Category Archives: genealogy

Ben, An American Dad, 1921-1986, Part VI: A Dad Alone, 1964-1986

Posted on March 1, 2020 by

[Note: The events of the summer of 1964 [see here] put an end to Betts and Ben Lamplugh’s marriage and shattered their family: Betts’ bus trip to Newark; Ben’s angry phone call later that day; and Betts’ refusal either to … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Delaware, Education, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Newark (Del.) High School Class of 1962, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ben, An American Dad, 1921-1986: Part V: Memories of Ben, as “Dad” (2019)

Posted on January 2, 2020 by

  [NOTE: It’s not normal for me to wax retrospective on Father’s Day, but every so often I do. 2019 was one of those years. I had begun work on this blog series about my father, Ben Lamplugh, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Cold War, Delaware, Education, Episcopal Church, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, memoir, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ben: An American Dad, 1921-1986, Part III, World War II

Posted on December 1, 2019 by

[NOTE:  This installment in a series about my father’s life and his role as an “American Dad” takes him, his wife, and, eventually, their first child, through the end of the Second World War (For earlier posts, go here and … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Delaware, Education, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, memoir, Research, Retirement, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ben: An American Dad, 1921-1986, Part II: The Wedding Photograph

Posted on November 1, 2019 by

[Note:  When we three Lamplugh siblings gathered at Judy’s home to remember our late mother, Elsie Elizabeth (“Betts”) Lamplugh, a couple of years ago, Judy had a surprise for us:  She had retrieved, and then had reproduced, a wedding picture … Continue reading →

Posted in Delaware, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, memoir, Research, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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 , , , , | 6 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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