How to: From Genealogy to a Family Book

March 19, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy Leave a Comment

Over seven years ago, when I retired, I stared at the boxes and files filed with over 35 years of genealogical research. It was time to digitize everything, so I did that for about three years. It takes about three hours a day.

The family trees and research are on Ancestry with a backup on my computer using Family Tree Maker software. I was an early customer of Ancestry, all the way back to the early 1990s. When I decided to back up what was online, I chose Family Tree Maker shortly after that. Their track record was already good. I trusted them.

I stayed with both because Ancestry offered an extensive sample, and the Family Tree Maker’s track record was still excellent. Plus, it would require too much work to change now. I had too much invested.

While inputting it, I couldn’t help wondering whether anyone in my family would actually read it. Except for one daughter, I feared no one else would take the time to search through the “this ancestor begat that ancestor” information.

So what can one do to ensure one’s offspring understands their heritage?

It occurred to me that people will read narrative stories before reading basic research, so I wrote a book.

Because I needed help, I found Lynn Palermo and her Family History Writing Studio. Her online courses teach amateur genealogists how to write about one’s family in a narrative nonfiction way.

https://www.familyhistorywritingstudio.com/

I signed up for a 28-day challenge held in February several years ago. It turned out to be just what I needed. The challenge came with daily directives, such as identifying the theme and focus of what I wished to write. She immediately made me realize I needed to focus on one or two ancestors instead of entire families.

Next, it helped me organize and gather the resources I already had. In addition, it helped me understand the resources and research needed. She just completed one in February.

https://www.familyhistorywritingstudio.com/family-history-writing-challenge/

Later, for example, she requested a short story about our chosen ancestor, and the challenge participants critiqued each other’s work. It became a daily exercise that got each of us into the habit of writing.

The result was a book series entitled Palmetto Pioneers, a three-book story. I chose one family member, Mary Adeline Walker, my third-great-grandmother, on my maternal side. She came to territorial Florida in 1829 and settled with her parents and grandparents near Monticello, Florida. They were yeoman farmers who primarily raised cattle.

During the 28-day challenge, I focused on my family in my home county. I had been told they were among the first settlers of this area of Florida, but there were too many family lines. I descend from the Hamricks, McSwains, Rodgers, Wheelers, Lightseys, Andrews, Wilsons, Carters, and Walkers. All arrived in Jefferson County, Florida, before the Civil War.

I narrowed the list to the Walkers because they first arrived in 1829. They came to this county as several Walker families.

I chose Mary because she is the keystone for the distinct lines of the family from which I descended. Her daughter, an Andrews, married a Lightsey, who married a Hamrick. My mother is a Hamrick.

All I knew about Mary, though, was her marriage. It required much more research to prove her parents. Until the 1850 census, the enumerator did not ask for the names of other household members, so she is not listed by name in the 1830 and 1840 censuses. She married in 1843 and moved out. However, there is a girl her age in each of the two earlier censuses; and I could not find a girl her age living with any other Walker family. There are other secondary sources used in a proof argument in the book.

Mary’s parentage wasn’t the only research needed. It took over two more years of research, including over 120 digitized issues of Monticello’s first newspaper from 1859 to 1861. This process was slow but valuable. Information gleaned from these issues changed the story. I had to rewrite an entire chapter of the second book.

Because I was writing a narrative account, the story needed much more than its characters’ primary and secondary resources. I realized I needed a timeline, not only for local happenings but also for state and national. I developed all three timelines and used them to fill in the backstory, those events happening to the family at each point.

For example, during the Second Seminole Indian war, Jefferson County suffered many massacres. One was in Mary’s community. History Geo showed that the massacred family lived next door, close enough for the family to hear. Local diaries and journals described the fear of children and adults. One log told about a Carter cousin killed.

While researching the family for the book, I realized that Mary and her husband may be Florida Pioneers. Thus, I began the Florida Pioneer Descendent Certificate process. At first, this task seemed daunting, but the Florida State Genealogical Society had an excellent system to follow. A warning, though. If I had looked too far ahead at the amount of work to be done, I wouldn’t have started it. But I went through each part step-by-step without looking ahead, and before I realized it, I was done.

When I turned in my initial application, it needed more. Kathy Stickney contacted me, and she became my mentor. She was on the committee that helped those who wished to complete their certificates. I accomplished it several years ago.

