Bunker Hill

TL;DR -- The Siege of Boston continues until March of next year. This past week, there was an effort by the British to dislodge the patriots (or provincials as known in London) which didn't work. We will have to look at what the next nine months entailed for both sides, in MA and elsewhere. Speaking of which, "Bunker Hill" has been used a lot in naming over the 250 years. We compare the MA one with that area in DTLA with the name, again. But, will look at some others, ,worldwide. 

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Right now, we are in the period that was associated with the Battle of Bunker Hill with a main skirmish happening on 17 Jun 1775 with the first piece of the action happening at the locale of Lexington & Concord in Apr of 1775. Bunker Hill Day is a regular holiday in Boston on Jun 17th. 

At this time, in 1775, the British were still surrounded. The Siege of Boston continued. The next day of commeration will be the Evacuation of Boston that happened on 17 Mar 1776. 

As we mentioned, the Massachusetts Magazine had an article on the troops that participated in this Siege with some information about the officers. There was an article in every issue, 1911 to 1918. 

And so, we will look at events and people over the coming years as the 250th lookback unfolds. 

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May we change gears? Bunker Hill is a little over 100 feet high and is in the Charlestown neighborhood. There is a monument for the event on Breed's Hill which has a lower elevation and where most of the activity took place.

At the time of the Battle, the British owned the waters as Boston was across the Charles River from where the Battle took place. The whole affair is quite strongly resident in the American mind. In fact, Bunker Hill has been used as a name in many places. We will look again at Bunker Hill West which is in Los Angeles and about which we have had several posts. Today, we look at the lay of the land. 

But first, here is a London map of the situation in 1775. 

Printed Aug 1775, London

Before transitioning to the west coast, we have to mention the last surviving veteran of the incident: Ralph Farnham (1756-1860). He is of the upper part of Massachusetts now known as Maine and is cuz as are many. We will look at him, again, as the whole of the Maine experience needs more attention partly due to the case of the southern entity, Boston, was more prevalent in historical accountings. 

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Now, Bunker Hill West? The name has been used in many places: the Wikipedia list. Notice that Los Angeles is on the top of the list. Our interest was first brought to the area as this is where the stage coach route from St. Louis arrived after an arduous trip down into Texas, across the souther border (wandering into Mexico), and then ending in Los Angeles. That was not the terminus, as with some refreshment of resources, the stage line then carried passengers and freight up to San Francisco. Where, the process started again on the way back to St. Louis. 

Mind you, folks, there are several things to consider: logistics (compared to the Pony Express, this was much more of an intricate maneuver; we are talking pre-Civil War however some of the western States had been defined (such as Missouri in 1820 - added along with Maine to balance the north-south  issues; in terms of Bunker Hill in DTLA (Downtown Los Angeles), though, the terrain was entirely different as we will be pointing out. 

The lowest point in DTLA was about 59 feet. The hightest was the hills to the west with Bunker Hill (BHW) topping 350 feet. DTLA is many miles from the ocean. In terms of survival, being in a sheltered, inland cove with fresh water from the mountains would be more appealing than the environment now associated with being encrusted by salty waters. 

In the latter part of last century (post the 1950s), there was an effort to knock BHW down which seems to have been successful. They flattened the basis for the high rises that rose and that are now photogenic against the background of Nature's display of mountains. 

Here is an example. I marked three things. 1) On the right, the line points to where City Hall pokes its head up proudly. This 1937 building was the limit for heights until later in the 1900s. We can be more specific. There are early photos from Bunker Hill showing the top of the spire of the City Hall. 

Now is the time to mention one other thing. In the center, the tannish (round) building behind the white (square) one was the first building to penetrate the old limit. The developers used the opportunity of the LA Library having experienced arson and selling its airspace to get funds to recover as a means to start the trend that gave us the high-rise look. 

So, speaking of the Central Library, they recovered physically and bought replacement books. But, there was another instance of arson later. To me, on any of these photos, I look for the bank building and figure out where the library is nestled (having spent many hours there; across the street; the base of the bank building is on higher ground along the elevation of BHW). 

