The Biographical Story of an American Family: Love, Honor, & Duty

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Thank You These are the stories and events that characterized the essence of my journey through life. No one can make such a journey without facing the agony of life’s painful lessons or without without the love and support of those around him or her that each of us so desperately seek. Orson Wells wrote, “We're “We're born alone, alone, we live alone, alone we die alone. alone Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” alone While the journey differs for each of us, no one can say he or she made the trip without being touched in some way by others.

As a younger man, I often found myself anxious and unwilling unwilling to accept the recommendations of those who have gone before before me. Yet, Yet, I don’t believe that I am any different from most young men or women that have ventured through life before me; my parent’s parent’s stories where the past, past, and I was about the future. It is only as we age that we begin to realize it was the past that helped establish establish who we are today. George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” However, another anonymous author caught the real meaning of our history when he or she wrote, “History repeats itself because no one was listening listening the first time.” I have often reflected on life and wondered how much easier things could have been if I had spent more time, listening and less time acting.

My life has been guided by the words of God, family, and country. I am bound by my military upbringing, which commands honor and duty. This self biographical story is my attempt to honor those individuals and events that influenced and shaped my life: a mother that gave me birth and then gave me away, away, a father who brought me back from the darkest places of my life, a stepmother who loved me and raised me as one of her own, youth and adult friends, my wife and two daughters who love me even at my worst, and my Lord Lord and Savior who refused to abandon me even when I tried so hard to deny him.

Special thanks go out to all those who helped me and have finished their journey: my father, my father father--inin-law, Frank Morris, Walt Stephens, the Dunkin’s, Plomer Hunter, and those whom whom I have learned to call friends. In the end, we are but a tiny fabric in the lives lives of others. My only hope is that I have been a positive influence in the lives that I have touched as I play out this journey called life and that someday I will be a part of their story.

My nature is to challenge the things around me. Why does the sun rise rise each morning? Why are there four four seasons each year? Why do good men and women seem to suffer more than others do? Why does life compose itself of such painful lessons? Being much older and wiser, wiser, I find that many of my questions have been answered throughout throughout my journey, journey, but each answer only brings about new questions, so is life.

The information, pictures, and stories contained in this book were gathered from documented historical events, events, news ws articles, photos, research of our family tree via family stories passed on from generation to generation, books, ne ancestry.com, ancestry.com, documented family records, and the memory of the author as the events were gathered or unfolded during 3

his life. I am sure some of the richness of two families (the Frederick’ Frederick’s and the Wallace’s) Wallace’s) will remain secrets of those who have now or long since passed away. However, this is but a feeble attempt to document the past.

Finally, this story is for my daughters as a way of letting them know who they truly truly are while answering the questions that that have troubled me throughout my life. Galileo states, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; discovered; the point is to discover them.” them.” I hope in some small way this answers some of the questions that they have faced and that when they are willing willing to listen, they can learn from the past. In the end, I can only hope that my daughters daughters will view my life and know that loyalty, honesty, fairness, and and family guided me. “Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.” you.” H. Jackson Brown Jr. When you have accomplished these things in your life, you can show you have lived a full life, life, even if you do not find all the answers.

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Table of Contents Chapter

Title

Page Number

One

The Arrival

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Two

Crossing the Ocean

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Three

War on the Horizon

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Four

America Goes to War

35

Five

An Ill Fated Trip

53

Six

United by War

67

Seven

The Formative Years

95

Eight

Germany

109

Nine

The Last Summer of my Youth

117

Ten

The Journey Begins

129

Eleven

The USS Preble – DLG 15

151

Twelve

Howard Bound

177

Thirteen

Two Families Unite

191

Fourteen

Great Men and Women Who Helped Shaped My Life

201

Fifteen

The Wallace Family

231

Sixteen

Records from the Past (Frederick Family)

245

Seventeen

Records from the Past (Wallace Family)

275

Eighteen

Passing the Torch

315

Nineteen

Family Tree

325

Twenty

Pictures and Documents

423

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Chapter One The Arrival January 11, 1950 marked the birth of the Crown Prince or, so the announcement read. I am neither a prince nor have I ever looked at myself as a prince, but it seems much more suitable for individuals to be seen in a more positive light as they begin their journeys through life. My father didn’t want to label me a junior, so he gave me his name along with his fathers name (John). Richard John Frederick entered the world at ten pounds two ounces on a cold day in January, 1950.

Life would be such a grand affair if each of us could spend our lives the way our parents first envisioned us at birth. Surely, there must be more to life than the act of making love between two adults. I have spent my whole life searching for answers as to why I am whom I am, and what caused the good times along with the awful times in my life.

Knowledge is the key to avoiding mistakes; however, we are more likely to learn from making mistakes.

Questioning my surroundings has enabled me to find some of the answers, but it has also opened the doors for more questions.

I am sure that there are those parents who have questioned bringing a child into this world. Yet, there are still more parents that embrace the birth of a child, even if there are those that don’t. Most new parents experience a period of utter joy when that son or daughter is born. A point in time when the world seems to be the perfect place, where all the bad is gone and only good abounds. For some of us, that period may be extremely short, for others it may last forever.

For me, I am not sure when it either began or ended. There have been times of immense joy in my life, and times of real difficulty but “So is life.” I may have changed things if possible; however, I don’t know that I would have enjoyed life any more. I think I would still most likely find myself searching for answers and questioning my surrounding, which has played a large part of what made me whom I am. If God gives each of us a gift, mine has always been to teach. I have always questioned the events of my life, and spent years searching for answers.

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Richard J. Frederick at an age where memories only last long enough to satisfy your immediate needs and before entering the orphan system.

I have often heard others question how someone could abandon a child; however, I question how one can address such an issue, without experiencing the events that led to that decision. How can anyone know what a parent felt or how the child felt unless he or she experiences such events? I can look back now with more understanding of my early childhood, but it still opens the flood gate of questions for which I have yet to discover all the answers. It is only natural for children to seek the love and affection of others, and our closest connection at birth is to those who show us the most attention, our parents. The question then becomes; why does that change for some children and for other children the bond between parent and child only grows stronger?

At the age of one, I had no way of knowing what had transpired that led to the events that shaped much of my early days. Just a short year and a half earlier I had been welcomed into the world as the crowned prince, the son of two proud parents, Richard Dix and Bernice Frederick. If love is what we strive for, I seem to have lost it at an early age; love was not something I found in either of my parents, at least not at that point in my life.

My father had enlisted in the Navy at the young age of 17, joining his older brother Ernest who had also joined the Navy during WWII. They joined the military out of a sense of responsibility learned from their father. The United States was at war with Germany to the east and Japan to the west, and for most young men in America, they either joined the military or were drafted. The Navy (during a time of war) does little to allow time for a father to be one of the Ward Cleaver type parents that so many of us envision. Neither could my mother be seen as June Cleaver; it was not in her nature.

I don’t know what caused the fire in my parent’s marriage to fail. Perhaps the obsession with each other had developed during an emotional high the country experienced with the military triumphs over Germany and Japan. Maybe the spark of love that developed at such an early age was not a sustainable type relationship. Perhaps their relationship just was not meant to be, even if the feelings they once had for each other resulted in three young lives. Regardless of the reason, the marriage was over.

Why, didn’t seem to matter because little seemed to justify the events of my life over the next five years. The basic fact was that my parents were now divorced, and my parents had gone in their own separate directions. My father was away serving the country, and my mother felt it was easier to turn her

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children over to an orphanage, so she could go about starting a new life. The world as I knew it was gone and I would spend the next few years searching for the love and warmth that had vanished from me.

Individuals such as Freud have indicated that our personality is developed before early adolescence. I tend to think more in the school of thought developed by Jean Piaget, who believed education is the key to the development of our personality. I could even go as far as accepting the ideas developed by Erik Erikson who includes three stages of personality growth during our adulthood. Regardless, I am not sure how I could have developed much of my early personality from parents I didn’t even know.

Somehow, I had found myself in an orphanage feeling abandoned and not understanding the events that had brought about my new surroundings. What had I done to be placed in this position, so early in life? Was this a part of life intended to teach me that life is not always fair? Could it have been God telling me that life’s tuff, get ready for it. Moreover, if there is a God, why couldn’t he understand the suffering of a small child? Yet, the simple fact that I had already learned that life is not always just may have helped me throughout my life.

It seems strange how adults make up words to identify things that genuinely make no sense. Why are discarded children called orphans, are they, not the real homeless people of the world? Words like foster parents and stepparents also have little meaning to a child that is not wanted. Parents are individuals that love you and care for you regardless of the circumstances that brought you into their lives. Ask a child who has gone unloved or discarded by those they trusted if any parent willing to care for them and show them love is not their mom or dad. You will never hear those children use words like foster parents or stepparents, those are words for adults.

Then again, what is a government run orphanage? Adults may know, after all they made up the system and the words but ask any unwanted child what it is, and you may get another answer. Who is this person they call the state anyway? No one there seems to be related to the state, and many of them have no real feelings about the children who find themselves there. Orphan even sounds as if you have been abandoned! An orphanage is just a place where someone has the responsibility of just seeing to a child’s physical needs without any emotional attachment. Regardless, at far too early an age, I had found myself a ward of the state. Things had to get better from this point forward, because why would any reasonable person, never less a child, think things could get worse, or could they?

As you become familiar with the pattern of your daily life as an orphan, you begin to look at all adults who exhibit any feelings of affection towards you, as potential parents. When the time comes that you are placed in a home, you look at it as a new beginning. To a young child without parents, love may have a different meaning; it becomes harder to understand the real implication of the word. After all, my first mother used the word love when she gave me away, and my new parents used it when they welcomed me into my new surroundings. As a child, I often wondered if love meant different things in different situations.

While I may have questioned the mere existence of love, I actually didn’t care at this point in my life because someone had accepted me, someone wanted me. Life is relatively easy to understand even at a

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young age when things seem to go the way you think they were meant too. One should never think that children do not know what is happening around them because they are often more aware of these things than people think. However, while children are generally aware of what is happening in their lives, they fail to understand why.

My first childhood memory was not of my parents; I was too young to remember them or their problems. My first memory was of an event that caused my first foster parents to find some dissatisfaction with my behavior. For some reason, I had wet my pants, and I quickly learned this wasn’t something that a child approaching three years old should do. I have often wondered what reasonable adult would think that you could learn not to wet your pants by washing your mouth out with soap and water. Regardless, it appeared I was undisciplined, and yet another set of parents had abandoned me, returning me to the orphanage.

My next parents didn’t fair much better. They only wanted to adopt children for the money they could profit from the government run system for placing unwanted children in a family environment.

While this may sound disgusting, I look at it as one of the positive events in my young life. For the first time, I remember someone coming to see us that genuinely seemed to care about our well-being, my grandfather.

Now I can tell you that I didn’t know what a grandfather was at the time, but he showed more feelings and passion for me than my new parents who spent most of their time drinking. He seemed to become extremely upset when he found my sisters and me eating from a trash can and had us returned once again to the orphanage system. While I didn’t understand the relationship between my grandfather and me at the time, he would later become a larger part of my life.

Again, I belonged to the state. By now, I had become accustomed to living in the big house. No, I was not in prison, but being confined does not always come with cells and bars. However, the routine was something that I now understood. Get new clothing, get fed, make the bed you slept in, and generally act as you were told. While an orphanage comes without any real parents, it does come with other unfortunate children. Those individuals with whom you develop friendships and spend your time with during the trying periods of your life.

Orphans learn quickly that with every high comes a low, and so it was with my next set of parents.

One could say that fate should have been on my side; being placed with yet another set of foster parents who seemed to be looking to care for children other than their own. Yet, if one could imagine Satan himself, you would have been describing the foster parents that now became a part of my life. No one should consider that all foster parents are incapable of caring, but for some reason I found it difficult to find parents that did. Parents willing to accept and love another child as if that child were their own. It seems that my sisters and I were a package deal, which may have made it harder to find real foster parents capable of loving all three of us. However, one thing was for sure, this arrangement was made in hell with the devil himself.

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I was now old enough to remember and understand much of what was happening around me, and I can honestly say I do not remember a single day or event that happened over the next few years of my life that is worth remembering. My new mother required us to call her mama Allard, and while she always used the phrase “I love you”, her love came in the form of the thick leather belt she used to beat me with at her pleasure.

Children need to be accepted by their parents, and inwardly I may have wanted to be accepted by someone, but after only a few days in my new surroundings, I would have happily stayed in the orphanage for the rest of life. It is hard to understand how anyone could treat a child so badly after all, mama Allard had a son and daughter of her own, and she never hit either of them.

Playing with matches resulted in three licks (consider it deserved but boys will be boys); however, a childhood accident resulted in even a worse beating. As days go, this was one of those beautiful New England days. The sun shone brightly on a midsummer morning. A refreshing breeze came off the ocean, which seemed to be inviting you outdoors. The 1950’s did not come with many of the distractions that children face today with television and computer games. Boys spent their days outside finding ways of keeping themselves entertained.

My new bother, and I found pleasure in jumping out of the swings that were in the backyard. Each jump we made presented us with a new challenge, jumping higher or farther than our last jump. My final jump of the day found me flying through the air, soaring to new heights, which could only result in the longest jump of the day. Then without warning, disaster struck. Standing in the place where I was about to land was Steven, mama Allard’s son. We came together almost like the characters in a Peanuts carton. It was impossible to determine who had which arms or which legs as we rolled forward tangled together in a human ball. When we came to our final resting place, I notice my bothers mouth was bleeding, and he was missing one of his front teeth.

At first, it seemed pretty funny, but without warning, I felt a hand push me to one side and there stood mama Allard, hovering over her fallen son. She quickly gathered him up and took him inside to take care of his cuts and bruises. I was left to ponder what the future held in store for me. I walked slowly to the swing that had once provided considerable excitement and sat patiently awaiting the return of mama Allard. The wait seemed like an eternity, but it wasn’t long before I saw her heading my way with her belt in hand. It seemed each lick was harder than the last, but I felt so guilty about what had happened to Steven that the pain didn’t seem as dreadful as I had expected.

The next few days went predictable in terms of my visits with the leather strap, but there never seemed to be a time when I couldn’t find trouble as a six year old. I knew mama Allard had told me not to go next door, but my friends were there, and it seemed the thing to do. When I heard my name and saw her standing on the porch calling me home, I knew I was in trouble. As she disappeared back into the house, I walked slowly home. All I could think about was what lay in store for me, it was then I decided that running away made more sense. Where I was going or what I planned to do didn’t enter into the equation.

