Eagle,
My mother's parents owned the "Octagon Castle" which was apparently a pretty well known hotel in New Foundland until it burned a little after the turn of the 20th century. Have you ever heard of it?
My father's family lived in upstate NY where I grew up since the early 1700's and the family home that burned when I was 3 or 4 was an inn in the 1700 through 1800's.

Dream of the Circle of Women
by Dahti Blanchard
published May 2004 by Spilled Candy Books
visit: www.dahtiblanchard.com