2) and 3) These have to do with old DTLA from the time of New Spain onward. In the middle, the text says that if we jump (or fly like superman) over the buildings we would find the Old Plaza Church. Several of our posts have photos of this building from various time periods. Yes, it was there when Butterfield came in with his stage line. In terms of the beauty of DTLA, the Train Station which is a remarkable example of SoCal architecture is across the street. 

So, now we can consider another church. Not far from the Old Plaza Church and the City Hall is the structure that was St. Vibiana, a Catholic cathedral. That old building dates from the 1870s which is new from the west coast view point (reminder for those looking from the east). An earthquake caused some damage but not enough to destroy the building. It now is an event center of some note. 

The cathedral was moved to the left side of the photo where US 101 and the 10s intersect. We can figure out the lingo, but the area has been visited by tourists with many photos extant. This view shows the extent of the high-rise area. And, the larger buildings are clustered there at BHW. 

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There are early photos (1870s) showing that people started to try to tunnel from the getgo. Several tunnels were completed with many still operational. As well, there were steps put up for people having to go up to the buildings on the BHW or over to the other side. And, the Angel Flight configuration of a rail car exploited the arrival of electrical power. Fortunately, through many periods of reconfiguration such as the scraping down the elevation, people saved the old mechanism which is now more of a tourist event rather than operational. 

 

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What's next for looking at the namesakes of Bunker Hill? 

Remarks: Modified: 06/22/2025

06/22/2025 - 

Harvard, technology

TL;DR -- Harvard goes back 400 as does our focus. Of late, they have free courses that are pertinent to current technological events. We appreciate that. But, we also call attention to the 250th and remind of Rev. John Wise who was the inspiration of the Declaration of Independence. 

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I wonder how many students at Harvard know that the money to move the institution from a clergy-focused mode to work in the emerging senses of science and engineering came from a Loyalist who went over to the older realms and used his talents: thermodynamics; system engineering; ... Count Rumford (our blog post) will be in focus from time to time. Of course, Harvard did the legal side of things early, as well. 

And, early? We're involved since the beginning: The Hebraist. But, lots and lots of the family went to Harvard over the years; lots and lots did not. So, we will provide a balanced view of 400 years that led to that which we will be commemorating: The 250th.  

Now, technology will be a huge focus. The GenAI/LLM mischief of late is an example of things that could have been (were) forseen. How was it missed? We have a good story to tell there. Meanwhile, to change subject somewhat, Harvard is providing free access to courses dealing with AI and related. 

• CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python  

Now switching gears, of the 250th, we have not even reached the point of the real split, yet. That will happen next year where July 4th is one known day every year celebrated. That we have eight years to look at the turmoil and rhetoric and activities and more in a new vein, brought by the internet, is daunting to think about. 

We will look at parallel events, such as the 200th and 300th of New England (which was huge in impact on the culture) of the U.S. Here's an example, dealing with Rev. John Wise. His pamphlet was republished when the fever of independence was starting to grow after the French, Indian affair. 

Ipswich: John Wise

Disclosure: All kinfolk, directly. But, we will honor everyone of New England who was not given proper attention by history in the sense before technology. And, the sense means sources with known provenance as well as discussions about issues. And, technology? Can be tamed. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/21/2025

06/21/2025 - 

Lord Fairfax

TL;DR -- Little known facts are around and about upon the landscape of the U.S. Our normal attention is west (west is best; east is least - sort of thing ;>). However, there has been and will be attention to the eastern activities as the western part came about 150 years later where the Revolution became a central theme. This post touches upon the time that Braddock came over. Evidences abound due to preservation efforts. Otherwise, the landscape has been abused (data centers abound, for instance). 

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We had to mention the 400th (Jamestown, et al) so as to set a stage that will be permanent. We would not have had the 250th without the earlier phases. So, Fairfax? His name is all over northern Virginia as are others of the upper class (kin/cuz, as well). But, the main thread will be dual. For this post, let's use "French, Indian affair" which we have touched upon before. 

