Four hundred and ten years ago today (May 13, 1607), one hundred colonists (dispatched from England by the London Company) arrived along the west bank of the James River. The next day they founded the first permanent English settlement in what is now the Virginia, known as the"James Fort." As I have written in other … Continue reading May 13, 2017: Jamestown Colony’s 410th Anniversary
heritage
Immigration — A Hot Topic!
The Joy of Discovering New Information Some of you may know that I am a retired career employee from the U.S. Census Bureau. I love my family and sharing the statistics and data that make up my heritage, family history, and the perpetual stories that keep coming from new discoveries. Although retired now for nearly … Continue reading Immigration — A Hot Topic!
Missionary on Horseback–Key Builder of a Nation
In the past, many of my blog posts have focused on my ancient British relatives and their descendents from the Boling/Bolling/Bowling, Chambers, and Taylor branches on my paternal side, to the Lathrop/Lowthropp and Ford families on my maternal side. Geographically, all of these families resided primarily on the east coast in the earliest colonies--from North Carolina … Continue reading Missionary on Horseback–Key Builder of a Nation
The Lee’s–a Historically Significant Virginia and Maryland Political Family
Colonial America and Prominent Lee Family Members Many prominent members of the Lee Family are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. This family first became prominent in Colonial America when Richard Henry Lee I arrived in Virginia in 1639 and went on to become possibly the richest man in Virginia by the time … Continue reading The Lee’s–a Historically Significant Virginia and Maryland Political Family
Civil War Dogs Are Part of Our History and Heritage, too!
As my regular blog readers know from several of my posts, I am an animal lover--I especially love dogs--all breeds and mixes. And I love them for a variety of reasons: foremost, they love me unconditionally, they are life-long companions, they listen to me whenever, wherever, and without interrupting when I am feeling blue or just need to … Continue reading Civil War Dogs Are Part of Our History and Heritage, too!
‘Great Surprise’—Native Americans Have West Eurasian Origins
November is National Native American Heritage Month. In honor of this occasion, below I share with you National Geographic's article from November 2013: "Great Surprise"—Native Americans Have West Eurasian Origins Oldest human genome reveals less of an East Asian ancestry than thought. Native Americans may have a more complicated heritage than previously believed. PHOTOGRAPH BY ROLAND W. … Continue reading ‘Great Surprise’—Native Americans Have West Eurasian Origins
More Than a Few Names or Mere Numbers
As an addendum to this week's post What's In a Name?, I revised my Surname Report in Family Tree Maker™. This report shows that our family's tree (including my spouse's family) has 10,772 persons in it. Of those persons (living and dead), 52 percent of them are male; making my database's percentage of males three percentage points higher than the … Continue reading More Than a Few Names or Mere Numbers
Native Americans, White People, and Scottish-Irish Emigrate to North Carolina
Native Americans A recent blog post focused on my maternal great-grandmother Mary Susan MORRIS's family--our Native American heritage through the Morris branch--and the freshly fallen bricks of a wall I had been up against for years. White People Not abandoning this wall, but continuing on, I returned to my maternal great-grandfather--Grandmother Susan's husband, John Carpenter Ford's (1864-1961) family. Similarly, I found … Continue reading Native Americans, White People, and Scottish-Irish Emigrate to North Carolina
157 Years Later: CSA Sgt. Gideon W. Morris–Our “Battle of Antietam” Survivor
Freshly Fallen Bricks of My Morris Family Wall After searching to uncover more information about my maternal great grandmother's (Mary Susan MORRIS Ford) family, I once again stumbled and fell upon freshly fallen bricks of a wall I had pushed against for many years. Until now, I primarily had focused on the origins of my Native American heritage through the Morris branch. And then, … Continue reading 157 Years Later: CSA Sgt. Gideon W. Morris–Our “Battle of Antietam” Survivor
The Chesapeake Bay and Our Native American Heritage
This post focuses on our Native American heritage who resided along the borders of the Chesapeake Bay. Digressing just a little into my lineage, my paternal Bolling ancestors were among the first in Jamestown and my maternal Lathrop ancestors the first in New England. My ninth great-grandfather, Colonel Robert Bolling married Pocahontas' granddaughter, Jane Poythress … Continue reading The Chesapeake Bay and Our Native American Heritage
The Family “Do You Know” Scale
Yesterday's post Family Stories that Bind Us included a few family questions from Emory University's Do You Know Scale. Below are all the questions asked within Emory's study. I'm going to try them out on my family and see just how much we have communicated our stories among the generations--and their different spins on the information. … Continue reading The Family “Do You Know” Scale
Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
My Family of Secrets A year ago, nearly exactly to the day, I wrote a rather long and personal post about my paternal grandparents and great-grandparents--the Bollings and the Chambers. From its title, you can infer that there were some unanswered questions and mysteries surrounding these people and their relationships that dated back years before … Continue reading Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!
