Exploring the Pony Express - and Creating a Family Connection
In which I explain some of the history of the Pony Express; describe its first rider, Johnny Frye; share photos from our visit to the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri; and share an excerpt from Missouri Daughter in which Bailis recalls watching that momentous first day of the Pony Express with his brother Benjamin.
Following Family Footsteps in Andrew County, Missouri
In which I describe my visit to Andrew County, Missouri, in October 2022 with my husband Mike, where we to visited the Andrew County Historical Society and Museum in Savannah, met with Genealogist Kathy Ridge to learn more about the Hale and Petree families, walked around downtown Savannah and admired the Courthouse, visited the areas in which the Hales and Petrees lived (including where my great grandmother was born in Rosendale), and found the gravestone for James and Elizabeth Hale, as well as their daughter Amanda, in Fillmore Cemetery
A Letter from Rebel Cousin Rachel
In which I share another excerpt from Missouri Daughter that includes a letter to Bailis from his cousin, “Rachel at Rebel Rendezvous,” reflect a bit on how the war tore families apart, and discuss the importance of the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and explain the Platte River Bridge disaster, when Confederate guerrillas burned part of the track and caused a train to derail outside of St. Joseph, killing approximately 20 people and injuring 100.
Researching the Oregon-California Trail: The California Gold Rush and my GGG-GF Henry Petree
In which I discuss some California Gold Rush history, including how my GGG Grandfather Henry Petree took two of his sons, John and Benjamin, with him to California in 1849 to search for gold, leaving behind son Bailis (my GG GF) and his two sisters to live with a nearby family; I also include an excerpt from Missouri Daughter in which I imagine how Bailis might have felt about this, having already lost his mother five years earlier