The return
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I started this blog as an unofficial vehicle for interesting statistical
information. When I retired, I let it lie fallow. I'm going to post here
period...
Gender Wage Gap By State - Census Bureau
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If you need a reason to start a business, the gender wage gap may be a
factor. The Census has created a new visualization of the disparity between
male ...
It takes a lot of practice
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A friend asked: “If you had the chance to ask three different people
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The one req...
Faded road markings cause concern
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Q: Can someone at New York state tell me why the DOT doesn’t use a better
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no ref...
Goodbye but NOT farewell
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Using the words which Roger used in his intro for the last post of round
20--- Z
*With joy, we'll dream away each sorrow, With love we'll live for each...
Alan Moore's Twilight Proposal
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Introduction by Alan David Doane:
Honestly I didn't intend the irony, but this week's FMF, looking at Alan
Moore's never-published Twilight proposal, also ...
The Best Films of 2023
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Martin Scorsese, left, Lily Gladstone, and Robert DeNiro all received Oscar
nods for *Killers of the Flower Moon*. Some say Leo DiCaprio, right, was
snubbe...
Getting Ready To Die
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Getting Ready To DieNo, as far as I know, it’s not imminent, but you never
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just ...
Petitioning season cut short
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Political "petitioning season" for U.S. Congress, NYS Assembly, NYS Senate,
and a host of other positions, was cut short. Like all the other things
that...
Eagle Scout Project
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Rutherford neighbor Krish Soni is getting started on his Eagle Scout
project on Saturday, October 26. He will be labeling storm drains in the
neighborhood ...
We’re Off On An Adventure!
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Just now, Marge and I are doing a bit of adventuring. The next adventure
will include a whole new online reality and presence for me and my work…
See you i...
It Changes
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Living with Lupus and Fibro and Asthma is often not so much 'one day at a
time.' It is much more like one fifteen minute segment of time - at at time.
This...
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye…
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Well, kids, this is it. I’m leaving first thing tomorrow morning. My visits
home will be few and far between, and when they happen, they’ll be
exclusive...
Spring is here?
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As far as the pro peloton goes, it’s on! I watched the Tour of Flanders
today, and it was one of the best races I’ve ever seen. “Looking back, you
get a b...
Modern Types-Ronald Searle,Geoffrey Gorer
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With the recent attention given to Ronald Searle's 90th birthday and new
interview,I decided to look at one of his books.
The book is titled Modern Ty...
Dual layers of memory reminders
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I often share Facebook “Memories” on my personal Facebook page, and
sometimes I talk about them here on this blog. Lately, I’ve noticed how
many of those ...
Sun Surf Sand & Sea 2024
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Vacation 2024 is on the books. Our family trek to the champagne shores of
Cancun didn’t disappoint. It’s hard to coordinate eight people to meet
anywhere, ...
1, 2, 3, 4: You Can Count On It
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Up the stairs, count the steps1, 2, 3, 41, 2, 3, 41, 2, 3…Crap, it didn’t
come out even, it’s eleven But 1-2-3-4-1/ 2 /3-4-1-2-3 will have to do; the
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second-guess
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[image: young woman head & shoulders, hand on chin, surrounded by question
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you...
AmeriNZ 412 – Returning to normal mode
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This week I’ve been starting to get back to regular life after my holiday.
February is already shaping up to be a busy month. I start today with
updates to...
Here we are at 21.
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Happy 21st birthday, Johnny Bacardi Show!
Probably won't begin writing here again anytime soon, but hey, if you like
my stuff I have a Substack now and...
Check me out!
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Over the years I have collected a range of recipes to help me lose weight.
I attend Slimming World and achieved my target weight in November 2022.
Read...
This is The End (a follow-up)
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I wrote yesterday about my possibly retiring this space in favor of
migrating all of my blogging to ForgottenStars.net, because of Reasons. I
am now pul...
A Dumb God
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People who believe in God but don’t believe that creation is teleologically
imbued essentially believe in a dumb God, likely a God who merely exists to
ser...
18 and life, you got it
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It's the 18th of April, and that means it's the anniversary of Mia's
accident - 18 (!!!!) years ago today, we were in the crash that damaged her
brain ir...