A Series named Palmetto Pioneers

I entitled the first book, “The Emigrants, which begins when Mary was seven and still living in South Carolina. It covers the roads we believe they took between Colleton District and Monticello, Florida. It is also a bit of a history lesson, describing why these areas had recently opened.

Determining when they left South Carolina and arrived in Jefferson County required several resources. Later, census records showed when their children were born and where. Using these dates and places provided a good idea when they made the trip. Common sense showed they probably made the trip in the late fall or early winter. These were farmers. They would have wanted to stay for the last harvest and be in place in the new land by the time of planting. With all this information, we felt confident they left around early October 1829 and arrived by the end of the year, with plenty of time to raise their cabins and get their first crops into the ground.

To determine what route they took, I studied maps from that era. The family did not use some roads because they traveled with livestock. According to journals and diaries from that era, the road down the east coast and the Coffee trail did not have enough water for the cattle. I studied other roads, weighing their distance and ease of travel, before choosing the most likely route.

The first book ends when Mary marries and begins having children. She married a widower born and raised in the District of Columbia, when Washington, DC, was rebuilt after the British burned the Capitol and other buildings during the War of 1812. His father was a joiner in the carpentry business there.

Another milestone of the book’s ending, though, is statehood. The book carries the reader through when her father and husband vote in Florida’s first statewide election. For this story, their day began early because they had to ride 8 miles into town for the event. Because it was spring, a busy time on any farm, I felt certain Mary’s father did not come into town the day before.

When I began the book and was well into ending it, I thought I was working on one book. It wasn’t until my 94-year-old distant cousin read it for family content. He said, “Cindy, I think this is two books.” He kept the chapters I sent him and placed them in a notebook. It required two large notebooks. That is when I knew I had written a series.

The book is self-published by Amazon, and it was easier to publish than I imagined. It is available on Amazon as an e-book, paperback, and hardback. Because I felt the first book was over-priced, I have split the second part in half again. Hopefully, the next two will be a cheaper read.

The book has an extensive bibliography in the back, and the e-version can be word searched for any person, place, or event.

Though my primary purpose was to write a book for my descendants, I always had in mind two more secondary goals. I love my state and my county, and it concerns me that my neighboring citizens do not understand its rich history. I meant these books to provide anyone, whether kin, a look into how this wonderful state was settled.

FAN Club Research & Family History Writing

February 21, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy

I blogged earlier about location research, but another type of research can help you drill further into a person’s or family’s life. It is called researching a person’s FAN Club. I’ll use my main character Mary as a model.

Mary’s records included census records from 1830 in Jefferson County to 1870. I also found marriage records, tax records, and several land records. These helped me determine where she lived and traveled, but there are more profound clues that can help one paint a broader picture. For example, who witnessed these events and filed for a marriage license just before or after hers? Who married her?

Laura Andrews Lightsey, daughter of Mary

Census records can show us who their neighbors were. Who else lived in their community? Land records can help one tell how far away that person lived? Who witnessed their land purchases? Who purchased land on the same day? Who voted, and who voted next or immediately before in line. These people are their FAN Club (their friends, associates, and neighbors). Many of these people may be related to them, though they may not initially appear to be.

Elizabeth Shown Mills named the FAN club, which can also be called cluster research. In short, it is a network of people to whom a person connects. It was imperative to research Mary because no definitive records show who her parents are. I had to look to others around her to find the answer.

For example, her father and her husband traveled together to vote back to back in Florida’s first statewide election. Her brother Henry and her husband traveled together to Tallahassee and bought adjoining land on the same day from the US government. Almost all of her children named at least one child after her father, one of which named his son Jesse Walker Andrews, using her father’s surname, too. Several of her Walker family members named their children after her husband.

FAN research was also used to determine Mary’s mother’s maiden name. Though less robust, there is one secondary document with her maiden name listed, but the informant never knew her personally. The document is dated more than forty years after Elizabeth died.

However, using FAN club research, some people lived nearby, both in South Carolina and in Florida, who shared this maiden surname.
Numerous Wilsons attended their church in South Carolina. Also, in Jefferson County, a lady less than a quarter mile away in the northern part of the Elizabeth community shares the same surname and could be a sister. Both Mary’s mother and this woman came to Florida from the same community in South Carolina at the same time. Both their husbands are descendants of Walkers, too. This and other information make a strong case that Mary’s mother was a Wilson before she married.

This additional research can provide clues that your ancestor‘s research failed to do. Granted, it is much more work, but it can help you break through your brick wall.