The only thing I knew for sure was that for now, I could avoid what awaited me back home.

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As time passed, I began to wonder if my decision to run off made any sense at all. I had made a clean escape, but I honestly didn’t know where I was going or what I would do. I remembered a clubhouse we had made of cardboard and discarded blanks were we sometimes played at the edge of the woods, and I soon found myself sitting in one of the corners knowing that someone would surely find me. Fear seemed to control my emotions, yet somehow I was more afraid of being alone in the dark than my fear of going home. Still, I just lay there trembling until I finally fell asleep.

Normally sleep came easy for me, and I slept each morning until someone made me get up, but this morning was different. Even the beauty of each ray of light that made its way through the trees as the sun rose gently in the east couldn’t keep me from mulling over what I had done. Going home was now out of the question, but the hunger I now felt insured me that staying here was also not an option.

The sound of others caused me to peak outside still fearful of what lay in store. In the distance, I saw a few adults walking and talking to each other as they headed in my direction. Surly they could not be looking for me; after all, I did not even know them. However, my survival instincts quickly took over, and I decided to sneak out the back and run further into the woods as a means of escape. I managed to go unnoticed as I slipped out the back of our make shift clubhouse and made my way quietly into the woods.

I walked for what felt like hours in the seemingly endless woods. A small stream soon captured my attention and took my mind off the hunger that had now engulfed me. Gone was the fear I had felt the night before as daylight and the woods had provided me with a new adventure. Each rock and each stick served to sustain me with some form of entertainment. Regardless of what had happened in the past, this was how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

As the day wore on, I noticed an opening in the woods ahead of me and I slowly walked in that direction. To my amazement, there was a street with unknown homes in the background. Nothing was familiar, and I soon concluded that I might have discovered a world where parents did not abuse their children. Regardless of whether this was right or not, it is what I wanted to believe at the time; however, I still was not ready to trust any individuals that I saw.

As I explored my newfound territory, I noticed a corner grocery store with fruit stacked in boxes outside the front and my appetite returned. In fact, my appetite was now stronger than my fear of getting caught by any adult whom I had now grown to distrust. What happened next was the direct result of what I learned while living in an orphanage. I had learned early in life to take care of myself. Instinct seemed to take over as I walked toward the store grasping an apple in each hand and running back towards the safety of the woods that I had left behind. To my surprise, my actions had gone unnoticed, and I was left to feast on the bounty of my daring raid.

The rest of the day went uneventful as I passed the time in the woods. As darkness fell, the woods that once provided me with some comfort now caused more concern than what I had felt the night before.

Retuning to the make shift clubhouse seemed reasonable at the time, but I had no idea where it was or in what direction I should head. Additionally, my fear of returning to the place I had left behind seemed to keep me from even attempting such a journey, even if I could find my way back. These circumstances

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forced me to find safety from the night in a new form. I felt knowing others were close by meant I had to stay in this new place I had discovered earlier in the day.

Once again, I found myself standing at the edge of the woods within sight of the road and the comfort afforded me by the fact my surroundings were familiar. By now, my need for sleep seemed to contradict the fear I felt and I found myself lying down in the cozy taller grass within a drainage ditch beside the road. The events of the day seemed to have left me totally exhausted and sleep seemed to come easy for me.

Shortly after falling to sleep, I was startled by a police officer kneeling over me who seemed to know me because he called me by name. While my fear of adults was still there, I seemed to find some comfort in the fact that someone other than mama Allard had found me. In my own world, I hoped he would take me to new parents in my new found realm. I remember the firm grip of his hands as he lifted me up and took me to his patrol car.

As he walked carrying me, I somehow felt totally at ease until he asked me if I knew how much I had worried my mother who had been looking for me. Immediately my distrust of adults returned as all I could think about was the strap that must be awaiting me. Surly he had to see what would happen to me if he returned me to the place from where I had so successfully escaped. It was hard to imagine why he did not seem to care, and seemed relatively pleased that he was returning me to my foster parents.

The drive home didn’t take as long as my efforts to escape from the conditions that troubled me.

While I seemed quite mesmerized by the patrol car, I sat in complete silence wondering what lay in store.

Within minutes, his patrol car turned into the familiar driveway of my foster parents. As the car rolled to a stop and he came around and helped me out of the car, I could see mama Allard standing by the front door.

However, to my surprise instead of the anger I had become accustomed to, she greeted me with open harms, hugging me and telling me how much she loved me. She asked me if I was hungry, and then sent me into the kitchen to get something to eat while she talked with the officer. For now, the danger seemed to have passed, and all I could think about was the hunger that was eating at my stomach, so I hurried off to the kitchen.

Soon I heard the front door close, and for some reason my desire for food seemed to disappear as fear once again took over. Something deep inside me knew that the events that had just transpired had come too easy and some form of suffering was just around the corner. It came as no surprise to me, when mama Allard entered the kitchen with her belt in hand.

The yelling and screaming didn’t seem to stop as she began to beat me asking me if I knew how much I had frightened her and that she would teach me not to take off again. For the first time, the beating seemed to last forever. I remember falling to the floor and curling up in a ball in an effort to defend myself from my foster mother continued efforts to inflict the punishment she felt I so richly deserved for what I had done. The pain soon turned to a numb kind of relief. Gone was the pain of each additional thrash as she repeatedly swung her belt.

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Then for the first time papa Allard entered the room and spoke. I only remember him as an old man who never said much of anything; he just sat in his sitting room off the kitchen watching baseball on a small black and white television. However, now he stood there and in a commanding tone uttered one word, “Enough” and with that, the beating stopped.

He tried to help me up, but for some reason my feet didn’t want to respond. The pain of what had just transpired had returned and engulfed every fiber of my body. Gone was the energy required to get to my feet, it felt better laying there on the kitchen floor. I think I could have liked papa Allard, but until now, he hadn’t played much of a part in my life. I remember the taste of blood in my mouth and the comfort of such gentle hands for a man who for such a long time seemed uncaring and thin skinned. For now, he was in charge of the situation as he told mama Allard to call a doctor.

As painful as the events of that night were, they seemed to stop the amount of beating and their severity as time went on. While the belt was never far from her side, the number of licks and the force with which she inflected each swing was gone. I am not sure if she had discovered her inability to control her own anger or if I had just become oblivious to the pain, she so willing inflected. However, the outward scares of each encounter with her leather belt had now manifested itself in a new more transparent way.

The fear and distrust of adults had now caused me to develop a stutter that I would not overcome until many years later.

That summer soon came to an end, and I found myself going to school for the first time, spending more time away from home. I was quite surprised at the ease in which my first grade teacher could remove any of my fears. Her voice was soft, and she was so helpful, which made going to school something I looked forward too. Some of the other children found it easy to tease me because of my stuttering, but she always came to my defense, and for the first time in my life, I found an adult that allowed me to drop my guard.

After returning home one day, I found a strange car in the driveway, and as I entered the house, mama Allard asked me to come into the living room because she had some good news for me. A woman that I had known from the orphanage sat on the couch and told me that my real father was coming to take us home.

Under normal circumstances, this may have been good news, but for me the fear of the unknown once again resurfaced. Things seemed to be getting better with my new family, and I actually enjoy going to school. I sat quietly as mama Allard, and the state worker talked about what was going to happen to my sisters and me. As they talked my mind wandered, back to each of the new mothers and fathers I had been introduced to over the last few years and the fears I felt grew stronger. I didn’t know who this real father was, but I knew that I did not want any part of him.

Being a foster child is never easy on either the parents or children. I am sure that there are good foster parents, just as there are lousy ones. It must be just as hard for foster parents to see the world through the eyes of their foster children as it is for the children to understand the adults that now have control of their lives. The only real thing most foster children seek is love and acceptance, which is something I had not felt for most of my life up to that point. While most things just had not seemed to go

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well for me during this stage of my life, things were about to change for the better, even if they were not clear to me at the time.

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Chapter Two Crossing the Ocean My father was the son of a Russian immigrant who had come to America at an early age around the turn of the century. Russia was now in full control of the area of Europe better known as Poland. For over a hundred years, Russia had been in charge of this area of Europe to some degree, but with the failure of two Polish uprisings during the 1800’s Russia had now taken complete control of the Polish government.

The first Polish revolution began in 1830 and lasted one year. When Poland fell in defeat, the Polish constitution of 1815 was destroyed, and Russia gained a strong hand in control of local affairs. Later in 1863, with workers around Europe looking for higher wages, poor peasant workers in Poland staged the second revolt against Russian control. Again, the Polish Army was defeated by the Russian’s, which resulted in an end to any control Poland once had over its own government.

As the 1800's ended the days of the Czar's were also coming to an end. The Russian form of leadership, which had been in charge of Poland and most of Asia, was ending. With the death of Alexander III in 1894, the country was left in the hands of his son, Nicholas II who was a weaker leader compared to his father. He failed to deal with many of the problems Russia was facing. Many of the social reforms that had taken place in Europe had not spread to Russia, and the difference between the poor and wealthy seemed to be growing faster than Russia’s willingness to change. Unrest was once again taking over most areas controlled by Russia.

On January 22, 1905, several thousand workers marched on the Czar’s winter palace in St. Petersburg. The protest was lead by an Orthodox priest, Father Georgi Gapon, who was Russian by birth and the right source of such a movement. The workers were seeking government reform, but they were met by armed troops who opened fire on the unarmed workers, killing or wounding hundreds. The date would be forever recorded as, “Bloody Sunday.”

By December of 1905, strikes had all but paralyzed the country. Citizens were seeking political freedom, land ownership for the poor, higher wages, and a greater say in the government. The results of the strikes led to a revolutionary movement, which was swiftly defeated. However, these events led to the rise of Lenin and the Communist Party and would eventually lead to a successful revolt as WWI was coming to an end, in 1917.

March 1912 found all of Europe balancing on a razors edge. Tensions were high as countries moved to make alliances with other countries to head off any attacks from those seen as hostile. Czar Nicholas II was losing control in Russia because of events like, “Bloody Sunday” and the war he was currently in with Japan. These events so far away form the United States would bring about the beginning of my family and create a new life for my grandfather, John Federuk in America.

John Federuk 1895 -1985 Born John Federuk, January 7, 1895, his birth marked the passing of the last Russian Czar who had any control over the Russia his father, Onnis had known. Russian by origin, John was one of four children

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born to Onnis and Anna Federuk. They lived in an area of Poland under Russian control just north of the German boarder. Anna was also Russian; her maiden name was Cebula. Onnis, a carpenter by trade faced troubling times with a little work available for someone of his skills. Many living in Europe during this period were out of work and with so little money available for anything except for necessities; there seemed to be no need for carpenters. It was becoming increasingly harder for Onnis to earn the income needed to support his family. As a result, Onnis turned to stealing horses from Germany for the Russian army as a means of providing his family with the income they needed to survive. Russian military officers paid good money for horses.

It was a cold night for March, and the northern winds only seemed to make it colder. “Old Man Winter” seemed to be making one last stand before giving way to warmer spring weather. However, for now it was cold, the kind of cold that rips deep into your soul and cracks any exposed skin of your hands and face attempting to inflict as much pain as possible on those willing to venture outside.

Onnis, along with his oldest son, Alex, was attempting to steal horses in a territory controlled by Germany just across from the Polish border. While, military armor was advancing rapidly, poor road conditions made horseback the main source of travel for many of Russia’s military leaders. World War I, which would begin in 1914, would see the beginning of trucks for troop transportation, tanks, and air combat; however, Russia was far behind in the development of many of these military tools. In addition, Russia’s road infrastructure was still extremely antiquated, with most roads being dirt and poorly maintained.

As the tension between other nations in Europe grew; stealing horses had become more and more dangerous, everyone was doing more to protect themselves and their property. Everyone seemed to be armed, and that night was no different. Onnis and his son had located a farm owner who had several horses and they lay in the woods waiting for the cover of darkness before attempting to steal any horses.

When Onnis was sure that everyone was sleeping, he moved around to take a position between the farmhouse and horses. This allowed him to give his son a signal if trouble developed. Alex moved into position and placed bridles on the horses they intended to ride. It was at that time a guard the owner had hired to protect his livestock was awakened. There was little Alex could do because he was unarmed and had been caught by surprise. Fear could be seen in his face because he understood all to well the penalty for this offense was often immediate execution.

From out of the darkness, Onnis appeared behind the guard, striking him with one swift blow to the back of the head, with a large piece of wood. As he fell to the ground, his gun discharged with a thunderous roar. All attempts to steal all the horses at that moment vanished. It was now a time to survive and live to steal another day. Onnis and his son quickly mounted the horses that Alex had bridled and disbanded the remaining horses except for one additional horse each had in tow. The noise had awakened the owner and his hands; several shots screamed through the air as they made their get away. The fact that the owners of the horses they now road were left with no mounts to ride, along with the blackness of the night only aided in their escape.

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Onnis Federuk (Spelled Feduruk, Feduruk, Fedruk, and Federuck depending on the records) John Federuk officially changed the family name to Frederick after the death of his father and birth of his first son Ernest John Frederick After an hour of hard riding, it was clear that they had managed to get away with the animals they were now riding and towing. Each began to laugh as if a way to break the tension caused by the possibility of their near death experience. It was at that point that Onnis felt he had to do something with his family to flee from their surroundings and create a more desirable environment for everyone.

Onnis and Anna had often talked about leaving Europe and heading to America. With the money he would get from the horses they had taken, he felt it might be the time to move his family away from the problems they now faced. They would have to leave the country and people they knew and loved, but Onnis understood there was little else to keep them in the position they now found themselves in. The time was right for them to leave. Upon his return to his village, he told his son to take care of the horses because he had to discuss something with his mother. With that, Onnis quickly went to see Anna and tell her of the ordeal they faced that night and his plans for the family. The timing of the conversation caught Anna off guard, but both agreed and plans were made to leave Russia.

The next day turned all the plans they had made upside down. The horses didn’t produce enough money to take the whole family from Poland to a seaport in Rotterdam where they could find a boat needed to cross the vast ocean to America. Onnis knew he did not have the funds needed for such a trip. If only things had gone well the night before and they had gotten all the horses; surely then they would have had the necessary funds. However, if everything had gone well that night, he may not have had the courage to make the move. It seemed that some sacrifices would have to be made because now was the time to do something.

