Our farm is a great place to hang special family items for everyone to enjoy. When I was at our farm yesterday, I took special notice of some framed poems written on birch bark. Imagine spending the summer on an island in Maine and having the time to write a poem.These were written by a friend to my great grandfather. Notice that in the rhyme below they misspelled "forest"....my great grandfather's last name was Forrest.
A highlight of my recent trip was visiting one of my ancestor's farm, Mont Clair. Mont Clair was built by Nathaniel Ewing around 1806 and was fancied-up in 1911 when the neo-classical columns were added. The 500 acre farm has been in the Ewing family for seven generations and was recently put in a land trust to preserve it in its present state.
My sons, Teddy and Nicholas, giving a drink to the massive great danes
The top hat owned by former St. Louis mayor, William L. Ewing, Sr. He left St. Louis after losing his reelection and returned to the family home at Vincennes, IN. Many of his possessions are still at the house.
Gracious hosts and current owners of Mont Clair, Mark and Becca Ewing
Before swinging into St. Louis for Easter, my brother made a visit to New Orleans for a little family pilgrimage. After the Civil War, when the South was rebuilding, my great great grandfather moved there from Maine and started a successful shipping hardware business. Although he was probably first viewed as a "carpet bagger" from the North when he showed up in town, he became an important citizen of New Orleans.
Here are some interesting pics from my brother's trip"
This is my great, great grandfather's house on Prytania street. Believe it or not, his name was Pearl Wight
Here is a plaster model of the Wight mausoleum located at Tulane University.
Here is the architectural diagram located at Tulane.
This lovely window is in the back of the mausoleum. You can see some of the damage to it from the hurricane.
Here is the actual mausoleum. I understand that there are eight spaces in it and only two used. I think it would be fun to be put here....though no one would visit me.
