Ann Marie Bryant

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition

Published on January 1, 2017July 1, 2019 by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

My writing challenge for the year stems from this challenge by Amy Crow Johnson. Several months ago, I came across her family history site, No Story Too Small.

Although the challenge took place two years ago, I decided to follow the selections for this upcoming year. I am excited! Letting the writing begin!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition

Christmas Joy? Bah Humbug! (21 Dec 2016)

January 2017

1. Fresh Start ~ Crossing Paths with Anne Bradstreet (1 Jan 2017)

2. King ~ The King’s Daughters (6 Jan 2017)

Filles du Roi (6 Jan 2017)

Chrétien, Madeleine Madeleine Chrétien: Filles du Roi

Damise, Claude Claude Damise: Filles du Roi

Deshays, Marie Marie Deshays: Filles du Roi

Faucheaux, Jeanne Jeanne Faucheaux: Filles du Roi

Fressel, Jeanne Jeanne Fressel: Filles du Roi

Lagou, Marie-Anne Marie Anne Lagou: Filles du Roi Marie Anne Lagou: A New Life in New France

Moisan, Francoise Francoise Moisan: Filles du Roi

Peuvrier, Marguerite Marguerit Peuvrier: Filles du Roi

Pillard, Catherine Catherine Pillard: Filles du Roi

Prat, Claud Claud Prat: Filles du Roi

Toussaint, Jeanne Jeanne Toussaint: Filles du Roi

3. Tough Women ~ Finding Annie – Part One (12 Jan 2017)

4. Ploughing Through ~ Finding Annie ~ Part 2 (21 Jan 2017)

5. Closest to Your Birthday ~ Birthday Celebrations (24 Jan 2017)

February 2017

6. So Far Away ~ My Seafaring Grandfather ~ John Gallup (10 Feb 2017)

7. Love ~ Grandma’s Cottage (11 Feb 2017)

8. Good Deeds ~ General James Cudworth: A Man of Conviction (20 Feb)

9. Close to Home and Close to my Heart (25 Feb 2017)

March 2017

10. Stormy Weather ~ One for the Road (10 Mar 2017)

11. Luck of the Irish ~ Out of Nowhere (10 Mar 2017)

12 Same ~ Marie Anne Lagou: A New Life in New France (27 Mar 2017)

13. Different ~ Denial (1 Apr 2017)

April 2017

14. Favorite Photo ~ Favorite Family Photos (1 Apr 2017)

15. How do you Spell That? ~ Le What? (7 Apr 2017)

16. Live Long ~ Mary Buzzard Hupp: Colonial Wife and Mother (23 Apr 2017)

17. Prosper ~ And to Think, it all Started with a Mouse! (25 Apr 2017)

May 2017

18. Where There’s a Will ~ Heroine of Buffalo Creek Valley: Anne Rowe Hupp (13 May 2017)

19. There’s a Way ~ The Road to Freedom: Abolitionists, Levi and Catharine Coffin (25 May 2017)

20. Black Sheep ~ The Preacher’s Son (5 June 2017)

21. Military ~ Heroes and Patriots

22. New Beginnings ~ New Beginnings: Hamtramck, Michigan (9 June 2017)

June 2017

23. Wedding ~ Wedding Bells (10 Jun 2017)

24. Heirloom ~ The Elf on the Shelf (14 Jun 2017)

Paper Dolls (18 June 2017)

25. The Old Homestead ~ No Place Like Home (16 June 2017)

26. Halfway ~ Elva Marie Bryant Allen: Grandma’s Timeline (17 Jun 2017)

July 2017

227. Independent ~ The Adventures of Philip Hupp (25 June 2017)

28. Road Trip ~ The UnExpected Road Trip: Birthday Surprise Party (4 Aug 2017)

30. Road Trip ~ The Unexpected Road Trip: The Tooth Fairy and Connor B. (4 Aug 2017)
Road Trip ~ The Unexpected Road Trip: The North Fork Valley (6 Aug 2017)
Road Trip ~ The Unexpected Road Trip: The Ranch (12Aug 2017)