The Year 1868 Last week my genealogical research took me back to my second paternal great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling. I already knew that Larl married Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" Tapp in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but when I looked more closely I found that their wedding took place just one week before Christmas 1868--that was the Christmas day when our … Continue reading Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!
“Life Interrupted–Navigating the Unexpected”
I "borrowed" this post's title, above, from Priscilla Shirer's 2011 inspirational book of the same title, as well as the opening description about it: "From telemarketers to traffic jams to twenty-item shoppers in the ten-item line, our lives are full of interruptions. They're often aggravating, sometimes infuriating, and can make us want to tell people … Continue reading “Life Interrupted–Navigating the Unexpected”
Mother of the Modern Hospice Movement: Rose Hawthorne Lathrop/Mother Mary Alphonsa
Here's yet another story of our Lathrop family lineage that adds to our long and growing list of notables... It further exhibits their societal/cultural status as well as their talents and gifts for writing, painting, illustrating, and their lifelong philanthropic dedication and commitment. Rose Hawthorne Founder of the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer (1851-1926) … Continue reading Mother of the Modern Hospice Movement: Rose Hawthorne Lathrop/Mother Mary Alphonsa
…Back to Ole’ Virginny
Although we are officially two weeks into the 2013 Fall Season today (October 3), it is yet another day in a string of unseasonably warm ones with brilliant blue skies, bright sunshine, blossoming flowers, mostly green trees, and temperatures rising again into the mid-80's. What an opportunity to 'Saisir le jour,' as the French would … Continue reading …Back to Ole’ Virginny
Celebrating Women’s Equality Day | The White House
Celebrating Women’s Equality Day | The White House. - Unfortunately, the original link to this interesting article has been removed from The White House website by the current administration. So I will share with you what has been written about it from others: What is Women's Equality Day? Women's Equality Day has been celebrated on … Continue reading Celebrating Women’s Equality Day | The White House
Railroaded in Colonial Virginia…
THANKFUL THURSDAY...PART 2 King George County, Port Royal, Virginia We are picking up from Part 1 of this post, dated January 30, 2013, in King George County, Virginia, meandering toward our final destination the Centre Hill Mansion Museum to do the annual January 24th Ghost Walk through the house originally built by Colonel Robert Bolling … Continue reading Railroaded in Colonial Virginia…
My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
John Blair, Sr., 4-term Acting Governor of Virginia: He sat on Virginia's Governor's Council for over 25 years and was a favorite nephew of James Blair (1655-1743), an Anglican Minister and Founding President of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. Among John Blair's many personal and professional accomplishments that follow, he also was father … Continue reading My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
Drawn to the Dogs: Part 3–Dogs are Family, Too!
Contributing Author--My Son, Jeff Adventurers at Heart Our children, Bobby, 14; Jeff, 12; and Jennifer 7, were always adventurers at heart. I like to think they got this trait from me, and I got it from my maternal grandmother, Loretta Lathrop Ford. I wish so very much that they had had a chance to know … Continue reading Drawn to the Dogs: Part 3–Dogs are Family, Too!
Our Unbounded Heritage: 12th Century & Beyond 