This week I had the amazing opportunity to stay at the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island. I had been there once, around 1990 for a day trip, but never had a chance to go back. I got an email about a three day conference that included yoga and meditation and all forms of self-care, as I approach a big birthday I decided to sign up as my birthday present to myself.
I also had another reason to want to go to the Isles of Shoals. There is a story in my family about a woman who went to work on the island for the summer and "came back pregnant." I'm sure this is not an unusual story, especially for those times. I did a bit of research on Ancestry.com and asked questions of the older family members before I went. What I had found out was that the baby was born 12/26/1896. That seemed to belie the story already - that would mean the baby was likely conceived around March or April of that year, well before anyone would be going to the islands. Then, while I was there I found out that Star Island only became a destination for summer folks in 1897, so that means the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island is not where she worked. I am still doing some research to see if it's possible she worked on Appledore Island? But, so far it seems that that was basically an "artist colony" and was sparsely populated until the 20th century. Well, it's a mystery and I'm okay with that.
Here are some photos of the island:
