Wise

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Bath, Birmingham, and Milton Abbas

Tonight we write from the deep countryside of Dorset.  We are staying in the little village of Milton Abbas with a cousin’s cousin.  We are both related to the Coley and Harris lines in Halesowen, England.  Peter and Cynthia Wise have taken us in a day earlier due to the fact we are not going to Merthyr-Tydfil, Wales now.  We will be with them two days.

Amanda with Robin Hood statue near Nottingham
Nottingham Castle
A Robin Hood shrubbery at Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Town Center
Nottingham Council House

Yesterday went terribly wrong.  We left a little late from Walkden, got stuck in a traffic queue for 1.5 hours in Stockport meaning we had to drop our visit to Chatsworth House.  Then we decided we better drop Mattersey and Misson on my Sharp family line to at least make Sudsbury Hall.  We then found out the M1 was closed with miles of traffic queue so we had to take side roads to Nottingham.  There we saw the Robin Hood sites and made our way to Sudsbury for their manor house.  Well, all the side roads were occupied with motorway traffic so we were delayed, we got lost, and in the end missed the last time to get into the home.  We got pictures with the house but Amanda was devastated we didn’t get in.

Amanda Ross at Sudbury Hall
Sudbury Hall rear

In defeat, we made our way to Hagley, near Halesowen, near Birmingham last night.  We checked into our little hotel and ran into Halesowen where we found the church of St. John the Baptism.  Interestingly, as we wandered the cemetery, we found loads of Coley, Willett, and Harris tombstones.  Many were modern, but there were a few in which I am sure they are cousins I have in my family history file.  That made it worth it.  The other deceased I will have to do some research on to trace them back to the family and connect them in.  Hopefully I can find another person who has done research on some of the same lines and can help me with my research.  We shall see.

St John’s in Halesowen

Today we toured Romsley, Hayley Green, and Bromsgrove near Halesowen, more sites of Coley ancestry.  We wandered and took more pictures in St. Kenelm’s church.  There were more Coleys and Willetts found there.  I was pretty excited.  None as old as in the Halesowen church, but you never know. 

Tombstone of John Crumpton (1817-1869) my first cousin six times removed

We hopped on the Motorway and went through Worcester, Gloucester, and finally to Bath.  There we saw the Royal Crescent, some of the Victoria Gardens, and the Roman Baths.  It is a beautiful city.  We enjoyed ourselves.  From there we wandered to Milton Abbas way out in the countryside.  We drove several miles through one car-width lanes to this village.

Bath Royal Crescent
Jane Austin Center
Bath Roman Baths
Looking down to the Roman Baths
Roman floor at Bath
Bath Abbey
Amanda Ross in Bath

We are still figuring out what we will do tomorrow.  At any rate, it should be fun.

Bath Circus
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Custer County Courthouse

Custer County Idaho Courthouse

This weekend I traveled to beautiful Custer County to participate in the Idaho GOP Summer Meeting at the beautiful Living Waters Ranch just west of Challis, Idaho.

Around the table from left to right: Mark Johnson, Kimberly Kaehler, Jordan Marques, Chris Boyd, Nick Woods, Vince Rundhaugh, Hari Heath, Elena Wise, Luke Sommer, Stewart Hyndman, Brent Regan, Machele Hamilton, David Taylor, Jeff Siddoway, Larry Oja, Trent Clark, Paul Ross, Rick Jessinger. Idaho GOP Rules Committee, 23 June 2023.

I was in Boise on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and made the trek through Idaho City, Lowman, Stanley, Clayton, to Challis. I don’t think I have been to Challis since about 2003 when I took a friend from England to Challis on a road tour. I came here a couple of times in the 1980’s with my Grandma selling insurance. It really has not changed much since my memories here in the 80’s. One time after Camp Bradley we were brought to Challis to the hot springs. I recall stopping at Yankee Fork Dredge and the ghost towns of Bonanza and Custer.

Throughout the late 80s and 90s we also came up multiple times to herd cattle for Aslett Ranches. We moved quite a few cattle from or to Mackay to the wilderness up near White Knob. I quite liked that time with my Dad. I don’t miss the ticks, saddle sore legs, and dry heat.

Aslett Mackay Ranch

As an attorney, I find myself drawn to the Courthouses. I actually have a pending case in Custer County at present for a high school friend whose father passed and a probate needed to be done. We are working through that case and published in the local paper, recorded at the County Recorder, and have the ongoing case at the Courthouse.

The drive over was beautiful. The road from Boise to Lowman is gnarly. My pickup felt even less safe on that road due to height and length. I just cannot hug the road like those low cars that seemed to just want to ride close behind. I was happy to pull over them a few times to let them pass. I drop a gear and let the engine keep me slow too. One car passed me and I could see the smoke from his brakes and that distinct smell.

