Leaves on the Trudgian Tree

Exploring the lives of one Trudgian family in Galena, Illinois through the eyes of their daughter, Lillian, during the years of 1913 through 1931. Lillian's authentic diary entries explore the family, neighbors, what is happening in Galena, as well as, national events and of course the weather and the crops!

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Location: Portage, Michigan, United States

Since all three volumes of "Lillian's Diaries: Whispers From Galena's Past" have been transcribed and published, I am currenting working on another book about the Trudgian (Tregian/Trugeon) family. This time it will be a novel based on historical events which involve my ancestors in Cornwall in the 1400-1600's. I have just started organizing my research so it will be a year or two before you will see it in the bookstore! I have just finished leading a Genealogy Class for beginners at my church. At the end of the six session class everyone had discovered some new information about their ancestors but there was, of course, many more questions to be answered. So I started the "Whispers From Our Ancestors" blog to provide a space for us to share our genealogical joys and roadblocks. Http://seekingourpast.blogspot.com is open to everyone doing genealogy - beginners to experts and all those inbetween.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Did You Know?

Harry Houdini Died On October 31, 1926The famous magician was killed (accidentally) by a McGill University student named J. Gordon Whitehead who was hitting him in the stomach repeatedly as part of a stunt. A week later he died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. Despite acute appendicitis, Houdini refused to seek medical treatment.

The First Jack-O-Lanterns Weren't Made Out Of Pumpkins
They were originally hollowed-out turnips. The modern practiced mutated from the Irish tradition of carving faces of the the dead onto the gourds and putting candles inside to make them glow. These days your Jack-O-Lantern is most made out of a pumpkin, which most likely came from Illinois-a state that grew 542million pounds of pumpkin in 2007.


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/30/the-history-of-halloween_n_321021.html

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2 Comments:

Blogger Stardust said...

Very interesting, Sherry. I knew about Houdini, but I didn't know the story about Jack-O-Lanterns!

October 31, 2009 at 10:13 AM  
Blogger Sheryl Trudgian Jones said...

Thanks Deb...this blog is forcing me to learn all kinds of new things. Be sure to check one of the reactions below the post when you feel it applies to you! Thanks for commenting.
Happy Halloween

October 31, 2009 at 1:20 PM  

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