On October 29, 1869, Chester answered Emma’s letter. She had asked him when he would be in Lumberland. Apparently, there had been a problem before with Hina (possibly Henrietta, Emma’s oldest sister). Chester asked about his Halfway Brook students, many … Continue reading
The Letters of Chester Beers to Emma Austin, 1869–1878 Emma Austin continued to write to Chester. They correspondeded off and on through 1878. Even though the Civil War had been ended only thee years in November 1868, there is no … Continue reading
“Is that the new teacher?” Children and adults whispered the question as Chester Beers, six feet four and one-half inches tall, stepped into the Lumberland Congregational Church, on Sunday, November 29, 1868. Chester, age twenty-six, was a farmer from Walton, … Continue reading
Halfway Brook Village in Lumberland hosted quite a number of teachers in the 1860s–1870s, as Libby Kyte mentioned. Edith Emogene or Emma Austin, as she was called, had attended school in New York City, and stayed with her Austin relatives. … Continue reading
Parents in Halfway Brook sometimes sent their children to school to live with relatives, as Libby Kyte mentioned in the last post. At some point there was an Academy in Monticello. Mary Ann Eldred (later Austin) had lived with her … Continue reading
I went to school at home until 1861. Then for two or three years I attended at Shohola and Barryville. My teachers were Miss Ellen Beakey, George and Albert Stage, George Dubois of Bethel, Harriet Leavenworth, George Egbert Mapes and … Continue reading
In searching for my husband’s ancestors who arrived from Prussia in the 1850s, I found this image on the Library of Congress site. When I checked The Mill on Halfway Brook for the terrible winter, I found a sidebar titled, … Continue reading
The following books are on sale for the month of November. The cost includes Shipping, handling, and tax. The Mill on Halfway Brook Was: $27.95 NOW: $24.00 Echo Hill and Mountain Grove Was: $39.95 NOW: $32.00 Farewell to Eldred Was: … Continue reading
Before I started researching and writing my Halfway Brook books, I ran across a site that posted postcards from the Eldred area, which included Mountain Grove, my Austin grandparents’ boarding home (where my father grew up). Dad was living there, … Continue reading