While researching people who went out west from the older east side of the country, we had to bring in other cultures, such as New France and New Spain. From each, the U.S.obtained land that had to be incorporated into the Union. Too, there had to be maps that to allow reasonable control of land use (or misuse). We looked at some of this in a post titled Practice for carving about the work that went on for decades, starting in St. Louis. 

Now, in the interior, we usually think about things that happened after Lewis & Clark and the War of 1812. However, there was earlier activity out there by Europeans, for the most part related to involvement as trapper, trader, and rancher. In that regard, prior to what we are now celebrating (the 250th anniversary), there was the conflict that trained colonists for the coming Revolution. 

Namely, we consider the French, Indian affair which seems to have been mostly forgotten. Dr. Frank wrote about this conflict in his series on the Regiments that were at the Boston Siege. But, stepping back, we have had posts on this affair.  A grandpappy kept a diary that was later published: Nathaniel Knapp's diary about his time with the Louisbourgh Expedition. Some who were involved participated in the later Revolution, many times in a leadership role. 

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With the French, Indian affair, we have taken a New England focus since Quebec was the principal establishment of New France. But, the conflict involved all of the colonies. An example is Virginia. 

Today while at a park, we read a historic sign. It mentioned Braddock. But, being in Virginia, there were two other names of note: George Washington; Daniel Boone. We last mentioned the former (Washington) here in this blog in a post on Col. John Glover who was featured in the series by Dr. Frank. But, Washington mapped and surveyed the Potomac River which we have to consider further. This post is a start as we have covered many of the rivers of the west. 

Now, the latter (Boone) has been mentioned many times in posts about the early settlement of the west. Boone, well-known explorer: opened a pass; served in the French, Indian affair and the Revolution; settled areas from the east to western Missouri; ventured out into the west.  

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Washington was also involved with a conflict between the British and the French. The resentments that led to the Revolution are thought to have resulted with the arrival of Edward Braddock  and the reaction of the colonists to his methods. One of Braddock's early campaigns involved a planned attack on Fort Duquesne, French facility, near the start of the Ohio River. This expedition did not go well which left lasting impressions on both Washington and Boone. Braddock was mortally wounded which meant that he had no say in subsequent matters nor in the trashing of his reputation. 

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Braddock arrival into Virginia was near Hampton Roads. After some meetings in Virginia, there was preparation for the attack on the Fort. Now, accomplishing this required going over a moutainous region that impeded traffic. Washington was familiar with the area due to his duties with the surveying crews that mapped the Potomac. 

But, let's look at the route that was set up for Braddock's forces by using a couple of images. 

Braddock's route from 
Alexandria, VA to Braddock, PA

Braddock's route from
Cumberland, MD to Braddock, PA

The first images shows the "approximate" route from Alexandria (on the coast) which is on the Potomac to the final destination near Fort Duquesne. It passes through the interior of Northern Virginia and climbs up into the Blue Ridge mountains. This map gives us the elevations. At Cumberland, the elevation is much higher, and we see the route through western Maryland into Pennsylvania. 

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Braddock's route went through the Keyes' Gap which is over 900-feet high. Formerly, that route from Alexandria to the mountains was called Vestal's Gap. Parts of the trail can be seen in eastern Loudoun County of Virginia. This area is near Dulles Airport outside of Washington, DC. 

The route follows an old Indian trail which is 65 miles in length from Alexandria to the  mountains. 

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In terms of historic preservation, Loudoun County has provided historical markers with notes in the area. Too, they have a website which is of interest. This is an example of the web/cloud being useful to education at several levels. One example (2019, LoudounNow): 

• In Our Backyard: Preserve the Vanishing Vestal’s Gap Road - property of Lord Fairfax, originally, almost 400 acres are preserved surrounded now by heavy residential and commercial development including Dulles International (and recently, the heavy foot of data centers trample the countryside). Pieces of the trail still exist (with an interest not unlike those remnants that we can see of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails in the middle of the country. 

We have written of New England (south) for several reasons, such as people from New England (north) going south. As well, the culture is the same. The south was more swashbuckling and plantation driven, not that the north was heaven on earth, let alone a beacon as desired by John Winthrop. 