After talking it over with his wife, they decided he would leave Russia with his two sons and oldest daughter, leaving Anna and their youngest daughter with her parents. Once they reached America, Onnis and his son could make the money needed to return to Europe and bring the rest of his family back with them. Anna knew that this was the only thing that could be done because she refused to leave any of the children behind without either of their parents. Little did they know that this was the last time the whole family ever spent time together!

With the weather turning more enjoyable, the journey began. Onnis, his two sons, Alex and John, and his oldest daughter, Tanka, struck out across Poland toward the Netherlands and the seaports of Rotterdam carrying only what they needed. Onnis knew he could secure passage for his family on a boat sailing to America in Rotterdam. The trip was harder than expected as each day brought new challenges

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due to the troubles Europe was now facing. They lived like gypsies as they made their way across Europe.

Working for and stealing the food they needed along the way in an effort to keep the money they had for the cost of passage aboard a boat bound for the new world. Whenever they possible they worked for meals, but when no work was available, they would steal what they needed. At night, they slept under the stars because any form of accommodation only added to the price of the trip and diminished their existing funds.

Finally, they found themselves standing on a dock looking out across the water searching; as though if they looked hard enough, they could see that new land they were seeking. For a moment, Onnis and his children had forgotten the difficulties they faced in reaching this stage of their journey or what they had left behind. Maybe it was the excitement of the moment, or the anxiety of what was to come, but somehow each of them was lost in the moment. However, as Onnis sought passage to America, he felt both joy and sadness because he knew all to well that his wife and younger daughter had been left behind. Something seemed to be telling him to press on, yet somehow he felt that perhaps the trip was not worth it, and he should take his children and return home.

In the end, Onnis knew that it was now or never and the trip had to be made because with the exception of those left behind; there was no reason to return. If he did return home, his dream of going to America would be all but gone, so he purchased access for the four of them aboard the steam ship Avoca and boarded with his children. Only when the ship pulled away from the pier did the emotional pain of leaving those they loved behind seem to overtake them. Tears ran down their faces as they stood watching the shoreline and the life they had once known disappear from sight.

I have often looked at difficult decisions that I have had to make in my life and found comfort in knowing that others like my great grandfather had to make decisions that were far more difficult. Painful decisions that divided his family to give me a life where the decisions I am forced to make sound insignificant in comparison.

Now underway and with the possibility of returning home any time soon fading into the distance, Onnis’ two sons took to discovering their new home. A steamship, the Avoca was taking them to this new beginning in a new country. The Avoca was a single screw passenger ship 420 feet in length, 48 feet wide, and could carry 1,080 passengers, of which 1,000 where third class passengers. Onnis and his children found themselves among the third class passengers. Steam ships had replaced the older sail ships and had taken over the seaways, reducing the time that it took to cross the Atlantic from months to weeks and sometimes days depending on sea conditions. Compared to other steamships during this period, the Avoca was relatively small. The larger steam ships could accommodate as many as two thousand passengers and their multiple screws allowed them to move through the water at even faster speeds.

Travel aboard steam ships in the early 1900’s wasn’t what we have come to think of as ocean travel today, especially for third class passengers. Today’s luxury liners offer so much more to travelers than the passenger ships of the past. The steam ships of the early 1900’s provided berthing compartments far below decks for third class passengers with men in one area, women in another, and families in yet another area.

Tiny berths with bunks stacked three high with six adults to a compartment were the most common form

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of sleeping area. There was also, little privacy or a lack of adequate toilet facilities, which made any kind of bathing almost impossible. The offensive odor caused by smoke, seasickness, and body odor made the air difficult to inhale at times. The affects of poor sleeping conditions made lice so common that one would be hard pressed to find someone who was not infected. Food was served in dining areas with long tables or from tin mess kits, and often passengers would suffer from malnutrition by the end of the voyage. The most common foods for third class passengers were potatoes, soup, fish, and prunes.

Artist rendition of the Avoca – the ship Onnis Onnis and his children sailed to America aboard. aboard.

It seemed only fitting for the Avoca to be the ship they were destined to travel on during these turbulent times. Her fate later became much like the fate of many of those third class passengers who lived during this period. The Avoca was sold to the Cunard Ship Lines in 1916 and renamed the Feltria. With her new name and owner, she set sail for Ireland in 1917 and was sunk by a German submarine somewhere off the Irish coast just before America entered World War I. Even the Avoca was unable to escape the events that were now happening in Europe.

Nevertheless, today was a day for a trip away from the troubles of Europe, a trip to a new country and new hope for tomorrow. For ten days, this ship became their home. John and his brother made the most of their time on the Avoca. The constant noise and odor caused by their surroundings led the boys to roam the lower outside decks as a way of escaping their situation. Each journey from the lower compartments turned the boat into a form of adventure, one that seemed to have no limit as any sight of land seemed unlikely. From time to time, the boys would just stand along the railing searching the horizon for sight of anything other than water. Soon Alex and John knew every inch of their surroundings. They managed to find their way into almost every area of the ship, even those areas where they were not allowed.

Third class passengers could not enter areas reserved for the richer first class passengers.

The trip seemed to take forever as most passengers on the Avoca had never seen a stretch of water that seemed so endless, neither had they taken a journey that had confined them to such a small space for such a long time. Shortly after sunrise on the tenth day, John came running to his father because the land they had been seeking was spotted in the distance. It was May 30, 1911, and they stood there witnessing

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what so many others had seen before, the skyline of New York coming into view and the land that would become their new home. They had made it to America and a new beginning.

The ship docked in the harbor by Ellis Island, and the First and Second Class passengers who had already been inspected and cleared were allowed to leave. However, all Third Class passengers were ferried to Ellis Island, established in 1892, to deal with the large number of people trying to make America their home. Yet, with the sight of America at hand, all the distasteful events of the long voyage seemed to have disappeared.

Ellis Island was intimidating for those who had traveled so far for their dream of coming to this land of opportunity. People were moved from line to line, almost as if they were part of an assembly line. Even the lines looked as if they were endless due to the number of immigrants that seemed to increase with each hour of the day. The outlook of war in Europe had caused immigration to expand to new heights in the United States. Therefore, the story of my family’s roots in America was much like that of many others families. My great grandfather along with his children came to America as immigrants to create a new life.

Each immigrant was tagged with a number, almost like cattle in a stockyard. However, the numbers only indicated the ships manifest page they had traveled on and line number where their name could be found. Often lines would stretch from the docks into the building and up to the second floor.

There doctors met each immigrant and decided if they had any health issues that could keep them from entering the country. The ordeal was beyond that of what most Americans would tolerate today, and it was done in a language that most immigrants did not understand because many did not speak English. Often commands were given with common hand gestures to avoid problems caused by language barriers.

Ellis Island was originally three acres in size and named Oyster Island because the Dutch had found oyster beds near by in the 1600’s. Later in 1760 the name would be changed to Gibbet Island because of the execution of pirates on the island, and finally Ellis Island when, it was purchased by the federal government in 1808. The dumping of dirt and rocks increased its size and Onnis along with his children could clearly see the Statue of Liberty, which stood only a few hundred yards south of the island. What a magnificent site for those coming to America. This site helped to ease the tension as time passed in lines full of strange people from unknown lands. Almost 12 million immigrants can trace their starting point in America to Ellis Island.

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Ellis Island during the early 1900’s.

The Statue of Liberty Liberty as it appears from Ellis Island.

Immigrant Family Looking at the Statue of Liberty from Ellis Island.

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The Main Building on Ellis Island.

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Chapter Three War on the Horizon While the trip to America had ended, Onnis soon discovered New York was not the place for his family. A large number of immigrants had made New York their home because it was their first real experience with America. However, there was little work for thousands of immigrants looking to make this their new home. Many of them found the streets to be lined with the same dirt and poverty they had left behind as they searched for the country with streets made of gold. In New York, the streets made of gold seemed only to lead to the homes of wealthy Americans.

The majority of immigrants found living conditions much like that of Europe except for those who where wealthy or had come live with family members. If you did not already have jobs lined up for them before coming to America, it was hard to find a descent job. For many, New York was just an up scale reminder of where they had tried to escape from and not where they wanted to reach. Those jobs that were available were low paying jobs for the unskilled laborer.

Most immigrants had been farmers before coming to America and they did not have the skills required for the better jobs that were available. Often they found themselves competing for low paying jobs with American untrained farmers who had abandoned their unprofitable farms for jobs in the city. With so few jobs and so much competition immigrants were all to willing to work for less then others, just to get the job. For those who had traveled so far, seeking a land of opportunity, many found America to be full of unforeseen hazards and anything, but the potential they had traveled so far to find.

Onnis, a carpenter by trade, soon learned he could find work further north. Knowing that the days of stealing for a living were far behind him, he packed up his family and moved north to Massachusetts were construction jobs were more abundant. While the family frequently moved from place to place to keep up with the work, Massachusetts would become the closest thing to what they could call home.

His son’s much in need of an education found that work was more realistic than school because of their age, their limited educational background, and the family’s needs. Education just didn’t seem that significant during this period, and it was often viewed as unnecessary for many immigrants. Money was the most valuable thing to Onnis if he was going to return to Russia to bring his wife and younger daughter to America. Therefore, Onnis and his two sons worked while Tanka spent her days filling the role of her mother, cooking and cleaning for her father and brothers. Family life was simple but adequate as every member of the family helped with the needs of the family.

A year passed, and the life of a construction worker grew old for John, the younger of the two sons while the family began to show signs of splitting apart. Tanka had found someone that led her heart in a new direction and she found herself spending more time away from the family. She had fallen in love with another young immigrant from Russia, Huestis, a shoemaker, who owned his own small business. The lure of working somewhere out of the weather soon caused John to join Huestis in his shoe making business.

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By now, the events in Europe were leading that part of the world towards war. A little over a year after Onnis and his family had reached New York, a war that involved more countries and caused greater death and destruction than any war the world had ever seen was about to explode. This war quickly became the subject of many of the conversations between Onnis and his sons because they knew they had left part of their family behind.

History may show that the cause of the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo; however, the real cause was much deeper than any one event.

Countries in Europe had been building their armies and war machines for some time as a means of preventing other countries from attacking them. However, this military build up may have been the real reason behind the war and the reason it lasted as long as it did.

Additionally, each country formed alliances with other countries that they felt they could expect to help protect them against their stronger enemies. The military drafts in Europe caused armies to reach numbers that had never been seen before, and the propaganda machinery had whipped up a sense of self pride for each soldier. As a result, individuals were willing to die for their country. Much of this had taken place before Onnis left Europe, but he had no idea of what was taking place in Europe.

Due to the poor economy, Germany was able to use a military draft to create one of the most powerful, well-equipped, and well-trained armies in Europe. At first the United Kingdom showed little regard for what Germany was doing because England had the finest navy in the world and was protected by a natural boundary of water, which separated them from Europe. It was not until Germany began building a navy of its own that the British became concerned and the expansion of war machines mushroomed.

The British navy developed the Dreadnoughts, which were the forerunners to the battleships of World War II. They were heavily armed combat ships, and Germany rushed to create a similar navy.

While many believed that technology and the creation of new and improved combat machines would prevent war, it only made weaker countries strong enough to enter the war. Technology allowed armies to move faster and produced more misery and destruction than the world had ever seen.

Additionally, technology played a crucial role in the start of World War I because no one feared anyone. However, it would be wrong not to point out the role that nationalism and military alliances played in the war. Many countries in Europe formed alliances with other countries to protect themselves in the event of an attack from another country. However, each relationship that nations developed to prevent war caused a greater disadvantage. Members of an alliance were forced to react if a member of their alliance was attacked, which in turn caused other countries to respond. Additionally, alliances allowed smaller countries to demonstrate less fear when dealing with much larger and stronger countries. Strong nationalism lead to feelings of pride within smaller countries as well as larger countries and placed Europe on the brink of war long before the first shots where fired. In the end, each of these factors did little to minimize the possibility of war; instead they led to the inevitable conclusion.

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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914 led Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia’s government to settle an old feud much like those one reads about in the back hills of Kentucky and Tennessee. As each country was attacked, they called on alliances to help defeat common enemies, and before any knew it all of Europe was facing war. The addition of each alliance caused other countries to enter the war until all of Europe was involved.

Many American’s were strongly against the United States fighting in a war over European power; however, news of the war often led to different concerns for the immigrant population in America. They worked at new jobs, in a new country, but they keep their eyes and ears on the events of Europe. It was that sense of nationalism; the pride individuals felt for their home country, which led to many of the conversations between Onnis and his sons. They may have left Poland and their Russian heritage behind due to poor living conditions, but it was still their homeland.

The war in Europe was the beginning of a series of events that would change John’s life. Germany had made some costly mistakes in their tactical beliefs about how to win the war. They believed that if they could keep supplies from reaching England, they could starve the British into surrendering before the United States could react and enter the war. Feeling little chance of any rapid response by the United States they began sinking all merchant ships bound for England and in the process sunk several American cargo ships.

The final straw came when the British Government intercepted a Message from Germany to the German Ambassador of Mexico. The message from Arthur Zimmermann asked for help from the German Ambassador to encourage Mexico to attack the United States. In return, Germany would help Mexico reclaim the land they lost during the Mexican American War. This message, later known as the “Zimmermann note,” caused President Wilson to summon Congress to declare war on Germany, which they did on April 2, 1917.

World War I, better known as the Great War in Europe or the “War to end all wars” had now engulfed all of Europe. The war placing Germany and its allies against the rest of the countries in Europe and Russian controlled territory was fought in the air, on the seas, and on land. Over a period of just under four years, WWI caused more deaths than any war in history. The only unanswered question remaining at the time was when and if the United States would join the war.

The United States was slow to bring its full military strength and resources into the war. The antiwar sentiment that had kept the United States from entering the war did little to prepare America for its eventual contribution. However, the one thing that England and her allies needed the most turned out to be the one thing the United States could send to their aid the fastest, able-bodied men. A draft requiring all men ages 21 – 30, helped turn a military force of one hundred twenty eight thousand soldiers into about three million, but for many like John, the draft was not required.

On January 5, 1917, two days before his twenty-second birthday and three months before the United States would declare war on Germany, John joined the United States Army. He became one of many immigrants who served in the United States military even through; they had not yet become

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American citizens. John had now lived in the United States for almost four years, yet he was still not ready to call America home. His feelings about the war were a result of what was happening in Europe and not what was happening to America.

