My Cousins Declare America’s Independence

Many Americans take for granted our annual July 4th Independence Day.  While working in my genealogical databases, I came across the name of John A. Hancock, a familiar name from America's history.  I decided to compare our family's John Hancock (my second cousin, seven times removed), to the list of 56 signers of the Declaration of …

Mapping the Spread of American Slavery

Lincoln Mullen is an assistant professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University, working on the history of American religions as a digital historian. He writes regularly on his own blog and for the Religion in American History group blog.  He also teaches a course on “Data and Visualization in Digital History” where …

Chance Encounters and Instant Connections

As Bob made a very long and wide turn from the drive with our Ford F-150 truck to park it in a handicapped space another car came from the opposite side of the drive and pulled straight into the space next to us. We were both laughing about our similar aches and limps as we …

Tobacco, Slavery, Earthworms, Honey Bees; Grains, Livestock, Disease…Oh My!

After reading one of my posts, a friend suggested I take a look at the book 1493... by Charles C. Mann. Only in a few pages and I had a rude awakening.  It appeared to me that up to this point I had merely been scratching the surface when describing our family's roots, branches, history, …

Diversity Among Friends in the 1950s

My maternal grandmother (mamma) Alice Loretta Lathrop Ford and her son, my Uncle John Austin Ford, were known for liking people and keeping them close. A few of these people stand out in my memories from the 1950s (in no specific order). Robert Peterson, “Pete”: A 30ish, handsome, slightly built man of American Indian descent …