Now, finally, for this post, the Native trail ran from the coast up into those things called the Blue Ridge mountains where we find things like the Shenandoah River and artifacts related to the Civil War that was mentioned on historical markers too. Right by the above-mentioned site runs a modern highway that was prototyped (real life) in the early 1800s since the traffic was heavy. It bears the name, in areas, realated to one of the early towns. 

• Leesburg, Virginia - county seat of Loudoun County. Town of the Carters, Lees, and Masons. was in an area that was good for farms and plantations. In the War of 1812, federal documents were brought from DC for safety. 

As we proceed being involved with the eight years of the 250th and then the long trek to 1820 and Boone's western influence taking hold, there is no end to the topics to cover. One theme will always relate to the influence of New England and it families that contributing to the establishment of the U.S.  

Remarks: Modified: 06/12/2025

06/12/2025 - 

250th, U.S. Army

TL;DR -- We have the 250th of the U.S. Army to celebrate this month. Later in the year, we will see the Navy and Marines feated with respect to their heritage. The Revolution was long going into 1783 so we have several more years to explore themes of Independence. 

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This month (soon) will be the 250th of the U.S. Army. "army mil" has information related to the anniversary that will be of interest over the next few years. An example, the presented timeline is wonderful. 

https://www.army.mil/1775/timeline.html  

• The first entry is from 24 Mar 1774 which was the Boston Port Act. Our post: Boston Tea Party. 
• The next entry from 20 May 1774 is for the Massachusetts Government Act. 
• Then,  there is an entry from 19 Apr 1775 for the Lexington & Concord incident. Our post: Where was Salem? 

The current entries are few and go up to 1789, but the site is undergoing updates. Hence, there will be lots of material to cover including those from this U.S. Army site. 

Other 250th sites:

https://www.navy.mil/Navy-250/ 

https://www.marines.mil/Marines250/   

We have been in the 250th mindset for a long while, from before this post on Real daughters who were children of Patriots and members of D.A.R. Also, D.A.R. had an initiative related to tracking lineage from a Patriot back to the Mayflower whose 400th was in 2020. We took that and adapted it to Cape Ann to Patriot. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/10/2025

06/10/2025 - 

Arkansas River

TL;DR -- The Arkansas River ought to get some attention. Hernando de Soto saw the river. The French saw it back in the 1500s on their journey out of the northern regions through the Great Lakes and then the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. Cattle drivers saw the river on their way from Texas to the railroad yards of Kansas for shipment of their product to the eastern markets. 

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The Arkansas River has been mentioned a few times so we need to look at it specifically. Hence, this post will spawn many others. One early mention was about the French crew who came down from the Great Lakes but turned around when they got close enough to the Gulf to see the Natives having goods from Spain. Then, we looked at Zebulon Pike's journey and work in the early 1800s with respect to him passing through the area of the Osage Mission of southeast Kansas. Jedediah Strong Smith was killed in the Arkansas River basin in southwest Kansas.  

As an aside, Hernando de Soto saw the river in his exploration of the area.   

Since we have more than 250 years to cover, we thought that we would look at cattle and its influence. The drives from Texas up to the rails had to cross the Arkansas River. Let's let the FB group, Be Texas Proud, be our source for material about things cattle, ranch, and more. 

Chisholm Trail (brown)
bifurcates, twice
courtesty of Be Texas Proud

They had recent posts on the Chisholm Trail that passed through Wichita, KS.

On This Day in Texas History – May 27, 1870

The Kansas Daily Commonwealth made the earliest known printed reference to the Chisholm Trail, the now-legendary cattle route that helped shape Texas and the American West.

 Named after trader Jesse Chisholm, who originally blazed parts of the route for wagons and trade—not cattle—the trail became the backbone of a booming cattle drive era. Between 1867 and the early 1880s, millions of Texas longhorns were herded up this trail to railheads in Abilene, Ellsworth, and Dodge City, where they were loaded onto trains bound for eastern cities.

There were several "ford" areas for the Arkansas River in or near Wichita, KS. Depending upon the weather, the water was low enough for easy crossing. However, storms could raise the water level very quickly. 

