Genealogical Gems

Congress chose Richard Bache to succeed Benjamin Franklin as postmaster general On This Day in 1776. Bache was Franklin’s son-in-law. He held the position of Postmaster General from 7 November 1776 until 28 January 1782, when he was succeeded by Ebenezer Hazard.   Bache, an Englishman by birth, had immigrated to New York in 1760. He came to Philadelphia a few years later, where he married Franklin ’s daughter Sarah. He died at the age of 105 on 17 April 1811 in Bucks County , PA.   Source Post office stays in the Franklin family. 7 November 1776. History.com.   Photo: Wikipedia      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

I am doing some side work researching postcards and writing up descriptions for a friend and, like most things in life, there are pros and cons. The major pro of course is that it is work so there is some financial benefits. I am also learning quite a bit about various places and dating postcards in general, which in turn has helped with some of my own research. The con is that I tend to get lost in research! I was working on a postcard depicting the grave of Benjamin Franklin and his wife. The card itself did not reveal much of interest to me. Dated 1907, it is an undivided back therefore the message had to be written very tiny on the white space at the bottom of the picture on the front. It's addressed to an Ernest McConnell of Narvon, whose family I have not heard of before. But ... hubby's family (on his mom's side) actually attended Christ Church in Philadelphia. His maternal grandmother is Julia Coursault. Her parents were Charles Edwin and Appelina Coursault....