Dear Ancestor,
Your tombstone stands among the rest~ Neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out~On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care~ It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist ~ You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you ~ In flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats ~Entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor,
the place you filled~ One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left~Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot~ And come to visit you.

Newspaper snippets about the daily doings of the Oliver family in Guilford Township:

January 31, 1898 - It is reported that Scott Fanning has rented the vacant house belonging to Han Oliver at Hyde Park Corner.

February, 1898 - There is strife between "Doc" Warren and John Disney as to who will be the mail carrier between the Corners and the Falls.

February, 1898 - The infant daughter of Han Oliver is very ill.

March, 1898 - William Oliver, Jr. of Oronoco has been visiting relatives at Hyde Park Corners, Guilford and Lake City. He was the guest of Mr. Ritter & wife while here.

March, 1898 - "Doc" Warren and John Disney after thoroughly looking the ground over, have decided that neither can secure the much-coveted mail route and have decided to recommend the appointment to Oliver Atkinson.

April - 1898 - E.J. Stegner sold his residence April 1st to L.E. Scruby - $800.

April 1, 1898 - Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Adams' home was brightened by the arrival of a 9 pound girl. Mother and child are doing well.

April, 1898 - George Bryant arrived from Atchinson County, Kansas Thursday, where he has been for some time past. He is well known in this section and was greeted on every side by friends with cordial welcome. He has been gone about 6 years and spent his time traveling to Nebraska, Montana, Texas and Kansas. He expects to visit relatives and friends for a week and then go to Wisconsin to visit his father, Charles D. Bryant.

April , 1898 - Mrs. Sam Welch is confined to her bed through illness.

1898 - Mrs. Han Oliver and family came to the City last week for a short visit. Mrs. Oliver recently sold the old homestead out in Hyde Park Corners and soon expects to join her husband, who is now in the west and has taken up some land there. She is the guest of Mrs. James Bradford, her sister.

1908 - Mrs. S.D. Welch passed away Sunday afternoon after an illness of nearly 2 years. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternon at the Congretional Church; the Rev. Coffin of Pine Island officiating. Interment was in Zumbro Falls Cemetery.

A Moment In Time

I lived a lifetime
in a second
It was a memory
in my mind
It took forever

I lived a second
in a lifetime
Age crept on me
In my mind
It took a second

Time is a funny thing
It waits for no one
But pauses in a memory
For some it will pass them by
But I will live forever
in someone's memory

Author unknown

PROPERTY MEASUREMENTS
Many of our Ancestors lived on farms.
To assist you in comprehending what the old deeds and docments are saying,
here is some related information:

        A section (one square mile) measures 27,878,400 square feet
which equals 640 acres.
        An acre measures 43,560 square feet
which is roughly 208.71 feet on a side.
        A half section (1/2) is 320 acres.
        A quarter section (1/4) is 160 acres.
        An "eighty" is an eighth of a section equal to 80 acres.

Those Who Went Before Us

  We think of those who lived before while traveling down life's lane;                    
a drop of blood from each of them, flowing in our veins.

They fought so gallantly in war and settled new frontiers,
to make our lands a better place to live in later years.

And, as we know they made mistakes and acted humanly 
when they were young and temptable, just like you and me.

The day we enter Paradise, and angels show us in,
When they turn to us and say "Please meet your early kin",

Will we hide our eyes and drop our heads and say in shame,
"I'm sorry but in mortal life I never heard your names",

But, No!  We'll raise our heads up high to meet their loving gaze,
and say "Oh yes! I know you and of your earthly days.

Someone wrote the story of how you lived your life;
of times of joy and happiness, and yes, of pain and strife."

And if my work is handed down I will not be surprised
When descendants come to Paradise and I am recognized.

A Genealogist’s Prayer

Lord, help me dig into the past,
  And sift the sands of time 
           
That I might find the roots that made,
This family tree of mine

Lord, help me trace the ancient roads,
On which my fathers trod

And led them through so many lands,
To find our present sod

Lord, help me find an ancient book,
or dusty manuscript

That's safely hidden now away,
in some forgotten crypt

Lord, let it bridge the gap that haunts,
my soul when I can't find

The missing link between some name,
that ends the same as mine.

-- Curtis Woods --