Quoting the The Chisholm Trail – Herding the Cattle: 

The long trips up the trail from Texas were hazardous for the cattle and the cowboys. The trip took two to three months as the drives crossed significant rivers, including the Arkansas and Red Rivers, and traveled through canyons and low mountain ranges. In addition, the drovers also had to be concerned about Indian attacks, outlaw cattle rustlers, and cattle stampedes.

Further posts will look at origins and the trail of this river as it runs from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/03/2025

06/03/2025 - 

2021, time of the pandemic, II

TL;DR -- Continuation of the pandemic theme from before. We look at posts from the remainder of 2021 and at the themes covered which are of a wide variety. 

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Part 2 of 2 (Part 1). 

In 2020, restrictions changed our activity. Like most, we did computer work over the time of the pandemic but had been doing such work anyway. What was different was the focus. 

We looked more at local issues. But, we had anyway (to wit, our post of Flyover country). By 2021, we were rolling along and did more posts. Part 1 looks at those from Jan through Jun. Now, we'll pick up with posts from Jul through Dec.

The 250th came more into focus. We also spent a little time looking at S.A.R. which is the sons version of what the daughters did with D.A.R. But, AI started to come into focus after almost a decade of making headway (according to some views - the jury is still out) and claiming attention: Jeopardy win; Go win; modeling complicated lab work (Google had several of these); ... 

But, we had a post (Carving the land) which was motivated by our study of the activities out of St. Louis which was a hub for land management of the U.S and its west.  At the same time, Gloucester was approaching its 400th. We had an interest in that as the Dorchester crew came into that area in 1623. But, the great northwest? Michigan was approaching its 200th. 

Another twist was diving into the history of Harvard starting with an introduction to James Bryan Conant. He was a chemist and professor. He had wanted the Rumford chair. But, ended up in Europe and came back to become a Head of Harvard. At the same time, we decided that the long reach of New England was a theme of interest, as we had settled on All Things Gardner (22 Aug 1485) with respect to the many families with the name. 

Oh yes, AI was proposed for genealogy work. Again, that is an ongoing bit of study. But, we started to look at the genealogy of Harvard Heads. Many were of old New England families. D.A.R. found an interest in the 400th as well by starting work on identifying Patriot to Passenger (in this case, Mayflower) families. We took on Cape Ann to Patriot. 

Houses? While looking at the Dudley family, we got into houses of note. There were two in New Hampshire of interest. Both were built by relatives of descendants of Thomas and Margaret. One is now associated with the Society of Cincinatti. That brings up the other side of a coin. We honor the Loyalists of the family. Count Rumford mentioned above was a Loyalist who found success in Europe and left money to Harvard. 

The technology focus became more prominent. IEEE had an article: How dumb is AI? A few years later, we saw a general amount of interest. One observaton? Humans degradate themselves to make technology look good. Yes. Expect to see that theme periodically. 

A photo of the grandmother Dr. Frank (and 2nd great of Ann and her siblings) was found. We got that published. Generations? An eternal topic. Looking at this, we can say that the Revolution (250th now in progress) was done by the 5th generation. More on these. 

We picked up Dr. Frank's series on the Siege of Boston that were published in The Massachusetts Magazine, with issues four times a year for a decade. He started the series with Col. John Glover of Marble head. One of his vessels was the first vessel of the U.S. Navy. 

We continued our interest in rivers, as we mentioned in Part 1. The trails and railroads are always of interest, as well. But, jumping to technology now, we looked at John's favorite site dealing with the mathematics of physics. It was of the old style until a few years ago. The old stuff is still there and serves as the basis for the new. 

Aside, we are seeing lots of websites being done using new methods. Our prediction is that this method is not as stable as claimed and so have failures that are hugely visible and that will have negative repercussions. But, other than be aware, we have to wait and see. 

Why? If one looks at the whole campus of techies, there is no solution yet. Experiments have become a mainstay of life. But, take a plane, experiment types of these are not used to carry passengers. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/01/2025

06/01/2025 - 

2021, time of the pandemic, I

TL;DR -- The pandemic started. Life was restricted. We did local things. And, worked on the web/cloud in various modes. 2021 culminated in the most posts that we had since our start with topics that cover a very wide range. Knowing the U.S. and its history is one motivation. 

