…in reverse direction that is. On July 13 I plan to begin a research journey that backtracks the Breton family’s westward movement. After seeing the California sites and settings, I’m curious to see the Midwestern locales. The main focus will the first and second generation Bretons which means John and Margaret Breton, plus their children: Maggie, Mary, John Walter, and Sarah. The plan is to go to the places they lived and search local records, newspapers, libraries, archives, and so on to see what stories can be gleaned about their lives.
The journey will take about 20 days. To keep expenses down I’ll be pulling the restored 1946 travel trailer. Overnights are scheduled for truck rest stops, campgrounds (rural and urban), and motels. It will take two days to get to Huron, South Dakota, where the Bretons resided for 20 years and I’ll reside for five days. After that I’ll head east to De Smet, Madison, and Spring Valley for short research efforts before arriving in Sparta, Wisconsin where they lived for four years. Following that I’ll head further east to Milwaukee where they lived from 1859 to 1871. Milwaukee will also be a chance to explore Haag roots since Grandpa Bill Haag’s sisters lived there and their descendants still do live there. That will conclude the family research portion of the trip, then I’ll head east to Indiana for a vintage trailer rally at a campground there for three days. I’m really looking forward to seeing what can be learned about the family and then sharing what I’ve done with the trailer to others with similar interests.
One particular question that is glaringly open is “Where did the Bretons enter the country and what did they do after their arrival in 1857 until the birth of John Walter in Racine in 1859?” Perhaps the trip will provide a clue …or an answer. We shall see.
If you have any suggestions or inquiries that might be helpful, please let me know (mikeandkarenbreton@yahoo.com) and I’ll do my best to address your input. I’ll be taking a laptop with me, so perhaps I’ll post an entry or two from the road. Until then…
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