Using FAN club or cluster research, one can rely upon indirect clues and a preponderance of evidence to build a case instead of relying on primary evidence, which is often unavailable.

The more I learned about Mary–who lived with or near her and interacted with her family–the more I learned about Mary herself.

To learn more, please click on the link below.

https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-11-identity-problems-fan-principle/

A Timeline Can Make Your Writing Better

February 6, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

Since I published the book, I’ve had numerous requests for information on how I prepared. Writing a family history book, especially one that is narrative, required research and ways to analyze the information found.

I spent over two years researching the book. I gathered my main character’s information, reviewed what I already had, and searched for her FAN Club (her friends, associates, and neighbors). Still, making a timeline was one of the most essential parts of this research. It included dates, events, places, and occupations.

In the end, I had several different timelines: one for the family (dates of births, religious dates, marriages, deaths, etc.), one for local events (Monticello & Jefferson County), one for state events (Florida), and one for national. There were two more for the Civil War and for the Second Seminole Indian War. I added nothing to a timeline without a good reference, and I immediately added the reference to my bibliography.

I used timelines to illustrate how things changed over time and to draw connections between the people and events. I also used them to check my work, especially the chronological events. Sometimes, it helped me add more dialogue since it is obvious the residents of a town would converse about important changes happening to them.

My timelines brought together elements of my character’s history, the people they may have known, the places they may have frequented, and the events that might have brought them to town.

The timelines were formatted with bullets for the dates and events. Sometimes, it was for a full date and sometimes only a year was given.

I eventually did a spreadsheet for the Civil War, showing the men from the family who fought in it, their units, and the places they fought. I could add a line anytime I needed, and I could sort the date, event, or place. This was especially helpful. I added their regiments and companies and could sort them according to such. This way, I could see them as a unit for questions like who else served with them, who was wounded in a particular battle, and who didn’t return home.

Initially, I didn’t cite sources for the individual events within the timelines, but I realized later I should have. It would have made it easier for me to check a reference when I noticed that the order of some events was duplicated. For example, I discovered conflicting dates for events in the Indian and Civil Wars. They conflicted because people’s memories aren’t always the same. A person’s diary written on the spot is better than a person’s memoir, especially when that person’s memoir was written fifty years after the event.

When Location Becomes Their Story

December 10, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Books, Following Old Trails, Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

One of the most important parts of writing the book “Palmetto Pioneers” was research. Studying the location of my chosen ancestor became an important next step.

But let’s take a step back. I didn’t begin looking at the locations. I began reviewing what I already knew about my main character, Mary. I went back to my original research, first to my paper files, then my online files, such as her family’s Ancestry tree.

This review identified all the places she had lived or traveled. This was easy because Mary lived in Colleton District, South Carolina and traveled by wagon with her parents and extended family to Jefferson County, Florida. It appears she lived there for the rest of her life, so I only had three locations to research, but one of which was fluid.

I asked questions. Where was she married (Jefferson County, Florida marriage record)? When and where were her children born (census records which showed when and where she lived)? Where and when did she die? I also looked for land, court, and probate records.

An important part of this process was making a timeline for the family. It had three columns—one for the event, one for the date, and another for the place. It helped tremendously when trying to find events or write about them in the correct order they happened.

It also showed flaws in the research. Not everyone’s memory is the same for any event, and people make mistakes when recording important dates. Timelines helped me find the discrepancies and then helped me either fix the discrepancies or explain them in the book.

These earlier steps, used to analyze Mary and those around her, brought me to the next part of my research.

Where did these events take place? And what did I know about them?

Using census records for her father and the other Walker heads of household in the family, we know she came from South Carolina, most likely Colleton District, southwest of Charleston. But what did I really know about that area? This became an important question for the next step.

I began with the courthouse in Colleton County, but before making a trip up there, I researched the courthouse itself and where I could expect to find records. Right away, I discovered that though the courthouse itself did not burn during the Civil War, its records did. Because they were on the path of Sherman, they sent their records for safekeeping to their capital, Columbia. After marching through Colleton County and leaving its courthouse untouched, Sherman made a beeline to Columbia and burned the capitol and Colleton’s records there.

However, I learned that there are land records in neighboring counties that show lands near the county lines. They reflect who owned the land across the line. Barnwell County’s records for Lightsey lands showed the Walkers were their neighbors in Colleton County. I also learned that people have donated records from their families to a local Genealogy Room, which was in the same building as Colleton’s extension service. There is also a genealogy room at the county library.

