Monday, August 03, 2009
Narramore Years Part 9
This also lead to the first of a series of trips to the midwest
and eastern states. On each of these trips I used the
"Mennonite Your Way" system to help manage expenses.
This travel system had many Mennonite church members
opening their homes to travelers for overnight accommodations
at minimum expense. This proved to be a good way of meeting
some very nice people as well as making such a trip affordable
for one living on a modest salary. In late June and early July
1987 I traveled to Iowa. I flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota where
I visited Randall Van Meter for several days. We took a side
trip east along the southern shore of Lake Superior (Wisconsin)
and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Having never been to
the Great Lakes I found this experience fascinating. Lake
Superior is almost like a small sea. We went up the
Keweenaw Peninsula to the cooper mining area.
After this excursion I proceeded by rental car to Iowa.
I drove to New Hartford, Butler County (just west of
Waterloo and Cedar Falls). My father was born there
in 1902. The Ensign family moved there in 1854 from
upstate New York (my great grandfather, George
Washington Ensign was part of that family group).
My grandfather William Bradley Ensign with his family
moved from Iowa around 1904. They initially moved to
Missouri and by 1907 moved again to western Colorado
(Delta/Montrose). This was a very gratifying experience
as I visited the Oak Hill cemetery where ancestors and
other family members were buried. From there I went
to Guthrie Center (south west of Des Moines) and visited
with a distant cousin Burnette Bailey. My mother's side
of the family (the Holdens and Baileys) came from
Guthrie Center in around 1908 to western Colorado.
My grandfather Clem Holden was born in Guthrie Center
in 1881. This was also a rich time of seeing where some
of my ancestors had lived.
From there I traveled to Curryville, Missouri. Curryville
was where the Ensigns (and the birthplace of my late
Aunt Adeline) moved for several years after leaving Iowa.
Then I traveled to Ensign, Kansas a tiny town southwest
of Dodge City. I investigated the reason for the name and
found out it was named in honor of a distantly relation,
George Leonard Ensign (1852-1935), who was an early
town developer and businessman in that area. This was
the first of several trips with on of the primary objectives
was to research family history.
and eastern states. On each of these trips I used the
"Mennonite Your Way" system to help manage expenses.
This travel system had many Mennonite church members
opening their homes to travelers for overnight accommodations
at minimum expense. This proved to be a good way of meeting
some very nice people as well as making such a trip affordable
for one living on a modest salary. In late June and early July
1987 I traveled to Iowa. I flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota where
I visited Randall Van Meter for several days. We took a side
trip east along the southern shore of Lake Superior (Wisconsin)
and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Having never been to
the Great Lakes I found this experience fascinating. Lake
Superior is almost like a small sea. We went up the
Keweenaw Peninsula to the cooper mining area.
After this excursion I proceeded by rental car to Iowa.
I drove to New Hartford, Butler County (just west of
Waterloo and Cedar Falls). My father was born there
in 1902. The Ensign family moved there in 1854 from
upstate New York (my great grandfather, George
Washington Ensign was part of that family group).
My grandfather William Bradley Ensign with his family
moved from Iowa around 1904. They initially moved to
Missouri and by 1907 moved again to western Colorado
(Delta/Montrose). This was a very gratifying experience
as I visited the Oak Hill cemetery where ancestors and
other family members were buried. From there I went
to Guthrie Center (south west of Des Moines) and visited
with a distant cousin Burnette Bailey. My mother's side
of the family (the Holdens and Baileys) came from
Guthrie Center in around 1908 to western Colorado.
My grandfather Clem Holden was born in Guthrie Center
in 1881. This was also a rich time of seeing where some
of my ancestors had lived.
From there I traveled to Curryville, Missouri. Curryville
was where the Ensigns (and the birthplace of my late
Aunt Adeline) moved for several years after leaving Iowa.
Then I traveled to Ensign, Kansas a tiny town southwest
of Dodge City. I investigated the reason for the name and
found out it was named in honor of a distantly relation,
George Leonard Ensign (1852-1935), who was an early
town developer and businessman in that area. This was
the first of several trips with on of the primary objectives
was to research family history.
Labels: Curryville, Ensign, George Leonard Ensign, George Washington Ensign, Guthrie Center, IA, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Hartford, William Bradley Ensign
# posted by Dino Don @ 9:03 AM 
