The following is a letter written by Clara Maria de los Dolores Marina de Beck to Amelia Bowden Guion of Seneca Falls, New York in 1883:

“My grand-parents on my mother’s side were of royal descent. My grandfather Cadoret was guillotined in France for his loyalty to Marie Antoinette. My grandmother with her three daughters (my mother being the youngest) were secluded for months in a tower outside Paris and were released by being let down in the dead of night in a Cracker Barrel. This was suitably curtained inside and slightly ventilated, and with my grandmother inside was taken as freight on board a ship bound for Havana. My grandmother was of Spanish birth and it was deemed safer to send her to Cuba, than to Spain, as she might have been traced, and her head would have gone too. Of course they were rescued by friends, and when…

Since Ced was making payments to Grandpa – I’m not sure what the payments were for – I believe he included a check with this note.

Dear Dad,

In great haste.

Letter later.

Ced

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This is probably the later letter,

Friday afternoon

Dear Papa,

Seems as tho’ I must owe you money in order to send you a letter – nothing to prove otherwise yet, is there? I apologize again and admit you are right as to how it happened. At least I had money in the bank this time.

My plans as proposed in the last letter are somewhat upset. The income tax is 20% up to $2500, 22% up to $4500 and 26% up to $6500. this additional 4% is not as bad as I had supposed, but it looks as though I’m going to have a pretty heavy whack taken out anyway. Hope the “pay-as-you-go” plan…

When I use the title Then and Now, I am very literal for this post. These are pictures of the original beams in the portion of the house that was built in 1756. For much of that time, they were covered with a ceiling but are again exposed. Notice how they are put together – no nails were used and they are still solid. You can also see the marks left by the old hand tools used to shape them. 

Beams going into the kitchen area.

Beams in the Dining Room.

Beams going to front of the house and front door.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting another Guest Post from GPCox, pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com all about vehicle manufacturing during WWII.

Next week, it will be letters written in 1944 when all five boys were working for Uncle Sam, in vehicle maintenance, surveying, airplane maintenance, working with the locals in a foreign country or…

A MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES….

https://mailchi.mp/nara/0rjknzxchj-763401?e=2018eed2da

NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN – IF YOU ARE LIVING FREE – THANK A VETERAN !!!

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Here We Go……

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Farewell Salutes – 

Daniel Buchta – Far Rockaway, NY; US Navy, USS Nimitz

Jean Danniels – ENG; WRENS, WWII

Waverly Ellsworth Jr. – Buffalo, NY; US Navy, Korea, medic

Virgil; Johnston – Grove, OK; USMC, WWII

Alma (Smith) Knesel – Lebanon, PA; Manhattan Project (TN), WWII

Samuel Mastrogiacomo – Sewell, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, MSgt., B-24 tail gunner, 2nd Air Div./8th A.F. (Ret. 33 y.)

Willis Sears Nelson – Omaha, NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 pilot

Gregory O’Neill – Fort Myers, FL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 787th

Orville Roeder – Hankinson, ND; US Army, Medic

Nicholas Vukson – Sault Saint Marie, CAN; RC Navy, WWII, Telegraphist, HMCS Lanark

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