Roadtrip!

This led to my favorite pastime—travel. Add a trip to a genealogical site, and for me it is a match made in heaven. I chose one of the old routes, certainly not an interstate highway, and I drove from Monticello to Walterboro, wondering if these families may have used a trail or road nearby.

Family Search Wiki, Colonial Roads in America

Using all this information, I made several trips to Walterboro, the county seat, and to the location of the Walker lands near Carter’s Ford on the Little Salkehatchie River. This location research was invaluable to the story, especially when the family still lived in South Carolina. It was wonderful to walk where they had walked almost two hundred years before, but why did they leave? Studying their first location could help provide answers.

The Florida State Genealogical Society featured a speaker last month during their Poolside Chat series. Diana Elder suggested in her presentation entitled, “Locality, Locality, Locality: Putting Your Ancestors in Their Place,” that one should create a “locality guide.” I wish I had listened to this about six years ago. It would have saved me later headaches.

I should have created a “Colleton County Locality Guide,” with a section for “Background Information,” showing “Quick Facts” such as laws that changed the economic environment for the family and their dates, purchases of property, natural disasters in their area, when South Carolina became a colony, and so forth. One event I found was the building of a nearby railroad, which might have changed the family’s mind about moving since the railroad provided better opportunities to reach new markets.

In the Locality Guide, “General Collections” shows where to find information as well as “Online Research Guides” and “Maps and their Dates”. Here, one records maps that show the changes in state and county lines. Within Colleton County, they divided the county into parishes. The family lived in the St. Bartholomew Parish, but did they always? The guide is used to collect all the information found about a location.

The Walker Migration Route

Another important research project was trying to find how they got to Jefferson County, Florida, from Colleton District, South Carolina. I knew the names of several trails between the two areas, and I began my research quest by studying those trails.

Later, though, I discovered that the best place to begin this research was Family Search Wiki. Simply enter the words “migration” and the location to find the different trails and roads in an area. It gives you a list of trails and roads plus maps and other resources.

Usually, I began by googling the name of a town, river, road, trail, or anything else on which I needed more information. It usually sent me to other sources, such as maps, gazetteers, trails, and so forth.

Several gazetteers became important. You can find them using Family Search Wiki. Search for “gazetteer”(singular) and then enter the location you wish to find. We can find the digitized ones this way, but I found some that were not digitized in the bibliographies of other historical works. Always check their sources. It will surprise you what you uncover.

Maps became very important to the story. They showed me how they got to Florida.

I began with trails, because they built most of the older roads on old Indian or military trails. I found some on old maps, especially the earliest maps. William Dollarhide has done much work in identifying old trails throughout the nation. His books were very important to my work. I also used diaries and journals to learn what they saw on the trails and roads when they migrated south. In the book, what the Walkers saw on their journey south was in those diaries and journals.

Something I did not use is the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) on the United States Geographical Survey (USGS) website. I discovered it well after I had finished my research. Here you can search for the names of trails, and also towns, post offices, lakes, and rivers nearby.

Once I had sufficient information about the trails and roads available, I analyzed them for the families’ most likely route. Because they drove a foundation herd of cattle with them, I cut two of the more popular routes from the list—not enough water.

Why Florida?

The next step was to study her final home. Why did the family choose Florida? What else was out there? Newspapers seemed to be a good place to start, and there were Charleston papers that they may have read. Mary’s father and uncles were educated men. I discovered a wealth of information about moving to Florida, some of it from the South Carolina papers in their era.

I also had records already in my files. Federal censuses showed us when they made the move. Some children were born in South Carolina, and others in Florida. Land records showed us when the land was available for the family to buy. The Walkers came here before the land was available in the area they settled. They probably squatted on that land and made improvements that gave them the first dibs.

An early probate record for her grandfather told a story about how hard it was to live with local diseases such as malaria. Court records showed when they made their trips eight miles away to the county seat. All of this was important because vital records mostly did not exist. There were no death records or birth records in territorial Florida. There were only church records and Bible records, but few.

I mentioned a boundary issue earlier while they were in South Carolina. Though the boundary did not change, some in Colleton County were lucky to live near the boundary of another county, whose records did not burn. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is a website by The Newberry Library which shows how a county’s boundary changed. It also shows state boundaries, too.

