Fred Nason was born on January 27, 1861 in Girard, Pennsylvania. His father was David Nason, who was born in Otego, New York. David Nason married Eunice Godfrey of Girard, Pennsylvania in 1842. They had nine children. “Godfrey” was one of my father’s names: Eugene Nason Godfrey Doherty. Girard is located on the shore of Lake Erie. In 1860, the census recorded a population of 616 people...
Mom’s Anniversary
January 8, 2021 is the 10th anniversary of my mother’s death. Helen Louise Anderson Doherty was born at home in Elizabeth, New Jersey on September 10, 1923. She spent most of her life in New Jersey, and her later years in Vermont and Florida. Mom was the third child and second daughter of Anna Pavlosk and Clarence Anderson. She was probably the least liked of her siblings since she was selfish...
Nason Family Origin
The Nason Family first appeared on record in the 1500s in the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands of England. Many Nason families were found in the Stratford-Upon-Avon and Charlecote areas. Where did the Nasons originate? Mostly likely somewhere on the European continent, but Ireland is also a long-shot candidate. France Nason may have a Norwegian origin—Nass. Vikings from Norway...
Finding Feathers
30 years ago I found feathers in my path whenever I walked in the woods near our house in Pennsylvania. I used the feathers to complete two masks. Once the masks were made, no more feathers. One mask was an ancestor; the other was to complete a mask of a woman who practiced seior or seidhr. She was a Seiokona or Volva, a practitioner of ancient Norse magic and seeing. The feathers pushed me to...
The Chinese Wife
My mother told me that Dad, Eugene Nason Doherty, married a woman when he lived in China. Her father sold her to him, and he married her in a “Chinese ceremony.” She was about 13 or 14. Dad was stationed near Peiping, (Beijing) China in 1945-1946. He left the young woman in China when he was shipped backed to the United States. He went home to his wife, Helen Anderson Doherty, who he married...
The Nasons and the Monarch Slide of 1907
My father, Eugene Nason Doherty, was a wonderful storyteller. But not all of his stories were the same. Family stories could be rich and encompassing. They could also be grim with scanty details and trail off to a dead end. One such story was about my grandmother, Edna Nason Doherty, who survived an avalanche that killed her parents and orphaned her brothers and sisters. Family stories about the...
Did Baker Nason Murder His Brother, Jonathan Nason?
Baker and Jonathan Nason were the sons of Richard Nason and Sarah Baker of Pipe Stave Landing in what is now South Berwick, Maine. Baker Nason was born around 1642. Jonathan Nason was born around 1645. These birth dates are probably close but may not be accurate. In court records, Jonathan was described as Baker’s older brother. At the time of the killing both men were in their 40s, married and...
Grandmother’s Hair
This lock of hair is from my grandmother, Anna Pavloske Anderson. She died in 1937 and is buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey. At that time, wakes were held in homes. She lived at 13 Atlantic Street in Elizabeth, NJ. My mother was 14 years old when her mother died. She told me that she went downstairs during the night and held her dead mother’s hand until she was chased back...
Buffalo Bill
I know of very few personal belongings of my great-grandfather, Karl Andersen. He was born in Grimstad, Norway in the 1850s, a second or third son of the family. Karl became a ship’s carpenter and ended up in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 1870s or 1880s. My mother, Helen Anderson Doherty, told me about his beautifully carved sea chest, his massive canopied oak bed, and his Buffalo Bill photo. ...
Dad’s China Knife
My father brought this knife home from China. He was a U.S. Marine stationed in China in 1944 and 1945. The Marine base was near Peiping (Beijing). Dad hired a man to cook, shop and keep his place neat. His name was Hun Yen Kai. Dad met him when he came to the Marine base looking for a job. This was the knife he used for cooking. Dad told me the knife was Japanese. At the time, I thought that...