Blog Posts
Here I discuss how I acquired 50 Civil War letters written by my 3rd great grandfather, James Calaway Hale, and 2nd granduncle, Benjamin Petree, as well as other family letters and heirlooms, and started writing a historical fiction novel titled Missouri Daughter.
Post #1 - How This Journey Began: The Hales & Petrees of Andrew County, Missouri
In the following posts I describe my visit to St. Louis, Missouri in April 2022, which included stops at the Missouri Civil War Museum, the site of the old Benton Barracks (where James Calaway Hale spent two years during the war), and the old Courthouse (where the Dred Scott case was heard). I also explain how this turned into a TWO book project - a historical fiction book titled Missouri Daughter and a nonfiction text titled A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri.
Post #9 - Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis
Post #10 - Missouri: A State Divided Long Before the Civil War Began
Post #11 - Some Interesting Displays at the Missouri Civil War Museum
Post #12 - GGG Grandfather James Calaway Hale's first letters from Benton Barracks General Hospital
Here I share an excerpt from Missouri Daughter that includes a fascinating letter about early California, written by family friend; and another excerpt that includes a letter to Bailis from his cousin, “Rachel at Rebel Rendezvous.” I also reflect a bit on how the war tore families apart, discuss the importance of the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and explain the Platte River Bridge disaster.
Post #23 - A Letter from California - 15 Sept 1860, Placer County
Post #24 - A Letter from Rebel Cousin Rachel
After visiting Ireland and Scotland, I decided to dig in to my Irish and Scottish roots. These posts were the result - I learned a lot about Ulster Presbyterians, Irish Quakers, and Indian Captives! I trace many of these ancestors through Fleeta Jackson Brandt. I also make some connections to Conrad Richter’s novel The Light in the Forest.
Post #31 - Tracing my "Ulster Presbyterian" Roots from Ireland to Pennsylvania
Post #34 - Exploring my Irish Quaker Roots - from England to Ireland to Pennsylvania
In the following posts I describe my visit to Kirksville, Missouri with my parents in April 2022. In the photo, my father and I are standing in front of the house where my great grandmother, Nora Elma Petree Traughber, grew up.
Post #2 - Kirksville, Missouri - Home of the Petrees: Missouri State Normal School & Former Petree Houses
Post #3 - Kirksville, Missouri - A.T. Still University’s College of Osteopathy
Post #4 - Kirksville, Missouri - The Adair County Courthouse and Historical Society & Museum
Post #5 - Kirksville, Missouri: A Visit to the Cemetery & Some Petree Family History
In the following posts I discuss various family members who traveled west along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, and share excerpts from some of their letters. Some settled down, while others chased after gold, then returned to Missouri. I also relate some little known Mormon history and discuss the Graham family’s arrival in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the 1880’s.
Post #13 - Some Family Members Move West on the Oregon Trail - A Letter from California in 1858
Post #14 - Some Family Members Move West - A Letter from the Oregon Trail in 1862
Post #15 - Some Family Members Move West - A Letter from Walla Walla, Washington, 1864
Post #16 - Researching the Oregon Trail - Captain John Knox Kennedy, Big Platte, and Fort Laramie
Post #17 - Researching the Oregon Trail - The Missouri “Mormon War” of 1838
Post #18 - Researching the Mormon Trail, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the Graham family's arrival in Utah
Post #19 - Researching the Oregon-California Trail: The California Gold Rush and my GGG-GF Henry Petree
In October 2022 I visited to Andrew County, Missouri, with my husband Mike. In the following posts I describe our visits to the Andrew County Historical Society and Museum in Savannah, downtown Savannah, and Fillmore Cemetery where we found the gravestone for James and Elizabeth Hale. We also visited the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, and I share an excerpt from Missouri Daughter that places my GG GF Bailis Petree and his brother Benjamin there in St. Joseph for the opening of the Pony Express on April 3, 1860.
Post #25 - Following Family Footsteps in Andrew County, Missouri
Post #26 - Exploring the Pony Express - and Creating a Family Connection
Here I share stories and photos about my parents and their creative abilities and talents. I discuss my mom’s love for the holidays and how she has passed that love on to me, as well as some of her many sewing, baking, and painting projects; and I discuss many of my father’s building projects.
Post #35 - My Mother: The One Who Taught Me to Love the Holidays
Post #38 - My Mother: Seamstress & Craftswoman Extraordinaire
In the following posts I describe my visits with both Mike and my parents to Centralia, Missouri, where my great grandfather, William Francis Traughber, grew up and attended high school, and where both the Centralia Massacre and the Battle of Centralia occurred (to which, it turns out, I have several family connections - on BOTH sides of the war)
Post #6 - Centralia, Missouri - Home of the Traughbers and Site of the Centralia Massacre
Post #7 - Centralia, Missouri: The Battle of Centralia
Post #8 - A Visit to the Centralia Cemetery and Some Traughber Family History
Here is describe a presentation I gave to Los Gatos Rotary about my project and provide an update on my writing process, as well as the help I am getting from Andrew County Genealogist Kathy Ridge. I also include posts here about Civil War Nurse Emily Parsons, who served at Benton Barracks General Hospital at the same time James was a patient there, and I discuss the Invalid Corps (later called the Veterans Reserve Corps), to which James is transferred as a result of his illness and rheumatism.
Post #27 - Telling My Story to Los Gatos Rotary
Post #28 - Still Writing … and Getting Closer!
Post #29 - Emily Parsons: An Inspiring Civil War Nurse
Post #30 - The Veteran Reserve Corps in the Civil War
In the following posts I share a bit about my great grandparents, John Wagner and Anna Halper, who both came to the United States from Hungary, passed through Ellis Island, then met and married in Chicago. There John worked more than 35 years for Pullman Railroad; he and his wife Anna had four children, including my mom’s father - John Paul Wagner.
Post #20 - Ellis Island: My Austria-Hungary Connection, Part I (Anna Halper)
Post #21 - Ellis Island: My Austria-Hungary Connection, Part II (John Wagner)
Post #22 - Ellis Island: My Austria-Hungary Connection, Part III (A Poem about Anna Halper)
Here I announce that my book will be available on Amazon beginning February 1, share a poem to promote my upcoming book launch, then share a 10-day countdown featuring excerpts from the book!
Post #37 - Countdown to Book Launch on Feb. 1