My Portfolio

I think I was born whistling. I can thank James Smith Turner II (and whoever passed it to him!) for that--he always had a tune on his lips, as often expressed in a whistle as in any other way. As to whether it is ladylike to whistle . . . that's...

Ellen Ford Her Story        Ellen Ford was the youngest of the daughters born to David Ford and Nancy(McIntosh) Ford, she was born in Canada on May 22,1858, and was 10 years old when the family came to the United States and settled in Caldwell County, Missouri.  They lived...

                                  William Alexander Ford (W. A. Ford/Mr. Alex) His Story        William A. Ford was the youngest child born to David and Nancy(McIntosh) Ford.  He was born in Canada in March, 1861 making...

Hannah Ford Her Story        Hannah Ford was born in Canada on March 18, 1842 to David Ford(1819-1893) and Nancy (McIntosh) Ford (1822-1870). David Ford born in Canada, and mother Nancy born in Scotland.  I found Nancy in Canada in 1851, under the name Nancy McIntosh, in Nova Scotia. ...

Harley Duston His Story              Harley H. Duston was born to Philander H. Duston and Hannah Duston in December 1869 in Caldwell County, Missouri. He was the third child born to this couple. He had two sisters which were older and two brothers that were younger....

William Addison Hogsett Mrs M. I. Hogsett(Margaret) Mary Hogsett. Their Story       William A. Hogsett was born on Nov.5, 1821 in Augusta Co. Virginia to James Hogsett (1785-1826) and Elizabeth (Manuell) Hogsett (1794-1867). He lived with his family in Virginia until he joined in marriage to Margaret I. Cauffman...

  The summer of 2009 a strong impression came to me, even urgent feeling, to go home to Colorado to transcribe and publish my parents and grandparents life stories. In Nauvoo 25 years earlier I videoed my parent’s life story and they in turn videoed my grandparents.  I thought our family...

Ephraim Hanks is my 4x Great Grandfather. The new movie “Ephraim’s Rescue” shows the wintery harrowing rescue of the Martin Handcart Company.  A divine messenger asked him to help the handcart company and he went straight away to Brigham Young.  This is the rest of the story the movie doesn’t tell...

    MILESTONES--or maybe Highlights?   GLASGOW, LANARKSHIRE, SCOTLAND   when we moved into our very own house (even a new one) in Drumchapel and I spied a friend outside when I fell in love with a cylindrical satin-wood post-box, my favorite toy when I played my first real song on the...

A. Hmmh. Okay:  Mum was not a willing housewife, and I have struggled with housewifery all my life. It has been a real handicap that I hope I can overcome one of these days!  I surely hope my daughters have gone beyond what they learned from me. B. I have a...

Wickedness never was happiness. I would not have swiped that tantalizing little tub of Tiddlywinks from the ironmonger's shop of the generous Cunningham family in Golspie. I never let on to anybody and it never occurred to me to brave a return of same.  To assuage my guilt I eventually tried...

I am so grateful for a good, faithful and kind husband, and five children to match. If someone had asked me as a young adult how I would envisage my life in forty years' time, it would have been much different from the one I have. At that time I simply...

I believe--I know--we are all God's children; that he loves us deeply and wants us to come back to live with Him.  I believe--I know--that Christ, His Son, made this possible for us to accomplish. "All" that is required of us is to hone our lives in such a way that...

A strong, recurring theme in the life-histories of both my father and my mother is, thankfully, SACRIFICIAL LOVE. What a warmth comes to my soul as I read my dad describe his father as "the kindest man I ever knew." James Smith Turner the Elder lived in a densely-inhabited Glasgow sandstone...

Our family car is famous! Did you know that the picture of a family in an old model car in the Boy Scouts of America Genealogy merit badge booklet is a picture of our family? The picture was taken in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey in about 1912. I can date...

On the road …again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Not All Modern Hotels Have Modern Architecture And Amenities   One of the minor issues that travelers encounter when they move from city to city and hotel room to hotel room is that blissful period when they step...

Colin’s Input Dad left out quite a chunk of information here so I have inserted this to help bridge the gap. Anything I have put in is all in Italics. After Dad left the army I’m not sure when exactly, but Dad & Mum went to live in Dover and I...

It was in the town of Dover that I met Joyce. Once I started courting, the restrictions started getting hard, even in my cushy job at the Sergeants mess and found myself put on a charge quite often, having to be confined to barracks, 7 to 14 days at a time....

For the trip to Brentford we would stop off at the workingmen’s cafe for toast and dripping and pint pot of steaming hot tea. Then we would watch the auctioneer, once the selling started. We would come away most times with a different rig or horse. One time we got a...

When I arrived at Waterloo Station, couldn’t find mum so caught the train to Twick. (Twickenham) Had to wait outside the house, popped in to see Ada. Mum turned up a couple of hours later. Dad was with her too. He had come on leave. I didn’t get told off too...