My Cousin Sam

Sam West and his wife Judy

 

Sam's grandmother was Sarah Belle (Carroll) West, from Ozark, Alabama.  She and my great-grandmother, Emma Penelope (Carroll) Espy, were sisters.  Sarah also went by the name "Sallie."  Sam and Judy spend most of the year in Asheville, NC.

Sarah Belle (Carroll) West

London

Last year Curry Woods took a couple of extended work trips to Europe. He was based in Geneva, Paris and London. Luckily, it wasn't all work. Whenever Curry had the chance, he seized the opportunity to do some major-league sightseeing. And, through Facebook, his friends and family back in the U.S. got to live vicariously through him. I sure did! I was always fascinated to see what new photos he'd post every few days. Perhaps most intriguing, Curry traveled completely alone and had to rely on highly skilled tourists to capture these truly amazing photo moments. I bet that took some negotiating!

I asked Curry for his itineray, his mode of travel and his three biggest Wow Moments.

Curry responded:

I went from Atlanta to Geneva, to Bern, to Zurich, to Geneva, to Paris, to Geneva (in Feb/Mar 09)

(second trip) to Geneva, to Amsterdam, to Geneva, to Barcelona, to Geneva, to Berlin, to Geneva, to Interlaken, to Geneva, to London, to Paris, to London (in May/June/July 09).

When I travelled from Paris-London (and vice versa) and within Switzerland, I travelled by train. Otherwise I travelled by plane.

My top three experiences:

1) Far and away, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
2) My day trip to Versailles, which was spectacular.
3) Seeing Billy Elliot on the stage in the West End in London.

See if you can spot the cities Curry visited by clicking the map above to enlarge. Then, return to this page and keep scrolling. Bon voyage!

Dreaming of Europe

My great aunt, Sarah Frances Espy Sidney (later, Sarah Frances Espy Lee), took a trip to Europe in 1954. Here's a postcard she sent my dad.

Sailing to Europe

In 1923, Mr. and Mrs. Major Oscar Carroll of Ozark, Alabama went on a 2 1/2 month trip to Europe. Two weeks were spent aboard the SS Conte Rosso from New York City to Naples, Italy and the RMS Caronia from Liverpool, England back to New York City. The bulk of their time was spent in at least seven countries and many well-known European cities. The itinerary below and the tour group listing give all the details.

Mr. Major Oscar Carroll was a great-great-uncle of mine (and a namesake), the brother of my great-grandmother, Emma Carroll Espy.  On his voyage to Europe, Uncle Oscar and Aunt Mary mailed these postcards to their nephew, J.J. Espy, Jr. (Bud John) and niece Sarah Frances Espy, two of Emma's children.

The Tuscaloosa News

May 20, 1923

The Southern Star

June 13, 1923 

Adventures of SS Conte Rosso

RMS Caronia

The Tuscaloosa News

October 17, 1923

History of Brownell Travel

George Brownell, Jr.'s obituary

To see how Major Oscar Carroll got his name, click here.

To learn about the M.O. Carroll Grocery Store in Ozark, go here.

If you click here, I believe Uncle Oscar is # 9. 

Sarah Frances Espy's trip to Europe in 1954

Not in Kansas Anymore

This was my first trip overseas. It was a high school trip that included students from both Headland Abbeville high schools.  Teachers Zona Baxter and Ginger Morris organized the trip.  My dad and step-mom were a couple of the chaperones.  Our itinerary was London, Paris and Lucerne.  There was also a stop in a Belgian border town. The highlights of the trip were the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Stratford-upon-Avon, Mount Pilatus, Versailles, etc. We traveled by bus, ferry, subway, taxi, gondola, planes, trains and automobiles.

scan by Craig Dixon