Friday, March 23, 2012

Day 42: General Store Candies


We visited Gold Hill today and loved it!  From the ghost stories, to the amazing town sheriff and friendly faces, there is so much charm in this town.  We can't wait to go back!

Day 41: Coal Miner's State


We went for a road trip to West Virginia to search through the state archives.  We found out that it was very common for someone to not even get a death certificate when they died in the coal mines.  I searched through newspapers and found tons of propaganda - but no obituaries.

Day 40: Vacation Time Again


Ahhhhh - vacation time - ready for a long weekend!

Day 39: Spring Is Here


Spring is here - that means it's porch sitting weather!

Day 38: Somebunny Loves Bunnies


What can I say - Brandon loves bunnies!!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Day 37: The Bates House & My Gramaw's House


Tonight the Kings tried our hands at house painting.  Brandon painted the Bates' house from "Psycho", and I painted my Gramaw's house (see Day 36).

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Day 36: The Kinney-McPherson House 2012


Gramaw's House: This house was built by my Great-Great-Grandfather, William Henry Kinney.  I'm not sure what year it was built, but he died in 1930.  I have been told that my great-grandparents' family, John Monroe Kinney and Cornelia Caroline Newsom Kinney, lived here until John's death.  Many of my ancestors lived on this street.  Cornelia later married Samuel Way, and they moved a few houses down on Ross Street from the Kinney house.  My grandfather, Russell Harris Kinney, lived in the Kinney house when he was older with his grandparents, William Henry Kinney & Eliza Ann McPherson Kinney.   The story has been told that prayer meetings were held here, and this is where my grandparents, Russell Harris Kinney & Lillian Rae Saunders Kinney met.  When they were married, Lillian and Russell also moved into a house on Ross Street.  After William Kinney's death, Russell and Lillian moved back into the Kinney house, where she took care of Eliza Ann McPherson Kinney until her death.  The Kinney house was sold to my grandparents for around $4,000.00 for taking care of Eliza.  My mother and all of her siblings grew up in the Kinney house.  My great-grandmother, Naomi Myhaley Strider Saunders, also lived in the Kinney house before her death so her daughter, Lillian, could care for her while she was sick.  Naomi died in this house.  My mother said other people had died in the house too, but does not remember who.  Many of us grandchildren would not stay in the house alone.  From birth to death, there was a lot of life in the Kinney house.