Quiet Contemplation

The other night while my friend Roger was visiting we headed down to the Spirit Tree to enjoy the quiet evening and the incredible view of the star-filled sky. It was in this location where roughly a year ago I asked Jessica to be my bride, so it was nice to visit the spot again and think about the memories from a year ago, as well as the memories made since then. The beauty of the night was perfect: not a cloud in the sky, barely a whisper of a wind and the temperature was ideal. We sat down at the tree for a couple of hours and gazed at the sky. Every now and then a Perseid meteor would streak through the sky, remnants from a meteor shower that peaked a few days before. I was setting my camera up for a long star-trail exposure when Jessica climbed up and sat down on this rock for a better view of the tree. It just so happened that where she sat was a great spot for a shot of her gazing up at the tree. I asked her to hold still for 30 seconds while I recorded this exposure. It is my favorite shot of the night, even better than the 45 minute star-trail exposure that I made (which also turned out quite nice, but not as nice as this!).

A Scandal in the Family

John Brubaker, my 3rd great grandfather, was born May 19, 1819 in Perry County, Ohio and is the son of Martin Brubaker and Nancy Neel. He passed away on February 8, 1879 in Huntington County, Indiana.

John was the father of William Brubaker (1843-1912), my 2nd great grandfather, but he was not married to William's mother, Sarah Foster (1818-1904). The family story goes that John had two girls pregnant at the same time but he married the "other" girl who was a cousin to Sarah.

John married Catharine Clum on March 18, 1843 in Perry County, Ohio. Less than four months later, their daughter Annetta was born on July 8, 1843.

It is highly likely that John was not aware that Sarah Foster was pregnant at the time he married Catharine since William was born on November 20, 1843 - eight months after his marriage.

In 1849, John and Catherine Brubaker moved from Perry County, Ohio to Rock Creek Township in Huntington County, Indiana. He purchased land from his father, Martin, who had bought the land in 1838. No evidence has been found to substantiate claims mentioned in biographies of several of his sons that Martin actually ever lived in Huntington County. John's brothers Samuel and James joined him in Huntington County within the next few years.

The Huntington County census records for 1850 through 1870 show that John was a farmer. With each census year his family grew, as did the value of his personal and real estate. John did quite well for himself. In 1870 his real estate was valued at $6765 and his personal worth was $1100, both sizeable amounts for the time.

John's obituary was published on February 13, 1879 in The Huntington Democrat (Huntington, Indiana).

After a long affliction Hon. John Brubaker was called from his labors among men. On last Sabbath his mortal remains were placed in the silent grave by a large concourse of mourning friends and sorrowing neighbors. The history of Rockcreek township is incomplete without the mention of his work. He settled there in 1849, twenty nine years ago. He, with twelve others, built the first school house in the district where he died. John Henderson, Geo. Bear, James Marshall, William Heindle, James Bonawits and Samuel DeHaven are of that number. Mr. Brubaker has been identified with all enterprises tending to improve the material interest of our county. At the October election of 1866, he was elected county commissioner, performed the duties of his office with fidelity and to the very best interest of our county. He was a thrifty, enterprising farmer. He was a man whose integrity no one doubted. He will be greatly missed in the community. One by one the old pioneers are passing away. Their toils and sacrifices will live in history. Peace to their ashes.

Catharine Clum was born on March 4, 1822 and died March 8, 1877 in Huntington County, Indiana. She is buried beside John at the Barnes Chapel Cemetery in Rock Creek Township. Regarding the family story that Catharine was a cousin of Sarah Foster: I have not found evidence of that but I do think that Catharine was related to George Parkison, whom Sarah married on March 28, 1849 in Perry County, Ohio.

John Brubaker had twelve children with his wife, Catharine Clum. (They will be listed in a separate post.) William Brubaker is not mentioned in John's will so it is not known if William had a relationship with his father or not. In both the 1850 and 1860 census records, William was listed in the household of his step-father and mother, George and Sarah Parkison, under the Parkison surname. In the 1870 census he is listed in their household as William Brubaker. When William enlisted, at the age of 17, in Co. E, 17th IVI on April 21, 1861 he did so as William Brubaker. George Parkison, in his will dated June 10, 1902 stated "It is my will that said William Brubaker, although he is my step-son only, shall take his equal share as hereinbefore and hereinafter set out, the same as if he were my son by blood."