When the Walker family moved to Florida, it appears another group of Walkers moved just north of the state line in Georgia—an area less than ten miles away. We know from DNA they are kin to each other and from census records; they lived in Colleton District, too. We could never determine if they made the trip down together, though.

https://historygeo.com/

Later, Historygeo.com showed me who first bought the lands next to them once they bought land and settled in Jefferson County. History Geo even showed me how far away two massacred families lived during the Second Seminole Indian War. Using the sound of a gunshot, I determined which of them the family could hear from their home. I decided all of this using locality research.

Finally, I spent a lot of time studying the history of Jefferson County. It provided clues why they came when they did. For example, our state government only recently formed Jefferson County. It was less than two years old. Its land was just becoming available for sale from the state.

Historical books for a county can be important. Being from the county, I am a local and I knew which books to use. However, the National Genealogical Society has a series of books entitled “NGS Research in the States.” There is one for Florida, and it tells you where to go to find information on any county in the state. I also visited Family Search Wiki to look at their state timelines. It provided me a beginning for my in-house state events timeline.

In Jefferson County, the WPA did a research project in the 1930s, and they generated a book. We call it the Green Book. It includes first-hand stories from the children of these early settlers. A University of Florida professor wrote another county history book in 1976. Contracted by the Jefferson County Historical Association, it is an excellent source. Add to these the various diaries and journals kept, and they provided plentiful information about what Monticello and Jefferson County looked like when the Walkers arrived.

Jefferson County Courthouse, replaced in early 1900s

Locality research was vital to the book and an understanding of who these people were and what happened to them. It helped me determine who they were in South Carolina, how they got to Florida, and what impact they had on their new community once they arrived. Location research provided a wealth of information. I could not have written “Palmetto Pioneers” without it.

What Did it Take to be a Florida Pioneer

December 2, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Books, Genealogy

What was Florida like when the first white settlers got here? We can only imagine the hazards—the native population, alligators, mosquitoes, and poisonous arachnids. Add to this a list of climate changes—hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, lightning strikes, and the economics of settling a new land—its unknown character.

One man, not from Florida, said in 1829, “no man would immigrate to Florida–no not from hell itself!” Obviously, he was wrong; because these first settlers came, and now, almost two hundred years later, they are still coming.

In my family, came seven-year-old Mary Adeline Walker with her parents; and later her grandparents followed. She is my third great-grandmother, and she came to Jefferson County, Florida, in 1829. We have important records and resources about her, but no diaries or journals from her or her immediate family. There are diaries and journals from other people, though, who lived in this area during territorial Florida.

Using Mary as my primary character, I wrote a book entitled “Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants.” It is one of a three-part series. The final book ends in Monticello during reconstruction, after the Civil War. The first book begins when Mary’s family migrates from South Carolina. They brought with them on the journey a foundation herd of cattle.

They primarily dealt with cattle, but like most good farmers, they varied their livestock and crops to diversify their risks. Mary is one of eleven children, primarily boys, a real plus for the family’s operations, which were in Jefferson County.

The book, written in a genre called narrative nonfiction, may be classified in a sub-genre called family history writing. It uses elements of creative writing to present a factual, true story. It uses literary techniques usually reserved for writing fiction, such as dialog, scene-setting, and narrative arcs. But I rooted it in facts. No part of the story is made up or fabricated unless the author signals otherwise.

A clear example of this type of genre is the book, “1776”, by David McCullough. McCullough extensively researched this subject using both American and British archives to create a powerful drama with extraordinary narrative vitality.

For “Palmetto Pioneers,” the territorial Florida time period was extensively researched, and a bibliography follows at the end of the book. I divided it into time periods such as “Life in South Carolina,” “The Migration,”, “Life in Territorial Florida,” and “The Indian Wars.” I limited their life in South Carolina to reflecting on why they left and what they needed to bring, but it doesn’t tell the reader. Instead, it shows these events.

In the first book are scenes that reflect the realities of living in Florida. The reader sees what Florida was like through Mary’s eyes. The reader can also see her and her husband’s place in Florida history.

There is no family tree in this book, but it references an online Ancestry tree that is public and accessible to anyone without a membership. Many of Mary’s brothers and sisters, as well as her own children, left Monticello and settled in many other parts of Florida, such as DeSoto, Citrus, Putnam, Marion, Bradford, Madison, Suwannee, Levy, Indian River, Brevard, Dade, Duval, Okeechobee, and many more counties. Two families went to Texas, and their descendants still live there.

