I've not posted anything lately - I've been very busy with moving things from our office of 15 years to my house - I've thrown away tons of dated paper (and paperwork) - and emptied, in order to move them, twenty 4-drawer file cabinets. I've about 3 more cabinets to go. It's sort of like seeing my past life go by ... years of "work efforts" being tossed or shredded - computer-related "stuff" gets obsolete so very quickly - some days I feel obsolete too!
Recently, I logged into Ancestry.com and saw a "shaking leaf" attached to my paternal g-grand-father. Curious, I went to see what it was all about and was surprised to find a record of him and his wife traveling on the SS Northland from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, arriving back in the USA on February 24, 1928.
Harry Davis Mousley was born on July 3, 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died at the age of 47 on November 9, 1930. He (hopefully) enjoyed his trip to Cuba that he took about two years before he died.
My dad has no direct recollections of his grandparents - or their journeys - as they were both dead before he was born.
The Peninsular and Occidental steamship line was a part of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. It leased the SS Northland from the Eastern Steamship Company for the winter travel/tourist season. The ship on the far right is the Northland.
In a strange coincidence, the same day I found this record in Ancestry, my parents called and informed me they were going to the Florida Keys for three weeks this month, and will be in Key West on February 24!
Maybe my dad will sense the ghost of his paternal grandparents there? I have stood at the cruise ship dock in Key West - and seen the remains of the Florida East Coast Railroad in the Florida Keys - many of the railroad bridges are now fishing piers and/or part of a 132 mile long walking trail, of which I have walked about half. Did my g-grandparents ride the the long-gone train (it died in 1934 when wiped out by a hurricane)? I can only wonder.
15 comments:
Hang in there... Just a few more weeks until the Spring weather will start showing itself! *Hugs*
Well, that couldn't have been timed better if you tried... I hope your parents enjoy themselves.
Wow, got goose bumps in that your parents would be in the same area as your great grandparents on about the same day! I hope they enjoy their trip and that spring comes early to Pennsylvania this year!
betty
I was here earlier then got caught up in your photos...that ssssnake ssscared the heck out of me! I so enjoyed your Longwood Gardens Photos what a treat to be able to go there!
Good to hear you are packing up and making progress.
Oh the Keys sound wonderful ..I suppose I am too old to be adopted:)
How exciting to get a new piece of information about your great-grandparents!
Will you be going down to spend some time with them in Key West?
Hoping spring comes soon! Despite the 16+ inches of snow last weekend, the winter hasn't been as bad as predicted. Not a lot of snow so far, and we haven't had a lot of bitterly cold days. I still would love a quick vacation in some warm weather.
That is so cool!!
It is quite a strange similar thing going on. The finding of documents on ancestry is exciting to see when you are actually going back two generations and they are there in print.
I was in the "Florida Keys" when I was a kid (but I don't know where exactly) and I remember being on this isolated highway that seemed to float across the water in one long endless ribbon. Kinda creepy!
That's interesting that your g-grandpa was in Cuba not long before he died. He really did die very young!! I hope your folks have a wonderful trip and good weather. Such a coincidence with the dates. Almost as if they could greet the ghost of his grandfather while they are down there. Cool!
Stay warm. Good luck with the moving! :)
Wow, amazing facts about your family!
Thanks for sharing.
Hugs
I hope your parents have a nice time while in the Keys. Love the coincidence of the dates.
It sounds like you've been keeping pretty busy with the moving project. I hope you're behaving and not doing any heavy lifting by yourself. I can just imagine what you've been finding and shredding. Life gets by us so quickly when you think about it.
Spring can't come soon enough for me. I've had enough of this cold and snow crap to last for a long, long time.
Have a great week!
A few years ago I found an old newspaper clipping in a box of family photos my uncle owned. The clipping showed a photo of a group of men in Scotland in October of 1875 with some member of the extended royal family. My great-great-grandfather was one of the men in the photo. It gave me a brief chill as I remembered one hundred years later in October of 1975 I was standing on the same corner.
We had a taste of Spring last weekend, with temperatures climbing to the low 70's. Wiish I could have shared with you. Glad your parents were able to get away for some warmth at the Keys. Good for them! You are always coming up with such interesting family history! I've never been on any of the ancestry sites. Might have to check i out!
A trip to Cuba sounds so exotic...and forbidden...to those not aware of the pre-Cold War years. Evidently, Cuba used to be quite the vacation spot. I have pictures of my mom, when as a young woman, she was part of a touring group of performers, while on scene in Cuba. Strange to see those photographs now, after all the subsequent history...
As for the Keys--or any part of Florida, for that matter--this is the kind of weather that drives desperate east coast northerners (and my Chicago relatives, too) south to Florida for a break in the gloom. Totally understandable.
If you go, I vote you consider Far Side's hint, and adopt her. And the rest of us, too :)
Everybody needs a winter trip to Florida! As they used to say in the commercials, "C'mon down!"
Your family has such a rich history!! You're lucky!
I hope the moving bit is over soon. What a pain it must be! :(
Total honesty: I didn;t read this. I have been thinking about you and wanted to say hi. So HI!!! I will be back to read more on Monday. I'm gonna try to get back into the blogging thing.
Oh goodness, the vacation to the Keys and Cuba made me smile when you said your folks were heading to Florida too! My son-in-law Roger grew up in the Keys and his grandfather Hamilton Low(e)was a shrimp boat captain who had a National Geographic article written about him in the 1960s. His grandmother Dorothy lived in a house the city wanted to tear down for the freeway I think! She fought them because she knew it was of historical importance. Not only did they find a new house for her to live in, her historical home is a museum today. I recently heard Florida was in the only state without snowfall in the USA. We have never traveled there but I would like to so I could see the former home of my SIL Roger's ancestors.
Post a Comment