My grandmother knew that her grandfather, William Brubaker, was an illegitimate child, or "born out of wedlock" as she stated so often. Grandma started researching her families in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. Early on, she had no luck in finding out anything about William's father. But in February 1970, grandma received a letter from a great grandson of Nancy Jane Brubaker Kemp, daughter of John and Catharine. We'll call him Don. He had gotten her name from a researcher in Illinois! Mind you, this was back in the days of snail mail, where connections were still made between researchers, but at a much slower pace than is done today.

Don's letter gave some family information and stated that he thought Nancy's father, John, was a son of Martin Brubaker of Perry County, Ohio. This was exciting information for my grandmother, as it gave her some clues to pursue. I found it interesting, that in her response to Don's letter, grandma states that she remembers "Aunt Jane Kemp" as well as Nancy Jane's brothers, Thornton and Samuel. She goes on to state that she attended several Brubaker family reunions in Huntington when she was a young woman. She mentions that her grandfather is William Brubaker and that he was a brother to Nancy, Thornton and Sam.

Having gone through all of grandma's papers, several times, I have not found another letter from Don. But in May 1970 grandma writes to him again, replying to his letter (the one I don’t have). In her letter she tells Don the story she was told by her parents and Uncle Thornton's family. The story about John getting two girls pregnant, etc. saying "I wish that I knew more about the way this was handled, but my grandfather took the Brubaker name and was always friendly with the half brothers." Apparently the information in Don's letter (the one I don’t have) convinced her that her grandpa William was the son of John Brubaker. She says "I was not sure of the name, as I am sure now from your records, this has helped me very much." Why didn't she keep those letters and records he sent?

About this same time, grandma made contact with another Brubaker researcher, Kenny Fawley. I don't know the details of how they hooked up (possibly through the sign-in sheets at the Allen County Public Library) but Kenny is married to my first cousin, Caroline. Weird, huh! Her mother and my father are siblings. Kenny is my 5th cousin once removed and our common ancestors are Hans Jacob Brubaker (the 3rd) and his wife Elizabeth Steinweg/Stoneroad. She may be the subject of a future post as Kenny has an interesting story about her surname. Kenny was able to provide my grandmother with information on the parents and other ancestors of John Brubaker. He made her very happy! (Thanks, Cuz.)

As you might think, there can be a stigma (for lack of a better word) attached to being a descendant of an illegitimate child. Not so much from my point of view. That's life, those things happen. If he hadn't been born I wouldn't be here. I am delighted that he was born! And it doesn't bother me in the least that my 2nd great grandfather was born out of wedlock. But apparently it bothers descendants of the children of John and Catharine. I've been in contact with several of them over the years. Each time it starts out fine, until they begin to think that I'm not part of "their" John's family. One lady was putting together a history of the Brubaker families in the area. We exchanged information. The book was printed. But William and his family were not included. I never received a response from her regarding my inquiries as to why.

So, what evidence, or clues, lead us to the "fact" that William's father was John Brubaker?

• The missing letter from "cousin" Don that satisfied my grandmother.
• After her parents, Charles Romain Brubaker and Maud Catherine Wise, were married in February 1897 (against the wishes of Maud's parents) they went to live near relatives in Huntington for a year or so.
• In the photograph of grandma's family at the Goose Lake Farm, Uncle Thornton Brubaker is sitting on a tree stump off to the left side of the family.
• The obituary of Martin Brubaker published in the Columbia City Post of November 13, 1908 states: "William Brubaker of near Etna was called to Rock Creek township Huntington county Saturday by the death of his brother Martin Brubaker."
• William's obituary published on January 27, 1912 in the Columbia City stated that he "is survived by two brothers, Samuel, of Fort Wayne, and Thornton, of Huntington, and one sister, Mrs. Wm. Kent [sic], of Huntington"

But the one thing that my grandmother didn't do (and I don't know why she didn't) would have provided sufficient evidence of the name of William's father. She didn't check the Whitley County death records. Why not? I'll never know. . .


His death records found at the Whitley County, Indiana Department of Health (Bk 2A pg 55 #19-12 AND City Book 1 pg 14 #4-12) clearly show the name of his father as John Brubaker. His mother is given as Sarah Fosler (the clerk had a habit of not crossing his t's). The images above are from Bk 2A, click on them to view a larger image.

