After a very long hiatus, i am once more feeling inspired to return to the task of digging around in the family history. What changed? I've recently had the good fortune to become cyber-acquainted with some of my second and third cousins who are interested in finding out more about the Lyons side of the family, and so it seemed like a good opportunity to post some of what i've collected (and ignored) over the past year and see what else i can find.
The main event of the past year was a road trip to coal country last summer. With the help of an excellent and very patient friend, who drove me around all day, i took a lot of pictures of the area, had a few productive chats with some very friendly older gentlemen at the Schuylkill County Historical Society, and got to refuel on ice cream at the fabulous Heisler's Cloverleaf Dairy in Walker Township. Sadly, i soon thereafter got sidetracked by my everyday responsibilities and have not done much follow-up since then. But somewhere in my very messy home, the notes i took that day still languish, waiting for my attention, and one of these days, i'll locate them and get back to business.
Although admittedly the trip wasn't as productive as i'd hoped, it was still a powerful feeling to see the towns and the hills where my ancestors lived and worked when they first came to America. Here are a few pictures of those places:
 |
| On his WWII draft registration, my grandfather, John Alphonsus Lyons, lists his birthplace as "near Tremont Schuylkill County." The census records for 1870, '80, and '90 show the Lyons family in Frailey Township, a mile or two up the road from Tremont, and list the nearest post office as Donaldson. |
 |
| Tremont Fire Department on Clay Street |
 |
| View of Tremont from the parking lot of Most Blessed Trinity (formerly Immaculate Conception) Catholic Church |
 |
| I was directed to this cemetery by a volunteer at the Schuylkill County Historical Society. I found a few Lyons headstones but none of the given names were familiar. It's a nice old cemetery, just the same, and would like at some point to go through their records to see if anyone in my clan is there, possibly without a grave marker. |
 |
| Donaldson is listed as the nearest post office on the 1870 census record for the Lyons family. |
 |
| Dotted line shows the outline of Frailey Township; Tremont is the more developed area near the center of the southern boundary. |
 |
| The cemetery that i visited is the clearing in the upper middle of this image. |
No comments:
Post a Comment