Memorial Day, 2025

TL;DR -- We have took special interest each May since 2019 with respect to Memorial Day. Its weekend in May serves as the start of the summer season. 

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We are coming up on the first weekend of summer. For many, the school season is over though many go into June. Too, many college graduations have taken place. 

Memorial Day in the U.S. aligns well with summer activities and is a traditional time with activities such as visiting and decorating graves of family and friens, honoring graves of veterans with the U.S. flag; trips to the park or other journey; BBQ in the backyard; and such. Many locations have parades and ceremonies at their cemeteries. 

In this post, we started a regular post for the Holiday starting in 2019. See the list below. For each year, we summarize the content of the post. 

Also, in 2019, we provided information about the burial of Dr. Frank in the Gardner/Dennet plot at the Greenlawn cemetery in Salem, MA. The post is titled Gallows Hill with respect to Thomas' remark about seeing the water at his favorite relaxing place and recapitulates some of the issues remaining open about the location of Thomas' remains. We will update that information during this pause to reflect. 

Today is the Visitation/Memorial of Eric W. Gardner, recently of Rapid City, SD. about whom we wrote earlier this month. 

Memorial Day, 2019 --  as we were researching Ann's genealogy, we gathered information about her grandparents who were three generations back. One finding was that a "findagrave" record about a burial at the G.A.R. cemetery at Saugus, MA held a veteran with no ties. After documenting the links, we updated his findagrave record: Walter A. Ingalls. If you pick his spouse, you will find information about his in-laws as we requested that links be updated. Too, we tied records in WikiTree with the ones at findagrave. 

Memorial Day, 2020 -- in the Covid times we were researching families in the middle of the country where they had stopped. Others had flowed on west. We mentioned the absence of graves. Or, as we see out here, there are unmarked graves. findagrave is full of these. We mentioned the record that we did for Dr. Frank. We can honor people through virtual memorials. 

Memorial Day, 2021 -- a brief recap of the two prior years and then a look at the many conflicts which produced veterans to honor. 

Memorial Day, 2022 -- we looked at a cemetery in the west as a photo from the area could have been taken in New England. It is at the site of an early mission to support Native tribes, some of whom had been in the area for centuries as well as newcomers from replacement efforts. We looked at William Whites Graves who was honored by the Natives for his support of the Osage Mission. 

Memorial Day, 2023 -- we looked at a few posts from May since our beginning in 2010. We asked the question which is still being researched: was Thomas at Cape Ann? See the post, Restart somewhat. We say, yes; but, the story will need to be altered with new information which will result from structured research. Stay tuned. 

Memorial Day, 2024 -- we looked at Nantucket and heard from Diana Davidson. She descends from the Gardners of Nantucket and lives in England, near Dorset. 

Over the rest of the month, we will work to find pertinent information with regard to the theme of this post. As we write on that, we will come back and update this post.

Remarks: Modified: 05/21/2025

05/21/2025 - 

Bunker Hill

TL;DR -- We're in the time of the Siege of Boston with the Bunker Hill incident on the horizon. But, the Siege went on until March of 1776. So, we have a few more items to look at prior to the hubbub of the Declaration of Independence whose inspiration was, in part, brought by kin from almost 100 years prior.  

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Siege of Boston

The first thing to remember is that we are at the 250th of the Siege of Boston. Earlier, we looked at an event that led up to this: Lexington and Concord. This start of the turmoil on April 19th attracted support of able-bodied men in the area, except for Salem troops under the command of Col. Pickering (Where was Salem?).  

In our research, we ran into the battle of Bunker Hill (17 Jun 1775) early on through reference to Col. Thomas Gardner who was killed in that conflict. His 25th Continental Regiment was involved in several engagements. 

This brings up Dr. Gardner's look at the Regimental history through a series of articles that appeared in each of the issues of The Massachusetts Magazine. In the first article, he discusses the Siege of Boston and notes that the revolutionaries were not solely rebels. Many officers had served the Crown in early conflicts. 

The Siege was almost a year, going to March of 1776. We have time to look further with respect to our themes. 

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Los Angeles (LA) of California (CA) has a neighborhood that is called Bunker Hill west. We have had several posts on the area which represents the history of LA from the time of Spanish rule to the current age of skyscrapers that have populated Bunker Hill West area. Early English involvement the area was in the 1830s. After that, many New Englanders showed up in the area. We have been researching this influx and have reported on some families. 

