52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

          In July 2018 I finally made it to a Hinch reunion (as they say, it was far piece from ND to TN!). They has been going on since 1928 or so, but this is the first one I was able to go to. As I was signing in, I flipped through a 3-ring binder with some old photographs and used my phone to capture the images and description. Since that time I have been attempting to authenticate them, as they seemed too good to be true.   The photos were of my 2nd great grandparents, William Hinch and Annie Sherrill. On Annie’s lap was a child 1-2 years old. William was born in 1826, and his wife Annie was born in 1829. They were married about 1846, so about 16 years before the Civil War.   My 2nd G-grands) William Hinch and wife Annie Sherrill Hinch, taken 1859-1860 , Someone had written below the photographs “William Hinch, father of James Hinch, and Ann Sherrill Hinch, Baby Tom”. My research told me “baby Tom” was Thomas Hinch and he was born in 185...

         Ancestral places are what shaped our ancestors, their lives, and the lives of their children. So is it possible to choose one that matters more than any of the other places? It isn’t possible for me. So instead, I am going to do a little play on words for this week’s post.   The place that matters most to me is the grey matter in my brain that holds the memories of all these places.           I remember Atlantic City, where my mom and grandparents lived. What grand times we had there, with days at the beach, supper at the Morton Hotel, walks on the boardwalk, buying salt water taffy (who's was the original?), Mr Peanut, the rolling chairs, sleeping in my grandmother’s room with the window open and smelling the breeze from the ocean. It was an amazing time. Of course this was before gambling was started, and most of the old hotels and buildings were torn down to make way for the casinos. Such a great loss.   ...