http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com Certified Naturally Grown Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:24:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hello, Sorry I haven't written lately. but I have been trying to keep this farm going in perhaps the worst summer heat I have ever seen in my 60-plus years.  Luckily, up in our mountain valley, we have been getting just enough rain, but down on the flat lands, it is ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=341 Hello, I have been distracted from my genealogical studies, trying to deal with this awful hot and dry summer on our farm.  But I have been taking a daily heat break, and searching old newspapers in Fayette Co., Pa., and I am collaborating with several Johnson family collaborators.  Some of this ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=337 Hello, Since I last wrote I have spent a few 'too hot' afternoons sitting at this desk surrounded by piles of pedigrees, family trees, family group sheets, and US Census reports back two centuries.  It was a struggle, but I really do feel that I have put the story together.  I ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=331 Hello All, My last post was about how I was learning about how my Fayette County, Pa.  Johns(t)on, Kelley, Simpson, and Ghrist families were tied into the Quaker Jeffries family who had been evicted from England for their beliefs, and ended up in Chester County, Penn's Woods. As I looked at the ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=327 Hello, Well, After 3 weeks without rain and 100F temperature (sorry metric fans, I am too heat-blasted to make the conversions), we got a lovely 1.3 inches of rain the other night that filled the rain barrels and soaked the garden.  I am trying not to gripe, because I remember the Four ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=323 Hello, I am sitting here, watching the skies try to rain, which would be nice to help break this gathering drought.  I have just spent a few hours trying to figure out the ties between the Jefferies, Ghrists, Simpsons, and Kelleys of  Washington, Fayette, and possibly Westmoreland Counties, all in Pennsylania.  ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=316 Hello, For a couple years I have been posting essays regarding my 'lost family'.  I guess other folks  are also looking for my people, and they have Googled their ancestor's  ancestor's  names, and presto! the pilgrims are transported to this site.  I have located my long lost aunt and cousin this ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=313 Hello, I just posted a quick Farm Journal report that apologized for my having been away from writing for too long.  Well, I'm back to my research, and back to my writing.  I took a 3 month detour when I decided to work part-time for the US Census.  I needed a ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=311 Hello, We have been so busy dealing with the grueling winter and damp spring that I have not sat down at this keyboard to write  for too long.  Suffice it to say that Summer Solstice is already behind us, and it is steaming out there! We just got a brief rain shower ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=308 Hello Genealogical Folk, I'm Back!  I took a 3 month Census job for a change of pace  (I had gotten 'blocked' in my family research).  I also needed some funds for home and farm repair, and for some possibly more expensive genealogical research. I got back on Ancestry.com, and found some tantalyzing ... http://www.broadvalleyorchard.com/?p=306