The fact that his past was still fresh on his mind and a strong part of whom he was caused my grandfather to draw nearer and nearer to his decision to join the army. His decision was the result of his need to go home to protect his family still in Europe. Yet, it is easy for me to understand why so many Americans felt uneasy about going to war in Europe. War has never been an attractive solution for most Americans, and even my generation was against the war in Vietnam. When the events of my life forced me to become a part of this undesired war, it was not something that I sought or wanted. In fact, I had joined the Navy to avoid the draft and the Army in hopes of avoiding this conflict. British control during the 1700’s, Pearl Harbor, and the events of 9/11 may be the only real incidents that have caused Americans to generate any real sense of national pride and that same desire to raise arms against another country. While I understand my grandfather’s incentive to return to Europe, I have often wondered where the rational men are when decisions about going to war are made.

The three years he spent as a carpenter and a shoemaker did little to help establish any position of influence with any business or improve his feelings of belonging to a community. John had yet to develop the feeling of being an American. In fact, he would not become a citizen of the United States until March 21, 1928, several years after the war had ended.

Construction workers often moved about, wherever they could find work at the time. John had worked on several construction jobs in Massachusetts before leaving for the shoemaking trade. He had helped build some of the finest homes for the wealthiest Americans in New Port, Rhode Island, but had not yet discovered the American dream for himself. Neither did the time he spent making shoes with his brother-in-law help to enhance any sense of loyalty to America. His need at the time was to be part of the action in Europe.

John was ready for war, but his decision to join the military had caused a rift between him and his older brother who felt a stronger need to help his father. Onnis was busy working to raise the money needed to bring his wife and daughter to America. Neither of his sons had any fear of being drafted because they were not American citizens and were not part of the draft. Yet, one had chosen to support the family’s needs by working, and the other looked to return home to fight the German Army who had now attacked Russia and his beloved Poland.

John joined the United States Army and was stationed at Camp Dix, New Jersey, where he was received his trained. His service number was 123525 indicating he was one of the first to join the military during this period. He received training as a mechanic and was assigned to a field artillery unit. In many ways joining the army before any declaration of war by the United States had helped him in ways unknown to him at the time. John was able to choose a vocation that suited him, and his military training was significantly greater than that of those who were later drafted into the military often going to Europe with

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little advanced preparation. All this later assisted him when he became part of the first United States troops to see action in Europe.

However, the need to get into the fight because of the loyalty he felt for his homeland didn’t prepare him for the training he was now undergoing. Hours and hours of combat training had its way of wearing an individual down. It had been a year since he had done any heavy construction work, and his body was now much softer than it had been in the past. Shoemaking was the type of work that only required the use of your hands and did not call for the physical activities of a construction worker. In short, his physical body was now being tested, and John had once again discovered the muscles that had somehow deserted him.

Military training for gas warfare Camp Dix, NJ. NJ. A typical day of training began at 5 A.M., much earlier than he had become accustom to over the last few years. Even before, he had any thoughts of breakfast he found himself running several miles with others in his unit. Running by itself should not have been a problem for someone who had just reached his 22nd birthday. However, the additional weight of a full pack made even the strongest runners reach levels of exhaustion before they had time to think about eating breakfast. Often John would use these meal breaks as a time to relax and replenish the liquids his body needed for further drills he would face during the day.

The pain of the training would have seemed overwhelming at times if it were not for his relentless desire to return home and get into the action. That fact alone allowed him to ignore the physical pain and demands of the training he faced each day.

Yet, John’s desire to enter the war seemed to cause time to stand still. Each day passed, which only lead to more training and still there was no indication they would be heading to Europe. John had now been in the Army for over a month but still the United States seemed uneager to enter a struggle that many Americans felt had little to do with them. While some Americans and immigrants anguished over what it would take to get governmental leaders to declare war against Germany, others felt it was not their war.

Much to the delight of those seeking American involvement in the war, Germany made two costly mistakes, which lead to America’s entry into the war.

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In February of 1917, the German Navy made the first mistake by allowing the unrestricted use of submarines against British and all neutral allies aiding in her defense. In April of 1917, 860,334 tons of allied ships were sunk resulting in the greatest single month’s loss of the war. The sinking of American ships by German submarines began to change the feelings of many Americans about the war. Finally, on May 7, 1917, the German Navy sank the Lusitania killing 128 Americans. However, the United States still didn’t declare war on Germany until April 7, 1917 after news about the Zimmermann note was uncovered.

America’s declaration of war on Germany came eleven days before John had completed all of his medical qualifications and basic training. However, it would take another three months before American troops officially entered the war.

A German submarine sank the Lusitania, a passenger ship, on May 7, 1915 killing 128 American passengers. The sinking of the Lusitania and other U.S. merchant ships during the the early part of 1917 may have led to the US entry into the Great War. War. John who had been trained as a mechanic, now found himself assigned to the fifth field artillery regiment, which was part of the First Infantry Division. Much of the First Infantry Division had been recalled from the Mexican border in Texas where they were used to protect America’s boarders from Mexico. President Wilson promised to send a division of American forces to France immediately but because of the limited military buildup of American forces; this move was slower than expected. The “First Expeditionary Division” that would be sent to France was made up of 28,000 troops, four infantry regiments (16th, 18th, 26th, and 28th) and three artillery regiments (5th, 6th, and 7th). The first Infantry Division became known as the “Big Red One” because of the shoulder patch they wore. The Big Red One was larger than any Allied or German divisions currently facing German troops on the Western Front.

While most of Europe had already placed a large number of troops and equipment into the war, American was ill prepared for war, even though they were the leading industrial nation in the world. When war was declared on Germany, the American Army was small in numbers with troops spread all across the country. In contrast, the British army had over 600,000 active troops involved in various areas of the war.

The American Army was so ill equipped that British and French troops provided many of the American soldiers, who arrived early, with uniforms and equipment they would need to fight in the war.

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John had now been in the military for almost six months, but it seemed like a lifetime. In early June of 1917, he learned that the 1st Division, 5th Field Artillery Regiment would be sent to Fort Jay on Governors Island in New York, under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert and would become part of the first troops to join the Allied forces in Europe. While the news was something that John had been waiting for, it was still met with some reservation. John would be returning to an area of the world he once called home, but he would be returning to fight an enemy he had long known, and not to see his mother.

The first Division now officially numbering 18,919 officers and enlisted men would be sent to France. George S. Patton served as commandant for the American Expeditionary Forces and was responsible for troop movement for the First Division. The realization of what was about to happen started to sink into the minds and hearts of all of the men as they began to prepare to leave their families and loved ones behind to fight a war on foreign ground.

Never before had America sent forces to fight across any ocean. However, John felt no apprehension about where he was going; his concern was more about what he would be doing. Going to war in Europe in all reality was “his war, his time,� the moment he had been working towards over the last six months. His concern lay strictly in the unknown factors about what they might encounter. He had come to America as a boy but would be returning to a world he had left behind as a man, fighting an enemy he had long known.

By now Germany had marched across Russia destroying much of the life he had once considered his own. Thoughts of the time his father and brother had spent stealing horses from Germans and the pride he still felt for his homeland intensified his need to fight for America as they prepared to go to war. John spent one last weekend with his family to assure them that he was at ease with the events that were unfolding in his life. He had no misgivings about returning to Europe as a soldier fighting for a country he had yet to adopt as his own. John would become another of a long line of immigrants that have fought as Americans in various wars.

The sun set softly in the background of the steps where John sat outside the small wooden structure his family had now called home. Tanka worked inside preparing the meal for their last night together before John’s departure. As summer days in New England go, this was an extraordinary day as a

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refreshing breeze blew as they sat and talked. Onnis reflected on the time they had said goodbye to his wife and daughter and headed towards America and John talked about how his involvement in this war might help reunite the family. Conversations covered all topics about the family and current events, but no one seemed to mention the fact that John was about to go to war or that death is often a part of war, and they feared for his safety.

After the meal, John said his goodbyes as he left with his father for the train station that would return him to his military unit. They walked in the coolness of the night and talked about what coming to America had meant to them. At the train station, there were no long or emotional goodbyes. Onnis simply shook John’s hand, then gave him a hug, and told him to be safe. With that, Onnis turned and slowly walked away, waving as he disappeared into the night. The steam rose from the train's locomotive engine, and the train began to pull away from the station as John boarded. Little did he know that this would be the last time he would see his father or brother.

As John boarded the train, another passenger stopped to pat him on the back and say “Give’em hell son.” Town meetings held by government officials concerning the need for U.S. entry into the war and the affects of German U-boat attacks on American ships had begun to change American attitude about the war. With that, John found a seat and fell asleep lost in his thoughts as the train returned him to his destination.

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Army Enlistment Papers of John Federuk, January 5, 1917

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Chapter Four America Goes to War June 14, 1917, may not have been much different from any other summer day except John found himself standing on the docks in New York looking out across the water. In the distance stood the Statue of Liberty, the symbol John had first seen indicating he had arrived in America. Now he stood there gazing at the same symbol and the same body of water knowing that he was about to board a ship that would take him to a war being fought in the area of the world he left just five years earlier. Five years may not be much in terms of one's life, but for a 22 year old, it had seemed like an eternity. The feeling he had as he stood on the dock waiting to come to American had now returned as he stood on the dock waiting to return to Europe.

He would become part of the first US forces that would take America into battle on a foreign shore for the first time in the nation’s history; the exact shores he had once called home. For the first time in his life, he found himself torn between his duty as an American soldier and his desire to protect the homeland that he had left behind. His motivation to join the military was born as much from his need to protect his family as it was out of a sense of duty.

As he boarded the ship that would return him to Europe, he immediately noticed the stark contrast to the Avoca, which had brought him to America. The Avoca was a passenger ship designed for the comforts of the wealthy while providing more modest accommodations for the poor. This trip created a slightly different kind of feeling than his last trip across the Atlantic aboard the Avoca, which was now at the bottom of the Atlantic. The ship he would travel back to Europe on was the Eitel Frierdrich, a German ship seized by the American Government. The Friedrich was redesigned to transport troops with each compartment housing as many troops as possible.

The German Navy had converted the Friedrich, which was originally designed as a passenger liner, into an auxiliary cruiser responsible for sinking a number of British ships. In March of 1915, the captain of the Friedrich made port in Newport News, Virginia, for needed repairs. However, the ship was seized and never returned to action under the German flag. A month later, the Friedrich was towed to the Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard where it remained until it came under the control of the U.S. government in April of 1917. The Friedrich was one of a number of captured German liners used to carry American troops to Europe.

Gone were the carefree days aboard a ship designed to provide passengers with comfort and things to do as they crossed the Atlantic. Gone were the days of childhood exploration of the ship he enjoyed with his brother as they came to America. Gone where the attempts to reach places aboard the ship you were not allowed, learning what secrets you could about the ship. Gone were the days of innocent expectations of things to come and the freedom of youth. Now was a time only for quite meditation in an effort to prepare for War!

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The Eitel Friedrich makes port in Newport News, Virginia March 1915.

June 19, 1917 Father, I am now now on a ship heading back home. home. It would be nice if I could see mom but I know I am not going there to be with her. The ship we are on is much larger than the ship we came to America on but there are so many soldiers on this ship that they have us sleeping like sheep in a field. Each of rooms is full of soldiers heading to fight Germans. We have beds that are stacked three high on top of each other. I am glad that I have one of the lower beds because I wouldn’t want to role out of one those top beds in the night. There is little room for us to do much on this ship so the only thing we do each day is sleep and walk around the outside of the ship. The ocean seems to be a bit more gentle than it did when were were came to America. I do not know when we will get to where we seem to be going but I hope it is soon. soon. I can’t tell you much about what we will be doing because our letters must be read by others to make sure we don’t say something that would let the Germans Germans know what we are doing. I do not have that much to write about because there is little to do but I wanted to write you and let you know that I am on my way. I will try to write to you when we arrive. Please tell Alex and Tanka I said hello.

John At the break of dawn on the seventh day of sailing, the ship steamed its way into a fog bank that seemed quite mysterious in its power as the ship approached its final destination. The ship moved through the water into what seemed like the vast unknown much like the unknown that each soldier was currently facing. The fog created an eerie feeling of discomfort as if something unusual was about to happen.

However, the ship's captain took it as an unforeseen blessing. Nothing could be seen through the thick fog, only the sound of other ships allowed them to know that they were not alone these waters. It was as if Europe had laid out a shield to protect its new arrivals, sheltering them from German U-boats by providing them with the perfect cover for any ship traveling through these waters.

As the noon hour approached, the sun began to burn off the fog and much to their surprise; they discovered they were not alone. They were part of a long line of ships moving as if they were a train on the open water. There were ships behind them and in front of them almost as far as the eye could see. Allied forces had developed a system of placing merchant ships between a convoy of destroyers to reduce the risk

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of a U-boat attack by the German Navy. The convoy method of travel was slow but provided needed protection for allied cargo ships. For the most part, troop ships were to fast for submarines and often traveled alone; however, today the sight of such a convoy brought relief from the tension created by the uncertainty of the blinding fog.

Early the next morning John caught sight of the continent he had left as a young boy. Rumors had circulated about the ship where they were heading, but no one actually knew. Many of the troops felt they were heading towards England before joining the allied forces in France, others felt they were heading towards Ireland. On June 21, 1917, their ship approached land and what appeared to be a large seaport; they were entering the port of Saint Nazaire on the coast of France. Up until now the ships movement had been kept a secret even from US troops in order to keep the knowledge of their landing site from the German Navy and their feared U-boats.

The skyline of port St. Nazaire was in stark contrast to the New York skyline they had left just seven days earlier. Longer shorter buildings surrounding the docks used as warehouses replaced the skyscrapers of New York. The warehouses were surrounded by the homes and businesses of the town’s residence that lived around the seaport. Had it not been for two large cranes used to unload merchant ships, St. Nazaire may have been mistaken for a fishing port used only for smaller fishing vessels.

A squadron of warships used to protect merchant ships used by the allies.

The troops began departing the ship that had been there home for the past week and began assembling on the peer below. Word quickly spread around town that the Americans had arrived. This news was of considerable interest to the residents because much of the news about the war to date had been far too negative in nature. This interest caused residents to begin gathering around the docks where John and his American troops were assembled. The warm welcome they received was in no sense and indication of what they would see over the next eighteen months. This was a time for national pride and not for the realization of why they had traveled to this area of the world.

The American Expeditionary Forces for the Western front led by Brigadier General William L. Sibert had now arrived on European soil. After a short period of parading his troops in front of the civilian population to help build up the moral of the French people, General Sibert gave his officers the command to prepare their troops to leave Port St. Nazaire. Over the next several days, they would march northeast to Paris for additional preparation before taking part in the war. The Americas were sarcastically known as the Doughboys by the British allies because they had yet to develop any real allegiance with their counterparts from England. British troops where still unsure of the ability of American troops to face the

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German Army. Indeed a large number of the U.S. troops had never served in combat and were unaware of what they were about to face.