29. Musical ~ Sweet Sounds (19 Apr 2017)

30. Challenging ~ Elva Marie Bryant Allen: Grandma’s Timeline (17 Jun 2017; Updated 6 Jul 2017)

August 2017

31. Easy ~ Uncle Walter (24 Sept 2017)

32. 32 ~ Clarissa Amelia (23 Sept 2017)

33. In place of Defective, Dependent & Delinquent ~ The Mysterious Tombstone (1 Aug 2017)

34. In place of Non-Population ~ The Toothbrush (1 Aug 2017)

35. School Days ~ Anything But Math! (8 Oct 2017)

September

36. Working for a Living ~ Motherhood — All for Family (26 Nov 2017)

37. Large Family ~ Yours, Mine and Ours — 20 Kids! (15 Oct 2017)

38. Favorite Place ~ Finding my Way Home (22 Oct 2017)

39. Unusual ~ The Ghost on Lincoln Avenue (29 Oct 2017)

October

40. October ~ in place of ~ Crossing a River (19 Jan 2018)

41. Colorful Ancestor ~ Our Little Terror (24 Oct 2017)

42 Proud. ~ A Man of Character (8 Nov 2017)

43 Oops ~ Rest in Peace Grandma Rebecca: When Research Goes Awry (22 Oct. 2017)

44. Frightening ~ The Haunting of Salem (27 Oct 2017)

Novemeber

45. Free ~ The Ghost on Lincoln Avenue (29 Oct 2017

46. Changes ~ Singing With Mama (10 Nov 2017)

47. Sporting ~ Partners In Crime (7 Dec 2017)

48. Thankful ~ My Daughter, My Blessing (21 Nov 2017)

December

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49. Holidays ~ Santa’s Blunder (7 Dec 2017)

50. Naughty ~ Confessions of a Imp (23 Nov 2017)

51. Nice ~ David’s Gift (24 Dec 2017)

52. Resolution ~ My Tales — A Writing Challenge to Preserve Family Memories

53. Looking Back: A Review of 2017

Photo by Andres Iga on Unsplash

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Life Was Simple

Published on December 31, 2016March 15, 2024 by Ann Marie Bryant12 Comments

The other day, after digging through some old papers, I came across some assignments from a poetry class that I took in college. Today, I found a poem in which I had to take a conversation and turn it into a poem. This assignment did bring tears to my eyes because I used my mom as my subject. Until today, I had forgotten about that conversation about her life on the ranch with her family.

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Sweet Moments ~ Jaxon and Santa

Published on December 23, 2016August 3, 2017 by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

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Too often life becomes hectic, and we forget to slow down and enjoy sweet moments along the way, especially at this time of the year. As a gramma, I have started this blog to preserve our family tree. But suddenly it occurred to me that I also need to capture and record our little stories that brighten our day. So here I go…one of my many special moments with my youngest grandson, Jaxon.

Continue reading “Sweet Moments ~ Jaxon and Santa” →

Christmas Joy? Bah Humbug!

Published on December 21, 2016August 3, 2017 by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

This Christmas season did not start with joyful anticipation or holiday cheer. For this teacher, the workweek ended with another dreaded in-service day with upcoming plans for interdisciplinary units and recaps of testing scores for middle school students. While teachers chatted back and forth about this year’s upcoming combined lesson, all this teacher could think about was the stack of persuasive essays that needed to be graded and next year’s lessons that needed planning. To make matters worse, the day ended on a discouraging note with frustrated teachers who aired their differences and voiced their concerns. Everyone left, and everyone felt exhausted and overwhelmed. Continue reading “Christmas Joy? Bah Humbug!” →

Research, Research, and More Research!