Looking toward Grandjean Peak above Grandjean, Idaho

There are the usual breathtaking views of various vistas in the Sawtooth Mountains. There is also evidence of the perils too.

Evidence of an avalanche. The large boulder sitting on top of snow and all the flattened trees of a forest already devastated by fire.
Plenty of trees sitting on top of the packed snow still straddling Canyon Creek. Looking up the hill you could see the path the avalanche came down the mountain bringing the dead trees with it.

I also stopped at the Sunbeam Dam near Sunbeam, Idaho to snap a picture or two and walk along the Salmon River.

Remains of Sunbeam Dam on Salmon River.
Highway 75 Bridge over Yankee Fork near the confluence with the Salmon River.

I could see some fish in the river. I was tempted to try and catch one but the water was so cold I decided not to do anything silly.

All of Custer County is only pushing 4,500 people for the entire county. Custer County has some of our highest mountains, including Mount Borah, Idaho’s tallest mountain. Much of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area is also in Custer.

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Milton Abbas, England

We have arrived in Weybridge, England. We are staying with a family we knew in Richmond, Virginia; the Jeppesen family. Weybridge is not far from London and this will be our home grounds while we are visiting the London area. We certainly appreciate their hospitality. 

Today we have been busy. We spent the morning with the Wise family and saying our farewell. They really spoiled us while we were there. A full English dinner last night. I will tell you what! What a treat!

Yesterday we visited Longleat, which is a living manor house. Quite the treat. It has been there since Elizabethan times. They even have the shirt Charles II was executed in. That was interesting. The Lord of Bath lives there at present.

We made a trip to Poole and Bournemouth, both of which were interesting. We would have spent more time but Amanda left her purse at a McDonald’s which required backtracking some. It was luckily turned in and we breathed a sigh of relief.

Later in the evening Jennie took Amanda down to Weymouth and Portland while Cynthia and I went through family history. We are definitely cousins through Edward Harris and his wife. We are very likely related through my Willetts line, but we were not able to show the connection. She doesn’t have her line far enough back to connect to where I have individuals. But by all accounts, the families definitely link, making us double cousins!

Today was much more of a Jane Austen day. We visited Winchester Cathedral where she is buried. But it has a fascinating history all its own. It was falling down and it required divers to correct the foundations. How is that for interesting? We also visited the Jane Austen home in Chawton where she lived for many years.

We now find ourselves in Weybridge for the next few days. The London Temple is of course closed while we are here. But we are looking at visiting London while we are here.

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Bath, Birmingham, and Milton Abbas

Tonight we write from the deep countryside of Dorset.  We are staying in the little village of Milton Abbas with a cousin’s cousin.  We are both related to the Coley and Harris lines in Halesowen, England.  Peter and Cynthia Wise have taken us in a day earlier due to the fact we are not going to Merthyr-Tydfil, Wales now.  We will be with them two days.

Yesterday went terribly wrong.  We left a little late from Walkden, got stuck in a traffic queue for 1.5 hours in Stockport meaning we had to drop our visit to Chatsworth House.  Then we decided we better drop Mattersey and Misson on my Sharp family line to at least make Sudsbury Hall.  We then found out the M1 was closed with miles of traffic queue so we had to take side roads to Nottingham.  There we saw the Robin Hood sites and made our way to Sudsbury for their manor house.  Well, all the side roads were occupied with motorway traffic so we were delayed, we got lost, and in the end missed the last time to get into the home.  We got pictures with the house but Amanda was devastated we didn’t get in.

In defeat, we made our way to Hagley, near Halesowen, near Birmingham last night.  We checked into our little hotel and ran into Halesowen where we found the church of St. John the Baptism.  Interestingly, as we wandered the cemetery, we found loads of Coley, Willetts, and Harris tombstones.  Many were modern, but there were a few in which I am sure they are cousins I have in my family history file.  That made it worth it.  The other deceased I will have to do some research on to trace them back to the family and connect them in.  Hopefully I can find another person who has done research on some of the same lines and can help me with my research.  We shall see.

Today we toured Romsley, Hayley Green, and Bromsgrove near Halesowen, more sites of Coley ancestry.  We wandered and took more pictures in St. Kenelm’s church.  There were more Coleys and Willetts found there.  I was pretty excited.  None as old as in the Halesowen church, but you never know.  We hopped on the Motorway and went through Worcester, Gloucester, and finally to Bath.  There we saw the Royal Crescent, some of the Victoria Gardens, and the Roman Baths.  It is a beautiful city.  We enjoyed ourselves.  From there we wanded to Milton Abbas way out in the countryside.  We drove several miles through one car-width lanes to this village.

We are still figuring out what we will do tomorrow.  At any rate, it should be fun.