Sam Hillborne Ride Report

{edited to add: There is now also a full review of this bicycle, written after 6 months of ownership}



I've now gone on my first proper ride on the Rivendell Sam Hillborne - 25 miles or so. I include some quick pictures of this glorious bicycle, but I am not entirely finished setting it up yet - so I will save the glamour shots and detailed close-ups for when it is complete. For now, here is a first ride report.



The build is fairly classic, with long distance riding in mind. I will go into excruciating detail about all the components in a later post - but if you have a specific question, feel free to ask. Of course I know what some of you are thinking right about now: "Gee, couldn't she get that stem to extend any higher?" So I will explain that the giraffine stem extension is to get me used to the drop bars. Because I have a short torso, I am practically lying down across the top tube in order to keep my hands on the "hoods" of the handlebars unless I have the stem extended this high. I might need to think of a more elegant solution, but not sure what can be done. I do not like the look of the "dirt drop" stem, but perhaps I should rethink that.



This is a pretty accurate picture of the bicycle's proportions, as well as of its size in relation to my body. I am 5'7". The bicycle is a 52cm frame with 650B wheels. Other than the strained handlebar reach, it's a perfect fit.



The biggest challenge I anticipated with this bicycle was riding with drop bars. As I've mentioned before, I was determined to learn to ride with these handlebars "properly". In the picture above I have my hands on the "hoods" of the brake levers, which is a position that allows both a semi-upright posture and braking. The drop bar hand positions are like nothing I had tried before, and the dynamics are very foreign to me. Controlling the bicycle feels so different, that I do not even know how to describe the sensation. It is as if my very concept of "handlebars" had to be discarded. If you've ridden with drop bars all your life, you probably don't understand what the big deal is - but for someone new to it, holding these bars can feel counter-intuitive and scary.



Having said that, I was surprised at how quickly I grew comfortable with the drop bars in the course of the ride. After the first mile, I loosened my death grip on the hoods and began to trust that the brakes would work when pressed from the top. After the second mile, I began to move my hands around a bit by sliding them along the bars - never venturing too far from the brakes. A couple of miles later, I was able to change positions freely and to take my left hand off the bars entirely.



The one thing I still cannot do is shift. The bar end shifters are so far down, that I do not feel confident enough yet to reach there with my right hand while cycling. But next time, learning to shift will be my main task.



Once I grew used to the handlebars and relaxed, I was able to pay attention to the ride quality itself - and it was ...amazing. Where to start? First of, there was a miraculous lack of pressure on any specific part of my body. No feeling of pressure on the hands despite being leaned over, and not much pressure on the butt either. Where does the pressure go?.. Is it all on the feet and I was pedaling extra hard without knowing it? Or is it so well distributed between hands and butt that I feel it on neither? I wish I understood bicycle geometry better.



The other miraculous thing is that I can get full leg extension on this bicycle and still touch the ground with a toe when stopped. I am guessing that a combination of a semi-relaxed seat tube angle and low bottom bracket makes this possible. The geometry is perfect for someone like me, who wants to be able to touch the ground when stopped. Also perfect is the fact that it is impossible for my foot to hit the front wheel when turning on the Hillborne - something that happens on my Motobecane and other roadbikes I have tried.



Finally, the Sam Hillborne is super stable and easy to balance - which I feel is not just due to the fat Grand Bois Hetre tires, but to the frame design itself. Cornering is especially delightful, because the bicycle feels both responsive and stable, a combination I have never experienced together. I imagined that my first ride would be very slow and very careful, just trying to get used to the drop bars and the diamond frame without falling. Instead, I soon began to pass people and to enjoy the turns in the road, feeling safe and perfectly balanced.



At the end of my 25 mile ride, I felt that I was just beginning to warm up and was now ready for "the real ride". And that, more anything, sums up what the Sam Hillborne feels like and what it was designed for. Don't be fooled by the good looks: This is an amazingly capable and comfortable bicycle, and I am happy that I have gone from being too scared to touch it (Harris Cyclery can attest to this!) to riding it in the way it was intended to be ridden. I still have a way to go before the drop bars and diamond frame become second nature to me, but I am looking forward to the learning experience.



Oh, and the bicycle's name is Graham. If you can guess why, then you probably already know his last name as well.

Jacob Wise - Nashville Cemetery

Jacob Wise, one of my civil war ancestors, is buried in Section "J" at the National Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. I had planned on posting these pictures with my previous post on him and his family, but sometimes life gets in the way of good intentions!

