Category Archives: genealogy

Ben: An American Dad, 1921-1986, Part I: Introduction: “The only father we had”

Posted on October 1, 2019 by

[Note:  Between 2017 and 2019, I published here a series of posts based on the writings of my late mother, Elsie Elizabeth (Betts) Lamplugh (1923-2013).  Betts’ writings included a brief history of her Dobson-Knighton family and, more importantly, a memoir … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Delaware, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Betts, A Mother’s Memoir, 1923-1964, Part IX: Grandmother Remembers

Posted on February 1, 2019 by

Judith Levy and Judy Pelikan, Grandmother Remembers:  A Written Heirloom for My Grandchild (New York, 1983). [Note:  Somehow this volume wound up in my basement, along with a lot of other stuff from my mother, Elsie Elizabeth (Betts) Lamplugh, that … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Books, Delaware, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Betts: A Mother’s Memoir, 1923-1964 Part VIII: Betts, Ben, and J.B., 1940-1944

Posted on July 16, 2018 by

[NOTE:  Almost a year ago, I put up what I thought would be the final installment of the series, “Betts: A Mother’s Memoir, 1923-1964.” But I hadn’t considered my  “Historical Pack Rat” gene. . . . In the middle of … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Delaware, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

BETTS, A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part VII: After Words–Betts on Family, History, and Family History

Posted on August 15, 2017 by

[NOTE: When I posted Part VI of this series, I thought it was the concluding installment.  And then I returned to a notion advanced in Part I:  Betts had been a “late-blooming historian.” I still wondered about her decision to undertake … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part VI: An Independent Woman, 1964-2013

Posted on July 15, 2017 by

[For earlier posts in this series, see Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V.] Betts’ work as family historian and memoirist ended in 1995, with the completion of her memoir, which carried the story of her life … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part V: Trying to Make It in Postwar America

Posted on June 15, 2017 by

  [Note:  This segment of Betts’ memoir carries her family’s story from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s.  For earlier installments, go here, here, here, and here.] * * * * * Shortly after our second son, Rick, was born, on … Continue reading →

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BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part IV: World War II

Posted on May 15, 2017 by

[Note:  This installment of Betts’ memoir takes her from the 1930s through the Second World War. (For previous posts, go here, here, and here.)] * * * * * I spent a lot of summer vacations with my grandfather and grandmother [Dobson] … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part III: A Depression-Era Childhood

Posted on April 15, 2017 by

[Note:  This installment of Betts’ story is drawn from her memoir, “Slub of Slife.”  Parts I and II .] * * * * * We had no bathroom in the house [in Wilmington, Delaware], so we had an “outhouse” (enclosed “piddle palace”), … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Civil War, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part II: Grandparents, Parents, and Siblings

Posted on March 15, 2017 by

[Note:  This is the second in a series of posts based on a family history and a memoir  written by my mother, Betts Lamplugh. (For Part I, go here.) This installment is taken mostly from her “Dobson-Knighton Family History,” supplemented with some … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

BETTS: A MOTHER’S MEMOIR, 1923-1964, Part I: Late-Blooming Historian

Posted on February 15, 2017 by

  [NOTE:  This is the first in a series of posts drawing on a family history and a memoir compiled by my mother, Elsie Elizabeth Knighton Lamplugh (1923-2013). Mom, known as “Betts,” lavished upon her kids what we would later describe … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments