COGenBlog

Mary Wolff has continued a long time tradition in her family. She and her family have been saving their correspondence for over 200 years. About 75,000 documents are stored in 200 boxes in the family home in Boulder. The letters and essays are a glimpse into historical events from a middle-class family’s perspective.

To read the entire New York Times article, “In 200 Years of Family Letters, a Nation’s Story” go to
www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/national/29letter.html?_r=1

A shorter version, “Family’s archive is one of nation’s largest” can be found in the Denver Post at
(http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3448800)

The Westminster City Council has named Wesley Chapel Cemetery, which is located at 120th Avenue & Huron Street, a local historic landmark. The designation will protect the cemetery from future developement.

To read the story “Grounds for History” which appeared in the 28 December 2005, the Denver Post, go
to (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3348567)

More information and an index for Westley Chapel Cemetery can be found on the Colorado GenWeb site as part of the Colorado Tombstone Project at (ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/co/adams/cemeteries/wesley.txt)

Colorado State University assistant professor, Eric Schuck, writes a heartwarming story about his grandma in this article published in the Denver Post on Wednesday, December 21. The article is not long but is a good example of how a few paragraphs can preserve our memories and family stories.

You can read “Grandma’s krumkake and memories of Christmas past” at
(http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3327981)

A quarter-century ago, members of the Piper family purchased a small piece of land in New York, where they discovered an abandoned cemetery. A West Coast relative took one of the fallen stones home to California, thinking he might use it in the stone work on his patio. However, his wife objected and the stone was propped up against a tree in the couple’s yard.

The stone was inscribed “ROSA J. / daughter of / GEORGE & CYNTHIA / CARTER / DIED / June 11, 1861 / Aged 8 mo.”

After both the husband and wife died, their son Will Piper brought the stone to his home in Fort Lupton, Colorado. He contacted friend and genealogist Arliss Monk of Greeley to find out more about Rosa. Her research found the family in the 1860 census (shortly before Rosa’s birth) and other records.

This last summer Will Piper and his wife Linda returned Rosa’s stone to the still-neglected cemetery near Canisteo, N.Y.

More details of this story can be found in “Traveling tombstone gets a final resting place,” Greeley Tribune, 24 October 2005, page 1, columns 1-5 and continued on page 12. You can register to read an online version.