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Part 1 of 2 (Part 2). 

In 2020, we found out about the coming restrictions after being in one of the cities where the disease was reported and said to be related to someone returning from overseas. Then, we endured the restrictive period with access to the outdoors as well keeping busy with "web/cloud" activity along several lines of research. 

Our focus on technology was one line of study for the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. The next year, 2021, had the most, 105, posts published since the start of our work. Below, we provide a list by month of the titles of the posts. As can be noted, the topics varied greatly which we will comment on below. 

First, here is a list of the topics for the first six months. 

A subject of lots of focus was the travel of folks from the east to the west through the middle. Of course, looking further at the west coast got our attention to New Spain. The rivers of the interior were of particular interest as the Missouri River starts out in the far western mountains, closer to the Pacific than to the Mississippi River which it joins at St. Louis. Not far from there, the Ohio River comes in from the distant east having started in Pennsylvania. But, there is more. The Arkansas is a little south of that area and had eastern visitors from (what became) Canada early on. That exploratory group from New France headed back up north when they started to see evidence of New Spain. 

Naturally, looking at the Missouri, we had to consider other rivers near its origin, such as the Gardner River (Yellowstone, plus) which flooded recently. We looked at several tales related to the area, including that which motivated the movie, The Revenant. Our earlier focus was there, namely Jedediah Strong Smith. 

Going back up north from the Arkansas on the Mississippi, we get to the Wisconsin River that joined above St. Louis. The French group had traveled over the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Fox River. About one-half way to the Mississippi River, there was a portage which was brief, comparatively, being only two miles or so between the Fox and the Wisconsin (on the western part of the trip).  

In work related to family history and genealogies, we decided that there was a frontier century which is observant now with respect to missing documents. St. Louis was a hub of movement. The U.S.Government was early there with land management. Think of the time of Daniel Boone who was out, with his family, to western  Missouri (Kansas City area) as a settler. But, he also ventured further out past the Rockies. Other federal activity was military: Fort Larned, KS. 

Speaking of which, there was a stage line that ran from St. Louis to San Francisco. Not across the middle of the country. No, this one went south and joined regular movement from Texas to Los Angeles through Tucson in Arizona. In Los Angeles, the activity was in the Bunker Hill West area which has a long history that we have written about (Mirror building). Of course, then we had to look at mail and freight. Too, newspapers were delivered. 

We didn't forget the sea as the California cities were largely populated by ship in the beginning. Once the internal trails were established there was a huge flow across the middle. The Pony Express carried mail and small material. Several stage lines carried people and freight. We looked closely at the Butterfield Express. 

Why? All of this activity was seriously associated with, or driven by, New England influences. In fact, Kansas was a Massachusetts project with its University being founded by a group that included women who came to set up a free State. We have a lot more to write of that. 

Everywhere in the unmapped territory, we had trappers. Some were even venturing down from New France and Canada. Then, the next phase was trader as folks moved across the country, many of them stopping at locations that exist today having been started by the pioneers. 

Along came the railroads which have a special interest due to family involvement. That facilitated one of the major memes of the west, driving cattle to the markets. So, rancher/farmer would be the next phase continuing today, in the flyover country (had to menton that - it's from an earlier post). 

Next up, we'll look at the second half of 2021 in terms of posts. These posts cover the U.S. and its history. Interspersed are posts on technology, which increased with the release of OpenAI's GenAI/LLM. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/03/2025

06/03/2025 - Clarify that the journey on the Fox to the Mississippi starts at the Great Lakes and runs upstream in IL to a point where the Fox is close enough to the Wisconsin for a reasonable portage. The Wisconsin then runs down, and connects, to the Mississippi. In the reverse, the journey goes up the Wisconsin to the portage and down the Fox to the Great Lakes. Modern technology has improved that route with locks allowing the height changes to be managed. 

Regimental Series

TL;DR -- Bunker Hill is around the corner. The 250th starts eight years of rememberance and learning. 

