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
Lumberland Towns and Sawmills In 1838 the Town of Lumberland included what are now the Towns of Tusten, Highland, and Lumberland. The map shows Lumberland’s many sawmills on Halfway Brook, Beaver Brook, Ten Mile River, and other streams. The Delaware … Continue reading
Ten Years ago this Halfway Brook Site was two months old. The post of the day was “Grandmother and the Bear.” October 14, 2009 I wrote that The Mill on Halfway Brook was in its final, final edit. But it … Continue reading
This was first posted in April 2015. In the early 1800s, there were only two roads to the Town of Lumberland—the Sackett Road and the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike. Neither of them, perhaps, deserved to be identified as roads. The Newburgh and … Continue reading
My great-great-great-grandmother Esther Hinman Hickok died in Warren Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1844. Esther, 84, was buried in the Cadis Cemetery, beside her husband, Asa Hickok, who had died in 1836. Esther is one of those “quiet” people … Continue reading
In the early 1870s William Henry Austin worked in New York City. Henry wrote his son Lon directions about work he wanted done at the Austin home and farm on Proctor Road in Halfway Brook. Tom Collins was their long … Continue reading
Early Winter 1881 February 1881 Mary Ann Eldred Austin wrote her son Lon Austin in 1881, with local news. Lon lived in Solomon City, Kansas, where he worked for his brother Ell who managed the many acres of farm land … Continue reading
Sherman Leavenworth must have requested information on the death of his brother Atwell Leavenworth, who had died November 13, 1864. Their brother Hezekiah Leavenworth died April 26, 1865. Four Trees Folly Island, South Carolina, December 19, 1864 Dear Sir, I … Continue reading
George W. Eldred, friend of Sherman S. and cousin to the Eldred-Austin families was discharged from service in the Civil War due to illness. In December of 1864, George W. Eldred married Miss Marietta A. West, daughter of Samuel and … Continue reading
Ann Mary Austin Schoonover writes to her sister Laura Austin Clark. Barryville, December 23, 1863 Dear Sister Laura, I received yours of the 22 and now I am on my bed with the stand by it, with a pillow for … Continue reading
