Shared Stories

Benjamin Greenslit of Bennington, Vermont and Cheshire, Massachusetts

My third great-grandfather, Benjamin Greenslit, was born about 1792, probably in the Vermont area, and most likely the son of James Greenslit. Those are the most logical explanations, but there is little to no documentation for that!

This is a picture of my great Aunt Laura Bissaillon Lewis. I can hardly remember her.

When folks were asked to send photographs, mementos etc., for the library collection. I did send a great deal into the Library. One item of note was a 1902 Postcard from Lee of the old High school sent to my grand-mother in Pittsfield from her Mother "Elizabeth Sullivan" (Blowe).

For many of us as children, we often sat amazed at some of the stories that were freely offered around the dinner table by our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

For many of us as children, we often sat amazed at some of the stories that were freely offered around the dinner table by our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

It is a cool and windy day at the Wiater Farm. Uncle Chet told me that Wiater means wind in Polish and we got our last name because of this story.

Sometimes when you are digging up family roots you find the roots all tied in a knot, which you cannot untwist. That is when your computer says, “This does not compute!” and you say, “This is hopeless.” That happened to me when I started to look up my Morse roots.

When Margaret Rotti’s children finally were all in college, the Pittsfield resident found some time for herself and decided to spend part of it researching her ancestry on her mother’s side. She didn’t know what to expect, but her efforts eventually led all the way back to the Mayflower.

Aunt Monica's tea set got some use at the party on Friday. It is amazing how an item can cause a flood of memories to came back like the flood of 1938.

As I get older and think back about all the questions I should have asked and wonder what parts of our history is still untold.