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash Counties (1883).

Source: OpenLibrary

Wabash County features prominently in the family of Permelia Smith Lamon, my 3rd-great-grandmother. Her husband was David Detrick Lamon, who I wrote about in September. Permelia's parents were Asa Putnam Smith and Lucinda McIntosh. Both have fascinating backgrounds.

Lucinda's father, my 5th-great-grandfather, was John Og McIntosh (1753-1829). He was a Scottish soldier in Cornwallis' army during the Revolutionary War, who decided to stay in America and moved from Virginia to Kentucky before settling in Wabash County, Illinois. I'll have more on him in future posts, but this is my first confirmation of a Scottish connection on my side of the family.

Lucinda McIntosh Smith submitted a widow's pension for Asa's service in the War of 1812. I'll have more on that in a separate post, but if her information is accurate, Asa Putnam Smith was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1783. Lucinda McIntosh and Asa Putnam Smith were married in Mount Carmel, Wabash County, Illinois.

Moonlight on the Potomac

The postcard below is from the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery, titled Moonlight on the Potomac, Maryland.

Source: New York Public Library Digital Gallery

The original is in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building/Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs.

Hermosillo, Sonora, 1919

The photo below is from the Library of Congress collection, showing Hermosillo, capital of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Hermosillo was the home of my 2nd-great-grandmother, Teresa Diaz.

Source: Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2005015278/

Top Posts of 2012

In looking back at the blog over the course of the year, I'm very pleased with the new discoveries made on various lines. There's still much to be done to improve the storytelling aspect of the blog, but as an idea trigger and outlet, this really has been great. I've also made some nice connections over the year, and for that I am thankful too.

Some of my posts generated more views than others, and it's interesting for me to see the top posts for 2012. Thanks for reading.

1. Elizabeth Key Grinstead - This post was far and away the most read of the year, and continues to receive many views. Elizabeth's story is a great one.

2. Tech Tuesday - Information Standards in the Family History Space

3. Generations Project Ends Series 

4. AncestryDNA Results

5. Thomas Jones 1778-1857

6. Liga Protectora Latina

7. Friday Photo - Blanche's Geography Book

8. Tech Tuesday - Flipboard

9. Sympathy Saturday - A Mother's Pension Denied

10. The Parents of William Allman

Friday Photo - Santa Monica 1908

It's been a while since I've posted a Friday Photo. This is from the Library of Congress collection (source: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pan.6a01352/), showing Santa Monica, California in 1908.

Source: Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007660606/

I have posted a few of my own photos from Santa Monica on the blog, available on the links below:
- Surfer at Rest
- Footsteps
- Ocean Park, Santa Monica
- Four Years Ago This Week (Sept 2008)
- Santa Monica (series from 15 Mar 2010)
- Father's Day Photo
- California Connections
- Santa Monica Pier