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The Battle of Bunker Hill is a well-known historical event which started with the turmoil at Lexington and Concord. This time around, we are at the 250th. Even the Memorial Day program by PBS last night emphasized that anniversary, with regard to the Army, Navy and Marines. 

Earlier we wrote that Dr. Frank had included a part of his series in each of the issues of The Massachusetts Magazine which published from 1908 to 1918. 

• The Patriot Army at the Siege of Boston -- in this introductory issue, he provided an overview of the regiments that were to be covered. 

He also provided his thoughts that the American side was not an armed mob. 

Our addition might be that the 5th generation did the deed as we bring the whole of the U.S. history to bear at any moment.  

Through the next eight years from now, we will cover each regiment with respect to the activities (by time and place) of that year. Dr. Frank gave us the roll of each regiment plus information about the service of each officer. 

He starts the series with the Regiment of Col. John Glover (Wikipedia) of Marblehead. George Washington chartered his schooner, USS Hannah, to be a privateer. Hence, it may be considered the "first vessel" of the, soon-to-be, U.S. Navy.  

Context:

Massachusetts Magazine
Vols I and II                      see Vol I for Col. John Glover's regiment 
Vols III and IV
Vols V and VI
Vols VII and VIII
Vols IX and X/XI

Remarks: Modified: 05/26/2025

05/26/2025 - 

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.  

---

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. 

---

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. 

---

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. 

--

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.   

---

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. 

--

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. 

---

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. 

---

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. 

---

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. 

--

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:

• 
  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). 

---

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. 

---

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: 05/27/2025

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

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

05/27/2025 -- David T Gardner discovered that GenAI/LLM led him astray. We will let him tell the tale. Essentially, David's work over the decades has resulted in several documents that suggest more work needs to be done. But, the notions related to his theme of Gardynyr killing Richard III have some merit. That work will continue. The confabulations from technology are another matter that have our interest. 

Awareness month -- Mathematics, Statistics

TL;DR -- April is Math/Stat awareness month; we will recognize that effort in April and throughout the year. 

--

Did you know it's Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month?

Our emphasis on technology includes the applied fields of mathematics and its offshoot, statistics. We have even suggested that STEM become MSET+ which would put mathematics into its position as the basis, in a sense. "a basis" would be more appropriate, as we are talking about a human-based activity despite some claims of proponents of GenAI/LLM. 

So we are aware. However, that April is the awareness month for Math/Stat goes back to the time of President Reagan (1986) and has been honored since then. In 2017, the American Statistical Association merged their effort with that of the American Mathematical Society to create the MSAM which is a "program of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM)—a collaborative effort of the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics."

We will support that effort every April as well as during the year with respect to the technical aspect of our work. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/17/2025

04/17/2025 

Where was Salem?

TL;DR -- The first battle is rapidly approaching. Salem MA has already weighed in. We will pay attention and keep pointing back to earlier research work that bears significance. 

--

The Lexington & Concord turmoil is coming up with respect to its 250th (19th of April). We have written of this event, several times. As things go forward from here, we have until 2033 to observe the revolution as never done before. 

We can start with a post at the Streets of Salem blog. 

• Salem is a No-Show at Lexington and Concord -- great article full of details. Technology is great when it works. So, expect that the 250th and the 400ths of various sites will be fleshing in history as never seen before. 

We used this as an opportunity to point to our work. In particular, Dr. Frank was editor and supporter of an effort at publishing the history of Essex County of Massachusetts. He wrote a series of the Regiments who were at the Boston affair that followed this one. Officers of each organization are identifed with some information being provided. 

This is an image of my comment to the post. 

 

• Links:
• https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2015/07/regimental-history-series-background.html
• https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/tmm.html 

Remarks: Modified: 04/14/2025

04/14/2025 

A trillion cuts by GenAI

TL;DR -- We saw a Chrome report which featured Gemini with respect to Gardner KS and its role in the trails west, one of which was the Oregon Trail. And, the report was not right. "Who cares?" has been my response to having Gemini spout off. I ignored it like I am very good at doing with ads. But, today, I read and saw errors. Okay. What to do? There is no method now. People are training these things. I say, you will not train out the crap. Okay. I wrote this post as an intro and was going to snap the Gemini report and mark it like a teacher would do an exercise. Oh, Gemini, my sweets, you left without telling me. What?  