Sunday Round-up
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Wash your mouth out
In these ultra-hygienic days, Russian artist Yulia Popova has come into her
own by making models of foodstuffs out of soap. What makes y...
I believe ..Religion
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Written by the Rev.Jeannette van der Veen-Bosgra
I believe in a world where all people can live in happiness,
and that I too have a duty to create such a wo...
Tough Day
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A few weeks ago, I turned 38, and I am still under the scrutiny of
strangers in public. One would think that once you're out of grade school,
middle school...
Change
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Group Reading “The only thing we have in this world that is utterly and
intrinsically ours is our integrity.” ~ Mira Grant One- to find the
universal eleme...
Retro Y'all!
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Still jumping. In place, mostly. Someone should do one of these rap battle
style brags about being a junker. Seriously. Big sale at the Peddlers Mall
today.
X is for XMAS
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*MERRY CHRISTMAS (XMAS) EVERYONE!*
I thought I'd put a link to the top 100 Xmas songs for 2017 so you could
click on it and play anything your heart d...
The Myth Memers
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One of those little questionnaires just to dip a toe back into blogging.
Took this from Chris Hull's Facebook.
1. Do you make your bed? No.
2. The first c...
Now available in paperback!
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*Sharp: A Memoir*. William Morrow & Co, 2012. Print.
We lost 4 members of the Guilford High School Class of 84: David Ciardello,
Richard Eaton, Ronnie Burn...
No parallel
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Get a good look at these: Whence they came: After seeing that incredible
glow-in-the-dark Zac Posen dress that Claire Danes wore at the 2016 Met
Gala, Lori...
ABC Wednesday: The Importance of Being Bored
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When I was growing up, you being bored was your problem that you were
responsible to rectify. As children we learned never to be bored- or at
least not t...
Monday PSA: The Pioneer of the Pole
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Click on the image for the full ad As promised, the second of two
Antarctica themed PSAs. Today: “Pioneer of the Pole.” Just like last week,
this is from D...
Final Act
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Dear Followers of Berowne's "Savage Reflections." I'm very sorry to have to
inform you that my father, John Savage, passed away on December 26, just a
week...
Friday Post - Your services are no longer needed
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Heads will roll
While the good news fairies of Wall Street would have you believe that
everything is just hunky dory the truth is it's not. In order to m...
Age is a State of Mind, Somewhere Near Nebraska
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What a year it has been! After surviving the odometer rolling over to 40, I
had a year of sabbatical. That gave me plenty of time to think about my mid-lif...
The End of a Long Day
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You know those days where all you really want to do is change into your
pajamas and curl up on the couch while you decide which comfort food would
mak...
#Freaking Out -AND!
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Calmly completely freaking out about my move. AND! I quit smoking. I feel
this qualifies me to have an opinion on how to do it.
So I am calmly completel...
Gaze Upon My Works and Snicker, Part 53.
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[image: DP700-F365028]
Another quickie sketch at work, because I wanted to draw Pandora A in a
white fuzzy hat (no, I don't know the name for them) and a b...
Superheroes I Love #10: Deathlok
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Every red-blooded boy loves cyborgs. Half-man, half-robot, what’s not to
love? The Marvel Comics character Deathlok is a bit on the obscure side,
but debut...
How to Prevent Pest Infestation in the Kitchen?
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Pests such as ants, rodents, and cockroaches are common in the kitchen, and
they target
The post How to Prevent Pest Infestation in the Kitchen? appeare...
Lettuce Pose
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“My Dad was a farmer so where better to do my 21st birthday portrait
session than lying down in a lettuce field?” (submitted by IG
@rosalyncropper)
The ...
Episode 326: The WGA Strike
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One by one, Ken goes over the many issues the WGA is fighting for and why
they’re important. He also gives an overview of the situation and how it
might...
The dopamine jail of joke Twitter
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I’m home from vacation and the Planet Funny promotional engine is slowing
down. (There’s still one last signing at Powell’s City of Books in two
short week...
Rex Smith: Free speech, pulpit speech and tax laws
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Each school day when I was a little boy began with the Pledge of
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Lord’s Prayer. T...
