Sunshine

Sunshine two days in a row! Daffodils blooming in the front yard, gladiolas sprouting in the back. Oh joy, spring is here.

Patience

"Good things come to those who wait."

I don't know who said that, and I'm sure there are many who would disagree, but as another saying goes -

"Patience is its own reward."

Which I suppose is another way of saying the same thing.

I am not innately patient. Indeed, that must be a rare virtue to occur naturally, or we wouldn't have so many sayings to encourage patience.

Patience is not a passive state. It is not mere resignation, waiting for whatever happens.

Patience has a goal, and works actively towards it, and steadily, without getting discouraged or angry that it requires more work to reach the end result.

I'm learning to treasure patience, and even enjoy it. Having set difficult goals for myself this year, I must patiently pursue them, or be a liar to myself. They are personal goals - no one can keep me from attaining them except me. Patience is my friend and partner, helping me work through the hard spots.

Work that is Worth the Effort

The following message was posted to my profile at WikiTree today.  Paula's words encouraged me so much, and I want to share them because they are also meant for the members of the Magna Carta project, and could apply to so many of the members of WikiTree who carefully document profiles of our mutual ancestors in quiet obscurity. It is work that is worth the effort - let's all keep on keeping on!

The following message from Paula J was posted on your WikiTree profile.

We are still working on the Henry Wyche profile and connections. We removed a bad connection (wife) as his wife proved to be unknown as you noted.  There is still much work to do going down the line towards present day but I wanted to thank you for the solid foundation that you and Magna Carta project put up that keeps us from having to clean up and source earlier ancestors whose profiles are in great shape!! 
It is like a huge gift! 

The descendants are quite a mess and we are putting up as many profiles as we can to prevent future confusion. Like most southern families, names are reused so often it is difficult to untangle who belongs where!

It just makes me appreciate your work all the more!! Thanks again!

Where do we keep our Will Power?

Making changes in my habits, especially exercise and eating, requires using my will power. Today I found out where my will power is located - in my ventral medial prefrontal cortex and my dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.  Oh, well of course. ummm, where is that?

This image at Wikipedia puts them both near the front of the brain. Being able to picture where my will power is kept does not help me to access it when I need more of it. For tips on how to do that, see these ideas published at Livestrong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY (ASPEGREN) HEIKKILA

Jenny Maria Aspegren, my great-grandmother, was born 4 March 1869 at Karsikko farm, Simo, Lappi, Finland.  Today is the 147th anniversary of her birth. Karsikko is an isolated farm near the Gulf of Bothnia, where the Northern Lights can be seen about two hundred times in a year.

Jenny married Tapani Nayha 3 January 1892. While he was away working as a river boat captain, Jenny took care of the farm and their family. They had nine children, all of whom grew to maturity, at a time when the child mortality was 50%. Jenny farmed and preserved food, cooked and cleaned. She was very handy, and she made wooden skis for the children.She was an outstanding tailor, able to make men's suits and do all the fancy work on fine clothes, with French seams and other details. Jenny was an excellent cook and she passed her skills on to her children.  When WWII came, and staples such as salt, sugar, flour and coffee were scarce, Jenny's daughters in America sent regular bundles of food back home.

Jenny died 20 December 1944. She was 75 years old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMUEL BACON

Samuel Bacon, baptized 5 March 1636, at Stretton, Rutland, England, is my 7th great-grandfather.  The village of Stretton lies on the east side of the Roman road which here forms the Great North Road. "As early as 1636 there was a suit brought against the lords of the manor, stating that 'out of covetousness and malignity,' since the beginning of Charles's reign, they had destroyed twelve ancient farms, with land that had been arable time out of mind, and depopulated them, thrusting out all the ancient tenantry and farmers, their wives, children and servants, enclosed the common ground and turned the farm lands from tillage to pasture."



Parishes: Stretton, in A History of the County of Rutland: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1935), pp. 145-151 British History Online, [accessed 29 October 2015]. 

Nathaniel Bacon is found in Barnstable, Massachusetts on a list of "First Settlers Barnstable 1640", and Samuel his younger brother is later found with his own land, between Nathaniel's farm and that of  Samuel's father-in-law, Richard Foxwell. The timing shows us at least one reason they had for leaving England to settle on Cape Cod.

Samuel married the girl next door, Martha Foxwell, in 1659, and they had their first two children in Barnstable. Samuel's farm was small - less than five acres, and his family was growing. The town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, wanted good farmers, and offered land grants of 170 acres. Samuel moved his family (most likely by boat) in 1669 to Woodbridge, where he had a dock called "Bacon's Landing". John, William, Nathaniel, Joseph, Jeremiah and Ann were born to Samuel and Martha at Woodbridge, New Jersey.

In 1682, the same year William Penn founded his great Quaker city of Philadelphia, Samuel Bacon claimed a plantation of 260 acres on the Cohansey River, which empties into the Delaware River south of Philadelphia. Samuel named his new estate "Bacon's Adventure". This move was also likely made by boat. Samuel served on the Provincial Assembly of West Jersey in 1685, and he was a Justice of the Court for Salem County in 1688. At some point he became a Quaker, and records of his family are found in their archives. Samuel Bacon died in November of 1695, age 59, at Salem, New Jersey. He is an immigrant ancestor and early settler of Massachusetts and New Jersey.

 Relationship Trail

1. April is the daughter of Kenneth Alvin Dellinger 
    2. Ken is the son of Clara May (Barchus) Dellinger 
       3. Clara is the daughter of Constant T. Barchus 
          4. Constant is the son of Sarah (Bacon) Barchus 
             5. Sarah is the daughter of David Bacon 
                6. David is the son of Enos Bacon 
                   7. Enos is the son of Joseph Bacon
                      8. Joseph is the son of Joseph Bacon 
                         9. Joseph is the son of Samuel Bacon 

This trail tells us that Samuel is the seventh great grandfather of April.

Sunshine, Daffodils and Hail

Yesterday the cheerful yellow of the first daffodils adorned our yard. The sunshine blessed them, and with hail at the same time. Oh yes, this is definitely Oregon.

Never mind, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute and it will change.