Surname: Lewis
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Walnut Slope Ranch History
In 1921, Gilbert and Beatrice Bates purchased Walnut Slope Ranch in Valley Center, California and moved their family from nearby Ramona. This year (2021) marks the 100-year anniversary of that purchase. This article takes a look at how the property came to be the home of at least four generations of the Bates family.
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A Memorial Book By Otto S. Lewis
This article is about a book written by Otto S. Lewis after his wife and two children perished in the shipwreck of the SS Columbia in 1907. Titled ‘In Memory of My Beloved Wife Mabel B. Lewis and Children Florence and Ray’, it is one of those rare finds that provide both an in-depth look…
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The Shipwreck Of The SS Columbia
In this article, I take a look at events surrounding the 1907 shipwreck and sinking of the SS Columbia as reported in various newspapers of the time. Stories of the disaster claimed the front pages of West Coast newspapers for several days as details of the event became known. Particular attention is paid to the…
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Discovering Family Lost in a Shipwreck
I first heard that some family members had died in a shipwreck from my aunt, Luella (Munroe) Bates. She didn’t recall the details, but said that a book had been written about it. The book, of course, had been lost over the years. This is the first of several articles describing the search for those family…
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A Biographical Album… and a Train Robbery!
One of my early searches for family members on my grandmother’s side turned up an unexpected biography of her father and his family. In this article, I take a look at a biographical album that contains a profile of Franklin J. Holman, and a reference to a train robbery.
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Migration – From Michigan to California
Around 1906, my grandparents and great grandparents moved from Michigan to California. This included all my grandfather’s siblings except one, as well as most of my grandmother’s family. All told, there were at least 21 family members, possibly more, so I’ll call it a migration. I think that the Bates moved out together, but I…