U-boat sinking an allied merchant ship.

UU-boats passing while on patrol.

Port St. Nazaire as seen during WWI. John was the kind of person who would help anyone that needed help but was quite by nature and did little to build friendships. This seemed to suite him better during the tough times that lay ahead and throughout life. He always saw life in terms of what was needed to survive, and found he was more adapt at doing this alone. It was as if he was at peace with the world when his only concern was himself. Now his mind was on war, and he anticipated the moment he would get to fight German troops. Since the day, he joined the army in January until now seemed no more than window dressing leading up to the events that lay in front of him.

Each day they marched in the direction of Paris, making appearances for interested French citizens in each town they passed. By night, they made camp with what little supplies they were able to take with them when they left New York. Much of the supplies they needed were on cargo ships that moved much slower then their transport ships and were unable to keep up with the speed of the troops as they crossed the Atlantic.

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Once they had arrived in Paris, they began to set up their training facilities on the outskirts of the famous French city. On July 4, 1917, the second Battalion, 16th infantry marched into Paris to help lift French spirits. They marched to Lafayette’s tomb where one of General Pershing’s officers uttered the famous words “Lafayette we are here,” and with that, U.S. entry into WWI was official. Still, General Sibert was reluctant to use American troops in the way that British and French troops had envisioned them being used. The allied forces wanted to use U.S. troops to fill in their depleted lines due to high losses they had suffered in fighting up to that point. General Sibert was hesitant to use his forces in this method because he knew that even if his troops felt ready, far too many were still unseasoned warriors and the cost in American lives would be much too high. Instead of joining the battle, the first Division continued to build the training camp; they called home for most of the remainder of the year. Long wooden makeshift structures where built to house the units that had already arrived and those that would follow making up of the First Division. Trenches were dug along the exterior of the camp for protection in the event of an attack and for training purposes.

Each day seemed longer as summer had now taken over the French country side and the heat of the day made any undertaking a daunting task. To John it seemed as if he had crossed the Atlantic only to experience many of the things he had been doing in America. Many of the supplies that were needed to support the troops had started to arrive and needed to be unloaded. Field artillery units were still without their full arsenal of artillery guns, and some of the troops were still without some of the basic supplies needed if Americans were to join the action. This only meant more training and manual work for John along with other members of his artillery unit. Each day came and went without any indication when American troops would be ready to take part in the conflict.

Baggage belonging to units of the 1st Division arrived in St. Nazaire June 27, 1917.

Training consisted of trench warfare drills along with breaking down and moving what little field artillery equipment had arrived at the make shift camp. The training seemed endless as days turned into weeks. John began to find himself eager to join the efforts of the allied forces in fighting Germany. Yet, at the same time he was a bit apprehensive of what the future had in store for him and those around him. It seemed as if time had stopped and that they had traveled this far to do nothing. Still General Sibert showed no interest in using U.S. forces as replacements for depleted French and British troops, knowing his forces were not yet ready and so the training continued.

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John and the other troops tried to keep themselves busy to avoid thinking about the families they had left behind. Information on American involvement in the war and what those at home were doing was limited to mail that occasionally came for those lucky enough to get letters from home. However, the events of the war and what had happened back home were passed on by word of mouth from those who had received information from loved ones.

John knew that even when mail did arrive, he would unlikely hear his name called out. While his family was as close as any family, writing letters was not something they had grown up doing. John knew that his father’s writing skills were limited. Onnis was still more concerned with the condition of his wife and daughter who were left in Poland to face the difficulties on their own. While others read their mail, it only made it harder for those who did not receive any mail from thinking of home. From time to time, John found himself writing to reduce the stress and pass the time when there was little to do; however, his writing skills were also limited.

July 27, 1917 Father, There ere is so much to I have often thought of each of you back home and wondered what has happened since we were last together. Th do here as we train and prepare for a war that seems at times unlikely to come. come. I try to write a little whenever I am able and while the thoughts are still in my mind and I am able to write. write. We are kept so busy training that I do not have much time to think of home. While we have been here for more than a month now we still just spend our time training and we have yet to see any real action. France seems like a real nice country with many farms and flowers. Most of the roads we used to get to our camp were good roads and there were many fruit trees along the way. The people over here were real happy to see us and seemed to like that we have come. They didn’t seem to care if we picked picked some of their fruit on our march to here. here. Since we have made made camp we have not seen many of the French people because we are so busy setting up camp. Once we thought we heard heard some action in the distance but that may be just because many of us are ready to join the fight. We stand guard each night and watch the woods woods in the distance but if Fritz is out there he doesn’t seem interested in what we are doing. We have taken to calling the Germans, Fritz.

The gas alarm was given again last night but we never know if it is for training or if someone is really in the woods woods and ready to attack. The woods seem so thick and inviting. They remind me of the times we worked in forest back home to find any wood we needed for building things and firewood. When the gas alarms goes off we hurry to get our masks on and head to the trenches trenches we have dug protecting our camp. I hate to put on those gas masks but they tell us they may save our life if Fritz decides to use gas.

We train each day trying to put on our masks in ten seconds but I can now put my mask on in about five seconds. I am still part of the same artillery unit and when we are not training for gas attacks we spend our time moving and setting up our guns as they arrive. Each day more and more equipment arrives so there is always something that needs to be done. From time to time someone gets a paper from home and we pass it around so that everyone knows a little about what is happening back home. One thing I miss the most from home is Tanka’s cooking. While we have enough to eat I don’t care much for all the corn beef we are fed here. I just wanted to write you a bit to let you know that I am fine and we are looking forward to joining the action. action. I will write again whenever I find the time.

John The summer heat soon began to grow colder as the winds shifted and each day seemed to grow shorter as summer gave way to fall and yet most part American troops had not seen any action. Continuous training and circumstances led to more frustration for many of the troops who were now wondering why the United States seemed in such a hurry to enter the war and yet they did nothing. Endless training and preparation only seemed to lead to more training.

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Members of the 5th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division stands next to a155mm howitzer during training.

Each day only seemed to threaten troop moral as boredom of daily routines began to take root. By now the things that were needed had arrived, which limited the events of each day to training and finding ways to keep their minds focused and off things like what was going on back home.

Often the troops would pass the time with a game of baseball with make shift equipment they had made from the supplies around camp. While their actions often resembled anything but baseball, it was a way of escaping from their daily routine.

September 11, 1917

John Federuk France 1917

Father, It has been some time since I wrote you last and I know that you must be wondering what we are doing. We still have not moved since we first arrived here in France. News from the the front indicates that Fritz is advancing toward Paris but still we sit here training for a war that seems will not come. come. Much of the desire to fight of those around me seems to have faded while we sit here and wait. It is early in the morning here about 2:00 2:00 and I felt I could write you a few lines while I was on duty. For the first time since we arrived the nights seem to be getting cooler and the days shorter. While I long to get into the fight I find myself missing each of you as time passes. I long for our conversations around the dinner table and one of Tanka’s home cooked meals.

Some of the French people that live around our camp are now more willing to talk to us even if I cannot understand very much of what they say. I have learned a few words in French French but they speak to fast for me. The other day one of the families gave us some kind of cake and it was really good. Each of us share any news that we get from home but I still wonder if those in America feel as strongly about the war as they did when we we left. We pass the time each day with more training and standing duty watching for an enemy that doesn’t seem to exist. Some of the troops pass the time by playing their American game of baseball. I still do not understand what they are trying to do so I just spend my time watching but everyone seems to be having fun. I hope that Alex and you are still able to find work so that you can return and pick up mom. mom. Tell Alex that he could come over here with me because I am sure the Germans have plenty of horses we could use. Well the candle that I am using to write this letter is growing short and will soon go out so I must stop writing. I hope that everyone is well. Remember me this Christmas and eat a meal for me. I long for the time when I can see mom again and we can all be together again.

John Day after day passed and still U.S. forces continued training but did little more. Then, as October approached, the buzz around camp was that the Americans could soon be taking part in the action. The full deployment of personnel needed by the 1st Division had now been assembled. Each artillery unit had

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received their supplies, and the troops were now ready to march into action at a moments notice. The entire fighting forces of the 1st Division had now grown to 27,120 officers and enlisted men. Preparing for battle strengthened the moral of the troops and brought about a new sense of urgency for the Americans forces. Over the next two weeks, different units of the Big Red One began to move northward. The camp, which had grown into a small city, began to dwindle in size as the troops moved out.

Time passed uneventful for John and members of the fifth Field Artillery until October 26th, when word came that they would be moving toward Paris within the next 48 hours. Word had now reached John as he stopped for a moment to reflect upon what he was about to take part in. US troops from the 6th Field Artillery unit had now fired the first shots of the campaign for American troops by shelling German lines.

Two days later on October 25th, American forces had suffered their first casualties. The reality of what they were about to take part in began to sink in as they prepared for what was to come. The Big Red One had become the first American forces to see action in WWI, and now it was time for John’s unit to enter the war.

Cool gentle winds blew across the camp on the 28th day of October; it was easy to see that the weather was cooperating with the American forces as the fifth artillery unit began moving toward the north. John took one last look around at the place he had called home for the last four months as a sense of nervous tension seemed to fill the air around him. For almost a year now, the only thing on John’s mind was his desire to fight and yet now that the time had arrived, he began to understand the apprehension that his fellow soldiers had been feeling. Gone was the security that they had developed at their training site where they had spent the summer preparing for war. Each of them had primed themselves for what they were about to face and yet it was hard not to wonder if they were ready for the reality of the situation. Not all the training they had endured could enlighten any one of them about what the future had in store or could it prepare them for the reality of war. There would be no “do over’s” on the battlefield.

The first few days of marching and moving their resources toward the enemy lines went by uneventful. Much of their early marching reminded John of their march into France in early June. It was as if they were in the eye of a storm. Everything seemed calm around them, yet they knew they were heading toward certain turbulence. For now, all they had to deal with were the roads that seemed to be getting worse as they moved forward. After four days of marching, they found themselves turning more in a westerly direction, which meant they were now heading further away from Paris and straight toward enemy lines.

Moving forward had slowed as each of their movements was now measured and more calculated.

For the first time, the scares of war had become more visible as they scanned the landscape around them. A few aircraft had been spotted overhead, and many of the farms and small villages they came upon were destroyed or in ruins. As the sixth day of moving ended, they found themselves digging in which indicated that any further push forward would be stalled for a later date.

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November 2, 1917 Father, Since the last time I was able to write many things have happened. We are now heading into action but there is no real indication of what we are about to do. After a week of slow moving we now find ourselves digging in as if we plan to stay here for a while.

I would like to tell you more about were we are going but the information is limited and we are not allowed to say that in our letters anyway. We do not want Fritz to know what we are doing in the event any letters fall into the wrong hands. Waiting to verlooking the ocean see our first taste of action causes my insides to feel something like they did the day we stood on the dock ooverlooking before we left for America. For the first time we have seen what this war is doing to the land over here. Many of villages and farms we pass have been destroyed. Only old men, women, and children are left to do the things that need to get done in order to survive. I am saddened by the children who have lost their parents by the events of this war and thankful for our family. My comfort comes when I think of defeating Fritz and being able to bring the rest of our family home so that we can can be together again. While there is some apprehension about what is yet to come I know that we have trained well and are prepared for anything that they can throw in our direction. We are eager to show everyone here that we are well trained and we can hold hold our own in any battle. The French still do not trust us and feel we are not ready for what we are about to face. Since we have been on the move I have heard little of what is happening back home. Maybe now that we have stopped moving we may get some mail but for the last week now no one has heard anything from from home and so there is nothing to share with each other. The weather here is now growing colder but that makes our movement easier as we march forward. Since we left camp we have to sleep on the ground ground outside whenever we are able to sleep and that lets us know that it is much colder. Christmas will be here soon and I will miss being at home with each of you. Please tell Tanka and Alex that I would write to them but I am sure the words would be the same same so you can share this letter with them. Well I will try to get a little sleep now and see what tomorrow brings.

John For now, the Americans sat and waited as the French where still cautious of what they could expect form the raw foreigners who had yet to experience any real action. For months now, the French wanted to use American troops as replacements for their exhaust front lines, but General Sibert refused to give in to their demands. Exhausted by constant fighting with the German army, French soldiers were in desperate need of replenishing weary soldiers, but General Sibert and his officers wanted American involvement to come in the form of an independent fighting force.

Trenches used for troop movement along the Western Front.

A few days later John found that, the fifth Artillery unit would be moved closer to the German lines in support of French troops in danger of being overrun.

As they moved into position, for the first time John could clearly hear the sound of German machine gun fire in the distance.

On the morning of November 23, the Fifth Artillery unit was given the order to fire their first rounds of the war on enemy positions. For the first time the deafening sounds of the 155mm howitzers filled the surrounding countryside as members of John’s unit cheered the departure of each salvo of shells fired toward German positions. The Fifth Field Artillery unit was now officially a part in the war.

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Troops move past a destroyed farmhouse.

While more Americans were now taking an active role in the war, US troops were still only being used in support of French troops, which limited any action they were involved in for the remainder of the year. Winter seemed to create a pause to the fighting as both sides dug in to fend off winter conditions and to maintain the ground they were now controlling. For the next three months, John’s artillery unit remained stationary except for the occasional rounds they fired in support of French troops. Members of the Fifth Field Artillery unit worked to establish a fortified position while each soldier did what little they could to avoid the sting of the cold winter weather.

January 8, 1918 Father, Yesterday I turned another year older but there was not much to celebrate. Some of the boys here spent the day day kidding me. Some called me an old man and others said they were glad to know I had finally grown up. It is hard to believe I would ever have had a birthday in a bunch of trenches in France when we left to travel to America. We have been living in trenches trenches that the Germans built that were captured by the French. The trenches that Fritz built are much better than the trenches dug by the French. Some of the sides are lined with dirt bags and there are bunkers all along the trench to sleep in and escape some of the cold outside. The ground is now covered with snow and it is really cold when we have to stand watch. If we leave water in the buckets outside our bunker overnight the water is frozen in the morning. I got a letter from Tanka a few days after Christmas Christmas and it was nice to hear from her. I am glad to know that everyone back home is doing well. The letter was date November 28th which tells you about how long it takes for us to get a letter form home. I wonder if you are getting my letters any faster. I hope that you are putting the money I have sent you to good use. I do not want you to store it up for me because I have all the money I need over here.