One can find the first book of the series on Amazon, and there are soft-cover copies at two businesses in Monticello, Florida—Oh Happy Days Gifts and Vintage Antiques. On Amazon, the books are almost $25 for hardcover and softcover but only $9.99 for the e-book.

I’m Back!

August 3, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Family Life, Palmetto Pioneers

Several years ago, I wrote a farewell post letting all of you know that I was taking some time off. The post is here.

Chuck’s dementia and the book I was writing took too much of my time. I suspended the blog for the interim.

I am happy to announce that the book is finished and finally published. I knew it was taking me forever, but the book is now three books of the “Palmetto Pioneers” series. Here is a post I did on the book back in 2016.

The first book in the series is entitled, “The Emigrants”, and it follows the main character’s life from the age of 7 until Florida becomes a state in 1845, when she was 23 and married. Her family moves to the territory of Florida in 1829.

Full Book Cover (Front, Spine, and Back)

The book has three purposes. The primary purpose is to help her descendants understand what it was like to move to Florida during that era. It describes what Monticello looked like when they arrived, and how it and Jefferson County changed over the early years of its founding.

A secondary purpose of the book is for Jefferson County and its residents to understand the area’s heritage.

A third purpose is for Floridians to understand this part of the state and the role it played in the formation of the down-state areas. Many of these families migrated farther south after the Indian wars and the Civil War.

So I am back writing posts for this blog. Chuck is doing as well as can be expected. He no longer drives and lacks his short-term memory, but he is still fairly independent, especially after we moved from the larger house to my much smaller family home. We are in walking distance of downtown with its coffee shop, barber shop, and vegetable and fruit stand.

Chuck walks everywhere and enjoys his newfound freedom. He has no trouble finding his way back home as long as he can see the courthouse which is higher than anything else in town. From the courthouse, he knows to go toward the bank and keep walking.

More to follow!

I won’t post weekly like before, but will try to post at least once a month.

Glazed Ham with Applejack Fig Chutney

May 18, 2020 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: In the Kitchen

This ham recipe that I used for Easter was super easy and equally delicious.

The recipe is below:

Glazed Ham with AppleJack Fig Chutney

Preparation time 40 minutes, total time is three hours. Serves 12

1/4 cup applejack brandy

1 1/4 cups fig preserves

1/3 cup, +2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar, divided

1 8 to 9 pound fully cooked bone in spiral cut ham, half, I used a Fresh Market ham

1 pound of fresh figs, optional, if you do not have fresh figs you may just add more fig preserves, but my fig preserves were homemade and had whole figs in it

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

One piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced, 2 Tbs.

Quarter teaspoon kosher salt

8th teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1. preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a wire rack inside the baking sheet. Stir together applejack, one cup of fig preserves, and 1/3 cup of the brown sugar in a small bowl to make glaze. Place ham on a large piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover entire ham. Brush with 1/2 cup of the glaze. Wrapped tightly in aluminum foil. Please cut side down on prepared wire rack. Add 3 cups water to baking sheet under rack. Bake ham two hours.

Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron skillet over high until hot. Add fresh figs, cook stirring occasionally until browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add coconut oil and ginger. Cook, stirring often until softened and fragrant, about two minutes. Add salt, allspice, and remaining quarter cup preserves and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring often, until liquid has mostly evaporated, about four minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice. Transfer mixture to a bowl, cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove ham from oven. Remove foil. Increase oven temperature to 425°F. Baste ham with 1/2 cup of the applejack glaze, brushing in between slices. Return to the oven. Bake uncovered at 425°F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush with the remaining half cup of glaze. Continue baking uncovered until the thermometer inserted in thickest portion of ham registers 140°F, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven. rest 10 minutes. Slice and serve with fig chutney.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.

Winter Swimming in Iceland

January 4, 2020 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Travel

We got up and said goodbye to Vik, Iceland’s southernmost village and its surrounding valleys, beaches, coastal cliffs, and mountains. We found our stay here to be peaceful, still, and serene. They told us to pack a small bag with our swimsuits.

Photo on Pixabay

This was rural Iceland and was supposed to be a prime place to search for the elusive northern lights. Of course, we missed them here as the weather did not cooperate, but we have one more chance tonight in Reykjavík.

Photo on Wikipedia

I also forgot to mention that in Vik is an IceWear outlet. Unfortunately for Chuck, our bus made a stop there. I love IceWear’s woolens though some are too scratchy for Florida wear.

