Australian woman travels to Oelrichs to find her roots

  • Bronwyn Thomas from Tasmania, Australia, stands in front of the country school her grandmother, Ardath Gilpin, attended as a child. Thomas met with members of the Oelrichs Historical Society recently to search for information about her greatgrandparents, Abner and Ada Gilpin, who homesteaded in the Oelrichs area from 1908 to 1917. The Gilpin schoolhouse has been preserved by the Nick Bogner family. Photo by Katie Merdanian, Fall River County Herald-Star
    Bronwyn Thomas from Tasmania, Australia, stands in front of the country school her grandmother, Ardath Gilpin, attended as a child. Thomas met with members of the Oelrichs Historical Society recently to search for information about her greatgrandparents, Abner and Ada Gilpin, who homesteaded in the Oelrichs area from 1908 to 1917. The Gilpin schoolhouse has been preserved by the Nick Bogner family. Photo by Katie Merdanian, Fall River County Herald-Star
    OELRICHS - Bronwyn Thomas travelled over 9000 miles from the Australian island of Tasmania to stand on the same prairie her greatgrandparents stood over 100 years ago. In addition to finding the vicinity of the homestead, she also discovered the country school her grandmother attended, which is still standing today.This was Bronwyn’s first trip to the United States. Her and her husband...

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