Christmas was nice but I would have much liked to be at home. They gave each of us some cigarettes along with small boxes of cake and candy. The fighting for the most part has seemed to stop but occasionally we can hear some gun fire in the distance. We still haven’t done much except to fire our big guns at German positions when the French want help. It seems seems as if each time we get ready to do some fighting we just move a bit and look for new trenches to use for cover. cover. We see French troops from time to time as they move back from the front lines to pick up supplies but I do not understand a word they say. They They sound like a lot of chickens running around when we fed fed them in the early morning. I know a few words but they speak so fast it is hard to understand what they are saying. saying. I still wonder when we will take a real part in this war. Right now the real fighting fighting seems to be more between the Germans and the French. We have seen some fights in the sky between flying planes that pass over us sometimes. sometimes. It seems strange to see them flying in the air like big birds. Well it is time to stop writing now because I have have to take my turn standing watch. watch.

Please tell Tanka thank you for her letter it was nice to hear from home.

John As spring drew nearer, the German army began a campaign that would take them to the outskirts of Paris in an attempt to demoralize French troops. At one point, they came within 40 miles of the city before withdrawing. By now, units of the first Division had moved closer to the front lines in the direction of Tool, a small city north of Paris, to help support French troops. It was almost as if the Americans were trying to inch there way into a war. Still the French had little faith in their ability and the Germans lacked

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confidence in the Americans desire to stay the course while the British saw the Americans as untested with no real understanding of how this war was being fought.

Occasionally the German Army tested the American spirit with small-scale attacks along French lines supported by nearby American troops in an attempt to draw the Americans into the action. While these types of attacks concerned American officers, it rarely resulted in little more than then firing their howitzers at German positions. Germany felt that if they could defeat an American company it would lessen the desire of other American troops to enter the war and reduce the moral of the fatigued French units.

Early spring brought about new life to what little was willing to grow on the battle scared country side, and just as spring had breathed new life into the plants, it had breathed new life into the war. March 12, 1918 started like each of the days they had experienced during the winter. American artillery units were again asked to take up positions and fire at the German lines to help French troops. This task had become fairly common for American troops, so on this morning there were no more cheers as John’s unit fired their guns against German positions. However, today his artillery unit was surprised by a small-scale invasion of German soldiers who had infiltrated French lines close enough to fire mustard gas at the American positions.

For American artillery unites who had taken this assignment as routine; the attack was seen as a wake-up call. As the gas spread across the ground and rose into the air, troops scrambled to put on their gas masks. During training, this practice had become so common everyone could perform this task in their sleep. However, today there were no alarms and no warning and the routine became the chaotic. John scrambled to secure his mask but was unable to place it over his face before some of the disabling muster gas the Germans were using overcame him. In many ways, John and the rest of his troops could be considered lucky because earlier in the war the German Army was more likely to be using lethal chlorine gas. However, the Germans had accomplished their goal, and the fighting ended as soon as it began. For now, the Germans accepted their small victory and retreated to a more defendable position under their control.

The effect of the gas was now taking its toll on those troops who had been closest to where it landed and were unable to secure their masks in time to avoid the gas. While the Americans suffered no casualties, John along with other members of his unit were overcome by the gas and became violently ill. Each soldier affected by the gas was removed to a field hospital unit where they were observed for any potential harmful affects of the gas. However, John along with other members of his unit showed little effects of the gas as it wore off and they were soon released back to their units. (At the time, gas attacks were expected and so they were not considered wounds in action. It would not be until 1968 that the military considered those affected by gas attacks as soldiers wounded in action. On March 25, 1968, 45 years after suffering from a poisonous gas attack in French during military action in WWI, Private First Class John Feduruk and others were awarded the Purple Heart.)

March 14, 1918

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Father, It has been some time since I wrote you last but for now I seem to have the time time to write. We got our first real taste of action a few days ago and now I find myself writing you this letter from a field hospital behind the lines. You do not need to worry I am fine. fine. I did breath in some gas used by Fritz against us the other day. There There was no real battle but they got close enough to us to fire some gas at us. All the training we did only helped those guys who had time to put on their gas masks but the gas landed really close to us and we could not get ours on fast enough. I don’t think that anyone died from the gas but that stuff really makes you sick. The doctors are just watching us for now but plan to send us back to our unit soon. soon. One good thing about being here is the food is better than what we get in the field. Those of us who got got the gas have been kidding each other about going back and doing more training on getting our masks on faster. I guess all that training before may have had a purpose. purpose. This makes for a good story but please tell everyone back home that I am fine. fine. The action action back on the line seems to be picking up a bit as the real cold winter weather now seems to be over. Fritz seems to be more active so we will have to do a better job of watching for them. I hope the horses we use to pull our guns were not affected by the gas. I would hate to think we had to pull those things ourselves. Well I guess I have told you everything about what is happening. Tell everyone I am thinking about them.

John

Fifth Field Artillery unit, unit, on the road road near Toul, France, March 7, 1918 marching marching with their 155mm howitzer.

Within two weeks of returning to his unit, John discovered that they would be moving from their current location outside Toul and taking up a new position 70 miles north of Paris, which was in the Picardy Sector of France. The march north lead them away from enemy lines, and while progress was slow it seemed to proceed with less resistance. After several days of marching, the Americans dug in south of the small hamlet of Cantigny, which was currently under the control of the German army.

On the surface, Cantigny was no more than a small farming hamlet with only a few local businesses and an average population of about one-hundred old men, women, and children. However, its importance lay in the fact that it sat on a plateau, which provided the best surveillance of all troop movements throughout the area. Therefore, Cantigny provided a distinct advantage to anyone holding the position.

In late April of 1918, General Sibert, who had been reluctant to use American forces to strengthen depleted French lines, saw an assault on Cantigny by American forces as a means of demonstrating American muscle. General Sibert entrusted the attack to General Pershing and the 28th Infantry Regiment along with elements of the Fifth Field Artillery. So momentous was the assault on Cantigny toward American efforts in WWI that General Pershing addressed his offices in person.

The emotions of the troops to be used in this operation reached a feverish high as information about the attack filtered down to the units who would be taking part. When John learned that the fifth Field Artillery would be used to provide cover for advancing American troops he found it difficult to get any sleep that night. Each member of the unit diligently prepared for the action they would be part of the

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following day. For the first time, they would be firing on German lines in support of Americans and French troops. John was aware of the cost of any inattention to detail as a result of being gassed just a short time earlier; this caused him to work with more purpose to insure everything was done in the most effective manner.

Infantry troops in the trenches in gas masks on Western Front.

As the sun rose early in the morning on May 28th, (5:45 AM) American and French artillery units began firing on German positions along with a French air strike on the hamlet. The bombardment lasted about an hour and left the Germans bewildered from the continuous shelling. Before they could dig out from the attack, the Americans launched a three-pronged surge on the village using three battalions of the 28th Infantry Regiment. The shelling was followed by an attack of a dozen French Schneider tanks and a battalion of American troops moving behind them in perfect harmony with the advancement of each tank. They moved directly at Cantigny and the German positions. Two additional battalions of American forces advanced each in support of the attacking battalion.

By 7:00 AM, the French tanks had been stopped at the outside edges of the hamlet by large craters and the destruction caused by the earlier shelling. This forced the American troops to attack with only machine gun cover in an attempt to remove the German troops from the hamlet. To the left (north) one of the supporting battalions positioned themselves to protect the attacking American troops from being encircled and thus trapped in the hamlet they were attempting to obtain. To the right (south) another battalion moved in to remove German troops from the outside edges of the tiny village in an effort to prevent a German counter attack.

The troops responsible for the main attack on Cantigny were now forced to proceed toward their target with fixed bayonets, expecting to encounter hand-to-hand combat conditions. Much to the surprise of everyone the German forces put up little resistance allowing American forces to secure the hamlet and capture over 250 German prisoners. Many of the German soldiers used to protect Cantigny had retreated during the shelling in an attempted to retake the village from the Americans once they had taken control.

As the US troops dug in to defend their newly acquired position, they were forced to fend off several German counter attacks. By midday, they were receiving heavy shelling and machine gun fire from German attempts to retake the hamlet. Reserve forces were required to support American troops engaged in ongoing hostilities with German forces. After several attempts to retake Cantigny failed, German troops began to withdraw, and the American victory was apparent.

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Purple Heart Awarded to John Feduruk March 19, 1968 for wounds received in action during WWI in France March 12, 1918 French Schneider Tanks used heavily in WWI. WWI. US troops had suffered 1,067 killed, wounded, missing, or gassed in 10 hours of action. In reality, the battle for Cantigny was minor in comparison with other battles fought during WWI. However, it had raised the moral of American units throughout France and prepared the way for other successful campaigns by US forces. Additionally, the American determination demonstrated to both the French and German armies that they were in the struggle to stay, capable of independent action against German troops.

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Paris ris and 18 miles northwest of Amiens.

Cantigny is geographically located about 75 miles north of Pa Amiens.

Members of the Big Red One’s 28th Infantry Regiment attack German Positions in Cantigny, May 28, 1918.

1918.

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June 10, 1918 Father, I’m sorry for the delay since my last letter. letter. I have wanted to write to you to insure you that I have fully recovered from the gas attack I suffered earlier. We finally got a chance to give Fritz a real what for and we gave it to them good. We are now moving forward and doing more of the real fighting we came here to do. do. Today we spent the day resting getting ready to move again. We are no longer staying in one position for a long time. The German army seems to be on the run as we have not seen any action over the last three days and everything is so quite at night it makes you a bit nervous. It hurts to see all the damage done by the war.

The land is full of holes caused by shelling and trenches that have been dug by both armies to provide cover. We have been using the holes and trenches to sleep in at night because they provide us with some cover in case Fritz decides to attack during the night.

Almost all the trees are gone now and all the farm houses have been destroyed leaving nothing but dirt that turns to mud when it rains because even most of the grass is gone where most of the fighting happened. I look forward to the day when we see something growing again and green grass. I do not have much more to tell you but I am sure I will have a lot of stories I can share with you when I get home. Tell everyone that I said said hello.

John

Battle scared ground and Trenches along the Western Front outside Cantigny France 1918.

1918.

The First Division was now on the offensive and attacked German positions all along the Western Front. In July they took Soissons resulting in heavy losses by American troops with over 7,000 US troops killed, wounded, gassed, or missing in action. The following month (September, 11-13) units of the First Division fought continuously for three days clearing St. Mihiel.

Shortly after St. Mihiel, they fought in the bloodiest battle of the war in which 7,600 Americans were either killed or wounded. The battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest, a stretch of land seven kilometers in length. During the battle, the First Division defeated or hampered eight German divisions. While the battle of the Meuse-Argonne Forest was the last significant battle of the struggle for American forces, the First Division continued to advance, and when the Armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, ending all military action, they had advanced to Sedan the farthest US penetration of the war.

Following the end of the war, the Big Red One became the first American forces to cross the Rhine River entering Germany where they remained until the war was formally ended with the signing of the peace treaty. In a little over five months of continuous fighting, five members of the First Division where awarded the Medal of Honor, and they suffered 22,668 casualties, 4,411 killed, 17,201 wounded or gassed, and 1,056 missing in action or subsequently dying from the wounds they had received during combat.

Members of the Fighting First were the first to arrive in France as America entered the war, were the first to see action, and were the last to return home when they were shipped back to the United States during August and September of 1919.

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John Federuk riding a motorbike with a fellow solider seated to the left 1918 March 23, 1918 Father, It has been some time since I was last able to write write you a letter. The war is now officially over. We are here now just to insure that peace continues and to help insure some form of order. Much of the leadership that once controlled Germany is now gone. We have now crossed the Rhine and have taken up positions positions in Germany. For the most part I think the German people are almost as happy this war is over as us. Most of the people seem to treat us nice and are doing the things needed to restore some order as they reopen their businesses and go about their daily daily life. They don’t remind me of the people that I had once distrusted. It seems like just yesterday that we arrived in France waiting to get in the action to defeat them and now almost two years later everything is over and I can’t wait till we can go home. home. I wish I could travel back to our old home and at least see mom but for now they will not allow us to travel into areas controlled by the Russian army because their government seems to be really unstable at this time. The fighting may be over here but there there seems to some unrest in Russia as different groups fight for control of the government. I seem to be so close and yet I still am unable to see mom or my sister. Please do not worry about mom I am sure that everyone is alright but from what I have learned learned there was more trouble in that area due to the Russian uprising than action in the war. Most of the unrest has been due to who will control Russia now that the war is over. Things have taken a turn for worse for the poor in most of Europe but even more so in Russia. I did learn that there was not much military action in that area of Europe during the war. I wish I could tell you more but that is all I have found out for now. Most of us think that we will be returning home later this year but I am not sure sure where we will be going. Because I enlisted before the draft I must service in the army until January of 1921 but I will be able to take leave once we return home. I look forward to the time that we can be together again and that I can enjoy a good meal and we can talk about the things I have seen over the last two years. I miss each of you and I will try to write more later.

John

Members of the Big Red One enter Trier, Germany, Germany, 1918.

1918.

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John Federuk on horseback in Germany, 1918.

1918.

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Chapter Five An Ill Fated Trip The war was now over, and while it did provide a period of some relief for those who had spent over a year fighting, it was a time of emotional conflict for John. The First Division had now entered Germany as part of the allied forces being used to insure peace during the transitional period as Germany returned to a civilian controlled government and away from the military leadership that had ruled the country during the war. However, this provided little comfort for John. The majority of Americans currently in Europe either had been drafted or joined the military out of a sense of duty. John’s true purpose was to return home to help his mother and reunite his family that had been divided since most of his family had left Europe before the war.

In order to avoid any further conflict in Europe, the United States had placed all Russian controlled territory off limits to American personal. While John did receive bits and pieces of information about what was happening in Russia, he had no way of knowing Russia was enthralled in a revolutionary war for control of the country. The results of the turmoil in Russia would never again allow him to spend time with his mother and would soon result in the death of most of his family. For John, it may have been better that he remained unaware of the events that would soon take place. Onnis was also not fully aware of what was happening in Russia due to a lack of news coverage of the events in that part of the world. However, he was now making plans to return to Europe with his oldest son to bring his wife and younger daughter to America.

