Littleton Roots

This morning I had an appointment at the Littleton Museum to do research on my grandmother's family. This was a first for me, as my sister is the genealogist in the family. But I thought since I was going to be in town, it was a good chance to see if they had any information we didn't have. And it was really fun to see books, deeds, certificates, ditch logs, water rights documents, all sorts of things related to my great-great grandfather, John G. Lilley. Thanks to my sister Laurie, I was able to correct some errors in their documentation, and the museum would like us to send them a more complete history than what they currently have. They were able to locate more photos than those we saw on our visit in 1989. Took notes on all the photos; prices have quadrupled since the last time we ordered copies, so I couldn't get everything I wanted.

When my sister and I were here a couple of decades ago, we visited the cemetery where several of our Lilley ancestors are buried. It's a beautiful day, and I wanted to linger, so I walked through the cemetery and looked for the oldest section, and was lucky. I found the Lilley section there, and in between cycles of the impact sprinklers, managed to take took pictures of all the headstones. One of our ancestors has the dubious distinction of being the first burial here. Her date of burial is some time after her death; the historical society people suspect she was buried on the family ranch, then moved to the cemetery at a later date.



The old section of Littleton is beautifully restored, and after scoring the only parking spot on the street, I walked the short Main Street and found the building that my great-great grandfather built. The cornice on top of the brick building is different from the original (I'd just seen photos of the block when the buildings were new). I ordered a copy of the photo that showed the building, with the family's livery stable next door. The stable is long gone, replaced by a small, single-story building.

I loved this old town, beautiful surroundings, great Main Street, very inviting. I also loved the antique stores, the first I've visited since arriving last weekend. When you fly someplace, you can't go crazy in an antique store. But I did find a treasure: a 1940s green hatpin-style flower frog for my collection.