Mixed Results for The Rules
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Well that was an “interesting” Emmy Awards. There were enough surprises to
make the alteration of the voting rules to a single round plurality rather
than ...
Mom Has Stacked Dinner Party Roster
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GOLDEN, CO—Their eyes widening in amazement as the 43-year-old rattled off
the names of heavy hitter after heavy hitter, impressed members of the
Dreesh...
Week 17 NFL Picks
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Last week’s 10 wins leaves me with 153 wins. Weak season. Sorry. Week 17
picks NFL Picks Away Home Chicago Detroit NY Jets Buffalo Tampa Bay Atlanta
Caroli...
Coverville Countdown 2012: Nominations Begin NOW!
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It’s that time of year again! Time for you to nominate and vote for your
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them...
Obama’s speech coverage on NPR
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What were the people at NPR thinking? The coverage of President Obama’s
speech on National Public Radio on Wednesday was just awful. I’ve never
minded anal...
2PP132 – 16 May 2020
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This episode was delayed, yet again, because Arthur didn’t have enough
time. Anyway, here we are—were? Today’s chat was about the changes to New
Zealand’s ...
My New Venture: Top Flight Family
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You may have noticed that you haven’t heard much from me lately. That’s
because I’ve been quietly working on new passion of mine, a digital media
startup o...
First blog post
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This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it,
or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you
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10.29.15 GOOGLE UBER ALLES
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This article originally appeared in the 10.29.15 issue of Metroland.
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This Is Not A Joke
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A new ball game - with tasers. Hat-tip : The Volokh Conspiracy According to
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Monday, September 25, 2006
Dad would have been 80 Tomorrow
This is what I know. Les Green graduated from high school, barely, it seems, in 1944. He spent time in the military (in Texas and in Europe), came back to Binghamton, his hometown, and married Trudy in 1950.
He worked at a florist - arranging flowers for events, drove a truck, worked nights at IBM for six years, worked for a social service agency called Opportunities for Broome, then Associated Building Contractors, and finally J.A. Jones Construction.
He taught himself to play guitar around 1959, and billed himself as the "Lonesome & Lonely Traveller", which was his theme song, even when joined by his son (me) and daughter (Leslie).
Now this is what else I know. You may not be able to read the document above, so I'll share. It's my father's birth certificate. [Name] Leslie H. Green Male. Single birth [as opposed to twin, etc.] Sept 26 [19]26 1:30 a.m. [County] Broome [City] Binghamton [Mother's maiden name] Agatha Walker [Age] 24 [State of birth] PA [Residence: state] N.Y. [City] Binghamton [Street and number] 18 East St. [Father] McKinley M. Green [Age] 47 [State of birth] Pa. [Local filing date] 9 30 26 [Date] 9 13 44
One thing I've long known, and my sisters have long known, from my mother was the fact that McKinley was not my father's biological father. I also know that McKinley wasn't 47 when my father was born, that he was probably 47 in 1944, when this certificate was re-issued.
I went to the 1930 Census. I needed help from Alan and others at the New York State Library.
Listed Samuel E. Walker-Head-56-Age at first marriage:25-Born in VA, father born in VA, mother born in VA. Janitor in public building. Eugeni [sic] M.-Wife-52-Born in PA, father born in PA, mother born in PA. Agatha H.-Daughter-27-Born in PA, father born in PA, mother born in PA. Housekeeper for a private family. Earl S.-Son-25-Born in PA, father born in PA, mother born in PA. Caterer for hotels. Stanley E.-Son-20-Born in PA, father born in PA, mother born in PA. Vera C.-Daughter-17-Born in PA, father born in US, mother born in PA. Melissa C.-Daughter-15-Born in NY, father born in VA, mother born in PA. Jessie G.-Daughter-13-Born in NY, father born in VA, mother born in PA. Morris S.-Son-11-Born in NY, father born in VA, mother born in PA. Wesley H.-Son-3 6/12-Born in NY, father born in VA, mother born in PA.