---

Our purposes are several. An important one we have named as All Things Gardner. There are lots of families with the name Gardner. "What's in a name?", we asked once: Amelia Earhart. 

We have been at this genealogy and history work since 2010, learning as we go. On the other hand, we have decades of advanced computing experience under our belt (mainly, situations requiring precision). So, our work here has been largely abetted by computing which has changed in so many ways in the past 20 years (2 decades of decline in some areas). 

We have striven to be correct as to former work. But, we know that is not sufficient. Technology has aided in the digitizing of old records which have been analyzed via human effort and mechanical means such as OCR. A case in point is that we do not know the origins of Thomas Gardner about whose progeny we know a lot due to records over the past 400 years. So, that is an issue to resolve. 

As we work the solution, we have adopted a category: OpEd (category). That will be used to label any of the former posts that touch upon the subject. The information will not be entirely wrong. So, when we figure out the corrections we will make them. Until then, someone can still follow our approach and analysis as we looked at new material. 

Aside: the genealogy crowd split Thomas Gardner into two guys, one who was at Cape Ann with the Dorchester Company and one who is the ancestor of a whole lot of folks. Myself? I think that they are the same guy or were father and son. Both of those alternatives have some basis. The intent will be to find the truth: A Thomas here and a Thomas there. 

And, we would like technology to be of assistance. And, it can. See Bosworth and Gardner, with new revelations coming about of late through use of the facilities of Grok. How well this will stand up though remains to be determined. The battle settled the 100-year war (some use, War of the Roses - I say, cousin war - needless bickering). 

Anyway, this post will look at Gemini which we have liked. But, it is now on the top of a search report. And, I was trying to look at Gardner, KS being right this minute not far from that place. We have had many posts on the little town which we have buzzed by on I35 for countless times. 

• Independence and Kansas City - this post reported on a recent talk about the trails that split at Gardner KS. For more information, see this search on Gardner KS. 

---

Now, that was an intro. Here is the gist of the post. This image was snapped from a Chrome query today. ... Wait, did not snap the earlier search. Now, Gemini has disappeared from its featured position. 

Inserted as placeholder 4/11/25 0457 AM CDT

--- 

Note (04/11/25 0458 AM CDT): the absence stopped the flow. "How to handle?" was the question. The following text is from the post from last night. The image was to show what Chrome was presenting. 

---  

Actually, earlier, when I read the Gemini summary, I scrolled and found this first on the list which is from the National Park Service. Gardner was a stop on the earlier Santa Fe trail which was largely commercial going from St. Louis as the gateway to New Spain. 

That trail passed through Independence MO. So, Oregon traffic followed that same route to Gardner and then turned to the north and west going by Lawrence KS which is the site of the University of Kansas which was founded by a group of New Englanders who came out, including women, by that same trail through Gardner KS.

Later, young bucks in a hurry figured that they could take the Missouri River north from Independence past St. Joseph MO into Nebraska and head west from there. Guess what? They eventually met up with the travelers who had come up through Gardner. What did the folks in a hurry gain? Maybe, two days, perhaps a little more. 

But, gold gets the blood boiling. Like? Things easily hyped. 

Note (04/10/2025 2100 CDT) - On going to the Google development mode, I see that there is a new button ("Vibe") which I have been reading about. Sometimes, I might add as it sounded like the usual affair of misdirected enthusiasm. Whatever is going on in the background with this problem will settle down. Then, I'll use this topic for a deeper look. In any case, running into a "tantrum" however invoked does not make for stable knowledge processing. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/11/2025

04/11/2025 (about 0500 CDT) -- Put in proxy of the expected image and a note to explain. Something related to "Who moved my cheese?" (when did that become normal?). 

04/11/2025 (0738 CDT) -- It's back, AI Overview. But, buried under a label. The only quibble is the use of intersection for a split. I dealt with precision in highly technical engineering support work (computational modeling). 

Kudos, somewhat. Let's talk.