A stage line came into LA from Arizona (AZ) that was part of a freight/mail business with an eastern terminal at St Louis of Missouri (MO). Pre-Civil-War activity on the line followed a tight schedule and was supported by stops along the way through several current States, including Texas (TX). The area in LA where the line had their stop and supporting businesses, such as those that provided horses, stage maintenance, and more, was at the bottom of Bunker Hill West. 

The Butterfield Express, and many other Express companies, were New England in origin. Of interest is that many of these are still in existence. 

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The Revolutionary War started in 1776 and went until 1783. So, we will have several years to look at this history in all aspects including families and their genealogies. So, let's remember Rev. John Wise of Ipswich, MA who was seen, almost 100 years later, as the inspiration for the document normally associated with the War, the Declaration of Independence. The Col. Gardner mentioned above was related to Rev. John through their Gardner lineage. Both are kin. 

 

Remarks: Modified: 05/18/2025

05/18/2025 - 

Eric W. Gardner

TL;DR -- Eric Wright Gardner, descendant of two sons, George and Samuel, of Thomas and Margaret, died recently. We offer condolences to the parents, family and friends of Eric and provide some information about Eric. His father wrote of the Magna Carta for The Gardner Annals in 2016. In that regard, we find ourselves at another milestone for that memorable document. 

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We have covered a sampling of descendants through the generations since time of Thomas Gardner and Margaret Fryer. Our brief look at each of the children and their descendants can be considered a start. 

As an example, the following link is to information about the 5th son and his descendants over the four centuries.  

Samuel Gardner -- Dr. Frank, the author, whose work led to the 1907 and 1933 books is of this line. As well, Dr. Frank was an editor, and a major force behind the publication, of The Massachusetts Magazine.  

Today, we commemorate Eric W. Gardner (1965-2025) who is a descendant of both George and Samuel, through his mother and father, respectively. In terms of the book, the 1933 edition was of the family of George while the 1907 book principally covered known descendants of Samuel. 

Obituary

A nephew of Ann, Eric grew up in Fort Worth, TX and attended school in TX and OK. Eric's career as a weatherman was inspired by Harold Taft of Fort Worth and took him from Texas to Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota where he was a meterologist at KOTA-TV of Rapid City. 

Eric's other interest were music, cooking, and wine. With his musical interest in the piano, Eric continued his involvement by helping to arrange local performances for visiting pianists. He held regular broadcasts concerning recipes, healthy eating, and cooking lessons. He was knowledgeable about wine and arranged local support for wineries of NAPA Valley and other locations.   

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Eric's father, Jonathan Gardner, authored our article on the Magna Carta (800th Anniversary), The Gardner Annals, Volume III, Number 1. In 2025, we have the celebration of the 810th aniversary related to King Henry I, son of King John, and his interest in the Magna Carta which needs an update related to technology (Magna Carta, technical).  

Remarks: Modified: 05/21/2025

05/21/2025 - Visitation/Memorial, today. Guestbook. 

May Day, 2025

TL;DR -- The first day of May is about 1/2 way down the path to summer from spring. Our interest orginally was Hawthorne's look at Merry Mount and its maypole. But, the 400ths became a reality and diverted attention. So, we will get the theme/meme back in operation. 

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The first day of May is about 1/2 way down the path of spring toward summer. In that sense, it's like the Ground Hog day of February which gives some relief to winter. This year, there was a brief pause between major winter storm systems. Now, we're in the pause before the summer's heat and its storms. 

If one searches on "maypole"in this blog, several posts come up. Early on in our work, we were researching cousin Hawthorne and found out about Merry Mount and Endicotts distaste for the "hippy" environment in that area. So, we thought that the U.S. could claim to have been involved in hedonism from early on, or something like that. 

Harthorne wrote of the incident which we feature here. 

•  The Maypole that infuriated the puritans

 

By 2016, we had made progress in some areas and did a post on this May 1st while pointing to work on the Bosworth research which came back into focus this past month. This might become a regular topic.

In 2023 on Memorial Day, we did a post that pointed to earlier posts as Memorial Day's focus is right down our alley. Since then, we have had a post every year and will do so this year. In 2023, we went back and sampled a one post from each May back to the beginning. 

That might be a good theme/meme to use by quarter so as to pull old posts back into scope.

We figured that we could include Merrymount with Quincy which is a mere five miles from Weymouth which had its 400th in 2022. Other settlements in that area are expected within the next few years with their tales. 