The first two photos were taken in the summer of 1928 and are from my grandmother's files. Shown in the photo on the left are Grace Zinsmeister, Maude Wise Brubaker Yontz, Rose Wise Zinsmeister, and (a very faded) Hazlette Wise Burns. Rose, the youngest daughter of Jacob, whom he never saw, was born two weeks after he was drafted in October 1864. Grace, Maude and Hazlette are Jacob's granddaughters.

The photo on the left, below, is one that I took several years ago. On the right is the gravemarker that was put up at the time of the death of his wife in 1901. The stone is in Hively's Corner, now St. Matthew's Church, cemetery in Thorncreek Township, Whitley County, Indiana. The date of Jacob's death on the stone in not correct. The widow's pension records show that he died on May 17, 1865 not on May 7th.

Moving On :: Anchorage to Glennallen

Friday morning (August 20th) arrived with mostly blue skies. And sunshine for the third day in a row! There was very little wind as I drove along Turnagain Arm, on my way once again to Anchorage and points beyond.

The lack of wind made for extremely calm waters, perfectly reflecting the blue sky. This is where Turnagain Arm joins the Cook Inlet, south of Anchorage. What may look like clouds where the water meets the sky are actually the snow-capped mountains on the far western shore of Cook Inlet!

It was after noon by the time I left Anchorage (after stopping at McDonalds for two hours to use their wifi, and eat lunch, of course). By then clouds had begun to move in over the mountains.

After weighing my options, I decided to head for Haines on the north end of the Inside Passage. From Anchorage, I took Highway 1 (also known as the Glenn Highway) east towards Glennallen, a distance of about 190 miles. This is the same route that Sue and Fred took on Tuesday (the 17th).

A portion of the Glenn Highway is designated a National Scenic Byway. It was a nice drive. The road was in fairly decent condition but it did have several rough sections. I hate to say it, and I certainly don't want to alienate any Alaskans, but at times it was also rather boring. I'm sure that when the road was first constructed the views were magnificent. But the trees have grown taller and sometimes it is like driving through a channel of green. All you can see are the trees on either side and the sky overhead. It is the same way on many highways, not just those is Alaska.

I've gotten “frustrated” more than once upon seeing a sign that says “View Point” or “Overlook” or one that has a nice graphic of a camera indicating a photo-op ahead and then, when you get there, what do you see? Nothing but trees. Now, I have nothing against trees. I love them. We need them. And I don't expect highway departments to cut them down just so I can get a nice photo, but, well... Anyway, every once in a while you do get see a wonderful view and then you appreciate it even more.

For much of the way, mountains rise on either side of the Glenn Highway. This is the Matanuska River Valley, formed many, many years ago by a glacier of the same name, which, at one time, extended all the way to Palmer (about 100 miles west).

Merely a “shadow of its former self” the Matanuska Glacier still exists and is still changing the landscape. The glacier is 27 miles long and it averages 2 miles in width. The “face” of the glacier, what I'd call its “front” and is technically called its terminus, is 4 miles wide! It's one huge chunk of ice!

Matanuska Glacier is accessible from the privately owned Glacier Park. I drove down the steep, winding, narrow one-mile long dirt road and crossed over the river on a rickety wooden bridge to the park office. There I found out they charge an admission fee of $20, which allows you to hike a trail to the ice that takes about 15 minutes... but in listening to her describe the trail to someone else (very, very muddy due to all the rain they've had) , I decided not to go on that hike. Hopefully, sometime during my stay here in Alaska I'll get “up close” to a glacier.

I drove on to Glennallen, at the junction of Highways 1 and 4, and stopped at the Northern Lights RV Park and Campground. It was one of the nicer RV Parks I've stayed at since leaving Montana. Unlike most, it wasn't just a parking lot with hookup stations. There was some degree of privacy, which was nice. Also flush toilets, showers and wifi. And although the wifi wasn't the fastest, it was okay and I was able to get a couple more blog posts scheduled.

Looking out to Sea

Satisfied Land + Misty Mountains

Above photo: "Satisfied Land".

After a very dry spring, moisture returns to the north woods of Minnesota. This was our first good day of rain in almost two months during a time of year that normally sees a lot of rainfall.


Above photo: "Misty Mountains".

This was about an hour before sunset; the clouds were breaking up and the hills had this beautiful fog rolling through through them. I love not only shooting but just plain being out in the woods when the conditions are like this!