I have often wondered how different things might have been had my great grandfather or grandfather known just what was happening back in Russia. I know that my grandfather had a strong sense of honor and duty as characterized by the pride he displayed in caring for the American flag, which he always flew wherever he lived. Yet, I wonder if he had known of the problems facing his mother or that his father and brother were returning to Europe, could he have remained faithful to the uniform of the country he now served? I tend to think he may have made an effort to find his father and returned to Poland to help his mother. Such small things have often changed the events of history and given many of us pause to wonder…what if!

The rest of my grandfather’s military career was uneventful; however, it is necessary to understand some history of Russia in order to speculate on what happened to my great grandfather. The events that transpired in that part of the world may be the key to what happened to him and his son as he returned to Poland. Russian record keeping during the early 1900’s was less impressive than records that were kept in America. Much of what became of my family is a matter of speculation and Russian history, more than a story passed down from those who had traveled those roads or documented those events. Without the history of events during this time, what happened to my great grandfather might remain a mystery for all generations. While to some extent it is still a mystery, history does shed some light on the probable events that forever changed the story of my family.

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Russia had been engulfed in civil unrest even before the beginning of World War I, but most of the conflict was more about government control and was centered around Russia’s capital city of St. Petersburg.

The outbreak of the war brought some relief to social unrest as the nation's attention was turned toward the advances of the Germany Army, which had now made its way into Russian controlled territory. However, any reprieve the government may have gotten by way of the anti-German sentiment at the beginning of the war didn’t last long enough due to the ineptness of the Russian Army during the early period of the war.

The Battle of Tannenberg (1914) was one of the first serious battles between Russia and Germany. In Russian terms, the battle was a complete disaster, another setback for Tsar (Nicholas) of Russia and his control of the country. Russia suffered over 30,000 casualties and another 90,000 troops where captured by the German Army. Even for Germany, the victory was short lived as they were forced to retreat over the remainder of the year due to winter conditions and a lack of supplies. The German Army had advanced with such ease that they didn’t take the time to create supply routes needed to stay in control of the areas they had conquered. However, this defeat served to create more troubles for the current Russian form of government than any effect it had on the success or failure of the German Army.

Such sweeping defeats by the advancing Germans forced Nicholas, last of the Russian Tsars, to take complete control of the Russian Army. As a result, Nicholas left the responsibility of overseeing the country in the hands of his wife Alexandra, who often demonstrated an inability to carry out the task. Her selfambitions and inability to grasp the countries affairs led to a deeper erosion of the people's confidence in the Russian form of government.

For Nicholas, the next two years were a complete failure both militarily and economically in terms of him remaining in control of Russia. During the spring, Germany regrouped and used its superior fighting forces to take over the Russian controlled areas of Galicia and Poland. The Russian loss was so complete that they lost over 5,000,000 men killed, wounded, missing in action, or taken prisoners during this period. These losses were so devastating to the Russian Army that mutinies and changing allegiance became quite commonplace.

On the economic front, in order to obtain the funds needed to support military action against Germany, the Russian government, printed rubles in ever-increasing amounts. The increased circulation of Russian currency caused inflation to run amuck and prices to skyrocket. However, while prices increased, salaries remained level which further eroded the spending power of the lower class. Soon farmers, who where already under paid, began refusing to take their crops to market and food shortages in many of Russia’s cities became far too numerous.

Food shortages and a lack of products needed to carry on the everyday living conditions of its citizens and to support the military caused the morale of everyone in Russia to sink even lower. Citizens often spent up to 40 hours a week standing in line for food, while soldiers were being sent to the front without uniforms or shoes. Often they were sent without the weapons or ammunition they would need to fight in the war. It was hoped that they could pick up the munitions and rifles they needed from soldiers who had died on the

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battlefields. Conditions would improve slightly by the end of 1916, but all faith in the Russian government had reached an all time low and Russia remained in turmoil.

While the majority of the men were off fighting, women and children were left to meet the production needs of the country. However, the need for food often led to work stoppages and strikes became more of a norm than an occasional occurrence. Crime became an increasing problem as women turned to prostitution and other forms of crime to obtain the things they needed to care for their families. Fences and other wooden structures of the wealthy were often torn down and used as firewood by the lower class to provide some form of heat during the bitterly cold winter months.

By the end of 1916, reports were coming out of Russia that riots were becoming a real possibility as the government began losing control. In early 1917, the first of two crucial revolutions resulted in deeperrooted problems for Nicholas who seemed to be losing control of Russia. Many Russians blamed Nicholas for the current state of affairs and the city of St. Petersburg found itself facing one of its largest uprisings in March of 1917. Unable to reduce the problems facing Russia, Nicholas turned to the military in an attempt to regain control of the residents of the capital city.

By now students and professional workers joined collective labor forces taking action against the government. Nicholas called in over 12,000 soldiers to control the riots; however, many of the military personal refused to take up arms against the civilian population due to the high number of women and children involved. Many of the soldiers Nicholas employed joined the protesters in rebellion against the government. Total control of the capital soon fell in the hands of the protesters as Nicholas and his family fled toward Petrograd but they were captured after reaching their destination and Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne. Less than a year later the Tsar and his family where executed as a Provisional Government took control of Russia.

However, the Provisional Government proved to be as ineffective as the Tsar. Their influence was continuously challenged by the Petrograd Soviet (The Council of Worker’s Deputies), a consortium of deputies appointed by striking workers during the early uprisings of February 1917, which led to the downfall of Nicholas. Yet, the Petrograd Soviet only saw themselves as representatives of the workers and refused to take control of the nation as a whole. They met only to apply pressure on the newly formed Provisional Government to act in accord with the wishes of the workers. While the Provisional Government agreed in public with the Petrograd Soviet Deputies, they were determined not to let them interfere with government policy, which led to an intolerable from of dual power.

During the spring of 1917, continuing military losses and poor economic conditions caused other militant groups to organize and undermine the Provisional Government. In an attempt to overthrow the new government in Russia, Germany gave safe passage to Vladimir Lenin, an activist exiled to Switzerland, allowing him to return to Russia. Lenin, a follower of Carl Marx returned to the socialist stronghold of Petrograd to promote the Bolshevik Party and found the Marxist revolution. By most counts, Marx failed to understand the true power he controlled at the time, and he was ill prepared to act on the support he received from both the military and Russian people.

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During the summer of 1917, the Provisional Government embarked on an invasion of German positions that resulted in a complete failure and the Russian Army was forced to withdraw. Retreating soldiers were ordered back to the front, which lead to an attempt by both soldiers and sailors to overthrow the current government. A large group of disillusioned military personal attempted to take control of the city of Petrograd in an attempt to create their own government. Not understanding the support the Bolshevik Party had gained, Lenin disowned the revolt, which resulted in their failure, and Lenin was forced to flee to Finland to avoid being arrested by Provisional leaders. Failure of the Bolshevik Party only temporarily stalled their acquisition of the government. Their failure to act and the role they played in stopping the attempted overthrow of the newly formed system of government, strengthened their position within the Provisional Government. Soon the Bolshevik Party became the only organized group in any position to overtake the current system of government controlling Russia.

By October, the lower class had lost all faith in the Provisional Government, which was seen as being more interested in their own needs and counter productive to the needs of the people. Control of Petrograd by now had shifted back to the growing number of socialist and the Bolshevik Party. These events allowed Lenin to think it was now safe to return to Russia. Upon Lenin’s return and the increased popularity of the Bolshevik Party, a proposal was drafted and passed to do away with the Provisional Government, which lead to the beginning of the October Revolution, which marked the beginning of communism.

The revolution succeeded in toppling the Provisional Government but divided control of Russia’s military into two factions known as the White Army (Liberal and Monarchist forces) and the Red Army (The Bolshevik Party). Officials of newly formed government, where freely elected until the Bolshevik Party saw they had little control outside the larger cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. As a result, all non-Bolsheviks were barred from soviet membership. This action led to the 1918 civil war between the Red and White Armies covering a two year period of time. The civil war caused millions of Russian’s to suffer in the less populated territories of Russia.

The war in Europe was now over, allowing Russians to turn their concerns inward. The White Army made up of monarchists, conservatives, liberals and moderate socialists opposed the radical changes to governmental policies established by the Bolshevik Party. Most European nations that had opposed Germany during the war supported the beliefs of the White Army but remained detached from all conflicts within Russia. Countries backing the White Army such as Great Britain, France, and the United States were still to busy restoring order in Europe and had little desire to pursue any military action in regards to a civil war in Russia.

The obstacles my great grandfather was about to experience were more a reflection of the times and poor timing on his part than any single event. While he was aware of the protests being held in Russia, he was unaware of the civil war or how the conflict between the Red and White Armies would affect all Russian controlled territory. Onnis felt that with the troubles Russia was now facing; it would make it easier for him to return to Poland to pick up his wife and daughter. Little did he know that he was about to return to an area forced to deal with the violence of the going conflict in Russia.

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The end of the war in Europe had afforded greater opportunities to those wishing to travel to that part of the world. With the family’s finances now in order, Onnis booked passage for Alex and himself on a cargo ship heading to Europe. If Onnis would have had better communications with John, the events that were about to unfold might never have happened. However, they didn’t live in the days of cell phones and computers. Letter writing was one of the few forms of communications used during this period, and it was often extremely slow. John didn’t know at the time that while he had grown weary of the war and longed to return home, his family was now on their way to Europe. Yet, even through their paths would cross; it would be done without any acknowledgement from either party.

Onnis arrived in Europe with his son but didn’t know how to locate John and had no way of communicating with him. Because the chances of finding him were limited, they elected to focus their efforts on getting home. Now was the time to find his wife and daughter and bring them back to America. Without knowing what to expect Onnis and Alex traveled by any means available as they crossed Europe in a northwesterly direction. The fact that they were Russian by birth allowed them easier access to move across many of the borders within Europe. While Americans weren’t permitted to cross into Russian control areas the fact they spoke the language fluently, allowed them to cross many of the boarders closed to others.

However, they would soon learn that travel in Poland was much more difficult than expected.

The civil war had now reached that part of Russia because this was one of the last strongholds of the White Army. Onnis had no way of understanding the ordeal his family was now facing. The world he had once known was no longer the same. The fact that he had come from America would place him and his son in good stead with those loyal to the White Army but would prove disastrous if caught by members of the Red Army.

Reaching his wife and daughter gave everyone a time to rejoice in the family’s reunion but provided little comfort for those suffering around them. Onnis knew that time was not on their side and if they were to leave Russia, they must do so immediately. Little time was spent getting things ready for their departure.

Saying goodbye to family and friends; however, took up valuable time needed in order to leave safely. Each meeting with relatives or those they had known during their life confirmed the danger that they now faced.

Rumors seemed to indicate that the Red Army was already nearby and attacking small villages in an attempt to defeat the White Army.

Onnis knew that each movement needed to be carefully planned in order to protect his family. That night they discussed what needed to be done and made plans to leave early the next day. As the sun rose the next morning, things seemed to be going uneventful as they gathered what they needed and planned to leave.

Then without warning word among the villagers quickly spread informing everyone that the Red Army was closing in on the village. Onnis was now forced to choose between two evils. If he stayed and placed his allegiance with the Red Army, he would lose the support of those who had taken care of his wife and daughter while he was gone and he might be forced to stay in Poland. If he tried to escape before the Red Army moved in and his family was captured, he would be seen as loyal to the White Army, which would put them in serious peril.

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The decision was made to try to leave in hopes that they could escape without being noticed. With the Red Army entering the hamlet from the southwest, Onnis knew they would have to leave toward the north end of town. Heading in this direction forced his family to move in a direction that was counter productive to where they needed to go, but this seemed to be their safest means of escape. By now things appeared to be happening in slow motion, yet with such speed that all plans had to be abandoned. Onnis now found himself reacting to the events as they unfolded without the information needed to make wise decisions. They swiftly moved towards the woods, which could afford them the security they needed to escape. By now, gunfire could be heard within the hamlet behind them as they quickly crossed a barren field in an attempt to reach the forest.

The sound of horses began to ring in the ears of Onnis as he turned to see they had been discovered and troops were now closing in on him and his family. Understanding they could not reach the forest, and having no weapons, Onnis knew the only course of action was to surrender in hopes nothing would happen.

Soldiers quickly dismounted, striking Alex whose courageous youthful spirit seemed to force him to do something to protect his family. As he fell to the ground, Onnis quickly stepped towards his fallen son, only to discover the wrong end of a rifle in face.

Within minutes, Onnis and his son found themselves face down in the dirt with their hands tied behind them. Following their arrest, they where dragged by their feet back to the village while other soldiers groped his wife and daughter. Back in the village one of the soldiers found papers on Onnis that indicated he had come from America. Fearful of what this could mean to his family Onnis refused to answer any questions about his background. Onnis and his family were placed with other families that the Red Army felt were sympathetic to the White Army. With that, the group was surrounded by members of the Red Army, who then opened fire killing everyone.

My great grandfather made it back to those whom he loved and had left behind while attempting to make a better life for his family. However, he never returned to America with his wife and children. While I may have never known my great grandmother or great grandfather, the sheer fact they died for the misguided beliefs of others and a desire to have what so many Americans take for granted saddens me. Each war comes at a cost, and the unfortunate part is that far too often the innocent pay the price. I am only left to wonder what my life would have been like had my link to the past been able to return to America.

My grandfather was unaware of the events taking place as he prepared to return to American as part of the victorious American Army. He had gone to war in hopes of reuniting his family, and in the end, he came home to a sister and the knowledge that he would never again be able to walk or talk with his father or mother. Each time I think that the events in my life are unbearable, I am reminded of the price others paid so I could live in a country they believed in and I am comforted.

With the war over for America and the job completed, it was time for the Big Red One to return home. They were the first to arrive in Europe, and now it was time for them to leave. I talked to my grandfather about the war, what he discussed were the people; what he didn’t discuss were the events, the action he took part in, or the medals he earned. When I asked him about specific events he had taken part

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in, a simple nod of his head indicated he had or had not but what had happened would remain locked inside him forever sealed to the outside world. What was evident was that he had gone to war as a young man unaware of the reality of what he would face; only to return to America more aware of evil man was capable of inflicting on each other.

By now, crossing the Atlantic Ocean had become something that John had become accustom too.

Yet, this would be the last time he would cross this body of water. The events of his life would never again give him an opportunity or desire to travel this path. Now he was heading home and yet in many ways he felt as if he had failed to complete part of what he wanted to do. The national pride he felt for his homeland (Russia) and the need to protect his family was part of what had driven John to join the army. However, he was unable to reunite his family or spend time with his mother. While the military had afforded him the opportunity to defeat an enemy his family had always mistrusted, it kept him from his true desire of retuning home and securing the safety of his mother and sister. America had accomplished its purpose. US troops were not sent to Europe to bring families back together but to bring an end to the deadliest conflict the world had ever known.