Things associated with May 1:

• May Day 
• International Worker Day 
• Lei Day (Hawaii) 
• ...

Given the emphasis lately via the hyped look at GenAI/LLM, we might want to get back to realizing what human workers have done over the eons and, of late, the centuries. 

Though, this theme/meme might have four pieces. We mentioned 2/2 as well as 5/1. To be complete, 8/1 and 11/1 need some attention. We will look at that. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/01/2025

05/01/2025 -- 

Bunker Hill of early LA

TL;DR -- DTLA is known for its forest of scrapers clustered on or near Bunker Hill West which is an example of the influence of New England. The rise of fakery, such as we see with GenAI/LLM, has put more importance on existing photo caches that carry historic value. So, we show some early scenes from LA which underwent several transformations in a little over 100 years. But, using the Bunker Hill area, we can pinpoint a few instances that are of value to history. 

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In our research of the expansion of the U.S. during the times of COVID, we referenced the commercial aspects of overland travel several times. That was mainly to carry mail, commerce and people. Of the activity that we looked at, we always found New England connections. 

• St Louis MO to San Francisco CA - this was pre-Civil War. Our post showed the schedule and the route. From that research, we looked at several things including the people involved, early LA, the route itself, and more. 

One of those connections was that in hilly Los Angeles, the downtown itself early on nestled under hills. One of these was given the name of Bunker Hill West and have had many posts. Old L.A. and the U.S. is an example. In that posts, one of the images was a very early photo which was of the area where the Overland Stage came in. Times Mirror (old employer of John) came to be in that area, too. There are other connections related to New England families who came out and developed the area. 

These photos are all from the 1860s and shows that phase of the development of LA. Bunker Hill West? It is where all of those skyscrapers now sit, upon a hilly area that was leveled. In the period that we will look at, the hills were first tunneled under so that there could be regular traffic (days of horse power, but commerce was increasing as was the population). 

Today, we saw a colorized copy of a photo provided in the "Old L.A. and the U.S." post. The photo is next. All of the subsequent photos are from the same source (Water and Power Associates) which we will do another post on, especially now that we have GenAI/LLM trashing the internet. 

Taken from Poundcake Hill
On the right, we see part of Bunker hill
1868 - colorized

Now, this photo has the legend of these building which are numbered. "65" labels where the Overland activity took place. This area was a stopover both ways, the St. Louis route went to San Francisco and back. 

The following photo is of the same area, but it is from a position on Bunker Hill West. From Poundcake, one would have gone to the right to Bunker Hill and then taken a few steps along the hill. Again, there is a legend. 

Now, the next photo shows the same area, but off the hill, in the 1870s. The first high school had been built which sat upon Poundcake hill.  

High school (with the tower)
on Poundcake Hill
1878

In our next posts, we will look at the end of the Mexican era which corresponds with the arrival of Jedediah Strong Smith. New Spain was in the region long before this time. The earliest involvment of New England can be associated with the Bella Union Hotel. An adobe structure was built in 1832 and was the residence of the New Englander. The building was also an office for the Mexican government. By the time of the Overland Stage, it had built up to be used for office work. 

We have mentioned the hotel and offer this map from 1871. Being an illustration, it doesn't show the contours and limits of Bunker Hill West, but one can see how LA was in a valley and had a agriculture focus. Streets were established early; this scene shows Main and Spring as they come in from the countryside and meet where the LA City Hall now stands (built in the 1930s). 

Both St. Vibriana's and the Old Plaza Church are prominent by this time. Where the roads end at the green hills (idealized presentation), now we see the DTLA scrapers nestled along several blocks as they sit on reduced hills.That accomplishment, itself, is worth some attention as well as the attempts at bringing water into the area. 

But, the main focus will be the transitions through time by culture and the artifacts (buildings). LA is unique in having such speed of alteration. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/27/2025

04/26/2025 -- 

Taming GenAI/LLM

TL;DR -- After watching the reactions, responses, choices and ramifications of choices over the past two years, we will step up to what we had determined when we first saw GenAI/LLM. 

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We have had a lot of posts on GenAI/LMM over the past two years. Looking at papers, comments and such, in the environment of discussions across the board, there seems to be several patterns emerging depicting the evolution and adaptation in response to the phenomena. 

Looking at this huge variety of opinion can be fun and sometimes interesting, but it also is a huge time waster. After all, GenAI/LLM are known wasters of energy (the real stuff that comes with a cost of using up natural resources). We need more than that. 

