Genealogy and History

Genealogy is a great way to start an interest in history - in following my family tree, I've noted several incidents that ancestors were involved in, which made me want to learn more...  I grew up considering myself to be a Southerner in the United States.  Mom was from Virginia, Dad was born in Oklahoma and spent the majority of his youth in Kansas.  I was born in Virginia, and grew up in Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida.
   I was extremely surprised to learn that Chincoteague Island, Mom's Virginia hometown, declared for the Union (not the Confederacy), and while people fought for both sides, Chincoteague was a Northern ally.  So I read a great deal about the agricultural and seafood economies of Accomack County, and came away with a much better understanding of why the citizens decided to support the Union, rather than the South.  I had no idea that the Eastern Shore was not a part of the Confederacy - I was never taught that, nor did I ever see it mentioned in my history texts at school and college.
   Digging nuggets of information along family branches, I found that a great-grandfather (many generations ago) was hung for his part in Bacon's Rebellion at Jamestown in Virginia...  So I read up on that bit of history.
   I've found that one of my great-great-grandfathers was a part of the jury that found abolitionist John Brown and his sons guilty in absentia for the Pottawatomie Massacre.  That relative went on to be burned out during the Civil War, and became a Justice of the Peace and a Judge in Missouri.  At the same time, the great-great-grand Uncle of my sister's husband was one of the seven men supplying John Brown and his abolitionist followers with money and firearms that led to Harper's Ferry.  Jim's great Uncle somehow avoided trial and conviction, while many others did not.
   An ancestor supported Lord Calvert of Maryland in the only English Civil War battle that occurred in the American colonies, was caught and sentenced to prison.  He escaped, left the main land, and settled in Accomack County, Virginia, where he prospered.  Another ancestor, a Cleveland, was imprisoned during the British Commonwealth period, for writing "scurrilous verses" about Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.  The ancestor was incarcerated in the Clink Prison for six months.
   Ancestors and relatives of my parents fought in the Civil War, the War of 1812, multiple Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, and I've traced a few who fought in the Wars of the Roses in England, the Crusades, and even a couple of battles that contained warlords and troops of Roman Legions...  Right now, I'm reading about the Roman Empire, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and the beginning of Charlemagne's  Frankish Empire that became the Holy Roman Empire.  It's fascinating stuff - especially when you realize that someone you're related to lived though it.

Toys For Tots & "The Fort"

Lovey is walking all over the keyboard, but I hope to rectify any misspellings before I get this up and published... It was 55 here this afternoon - and I have to admit I fell asleep in the Snow back yard for a short time, with the sun shining down upon me, the breeze a bare murmur, and the four dogs sacked out in various postures of repose. Nedi and Lovey are having a ball running in and out - but I'm having to keep an eye on Lovey, as she has developed a liking for threatening an indoor cat in the next building. I keep telling her she needs to be nice. I got together my stuff to give to Toys for Tots today - I'll hand the big bag over to Larry, one of my usual bus drivers, so it can go in via the American Legion post. I donated a regulation-size Youth basketball (with a pump), a stuffed zebra that's about 30 inches long, a Bratz doll, and a talking construction truck. I hope that those items will make a few kids happy.
Today would have been Ray Walston's birthday. I loved him when I was a child in My Favorite Martian, and in later life as Judge Bone on Picket Fences. But I will always remember him best as Luther Billis from South Pacific. As a Navy brat, he became my favorite Sea Bee.
I just finished reading Bernard Cornwell's The Fort, which totally captivated me. I had, of course, known of Paul Revere from school and history. In doing some of my historical background research for my family tree, I had read of Revere's being court-martialed for cowardice in what was referred to as "the Penobscot Bay fiasco." Wow! This novel is fantastic! It explains why there was such a fiasco, and gives a very clear view of all of the characters' personalities. I have always enjoyed Mr. Cornwell's books, and once again, I doff my hat to him for writing such a cohesive tale. He did change a few things, and he admits that in the historical note at the end of the book, but it takes nothing away from the story. One of the main characters in the book is Brigadier-General Peleg Wadsworth, who likes and supports Colonel Revere in the beginning of the book, but whom Revere directly disobeys in the final chapter. Peleg Wadsworth was not impressed with Colonel Revere as a soldier or an artillery commander. Both were family men, and Peleg's daughter Zilpha was the mother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote the poem making Paul Revere such a well-known patriot. ... It deserves a pondering.