Published on November 27, 2016August 3, 2017 by Ann Marie Bryant8 Comments

Too much time has passed since I last shared on my blog. But, I have been busy….I have just been busy researching. I have saved new family ties with added pages and saved them to the A ~ Z ~ The Family Index and the Ahnentafel Family Tree. In addition, I have found more information about ancestors and placed them on the Heroes and Patriots site. Continue reading “Research, Research, and More Research!” →

George Washington

Published on August 8, 2016February 2, 2020 by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

George Washington

5th Cousin 7X Removed

Family Tree for George Washington

Lawrence Townley (1543-1598) and Margaret Hartley (1543-1598)

Lawrence Townley (1575-1655)

Mary Townley (1614-1662)

Augustine Warner (1642-1681)

Mildred Warner (1671-1701)

Augustine Washington (1694-1743)

George Washington (1731-1799)

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Emily Dickinson and Writing Poetry

Published on July 18, 2016February 10, 2019 by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

With all my misadventures this summer, I sadly discovered that I am behind on my blogging. Today, while I looked through some old papers, I found an essay that I had written in college about Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain.” The paper was written over twenty years ago, and I would not bore you with the dissection of the poem. However, part of the assignment was to write a poem in a similar style to Dickinson’s work, and that I would love to share today. Continue reading “Emily Dickinson and Writing Poetry” →

Grandma, Tell me a Story!

Published on July 12, 2016January 2, 2025 by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

Grandma, Tell me a Story

Grandma, Tell Me a Story

Whenever my family gathered with my grandparents, the day would always end with someone asking, “Grandma, tell me a story.” These were no ordinary stories. They were rich with history—tales of covered wagons heading west, real cowboys and cowgirls living on ranches in the foothills of Colorado. We’d hear about life on a ranch, sheep camps, and the spirit of family helping family. Although we no longer lived in that beautiful state by the time we were children, we couldn’t help but believe it was the most magical place on earth.

The adults—grandparents, aunts, uncles, mom, and dad—would settle into the couch or nearby chairs, while the grandchildren crowded the floor, eager to sit as close as possible to the woman we adored. No one wanted to miss a single word. Even though we’d heard these stories many times before, we listened intently every time. We loved hearing about the adventures of the past. Occasionally, one of the little ones would ask a question, or another adult would jump in to add their own version of events. Each story felt like a living, breathing connection to our past, and it gave us a sense of pride and direction as we learned how it all began.

Those precious moments tied us to a family history we hadn’t known but grew to cherish. We felt a deep connection to our heritage, passed down through generations, and we loved every story that came with it.

Today, I am blessed with my own little ones—grandchildren who call me Honey. And now, it’s my turn to keep the tradition alive, to share the old stories and create new ones for them to treasure in the years to come.

I dedicate this sweet journey to my beloved family: my daughter, Leslie, and her husband, Aaron, and to all my wonderful grandbabies—Mathew, Cameron, Sierra, Jessica, Kylie, Connor, and Jaxon. It’s my hope that you’ll enjoy these tales and learn a little about where it all began. Love you all!

Tales of a Family

Whenever my family would spend time with my grandparents, the gatherings always ended with someone asking, “Grandma, tell me a story.” These wonderful tales included accounts of covered wagons heading west and real cowboys and cowgirls living on ranches on the western slope of Colorado. We heard narratives about life on a ranch, sheep camps, and family helping family. Although the family no longer lived in that beautiful state at that time, as children we believed it had to be the most magical place to live!

The adults, grandparents, aunts, uncles, mom, and dad, would sit on the couch or remaining chairs while the grandchildren would sit on the floor, sitting as close as they could to the woman they adored. No one wanted to miss a single word. Although we often heard the same tales over and over, we would still sit quietly and listen; we loved hearing about…

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Early American Settler: Captain John Gallup

Published on June 25, 2016August 3, 2017 by Ann Marie Bryant4 Comments

Captain John Gallup (1620-1675)

11x Great Grandfather

On January 25, 1620, John Gallup was born at Bridport, Dorset, England to John Gallup I and Christobel Brushett. The infant was baptized at St. Mary’s Church (the Church of England) in Mosterne. Continue reading “Early American Settler: Captain John Gallup” →

Goun Girls

Published on May 11, 2016July 20, 2023 by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

Sometimes if we have been fortunate, we find friends who become family. Over the years, I have been blessed to meet some people who I have considered to be my family. Without a doubt, Barbara Lesesne Medlock has been part of my family now for over fifty years! We met when we were schoolgirls in the sixth grade. To this day, I do not know what I would ever do without my sweet friend and sister.