Mightier Acorns

Journeys through Genealogy and Family History

A parody of a family coat of arms designed with acorns as elements, with the motto "ex gladnis potentioribus" Latin for "from Mighty Acorns"
From Mighty Acorns

Category: Occupations

Ancestors who were documented with a specific occupation.

  • The downfall of one turn-of-the-century American family Martin L Callin (1853 – 1889) was born in Weller Township, in Richland County, Ohio, and grew up working on farms near Olivesburgh. His father was a shoemaker, Thomas Jefferson Callin, a respected businessman well-known in the town of Mansfield. Martin was this Callin family’s oldest son, though…

  • The life of Leo Homer Callin (1893-1958) I am descended from John Callin, one of two brothers who settled in Milton Township, Ohio, in the 1810s. Leo Homer Callin (1893-1958) was descended from John’s brother, James. Their father was (most likely) James Callin, the Revolutionary War soldier I’ve written about Leo was the son of…

  • A celebration of a wedding trend I’m at a special wedding this week – so I’m re-purposing an old post about weddings in my family. Here are three couples with a few things in common: How young were they? Well, that’s the basis for our trivia question – “Which of these brides was the youngest…

  • Thinking about the moral baggage we attach to the idea of “work” A quick Google question “How many Americans are there” gives me an estimated population of America in 2022 of 333,271,411. In 2022, it was estimated that over 158 million Americans were in some form of employment, while 3.64 percent of the total workforce…

  • And a face to go with the name… As many folks may know, I have a deep affection for unusual names. The person at the center of today’s post possesses my all-time favorite unusual name – beating out the likes of “Gladimere Schreck” and “Thor Glyde Day” for the honor. But before we get to…

  • Surveying the surface of an ancestral ocean Last week, I wrapped up the last of the “Family Reunion” series, which gave a (sometimes) brief overview of who each of my sixteen great-great-grandparents was. That was useful because it forced me to revisit each of those families, confirm my connection to them using documentary evidence, and…

  • A lifetime of caring for the community Vicki Lee Callin was born on 21 April 1943 to Bob and Nancy (Witter) Callin. Bob was an airman in the Army Air Corps (note the “Hap Arnold” star on his shoulder) serving at Luke Field near Glendale, and Nancy and Vicki probably spent a lot of time…

  • posted Friday, October 28, 2016 Note: if you care to revisit the original version of this post from 2016, you will note a few major changes: If you happen to be one of Prof’s Progeny, drop me a note, or leave a comment! Prof’s Progeny In our earlier post, 20th Century Callin Clan, we recounted…

  • Going four generations back to find another line This surname can be found among my wife’s Sixteen great-great-grandparents. We have to go that far back to find our first Ballard, the paternal grandmother of my wife’s paternal grandmother, June (Shuffler) McCullough: Virginia “Virgie” Ballard – 01 Feb 1889 – 04 Nov 1977 You might remember…

  • Originally Published on 2/26/2015 I found it difficult to compose a story about Grandma Nancy. She was probably the most present of my grandparents but I haven’t quite isolated a narrative thread for her, yet. This is the patchwork story I chose to tell a decade ago, in actual snapshots. (Lightly edited to update links…