Samuel was the patriarch I knew as a little kid. He was a stern old man, and Agatha (my grandmother), Earl, Stanley, Vera, and Jessie all seemed to fear him, especially the older ones, who would have been in their fifties at the time. (Melissa was not around.) And Wesley? He would have been born in September 1926. So, Samuel and Eugenia feigned that Wesley was their son. But my father's name was Wesley when he was born? Or was this a clerical error on the part of the Census taker?
Another curiosity: Agatha, Earl, Stanley and Vera all had a father born in PA, so since Samuel was born in VA, he's not their biological father. So who was? Or is this another error?
When did McKinley Green marry Agatha Walker and adopt Wesley H. Walker? When did Wesley's name change to Leslie H. Green? From research my sisters did, the Walkers were all in the same house on Court Street in 1936, while McKinley was elsewhere. So, it would seem that McKinley adopted Wesley/Leslie sometime between 1936 and 1944. But then I hear from one of my father's younger cousins - all of my father's cousins were younger than he - that McKinley and Agatha had a rough go early on, so it's possible that McKinley adopted my father after 1930, was married to Agatha and cared for my father for a time, but not in 1936.
And, of course, the prime question I want to know: who was Leslie Green/Wesley Walker's biological father? The apocryphal story is that it was some minister from the AME or AME Zion Church, and that it was a great scandal in the Scrantonian, a newspaper, now defunct, that served the Scranton, PA area, about a hour south of Binghamton. Or maybe it was a Baptist church in Binghamton.
My next task was going to be to get microfilm of the Scrantonian, which is located at the University of Scranton, Penn State University, and at the State Library in Harrisburg to see if I can find any mention of this tale of a rogue pastor, but my father's cousin has already done this, with no success.
I mention all of this now, with the permission of my sisters Leslie and Marcia, and my mother, in an attempt to find the truth of the matter. It was a topic my sisters and I never broached with my father, because we knew it was painful for him.
The only time it was even noted in passing is when McKinley died in 1980. My father stepped up to take care of things. McKinley's brother sneered, "Oh, yeah, he (Mac) DID adopt that bastard, didn't he?" Never before or after that moment did we see my father so wounded.
If you have any information - if you knew my father or his family, if you have some ideas how to proceed further - please let me know. At some point in his youth, my father also lived on Tudor Street in Binghamton.
Thank you.
*** My father liked to watch football. He loved New Orleans. He would be watching the 2-0 Saints play the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons tonight in the first game of the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina. He'd probably even be watching the collaboration between U2 and Green Day during the pregame.
Geneology is such a curious thing, trying to peer back into the biological past. My aunt (who, gods willing, will turn 102 Nov. 30)did extensive research on my maternal lineage, and we have copies of birth and marriage certificates going back five generations.
My patrilineage is another matter. I have a photo of my grandfather as a child with his family (somewhere near Scranton, PA., actually)and by working through Census records, I've found a few family names. I've also submitted a request (and fee) for a copy of my grandfather's Social Security application which SHOULD have his parent's names and places of birth. I've found some vague reference on the Net that suggests that my great-grandfather immigrated through Baltimore sometimes around 1860. But, as I say, it's vague stuff.
Hope that you can flesh out more of your own lineage; I've come to realize that it's a gift we can give to our children. It's also an unfortunate reminder of how little interest children have in their parent's lives while they're still alive...
2 comments:
Geneology is such a curious thing, trying to peer back into the biological past. My aunt (who, gods willing, will turn 102 Nov. 30)did extensive research on my maternal lineage, and we have copies of birth and marriage certificates going back five generations.
My patrilineage is another matter. I have a photo of my grandfather as a child with his family (somewhere near Scranton, PA., actually)and by working through Census records, I've found a few family names. I've also submitted a request (and fee) for a copy of my grandfather's Social Security application which SHOULD have his parent's names and places of birth. I've found some vague reference on the Net that suggests that my great-grandfather immigrated through Baltimore sometimes around 1860. But, as I say, it's vague stuff.
Hope that you can flesh out more of your own lineage; I've come to realize that it's a gift we can give to our children. It's also an unfortunate reminder of how little interest children have in their parent's lives while they're still alive...
Tracing genealogy, especially that which is close at hand, can really stir up the poop in the barn.
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