Carroll

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A May Day Tradition: New York Moving Day

“Never knew the city in such a chaotic state. Every other house seems to be disgorging itself into the street; all the sidewalks are lumbered with bureaus and bedsteads to the utter destruction of their character as thoroughfares, and all the space between the sidewalks is occupied by long processions of carts and wagons and vehicles omnigenous laden with perilous piles of moveables.” -The Diary of Templeton Strong (Cover Photo: May Day in New York, Harper’s Magazine, 1850) Moving Day…packing...

John Joseph “JJ” Carroll: Overcoming the Odds

(Illustration above: New York City in 1851)  “What place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps?…This is the place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth…See how the rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl...

Laughlin McLaren and Celia Ann Losh: A Short Valentine Story

Laughlin McLaren was born in Greenock, Scotland and immigrated to America around 1849 with his family.  It was a mysterious dream that resulted in meeting his wife, Celia Ann Losh. Laughlin and Celia’s nephew, Earl Clinton Burnside, shared the story of how they met and a bit about their lives. According to Earl, after losing a pair of horses, Kate (Celia’s sister) had a dream about where the horses would be. In her dream, she walked along Cedar Creek until she came...

Erma Strouse and Her California Girls

I absolutely love this circa 1910 photo of my husband’s great-grandmother, Erma Strouse, posing with friends, Sarah Vaughn and Agnes Longmire, in their beach attire. Erma is the beauty in the middle (polka dots), probably about age 16 at the time. I can not imagine swimming in long stockings like they are wearing. The back of photo reads “Taken while at Hospital, Soldiers Home, Cal.” about erma Erma was born in Moab, Utah in 1894. Her father, William Strouse, was...

The Eby Migration: A Quest for Religious Freedom

We ask you Holy Father, to show your grace and mercy to us all, throughout the whole wide world. Graciously draw us together with your blessing, care, and protection. Do not let division and disunity come among us. -Excerpt from Die Ernst­hafte Christien­pflicht (Prayer Book for Earnest Christians), translated by Leonard Gross Theodorus “Durst” eby Durst Eby sat in prayerful contemplation. The year was 1704 and he was mourning the recent death of his lovely wife, Margaret. A peaceful man, Durst’s only desire was...