Memorial Bridge’s Lion Statues in Netflix’s “House of Cards” Credits

As I busily digitize photos from my parents family photo album, I am studying each picture more closely and noticing surroundings and items that I haven't consciously taken the time to observe before in all the many times and years of looking through them.  What I do notice is that our family of the 1950's was …

There’s Nothing Civil About War

General Robert E. Lee, the Man... Descended from several of Virginia's First Families, General Robert E. Lee was a well-regarded officer of the United States Army before the American Civil War. Born in 1807 to Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee in Stratford Hall, Virginia, Robert Edward Lee seemed destined for military greatness. His decision …

150th Anniversary–Battle of the Wilderness

My second great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling married Sarah Tapp, daughter of the now famous Catharine Dempsey "Widow Tapp," (making her my 3rd great grandmother) because she had the misfortune of living on the land that became known as the "Wilderness Battlefield," in Fredericksburg, Virginia, during the Civil War. On Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May …

44 Curiosities About US Presidents

Article originally published in Listverse.com, by LordZB, October 24, 2012: There have been 43 presidents (with one serving a second term after a lost term) of the United States. Some have been memorable, others forgettable (See the Simpsons’ song about mediocre presidents). Each of them has been very human however with all the foibles and …

Maternal “Lathrop” Family Notables, Who Knew?

If you recall from earlier "Our Heritage" blogs my maternal grandmother, Alice Lauretta (Loretta) Lathrop Ford's family were Puritans who came from England and were among the first settlers to land at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.  In this blog, I now share with you a direct line of descendants from my 9th great grandparents--[Reverend John …