Professor learns great-grandfather took part in Alaskan Gold Rush

By John Turner / Special to The Citizen

Monday, July 9, 2007 9:49 AM EDT

SHERWOOD - When he was a teenager, Wells College chemistry professor Christopher Bailey made quite an interesting discovery.
While poking around his basement, Bailey found a series of letters written by his great-grandfather, John H. Haynes, after he left his Washington, D.C. home and traveled to Alaska to take part in the Alaskan Gold Rush from 1897-1918.

On Sunday evening, Bailey, who is an amateur genealogist, presented a program called “Hold On to Your Bag of Sand” at the Howland Stone Store Museum.

The presentation, which was part of the museum's monthly � Sunday Socials” series, consisted of Bailey's lecture on what he discovered from reading the letters, along with useful tools for performing genealogical research.

“When my great-grandfather left D.C. in 1897, he gave each member of his family a bag of sand, and promised them that he'd eventually return to fill it with gold,” Bailey said Sunday night.

After discovering the letters, he continued, Bailey took an interest in genealogy, and now teaches a family history class at Wells College.

The professor has journeyed with his students to Washington, D.C. on several occasions to perform research at the National Archives Administration, and earlier this year, he and several students traveled to Salt Lake City - which he said is like the genealogical Holy Grail.

“The Mormon Church does a lot of genealogical research, so (Salt Lake City) is a family historian's Mecca,” he said.

Sunday's lecture included accounts of Haynes' description of the Alaskan countryside and the people he met, and his eventual disappointment at never amassing much of a fortune.

“So our family was left ‘holding the bag,' so to speak,” he joked at one point.

Bailey said that he recently discovered that on Haynes' return trip in 1918, the boat he was traveling on sank, and with it millions of dollars in gold.

“So the obvious question is, was some of that gold my great-grandfather's?” Bailey said.

To Learn More

What: 2007 Sunday Socials

Where: Howland Stone Store Museum, 2956 Route 34B,

Sherwood

When: Monthly

Cost: Free

For more information: Call the museum at 364-8307

The Citizens' Say

Post your comment - click here

There are No comments posted.

REGISTRATION IS FREE.
Registered users sign in here:
*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login?
(requires cookies)
 
Unregistered users can register here:

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts!

Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required!

*Create a Member ID:
*Choose a password:
*Re-enter password:
*E-mail Address:
*Year of Birth:
 

(children under 13 cannot register)

First Name:
Last Name:
Company:
Home Phone:
Business Phone:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
 
E-Citizen
E-Edition
Wheels Etc.
Find a vehicle
Hot Jobs
Find a Job
Homes Etc.
Find a Home
TV Week
Find a program
Search Classifieds
Find, Buy
Place a Classified Ad
Sell
Skaneateles Journal
The Journal
New! Best Bridal
Here comes the bride. . .
Liven Up the Holidays
Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaa
Logo HereNew! Off the Menu
Good Eatin'!
Newspaper Ads
See it again
CNY Boats Etc.
Achors aweigh!
New! School Project
A breakdown of the new school project.
Sections
Special Sections

Top Jobs

The Citizen Copyright ©2009
A division of Lee Publications, Inc.
25 Dill Street
Auburn, NY 13021

Contact Us

Add to My Yahoo!