February 23, 2010
My name is Louise Smith and I have been writing a book about the town of Halfway Brook (now called Eldred), New York, and my relatives—father, grandparents, great grandparents, several great great grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles—that lived there. The manuscript reached 600 pages, so now instead of one book there will be three that cover the years 1800 to 1948 when my folks left Eldred, New York.
Several books (see ‘resources’), and many censuses were used to get the main history of the area, but the many letters dating from 1845 to WWII, two scrapbooks, a number of diaries, postcards, and photos, that were in the family and shared with me, give the story a personal look into the lives of the people who lived in Halfway Brook that became Eldred.
The Mill on Halfway Brook, the first book in the series of Memoirs from Eldred, 1800–1950, is now available for purchase.
Ever Your Cousin is the category I put posts in, when I’ve talked about my life while I work on the Halfway Book series. The name comes from the signature on many of the Austin-Eldred Cousin letters that started in the 1860s.
A few names of the main families in the book series
Austin, Bishop, Bradley, Briggs, Bunce, Carmichael (two different families), Clark (two different families), Crabtree, DeVenoge, Eldred, Gardner, Hallock, Hickok, Hulse, Ingersoll, Ingram, Knapp, Kyte, LaBarr, Lazerlier, Leavenworth, Myers (two different families), Parker (at least two families), Rider, Schoonover, Van Pelt, Van Tuyl (not all are my relatives).
A few towns mentioned in the book series
Town of Lumberland
Tusten (Ten Mile River Settlement)
Pond Eddy
Mongaup
South Lebanon (Glen Spey)
Sparrowbush
Port Jervis (Carpenter’s Point)
Barryville (The River)
Cochecton
Callicoon
Bethel
Narrowsburgh
Shohola, PA
