tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post8855911770439880406..comments2024-01-12T02:52:06.482-06:00Comments on what women write: In Praise of Pack-RatsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-4142960724401700102010-03-10T19:37:11.524-06:002010-03-10T19:37:11.524-06:00I read over your blog and I loved it. I especiall...I read over your blog and I loved it. I especially loved the Amanda Akin philosophy bit about what she wants in a letter. Pretty deep for a teenager.Larry Akinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-11540133675656762522010-02-16T07:33:01.238-06:002010-02-16T07:33:01.238-06:00No doubt you're in your element here. Historic...No doubt you're in your element here. Historical fiction based on family stories fits you like a second skin. And you have such a beautiful way of bringing these tales to life. I'm certain one day Amanda will be a main character in one of your books.Deborah Downeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04132792562364747466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-31955380030229973242010-02-03T10:24:03.687-06:002010-02-03T10:24:03.687-06:00Terry,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting o...Terry,<br /><br />Thank you for stopping by and commenting on the post! For the benefit of everyone else, I should explain that I have actively tried to find descendants/relatives of everyone who wrote letters to Martha so I could at least offer copies of the letters in case they wished to read them. In the case of Amanda it turned out to be an easy thing. I simply googled her and found out there was a memorial for her set up on findagrave.com - one of my favorite websites. It turned out that Terry (a cousin of Amanda's) set up the memorial. I saw the identical last name and wrote him at once.<br /><br />Terry, there is no worry that I will lose my passion for history. Like writing, it is an addiction for me. There are so many stories to be told, extraordinary people who deserve to be remembered and celebrated. With each letter I finish transcribing, I am more convinced Amanda is one of them.Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-38442756953115995912010-02-03T09:28:22.478-06:002010-02-03T09:28:22.478-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-20416696747628173912010-02-03T09:18:25.189-06:002010-02-03T09:18:25.189-06:00Paula - Yes, Madonna came from a long line of Quak...Paula - Yes, Madonna came from a long line of Quakers. I had no idea what "old colonial" stock she came from until I started researching her line in order to join the DAR. At least four different ones go back to the 1620's and she is a direct descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Two signers of the Declaration of Independance are distant cousins. There's even some evidence she's a Mayflower descendant. Likely, as I have found ancestors that were in Plymouth around that time. <br /><br />Katrina - Amanda drew me into her world in less than a paragraph. I could very nearly hear her. Her writing is far less formal than many of the other correspondants and she's less inclined to go on for a full page about why she didn't write sooner or, worse, describe every nuance of a sunset in the tone of a poor imitation of Byron or Shelley. Her handwriting is beautiful, though there are a lot of inkblots and crossed out words. You can tell she wrote things down exactly as she thought them and that she struggled to write as fast as she thought. I am much like her when I write letters, so I can relate. Oh, and about the handwriting, I agree it is becoming a lost art. Sasha (in 3rd grade) said they haven't even started learning cursive yet and I wonder if they ever will. I may have to teach her myself, as I don't want it to be a skill lost on my children.Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-25631065559062897012010-02-03T07:16:00.285-06:002010-02-03T07:16:00.285-06:00Kim:
Thanking you for your interest and kind thoug...Kim:<br />Thanking you for your interest and kind thoughts shared concerning my ancestor Amanda Akin. Having written a book herself and counting on your future work, assures Amanda has and will continue to live on long since her passing. Please carry on your excellent research, thank your lucky stars for those pack rats, and never lose your interest in history.Terry Akinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-40574423800627715592010-01-26T01:31:46.718-06:002010-01-26T01:31:46.718-06:00I am very intrigued by the intensity and directnes...I am very intrigued by the intensity and directness of Amanda Akin. She would be an interesting character in a novel. That small keyhole into the way she thinks and expresses herself has definitely left me wanting to learn more. <br /><br />I envy the penmanship of previous generations. I assist kids with fine-motor deficits it seems that as each generation advances, writing skills are declining. Too many video games and television.<br /><br />Also, you are a productive and constructive pack rat, and our ancestors unknowingly were. I love reading these blogs-very amusing. I hope you are finding a great publisher that will expose your work to a broad audience.<br /><br />Katrina Nunez<br /><br />Katrina NunezAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-44885458061549688072010-01-25T00:10:59.247-06:002010-01-25T00:10:59.247-06:00Hi Kim,