Okay, let's start to look at the issues needing attention. Immediately, that puts us on an imperative search as several are pending. Fortunately, we can use a modern book for a basis, from 1986, as it looked at the issues of mathematics and its child, computing, with a thorough sweep across time. 

But, Kant was left out but can be reintroduced while we expand our series related to these themes. Earlier, we looked at one translator, Paul Carus, who came to the U.S. (a common theme for us in all endeavors, as New England has (and has had) a long reach. 

Follow our series as we expand concurrently along the themes of meaning in the senses of man/machine and of being: Taming GenAI/LLM. 

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Addendum: Rather than add in via "Remarks", here are three posts from today that represent changes in the general knowledge plus decisions related to the future. 

• ADVANCING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION FOR AMERICAN YOUTH 
• How SAM’s Conceptual Layer Can End Hallucinations
• Here’s How Big the AI Revolution Really Is, in Four Charts

Remarks: Modified: 04/24/2025

04/24/2025 -- 

King Slayer's Court, redux

TL;DR -- Bosworth and Gardner came up after we had looked at a Welsh family who had purportedly been involved in the battle. We assisted getting the information published in a blog, Gardner's Beacon, and The Gardner Annals. Recently, new information is available which is potentially remarkable in both its content and in its history. In other words, King Slayer's Court has been updated. 

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Back in the prior decade, we looked at All Things Gardner as we heard from many families and tried to make sense of all of the data. As we worked, we tried to lay down data to serve as milestones and even guideposts, eventually. 

David T. Gardner contacted us about his research on Bosworth. We helped him get organized (31 Dec 2017) for posting to his blog:

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  King Slayer's Court (Top 10 Finds) (05/10/2025 - missing URLs removed - search at King Slayer's Court) -- This site has been updated recently to catch up with information flow from research, see "Top 10 Finds To Date: April 15th 2025". The stories about Wyllyam Gardynyr have been within David's family for generations. He took advantage of the emerging technology to dive deeper. The find of Richard III"s body was a boon since it brought attention to the importance of Bosworth as well introduced data that science could help interpret. Richard III was re-interned with ceremony fitting a King. In the meantime, there have been publications about Gardiners and the Tudors. For instance, Douglas Richardson had ventured into the area. I talked to him briefly about the work with David. He was interested. ...

The emergence of what became known as GenAI/LLM occurred in November of 2022. Since then, the world has coped with the introduction and all of the ramifications that are huge. We have paid close attention and see that 2025 has created a split: believer (many are using the technology in daily business - the jury is still out (I say, expect some surprises that were predictable); sceptic (many have reactions that might not be balanced). 

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Where we stand? Having been involved with advanced computing throughout John's career, he reminds us that the introduction of this new technology was not considered (lengthy discussion). Too, this stuff, at its basis, is emergent from buckets of bits from which we ought not expect intelligence to display itself (that discussion will continue). So, he is not sceptical so much, as cautious, given his experience plus having been trained in the culture (Greco-Roman - classical) that fostered the development of science. One thing that seems to have been introduced along with the scientific ability? Marketing and creative writing took upon themselves the abilities enabled by technology in order to introduce newer, and more powerful, techniques. We have not recovered from that. And, must for a sustainable economy, with computing and technology as important players. That is, there is no fair balance establish between the top-down view of marketing and that necessary bottom-up one of engineering/science. 

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David reports that he found that Grok (of xAI) allowed image processing which brought up several things formerly missed. OCR is one of the capabilities. It helped determine that a "C" rather a "G" got a lot of data miscategorized. Other means, or reaons, for the material having been ignored need discussion, too. 

After opening that door, Grok was "prompted" to pursue various avenues and report then. Right now, this activity has generated a lot of output which needs to be scrutinized.

The "10 Finds" (above) is an example of some coming overviews which will allow discussion while data gathering and research run along. For us, we will review the activity to date and determine how to proceed. 

This is one type of area that we want to use an "AI" for as well as looking at the multiple layers of code involved with any computational event. These are wide-open areas of research requiring strict scrutiny. 

At the same time, as things go toward the more creative (and there are many reasons that this might be acceptable), we would wish that the GenAI/LLM (or other tool) involved in such activities be identified. Some are calling for all artificial output to be watermarked some way. 

As said, this is a totally new area. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/11/2025

05/10/2025 -- URLs disappeared; removed pointers.  

05/11/2025 -- New work starting; created a Bosworth label.