Mary Vore was born in Crewkerne Somerset England in 1617. In 1630, when she was 13, she came to America with her parents, Richard Vore and Ann Harris. 
She subsequently married Alexander Alford in 1646 in Windsor Connecticut. They had 11 children. She lived to 1687, age 70, and is buried in Northampton Massachusetts.
Mary Vore – 8X Great Grandmother March 31, 2016
Alexander Alford – My 8X Great Grandfather
Alexander Alford, 1627-1687, born in Whitestaunton Somerset England, came to America in 1637 at the age of 10, settled in Windsor/Hartford Connecticut, died in 1687 in Northampton Massachusetts. In coming to America he is listed as the primary immigrant, accompanied by Brother Benedict and Sister Joan.
the following is from a manuscript found on the internet
“Benedict, Alexander and Joanna Alford were early settlers in
Windsor, Conn. From Alexander Alford the whole Alvord family
of the United States is descended, from Benedict it may be estimated
that nearly three-fourths of the Alfords are descended (Their
descendants at present in America are about equal). The date of
their coming to America, and the ship on which they came must
remain in obscurity. It is not unlikely that they were minors and
came from England in company with and under the charge of
friends or relatives. This seems very probable in the case of Alex-
ander and Joanna. Windsor, Conn, was settled in 1635 by a party
from Dorchester. Mass.. many of whom had come to America in
1630 in the ship “]\iary and John.” It is very visionary to believe
that the Alfords were among these, for the Alford name does not
appear on the early Dorchester records nor in the list of passeiogers
on the “Mary and John”, who have been quite full}’ identified. The
earliest date that any of the Windsor Alford family is mentioned
in America is May, 1637, when “Sarg.” Benedict Alford was a
soldier from W^indsor in the Pequot Indian War. In 1640 the town
\ of Windsor granted liim his home-lot. Xo mention is made of
Alexander Alford in America until 1645, when the town of Windsor
granted him a home-lot. He received, however, a grant of land
from the town which bears no date, but the circumstances attending
the grant seem to indicate that it was about 1644. No mention is
made of Joanna Alford until her marriage to Ambrose Fowler in
1646.
The kinship of these three Alford settlers is a most important
factor in determining the parentage in England, and it is a most
fortunate circumstance that this is reasonably well established. The
early local historians and genealogists agree that Benedict and Alex-
ander Alford were brothers and that Joanna Alford was their sister.
As a further evidence of this it may be noted that the three are
found together in the same settlement in the “New World”, that the
dates of their marriages (1640, 1646. 1646) and their deaths (1683.
1687, 1684) indicate that they were of about the same age. and that
Jonathan Alford, son of Benedict, accompanied Ambrose Fowler,
Joanna’s husband, in his removal to Westfield, Mass., their names…….”
__________
from another internet source:
Vincent Van Gogh
Happy Birthday Vincent Van Gogh. 
a postcard of a painting in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Wever en weefstoel, 1884, The loom
In London one time we were visiting one of the sons and we were wandering around in the Antiques Market in Chelsea. I saw a painting which reminded me of this one. I dithered about buying it – 100 pounds seemed like a lot and besides how could we get the painting back to Dublin. Alas, I didn’t buy it and I’m sure you can tell that I have regretted that ever since.
Cows Coming Home
I just love this photo which I found on the Stories from Ipswich website. It reminds me of Ireland although my image of cows coming home in Ireland would not be in such a flat landscape. The Irish cows would be coming along a narrow country lane in County Kerry near Brandon in the West of Ireland.
Cows coming home from Jeffreys Neck
From the History of Great Neck, published in 1984 by Doris Wilson: “In 1660, there were about four hundred sheep on the Neck, and a shepherd was appointed by the town. Regulations for the cut…
Iris Murdoch March 30, 2016
Iris Murdoch, 1919-1999 Philosopher, Writer
I was reminded of Iris today when I came across a long review of her novel The Red and the Green, published in 1965. (The review was by Pauline Hall in The Dublin Review of Books) The novel, The Red and the Green, had to do with the Easter Rising in 1916, so recently commemorated in Ireland on Easter weekend 2016.
I read several novels by Iris Murdoch back in the late 1960’s. I did not like them very much – they were just not to my taste and I failed to understand them or appreciate them.
Nevertheless she went on to win the Nobel Prize and many other honors.
I did read her husband John Bailey’s book IRIS, telling of her tragic decline with Alzheimer’s disease.
That book was compelling reading – I could not put it down. Our ferry from Holyhead Wales to Dublin was delayed for most of the night one Christmas – I had the book IRIS with me – I read it non-stop and didn’t mind the ferry delay at all.
Owls
I am fascinated by owls. Why? I don’t know. I’ll ask my owl friends – they are very wise.
photo credit Todd Wren
Lavenham Suffolk England
An English village dating back to the 1400’s. Lovely. A center for weaving and the wool trade. A very wealthy town in its day Some of my ancestors lived here. We visited during the late 1990’s and were charmed.
The Crooked House
The Three Siblings Theme in Folk Tales and Fiction
By Apostolos Doxiadis
“Once upon a time, a long long time ago, there were three brothers.” So begins the story of my new novel, Three Little Pigs. The words are spoken by an old man, living in what is described as “a benevolent institution, somewhere in the Alps.” He is no fool and knows that such an opening will make what follows sound like a fairytale. But even more than the formulaic phrase, “once upon a time,” a trademark of a fairytale if ever there was one, what gives an archaic echo to his words is the reference to “three brothers.”
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Mum does the washing
Now to be honest, I can’t tell you just what was going on here. It was 1957 and we were at camp. Mum has gone to the local cattle trough and appears to be doing the washing.
I know it isn’t a brilliant photo but I still like it. There is mum and she is clearly rinsing something out in a cattle trough. The curious cows have come to watch whatever is going on and the one on the left certainly looks to be eyeing up mum – but rest assured, she came to no harm and we never found the local stock anything but docile.
There is another photo of the same event.
Happy days!
Janet's thread 