Writing Your Own Family's History

Some day, some descendant may want to know about the people in your family. They shouldn't have to guess like Kate had to about Ruth Murray! You should write your own family's history so it will be preserved for future generations.

There are lots of ways to go about it from simple records to free-form tale-telling. To get inspired, the Helen Plum Memorial Library in Lombard, Illinois is offering a free seminar called "Creating a Memoir: The Basics of Writing Your Life Story."

Memoirist Rosanne Gulisano will lead the seminar on Saturday, February 6, starting at 2:00 pm. While the event is free, the library would like you to register. See their web site at www.plum.lib.il.us for more information.

This seminar is one of several that is offered by the DuPage County Library System as part of their Writing and Publishing series. Kate attended all but one of last year's offerings and found them very interesting. She's already registered for all of this year's, so if you attend any, be sure to say "hello!"

Where History Is Happening

Links to some upcoming events:

New Permanent Exhibit of West Chicago History

Daily Monday through
Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Panels with text, photographs and artifacts invite discovery of West Chicago's early history and subsequent development. On display in the City Hall during regular business hours.

Tea with Your American Girl

Saturday, February 13
11:00 am or1:00 pm
The LaGrange Area Historical Society
invites you to
a Tea with Your American Girl.
This event will feature
"Rebecca," the girls from the 1914-era stories.
Tea will be held in the Vial House,
Home of the LaGrange Area Historical Society
444 S. LaGrange Road
Seatings are at 11:00 am or 1:00 pm and registration is required as space is limited. Please have one adult per family in attendance. Dolls and other lovies are welcome!

President Ronald Reagan's Birthday Party

Saturday, February 6
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Come and join the annual Ronald Reagan Birthday Celebration! View his birthplace in Tampico, Illinois and then walk over to the Tampico Historical Museum three doors down the street which will also be open.
Refreshments will be served there by the Tampico Historical Society.
This would be Reagan's 99th birthday as he was born February 6, 1911!

Prizes from Years of Lincoln Collecting Went to Auction Last Month

Over Thanksgiving weekend, an Ohio man downsized his extensive Lincoln memorabilia collection.

Eighty-five year old Georg Hoffman of Delaware, Ohio has a collection that includes stacks of old photographs, paintings and other works of art, but the star of his collection is a funeral wreath that lay on the casket of President Abraham Lincoln while he lay in state at the Ohio statehouse in Columbia.

The story is that the town of Piqua, Ohio, held a funeral before the train even arrived. One of the speakers at the service was Dr. Godwin Volney Dorsey, a well-respected area physician and one who was known for his oratory skills.

When Lincoln's casket was placed in the Columbus Statehouse, it was covered by funeral wreaths, one of which was purchased by Dr. Dorsey. Once the funeral train continued its journey, Dorsey reclaimed his wreath and it was passed on within the family for generations until 1975 when George Hoffman's family acquired it.

Dr. Dorsey had the wreath encased in a wooden shadow box frame and the paper backing reads "This Wreath lay upon the Breast of Abraham Lincoln while his body was lying in State at Columbus, O. April 29, 1865." Auctioneers were hoping to get $5,000 to $10,000 for the wreath, but it's been difficult to find published word on what the final purchase price was.

There was a photo of the Statehouse in Columbus taken while Lincoln lay in state there. Whether that's Dr. Dorsey's wreath visible in the picture we don't know. But we happened to have a copy of this photo in our files because of the painting above the coffin.

It depicts Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry leading the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Perry was assisted by a group of Ashtabula, Ohio, settlers known as the "old grey men," one of which supposedly was Benjamin Napier. Benjamin was the older brother of Joseph Naper who went on to found the town of Naperville in Illinois and of Amy Naper who was the mother of the main character in Kate's book Ruth by Lake and Prairie. One story has it that the meaty white-shirted oarsman in the picture is actually Benjamin Napier.

Experts at the Put-In-Bay historical museum say that nearly every family with a connection claims to have an ancestor in the painting, so the research is ongoing!

Do-It-Yourself Historical Sites

This sounds like the perfect project for long winter nights! The Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission offers Build Your Own Lincoln Sites that you can print out on card stock from your own computer, cut out and glue together.

Models include Lincoln's Tomb, his home in Springfield and the store he worked at in New Salem among many others.

One model is of the Old Main building at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, one of the sites of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the only site still standing. Kate knows the building well, having worked there in the college president's office as her campus job during her years attending Knox College.

If anyone actually builds one of these models, please send a photograph and we'll share your artistry with the rest of our readers!

Where History Is Happening

Links to some upcoming events:

From Humble Beginnings: Lincoln's Illinois 1830-1861

Ends Sunday,
January 10, 2010

To celebrate the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, the Illinois State Museum showcases an original exhibition, From Humble Beginnings, Lincoln's Illinois 1830 - 1861, exploring all aspects of the state that Lincoln called home between 1830 and 1861.

Hinckley Historical Society Show and Share Night

Monday, January 11
7:00 pm until 10:00 pm

Join fellow history buffs at the Hinckley Community Building for a chance to share in a piece of Hinckley history!

Members of the community that have items such as postcards, photos, business premiums, yearbooks, documents, etc., that are part of Hinckley's past are encouraged to bring them to share. The historical society will display some of the items that have been donated. Tables will be set up for displays. You will have an opportunity to share your bit of Hinckley history.

For information, call Kristy Skelly-Sternes at 815-286-3356 or Kris Kestilla-Ohnstad at 815-286-7992.

Michigan Historical Collectibles Show

Saturday, January 23
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday, January 24
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

2 Day extravaganza with the largest gathering of Historical & Military collectors and enthusiasts in the Midwest. The only show in the world that features under one Roof 200 tables displaying and selling Toy Soldier and Historical Figures, Militaria & Historical Books.
Michigan Historical Collectibles Show offers free tables for the purpose of historical education to
historical groups and clubs, historical museums, living history/re-enacting groups and veterans groups