Monday May 4, 2009

Over the last few weeks I have read a couple of interesting books.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, a biography, by Marion Meade. Hawthorne Books, Inc., New York. 1977.

Eleanor was the wife of Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. The biography is told from her point of view which is quite interesting and different from the "kingly" point of view. Her children in particluar by Henry II turned out to be reasonably influential, Richard the Lion Heart, and his brother King John. Grandchildren included Otto, Holy Roman Emperor, Louis VII and Louis IX of France and Henry III of England.

The Illustrated History of Britain, by Sir George Clark. British Heritage Press, New York. 1984.

This is a brief history with the text divided into eras. Lots of images.

I have restarted my project of looking at the Kip and Kipp entries in the 1850 US Census and trying to match them with my Kip Family in America Legacy genealogy file. This is really difficult to do and the success rate does not seem to be high.

Sunday we went to the spring meeting of the St. Lawrence Branch United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada meeting near Williamstown, Ontario. It was a great afternoon for weather. We had a pot luck lunch and then a talk about a tour to Enlgand, France and Belgium to visit sites where the Glengarry regiments (Eastern Ontario) had fought during the Second World War.