What a winfall! Isn't it interesting ...Hi Kim,<br /><br />What a winfall! Isn't it interesting that when we love something like history, it just falls into our laps! These letters are 'gold' and will enrich you someday! As always, I enjoy reading what you write. I was particularly interested to learn Madonna came from Quaker stock! Herman Ahren's sister, Carolyn married a man from a Quaker background too. <br /><br />PaulaPaula Niallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08253737356799042987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-79502201737005384392010-01-23T19:07:49.718-06:002010-01-23T19:07:49.718-06:00Hi Diane,
Martha, my 3 x great grandmother, came ...Hi Diane,<br /><br />Martha, my 3 x great grandmother, came from a large Quaker family living in a rural section of upstate New York (Columbia County). While it was the 1840's and they were a farming family, all the girls were educated. Martha herself went to boarding school for at least a couple of years, which I believe was unusual for girls of her background. She also attended Spencertown Academy, which was just down the street from where she lived. I wonder if the emphasis on education in the Angell family was a Quaker trait. (If anyone knows if that's the case, please chime in.) Her friends, Charles Scholefield and Amanda Akin, were both educated as well. Neither of them were from farming families, though. Amanda's father was a judge and Charles' was a minister.Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-7850394820818451472010-01-23T18:57:27.408-06:002010-01-23T18:57:27.408-06:00Hi Kim, I just wanted to let you know I read your ...Hi Kim, I just wanted to let you know I read your blog, and I really enjoyed it. I think that is so awesome that your family saved those letters all these years and took such great care of them! I also enjoy reading about days gone by,as long as I don't have to remember the dates of anything! I can definitely see your wheels turning for many more books as soon as you finish the one you are working on... It is hard to believe when looking at our society that people were ever that timid about being alone with the opposite sex...for the reason of reputation...today there is only one reason they would feel that fear...but it is amazing that with no education and such that they wrote such interesting letters and were able to save them...I still think it would be awesome to be able to live like that,even if only for a month or so...Diane Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-59550473379538090222010-01-22T22:11:57.064-06:002010-01-22T22:11:57.064-06:00Hi Maxine,
Your Dad sounds like quite a romantic!...Hi Maxine,<br /><br />Your Dad sounds like quite a romantic! Thank you so much for giving me those old photos he kept of my grandmother and my great-aunt (who were his friends.) Having read his article about his time at Big Trees with Carl and Madonna and the rest of the family, I think you should publish those letters, if you think he would have wanted that. He was a good writer and, I believe, a good person as well. I'm sure you miss him every day.Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-42825092188219974012010-01-22T21:40:31.357-06:002010-01-22T21:40:31.357-06:00You are so lucky to have those letters intact. My...You are so lucky to have those letters intact. My Parents wrote each other 3 times a day when they were first married and Dad was working away from home. They filled an old blue trunk. One night they apparently sat down, read them all and burned them after. All I have is the trunk. However, after my Mother died he had a lady friend who kept all his letters and she gave them to me with the idea that I publish them, something I have still to do. MaxineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-24627123441232777592010-01-22T07:59:38.997-06:002010-01-22T07:59:38.997-06:00Hi Dreamstate,
Oh, believe me I'll do somethi...Hi Dreamstate,<br /><br />Oh, believe me I'll do something! To start I am scanning and transcribing the letters, as they will not last forever. Since I have done a lot of genealogy, I know of many people are who are mentioned in the letters. I intend to put my transcribed letters in date order and footnote everything - names, places, etc. This historian in me thinks this is fun.<br /><br />I have also found descendants of Amanda and think I may have found one for Charles as well. The original letters aren't mine, but I am offering copies of the transcriptions and scans to them and anyone else who may want them. In Amanda's case, the Akin Free Library in her home town likely will want copies.<br /><br />Last, of course, I will probably use some of these people as characters in a future book. I need to finish the one I'm currently working on first, though!Kim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06100854132576647442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2967179224372520114.post-8173906541558410922010-01-22T07:23:29.050-06:002010-01-22T07:23:29.050-06:00This is amazing!! How fortunate you are (and we by...This is amazing!! How fortunate you are (and we by proxy) to have these pictures of history. We have lost our oral traditions and so much of our past is gone. I beg you to do something with these!Jenna Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07591399291903261245noreply@blogger.com