</iframe>

Photo on Pixabay

If you remember, our first night was not a good night as we had 90 mile an hour winds. What I didn’t mention before, though, was that the next morning we Floridians in particular looked for the devastation and was surprised that we found none. Iceland hardly has any trees, and it is our trees that seem to cause the most inland damage in Florida after hurricanes. They also had underground utilities.

On our way back to Reykjavík, we visited Seljalandsfoss, one of Iceland‘s most famous and picturesque waterfalls.

It has a walkway behind it but it was freezing, and the walkway was hazardous. This wiki picture shows what we missed.

Just offshore were a cluster of islands. Near that cluster was Surtsey, an island that did not exist until between 1963 and 1967. It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began over 425 feet below sea level. It finally reached the surface in 1963 whereby the eruption continued until 1967. We learned more about it at the Lava Center.

This is what Surtsey looks like today.

Photo from Wikipedia

We stopped at the Lava Center, an interactive museum about the science of geology and the volcanic systems that formed Iceland. With its high tech interactive displays, we were able to feel the forces of nature. For example, we experienced different types of earthquakes. It described the types of plate slips and then you felt what it feels like. In another room we walked down a hall during an earthquake, all made possible by special effects.

We also saw the Fiery Heart of Iceland, a 12 meter high structure simulating the mantle plume and the magma flow underneath Iceland.

We sat in a cinema auditorium to watch volcanic eruptions in HD 4K. I’ve been to a lot of science museums but this may be the best one I’ve ever seen. I’ve always been extremely interested in plate tectonics, and this place explains it better than anyone or anywhere else.

This was our last afternoon in Iceland. We drove along the south shore toward the Reykjanes Peninsular with its rugged landscape, lava fields, and numerous Hot Springs. This is also the home of the Blue Lagoon.

I had heard about the Blue Lagoon before and also heard that the mineral-rich seawater of its geothermal pool is good for you. What I didn’t know is that it is the outtake of a generating plant.

Its waters provide not only a lagoon, but also its patented, active ingredients in Blue Lagoon skin care: silica, algae, and minerals.

Our group stopped to take a dip, and the water was hot and wonderfully relaxing. Just what all of us travel-weary people needed.

The pool sits in the middle of a dramatic 800-year-old lava field. We walked through the lava to get to the spa.

We both got a mud mask, free with admission. I’d give anything if I had gotten a picture of Chuck with his mud mask.

We didn’t think their lifeguards needed to worry about sunblock.

We swam up to the swim-in-bar for refreshments,

and the water was truly relaxing.

After our dip in the Blue Lagoon we drove on to Reykjavík for a farewell dinner and overnight stay. After dinner, we took another cruise out into the bay to try to see the northern lights once again. Walking to the ship, we saw their city employees putting up their Christmas decorations.

This time we were hugely successful. We watched the Northern Lights reach all the way across the sky from the right to the left.

This one you could see with the naked eye, but I still took pictures.

We flew out the next day back to the states with a connection in SeaTac. I know! It was a lousy connection, but that’s what happens when so many planes are grounded thanks to Boeing.

The Most Voluminous Glacier in Europe

December 31, 2019 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Travel

This is another post from our trip to Iceland. We took another day trip out of Vic, but this one was to the Vatna Glacier. Using the Ring Road we traveled around the coastal side of the glacier which is the largest glacier in Europe by volume.

NASA photo found on Wikipedia

It sits in the Vatnajokull National Park, the largest national park in Europe. Within the glacier is Iceland’s highest mountains.

Our first stop was a visitors’ center to watch a very good film about the glacier. Its mass takes up about 3,204 square miles, and it is more than a half a mile thick at its thickest point.

Located immediately below the arctic circle, Iceland has an alpine environment. It also has a very short growing season. This makes for a beautiful landscape though.

It is a different type of scenic beauty.

Iceland’s soil is of volcanic origin and is very loose. Erosion is a whole other problem here.

Its highland landscape is wide, open, with a vast horizon.

We stopped in several places to view
fingers of the glacier up close.

We are traveling along the Ring Road, and at one point our tour guide showed us where a glacier outburst occurred.

Caused by a volcano inside the glacier, the flood water burst from under the ice in this area with immense violence. Large blocks of ice broke off the glacier and were carried down across the sand flats here.

