Month: April 2015

Genealogy

Addresses

Shelly

I keep repeating that it’s important to pay attention to addresses, when researching old records. I add them to the database, so they’re trackable. I use Family Tree Maker for my own family and track all the various Basquills in an old copy of Cumberland Family Tree, both of which allow global searching. Both programs also allow browsing all the people associated with a given location, which is invaluable for making connections.

Which brings me to Katie Basquill and 974 Locust Street, Fall River, Massachusetts.

Death Certificate

The only Katie Basquill I’m aware of who was born in Fall River is Catherine, the daughter of John L. Basquill and Mary Critchley, and the address given on the baby’s death certificate is the same as John’s and Mary’s. Katie was born in 1896 and would have been just barely 13 years old when this baby was born. Obviously, that would have made her 12 years old when she became pregnant.

I can’t find any trace of Henry Sampson after 1908. Possibly for very good reason.

In my searching for Henry Sampson, though, I found four women who died in Fall River whose parents were Roger Reynolds and Mary Basquill. More stray Basquills? The Fall River strays were all born around 1830 in Ireland, and because they were Basquills, that meant County Mayo. Irish records from before mid-1800s are spotty at best, and even more so for women, so I wasn’t optimistic about fitting these women into the part of the puzzle I’ve already got pieced together. What I did know, just from the birth dates, was that these could not be part of Denis Basquill’s and Ellen Carney’s immediate family. Denis and Ellen were John L. Basquill’s parent’s (grandparents of young Katie), but they were both born in the 1840s, so I felt it was likely that they were cousins of the stray Basquill women. How to prove that, though?

I’m not sure there is any kind of proof, but I do think we can make a pretty good guess. A closer look at the death certificates of the strays showed that two of them had been living on Locust Street when they died. Hm. So they all–both groups of Basquills–were living in the same neighborhood. I’ve seen some strange coincidences, but that beggars belief.

Death Certificate

I decided the next step was to take another trawl trawl through Pat Deese’s website. Maybe coming at it from the Mayo end would be helpful? BINGO! I found a Roger Reynolds and Mary Baskwell, living in Cloondacon, Aughagower Parish, County Mayo. I couldn’t find birth or baptism records for the girls who moved to Fall River, but I did find baptism records for three of their boys: Patrick, John, and Michael. AND, I found a record of Roger and Mary as the baptismal sponsors for Thomas and Bridget Baskwell’s daughter Judith/Julia. Thomas, who was the brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Michael. Mary Reynolds was also the baptismal sponsor of 3rd great grandfather Michael’s and wife Margaret’s son, John.

My best guess is that Mary Basquill who married Roger Reynolds is the sister of Michael and Thomas, which would make her my 3rd great grand aunt. I can’t prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I think it’s a reasonable conclusion.

Photography, Poetry

Pilgrimage

Shelly

Pilgrimage

From small realms
and careful orbits
we journey home
unburdened and bootless
defiant and ready
to fell the gathering ghosts.

I mentioned I’ve been kinda sorta doing Camp NaNoWriMo? Only I’m not writing a book or anything too taxing. Instead, I’m trying to make myself write just one tiny poem a day. Sometimes I miss a day and have to do two the next day. However it works out, I want to have 30 little poems at the end of the month. This is not something I’m at all good at. I’ve read a hundred books on harnessing and maintaining creative motivation, and mostly they are all useless. The one exception was Susan Wooldrige’s Poemcrazy. In it, she recommends writing words on pieces of paper or cardstock and placing them in a container. When you need inspiration, draw a few words from the container and start writing.

Box of Words

This? This works for me. My little box of words sits on my coffee table. Last night’s inspiration was “orbits” and “bootless.”

Genealogy

Being Worn Out

Shelly

Thomas Baskwell Statement of Military Service

I don’t think I will ever be able to connect this Thomas Baskwell with my people. He was born in the right place (Westport, County Mayo), but there just aren’t enough records surviving from the time period to fit the puzzle together properly. He surely is one of my people, though. Born about 1769, he served for eighteen years in George III’s army, before he was discharged at age 48 for “being worn out.”

Crankypantsing, Photography

More or Less Food

Shelly

All Photos-536

I still don’t understand what the hell a poor person is going to do with seven limes, but I did my own little shopping experiment.

The thing is, Gwyneth’s shopping list isn’t all that different from what I regularly buy, and sadly, my food budget doesn’t stretch much beyond $30/week. In fact, that’s my food budget for the next two weeks. This is what I know.

  1. Spinach is more versatile than romaine. You can rough chop it and toss it into a scrambled egg. It can be added to beans or lentils. It can be used as greens on a sandwich.
  2. Limes.  I just don’t even.  They are $1 each where I live, so if you are on a tight budget, they are a luxury item.  I bought one.  If I need citrus for anything else, I can get a bottle of lemon juice at the dollar store.
  3. Black beans.  If you’re stay-at-home poor, dried beans are a great option.  They’re cheap, filling, and nutrient dense.  They take time to prepare, though, and if you don’t know how to cook them, they are likely to turn out inedible.  Lentils are a better option, I think.  They cook relatively fast (30 minutes or so, which means that you can cook them with or along side a pot of brown rice), and they don’t require soaking.  You can make them on the stove top or in a crock pot.  They can be flavored in any way that beans can.  Lentil chili is on high rotation in my house.
  4. Peas.  I do not eat frozen peas.  I bought frozen, store brand brussels and broccoli sprouts instead.
  5. Corn on the cob is not food.  I can’t bring myself to buy it.  It was 10 ears for $3, so I saved a whopping 30 cents.
  6. I don’t eat jalapenos.  I know that’s unthinkable, but it’s true.  I substituted a bell pepper.  I’ll probably use it, half the lime, one of the tomatoes, and half the cilantro in a canned black bean salad.
  7. Tomatoes.  This time of year, in the midwest, tomatoes are a crime.  They’re expensive and mealy.  Compared to that, canned are actually better for most things.  I did manage to find two romas that weren’t too awful.  Romas are usually cheaper per pound than regular tomatoes, too.
  8. Which brings me to my final point.  I don’t think anyone could live long term on the foods Gwyneth bought.  If she were doing this for more than one week, she’d start making less healthy but more calorically dense choices.  I have food squirreled away in my pantry and freezer.  Not a lot, but enough to fill in some gaps.  I stock up on stuff like canned black beans, dry lentils, and canned tomatoes when they’re on sale, and I usually have peanut butter and some sort of basic jam. If I were urban poor and living in a food desert, I wouldn’t be able to do that.  A) I wouldn’t have a car, so lugging heavy canned goods home would be problematic.  B) The neighborhood bodega isn’t going to be running sales on Libby’s lima beans.
  9. Finally, I did buy a few extra items:  a pound of butter, because I require snacks and buttered popcorn is my happy place, some Greek yogurt that was on sale, and a loaf of bread for emergency PB&J.

My total, minus the last few items that were not on Gwyneth’s list, was $25.75.  Less than what she spent, but I also did not buy seven damn limes.  Also, I have lived this for too much of my life to find anything enlightening or interesting or entertaining about actually doing the food stamp challenge.  Nothankyou.