Looking Back, Looking Forward
This is the 400th article I have published on this website. Nice round numbers feel like milestones; they inspire us to reflect and to look forward, so that is what I will do today.
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Favorite Articles from 2015
Time for some reflection. Here are the ten posts from the past year that I am most pleased with, listed chronologically, because I could not possibly rank them from 1 to 10.
Query: Union Cemeteries
Some time ago, I received a query from Alice Groner, regarding the name Union, as applied to cemeteries. Here is what she wrote:
Why were so many cemeteries named Union Cemetery years before the Civil War? . . . I have continued my search as well and discovered that Union Twp. in Hunterdon County was named after Union Furnace which made, among other things, cannon balls for the Revolutionary War. And a lot of the Union Cemeteries in NJ were established before/long before the Civil War. The Union Cemetery, which kicked off the discussion with my friend, is located near Finesville (on the Warren County side of the Musconetcong River), and it is so old that few tombstones are readable. I’m, also, wondering if the usual rather small cemeteries of our early churches filled up and, therefore, folks decided to have a cemetery uniting those of all/most faiths.
“…so many questions…so little time.”
A Google search on the word Union in the Revolutionary War will get you some articles on the many flags that were flown during that time, one in particular (from Taunton, Massachusetts) with the words: “Liberty and Union.” So the word was on people’s minds when they thought about uniting the colonies. The goal of creating “a more perfect union” was used in the preamble to the Constitution.
Perhaps some of you can come up with a better answer for Alice. It’s an intriguing question.
Favorite Posts of 2014
What is it about lists? Especially lists that get made at the end of the year? It’s that thing we like to do—look back before we look forward. So, in the spirit of the season, I am copying my son the science writer, Carl Zimmer, who has collected his favorite articles here: 2014: A Storyful Year – Phenomena: The Loom
Choosing favorites should not imply that I am not happy with all my articles. It’s just that some of them did grab me more than others. So, here’s my list, for those of you who feel like some reading during this long weekend.
A Mystery Village
As I have mentioned in previous posts,1 many wonderful documents can be found in the Cathers-Davison collection that has recently been donated to the Hunterdon County Historical Society. I was very fortunate to get a look at some of them beforehand, and among the earliest documents was a gem.
Checking My Compass
On June 11, 2009, I held my breath and pushed the “Publish” button for the first time; it was my first history blog. Since then, I have posted 152 articles, which seems incomprehensible to me. With the three-year anniversary approaching, I can’t help but ponder what this website has turned into, and what I want it to be in the future.1
Old Ink, 2/2/2012
For those of you who read the Hunterdon County Democrat, you will be familiar with a long-time feature of the newspaper. Titled “Old Ink,” it gives short excerpts from stories 125, 100, 75 and 50 years ago. For a little while, they were publishing items from 175 years ago, which I much appreciated, but the editors changed their minds and went back to the old formula.
Absence and Return
Much to my dismay, I have written very little on this blog during 2011. There were reasons, of course, but I very much regret losing the thread of so many interesting subjects. I hope I can pick up those threads in the next few months, and follow where they lead.
Time to Get Silly
Here is a quote to live by:
I take my work seriously, but I just can’t manage to take myself seriously for any length of time. (I’m also not very good at taking other people as seriously as they take themselves.)
Got it today from this interesting post. There’s a bizarre video on the truth of Martin Van Buren: Myth or Legend. Sometimes even bad humor is good.
Time For Some Changes
About a year ago, I started this blog with the idea that it would be a place where I could write about the history and genealogy that interested me, and that I would follow wherever my curiosity led me. That is exactly what has happened, and I have decided to keep doing it. However, there is more to be done here, so this post is an explanation for the plans I have.
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