There are two processes that happen here deep in the earth. First the Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs through here. Second, this is a hotspot. Hotspots are located throughout our world. For example Yellowstone is considered a hotspot.

The most intense Icelandic volcanoes are located beneath this glacier. There are seven volcanoes located underneath the Vatna’s icecap, and most of them are active.

This is what this outburst did to the Ridge Road bridges here. It happened in September 1996 when powerful earthquake tremors were followed by a volcanic eruption which lasted until 13 October.

However the floodwaters didn’t appear until November 5 when the floodwaters washed away the road crossing the sand flats here. One 376 meter bridge was completely washed away. Several others were badly damaged.

The outburst resulted in five channels of water and one channel was briefly the second largest river in the world. The five channels of floodwaters washed away a quarter mile long bridge, most of another bridge over a half mile long, over 19 miles of roadway and twenty-three power-line towers.

They used some of the damaged bridge to build a Memorial. No human lives were lost.

All is peaceful now in the same location.

We passed dozens upon dozens of waterfalls, all made by the glacier. One of my favorites was called the Two Sisters Falls.

Later, we traveled to the Jokulsarlon, which literally means ‘glacial river lagoon’.

It was amazingly scenic

with its bright blue icebergs

and seals.

This is either a total waste of tax dollars or someone must have tried it.

The river reaches down to the sea passing under the Ring Road and its impressive bridge.

On the other side of the bridge it too has a black beach.

We watched the icebergs move on into the sea.

People added their own creative talents to the topography.

Some comical.

On the way back we stopped at Hofskirkja in the village of Hof. The little parish church built in the 1880s is still in use and was the last turf church built in the old style.

A cemetery surrounded it.

We decided to take a group shot here.

After we got back to our hotel and had dinner we went out once again to see the Northern Lights traveling westward to total darkness near the sea. We used an app to see if they were forecast for the evening. There was a slight chance of seeing the aurora due to a possible predicted break in the cloudiness, but alas no dancing northern lights.

We did have a nice dinner though.

Have You Ever Seen a Black Beach?

December 4, 2019 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Travel

On day three in Iceland, we toured a Black Beach near Vik; Skogafoss, a waterfall; and a museum about the people of Iceland. It was another stormy day with high winds, but nothing like the night before.

A Black Beach

We were on Iceland’s southern shore at the Hotel Katla near Vik. We survived their Icelandic storm which came ashore just before midnight. Since there are hardly any trees, there was little damage.

Hotel Katla

I had seen a black beach before, but not one this pretty. The sand is like black crystals, and since it is raining it is glistening and beautiful. The Icelanders call this beach Reynisfjara.

Just offshore we’re black basalt rock formations that jutted out of the sea.

Plus there are caves and folklore stories. The rock formations in the sea were once trolls who were turned to stone when caught by daylight.

Supposedly, monsters live in the caves. The rocks near this cave look a little like the giant’s staircase in Northern Ireland.

The water was very turbulent and dangerous.

This beach is also known for its deadly sneaker waves. There were signs everywhere warning about these rogue waves, and we were told by our guides to stay far away from the water’s edge. We thought we did!

In the photo above, notice several of our group posing for photos in front of the angry sea. See that big wave behind the couple in their red coats?

Well, if I hadn’t put down my camera and ran like hell for higher ground, Chuck and I both would have been knocked down by that wave. The lady in the headband got wet to her knees and she ran, too.

Above was my next photo as people rushed to help those knocked down by the wave. Thankfully, all of us were well up away from the waves, but one of these sneaker waves pushed far up onto the beach where we stood. Too close to the sea, and someone might have been swept away.

So many of our group got wet that we had to go back to the hotel which thankfully was a short drive away. We began to see how Iceland can be a hazardous place for the unwary.

After a change of clothes, we went to see Skogafoss. If you remember foss means waterfall. This was one of Iceland’s largest in terms of volume of water. It falls over the cliffs of a former coastline. It is 49 feet across with a 200 foot fall.

One can take a trail up to the top of the falls, but we decided against it. Too much wind and rain for us. These falls have been in many movies and tv series, including “Vikings” and “Game of Thrones”.

Our next stop was a lookout along the coastline. The entire point was littered with foam blown from the sea down below on the cliffs.

I’ve never seen the sea this violent, and Chuck and I once experience outrunning a category 4 hurricane in a clipper ship. A short video clip is below.

http://oldageisnotforsissiesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img_2695-1.mov

Our last stop was to learn how the people of Iceland worked…