My one goal for this journey has been to find the origins of Anthony Murray – my furthest back Murray ancestor.  His death record states he was born in “Dorchester”.  Most on Ancestry.com list his birthplace as Dorchester, MA.  Kind of makes sense because he married Abigail Holbrook in Wellfleet,…

Sleuthing at this level, i.e., going back to the 1700s, is not easy.  Few records exist and even fewer stories. With that in mind, I’ve decided to lower my expectations just a bit. Today, I had an appointment with a representative from the historical society of Gorham, Maine.  Gorham is…

I’m settled into a KOA around Gorham, Maine where my Murray ancestors lived. The state records, however, are housed in Augusta, Maine, and there is a set of archives located there – or so I thought. I tried to make an appointment (the only way to access these archives) via…

Three solid days of driving.  It’s beginning to wear on me.  Thank goodness Lucas has been here to keep me company and help with the driving.  We are now settled in Maine, having driven through Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Canada, New York, and New Hampshire. All of these states had…

Most of this trip is focused on my Murray roots, but back here, especially in Canada, I also have Craig roots – Craig being my Mother’s maiden name.  The Craigs came from Scotland to Northern Ireland (Scots Irish) and into Canada.  One of the mysteries has always been Margaret Victoria…

Guess who came to greet me when I arrived at the Minneapolis airport?  Of course, my son Lucas, but with him was Kipper! Slept at his feet the whole flight, and now we get to enjoy his company for the next several days. Apologies for skipping a couple of days. …

Again, not much to share.  Drove from Badlands NP in South Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  One thing that did surprise me was how frequently I was stopping for gas and filling up.  I figured the bad mileage was either the headwinds or ethanol in the gas.  Here you have the…

After a very slow morning – getting up but thirsty for more sleep, I did my usual (2 days now = “usual”) of sitting in the lodge and posting yesterday’s blog using their wifi. Returned to the trailer for lunch and a couple of short dog walks, unsuccessfully tried to…

Nothing like waking up to a stunning landscape to change your perspective on a place.  I came in too late last night to really see much, and it quickly got darker and darker as I was focused on setting up the trailer and finding water.  But the peaceful surrounding I…

I knew today was going to be a rough day with the long distance I had to travel.  I just didn’t expect such a disappointing ending. My alarm was set for 6:00, but when I awoke at 4:00, knowing I had a long drive ahead of me and didn’t want…