The trip home was not filled with the same sense of dread he had felt a few years earlier on his trip to France. Now was a time to revel in what had been accomplished. Gone was the uncertainty of the future for those American soldiers returning home but not for John. He spent much of the trip home sitting on the fantail of the ship watching the ocean and coastline slowly disappear from view as he left Europe behind.

Again he would leave without knowledge of his mother and when or if he would see her again. He had not received news of his father and bothers return to Europe in an effort to bring their family back together.

So he spent much of his time with mixed emotions believing that soon he would be back home with his father and siblings, but he may have lost his chance to see his mother. Europe and his past were slowly slipping into the distance as if a means of telling him that his past wouldn’t be a part of his future.

Things seemed different as land came into full view upon his return to America. The passenger liner he had made this trip on was being guided by a tug into the naval shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. No ticker-tape parades down Broadway for the group of men who had come to symbolize America’s military might. Neither Lady Liberty nor the skyline of New York was in sight as they returned, just a military band and those who had come to welcome home their loved ones. John didn’t expect to see his father among those attending so when no one came to meet him, it was not something he had been anticipating.

The infantry and artillery units that had made up the Big Red One were now going in different directions and members of John artillery unit would be heading to Fort Knox just outside Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Fort Knox was established in 1918 during WWI and was used in the development of military tactics. It was also used for training purposes for active army units and later used to prepare reserve units.

In 1918, congress established Camp Henry Knox to be used as a field artillery training center with construction of facilities beginning in July. However, much of the construction was reduced or halted over the 5 years following the war due to an end of hostility and an overall reduction in military force needed by the United States.

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Once again, John found himself in an environment similar to when he had first arrived in France.

While his surroundings were slightly different, much of the base was still under construction when he arrived. Moreover, while ongoing construction of his new surroundings seemed to remind him of all the arrivals that the military had afforded him, other things were significantly different. Gone was ongoing training that accompanies any army preparing for battle and gone was the heightened anticipation and uneasiness concerning the future, now was a time of peace. Now was a period of more normal circumstances where a person could plan the activities of his or her day. Once again, there was an escape from the daily tasks of a military life right outside the confines of the base. Things to do and places to go without an atmosphere of uneasiness when meeting someone outside the military personal you had become so accustomed to sharing your life with.

My grandfather never told me when he learned of the death of those in his family or the circumstances of their death; he only indicated that it was while he was still in the military. Either he did not know, or it was a part of his past that he was unwilling to discuss. While the mystery behind their death may forever remain with those involved, my grandfather was now forced to live his life without his parents.

Many military wives have become far too familiar with the meaning of an unannounced visit by a military chaplain, I doubt my grandfather had any idea what he was about to learn when the base chaplain approached him. I also have no real way of understanding how he felt at the time because it was not something that he talked about in any detail. He just told me that the chaplain told him that they had been killed, and the military allowed him to return home to spend time with his sister.

As we sat and talked about those events his face showed no emotion as he told me the story, only his silence seemed to tell me that while the sadness had softened it hold on him, this wasn’t a subject he cared to discuss. Returning to Kentucky after spending some time with his sister was a good thing because it was a way to take his mind off the events that had transpierced. A time to rebuild his life without the hopes of one day seeing his family reunited. Yet to some extent, I often wonder if he was ever able to place this particular life lesson behind him. Some things are just too heavy of a burden to place on the shoulders of such a young person. Losing his family may have been too much for anyone who had lived so much of his life attempting to reunite his family.

With the war over the need for a strong military presents at home had diminished. On March 31, 1920, John was transferred from the regular army to the army reserves. He was officially furloughed from the regular army at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky before it was dismantled. Camp Zachary had also become a victim of the end of the war. The camp was just a few miles north of Fort Knox and was the site of the largest military training center for troops used in WWI. It housed over 40,000 troops during the war were over 125,000 servicemen received their training and was the place where thousand of troops received their discharge papers from active service in the military. Following his discharge from active service John returned to Fort Knox for the rest of 1920 where he completed his reserve requirements before returning to Massachusetts where he was honorably discharged from the army on January 25, 1921.

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The search for inner peace led him to meet a young woman named Vera Lee while in Kentucky.

Vera was the daughter of Parish and Mary Lee from Glasgow. Vera was a true Southern Belle, and if the truth were known did more to arouse John’s desire for her then he did himself. John was quite and reserved; however, Vera was an outgoing young girl who had just reached her thirteenth birthday, but one might say she was considerably older than her age. While thirteen may have raised some real concerns for society in the 21st century, it was slightly more common at the beginning of the 20th century for men to date younger women. She was looking for excitement and the good life that seemed to engulf the nation with its victory over the Germany. Since the loss of everyone in his family, except his sister, John felt alone while Vera was alive, and longing to experience life.

I think in many ways my grandfather may have felt what Orson Wells meant when he wrote, “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.” For a brief period in his life since the last time he had seen his family as a whole, my grandfather had allowed himself the illusion that he was not alone. He had met someone that filled the emptiness he felt from the loss of those he loved the most. Together they returned to John’s northern roots, where their two sons were born, Ernest and Richard Dix. Maybe this was actually a relationship built on the needs of each other; my grandfathers need to belong and my grandmother desire to enjoy life and escape the control of her parents, the hidden desire of many young teenagers. Regardless of the reason when John returned to Massachusetts, Vera followed.

There they married and settled in Bristol, Rhode Island. It seems reasonable to sit back and ask why my grandfather (who was now 24) married a girl ten years his junior or why my grandmother was interested in leaving home at such any early age. Yet, the answers can’t change the fact that she was still much younger than him. Then again, I didn’t live in the early 1900’s, where life expectancy was much younger, and norms weren’t what we know today.

Artists View of Camp Zachary at the end of WWI. WWI. Now married and living in Massachusetts, my grandfather and grandmother began to build a life together.

However, I am not sure if it was meant for them to spend their lives together. My grandmother was a young free spirited American that saw life as a party, always ready for the next dance. My grandfather was a soft-spoken immigrant from Russia who had already faced some of life’s harshest lessons but keep his feelings bottled up inside himself. They were ten years apart in age, and while my grandmother still needed to grow, my grandfather had already tasted many of lives lessons. The result was a relationship doomed to fail unless one or both was willing to change and embrace the life style of the other, which never happened.

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Their marriage produced two sons during the 1920’s. The first was Ernest John born in 1923, and the second was Richard Dix born April 22, 1927. Turmoil within their marriage shortly after the birth of their second son resulted in my grandmother leaving my grandfather and returning to Kentucky. During that time, my grandfather made two life-altering decisions that would forever distance himself from his past. On March 21, 1928, my grandfather became an American citizen giving up his Russian culture.

Shortly thereafter, he changed his last name from Federuk to Frederick in order to give his children a more American identity. Tanka had long since given up the family name with her marriage and with the deaths the other family members, my grandfather laid-to-rest the family name, Federuk.

Following by grandfather’s naturalization, my grandmother returned to Massachusetts carrying the child of another man. Neither my grandmother nor grandfather ever discussed the issue with me or revealed my aunt’s father’s name. What my grandfather did; however, helped describe the kind of man he was. Even through my grandmother had left my grandfather and spent time with another man, he took her back and accept her child, a daughter Charlotte and adopted her as his own. Their marriage finally ended in divorce and my grandfather returning to Massachusetts.

After their divorce, my grandfather may have never spent time with my grandmother again except for an intervention late in his life. When my father traveled north to bring his father back to Mississippi to live out his life with my parents, he stopped to visit his mother where my grandparents were forced to meet each other for the last time in either of their lives. I had talked earlier in length to my grandfather about his past one night while I visited him before he moved to Mississippi. We talked about various topics, but he never spoke of his marriage to my grandmother in either a negative or positive light.

I felt it was an issue best left to them.

My grandfather was the perfect gentleman. He spoke only of his past in response to questions he felt comfortable talking about, it was as if he was unable to say something positive he said nothing. He didn’t seek help from those around him, opting to remain self-reliant. Once when he had broken his leg he crawled about his small apartment caring for himself until his condition had been discovered. He only retired after his actual age was discovered and he forced to retire. When it was discovered that he had cancer at the age of 94 and doctors wanted to start treatment his response was, “I am 94, and I have lived a full life, there is nothing left for me to do so I will just die.” Two weeks later, he did just that passing away on his terms, just as he had lived much of his life.

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John Feduruk’s discharge papers. papers.

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John Federuk Born January 7, 1895, Russian by Birth was Naturalized March 21, 1928 .

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Chapter Six United by War If life were a fairy tale, it might be described in terms of my life, with my dad and my stepmother as the white knights who came in to retrieve my sisters and me from the wicked witch of the north. However, life is far from a fairy tale, and in many ways, it was often seemed hard for my father to convey the warmth or acknowledgement a boy seeks from his father. Maybe it was his military up bringing that had become a part of his personality early in life or maybe it was the difficulties he faced in life, but we spent too much of the short time we had together at odds.

My dad came from Bristol, Rhode Island just a shot distance from Providence, which is probably the reason why I spent the first seven years of my life in that area of the county. While he was my father, in reality he only became a focal point in my life after he had divorced my mother and remarried. I am sure that he must have been there when I was born, but I don’t remember such events, so early life. The first time I remember anything about him was at the age of seven after he returned from Germany and he came to reclaim both my sisters and I. At that time in my life, as unpleasant as it had been for me; he was still a stranger, unknown and unwanted.

For some unknown reason, we spent most of the next 28 years butting heads with each other and in many ways never truly getting to know each other. He had grown up in the military, which had become his life at work and at home. What he saw as success and what I saw as success were two different things.

During my life, he was in Vietnam for one year, I was in the military and away from home for four years, five years he was divorced from my mother and out of my life, and five years he lived in another state almost 500 miles away. Far too many of the thirty five years of my life when he was alive, we were as if two bulls in a field, each at odds with each other. The young bull trying to establish his way in life and the old bull demanding respect for the things he accomplished.

For the most, it may have been better when we didn’t spend time together during certain periods of my life. He was not a bad man, but there were times during our time together that we stood toe-to-toe, ready to battle. While it might be easy to say my father did so many things wrong, it is noteworthy to point out that what I am today is a direct result of the fact he cared enough to come back for us. I may have elected to live my life differently and raise my children in a different fashion, but there are still many similarities in how my father and I did things. We may have seen the world differently, but I am sure that if any of us examined our own lives, we would find our own successes and failures.

For many years, we never actually spoke with each other as father and son. No one could say that he ran from his responsibility because there was nothing that made him return to reclaim my sisters and me. He was also a good husband who always took care of my mother (stepmother); I don’t remember a single day that he didn’t kiss her before he left for work and when he returned home. I am just not sure he knew how to express his feelings towards his children. The funny thing is that I don’t remember him ever whipping me for anything. His form of punishment was to send me to my room where I usually

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spent extended periods of time for things I had done that were wrong. Yet, the only way he ever talked to me, at least until after I was married, was as if I were a soldier under his command.

I only remember him coming to one of my football games after which he expressed his displeasure in the dominance I had displayed over a weaker opponent. He missed my high school graduation and died without either of us ever talking about the experiences we shared while serving in the same war. Yet, even though we were often at odds with each other, somewhere we grew closer together as if God was trying to tell us that our time together was limited. When my first daughter was born, he stood beside me in hospital looking down at his newest grandchild with the same pride as any grandparent. When I graduated from college, he was there, and when he died, he carried a newspaper clipping of my graduation. Something tells me that had we met as two individuals and not as father and son, we would have been friends.

I joined the Navy after completing high school to avoid the draft and as a way of leaving home. In some small way, it may have been my attempt to prove to him that I was a man. However, I soon found that the military was my dad, and I hated the four years I spent in the Navy. There was nothing wrong with the military; it was just the fact I had left home to escape the environment I now found myself in, and I wanted no part of it. Had I been a bit older or under different circumstances, I may have found the Navy an attractive way of life. The truth is that neither my father nor I knew how to communicate with each other.

I returned home after four years in the military where I had spent six months off the coast of Vietnam, and his first words to me were that I was weak, and I was unable to accept what a military life meant. What he didn’t realize was that I didn’t actually like military life because it reminded me too much of those types of comments. Today after his death we are both honored as military war veterans in the town I spent most of my childhood growing up. While this honor came after his death and our differences, we never sat and talked to each other about what either of us had done. I was surprised once when my mother told me that she didn’t know I had gone to Vietnam, but as I reflected on her comments, it was easy to understand, my father and I never found the time to talk of such matters. However, I am proud to have my name stand next to his and in some ways it symbolizes the fact that at his death, we had reached a point were we had begun to understand one another.

It wasn’t until I met my wife to be (at the age of 25) that we genuinely began to see one another as a father and a son should see each other. Yet within five years of my marriage, he moved to Mississippi and five years later, he died. The pasture that the two bulls had once shared was now mine; however, I often wonder what life would have been like for the two of us had he only lived longer. I know more about my grandfather than I do my own father. I would have loved to sit down with him and just talked about the past and what life meant to him.

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Veterans Park in Hopkinsville, Kentucky dedicated to those who served to protect America (Established to honor all the veterans from Hopkinsville on Veterans Day 2009)

Bricks with the names of Richard Dix Frederick and Richard John Frederick (father and son) in the walkway surrounding the monument in Veterans Park in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Kentucky.

While it would be easy to place the blame for our differences on my father, growing older, and having my own children has shown me that I also had been at fault for the distance that often existed between us. In many ways, we were more alike than either of us could have ever admitted, and those shared likenesses often drove a wedge between us and kept us apart. Before his death, we learned to sit down and talk as father and son without the controversy that often existed earlier in my life. Maybe that was because my father knew his days were limited or maybe I had grown more than I care to admit. Yet in many ways, the life he had made me a part of has now become my life, and today the American flag flies daily in my front yard, symbolic of my military upbringing. The satisfaction that I have in serving my country and the love I have for my family were passed down to me from my father who received them from his father.

Richard Dix Frederick was born in the Massachusetts on the 22nd day of April in 1927, the second of two sons. While the date may have seemed like any period in American history, his birth marked the

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height of the industrial revolution that had been a large part of what was happening in America at the time. However, before he had even reached the age of two, the United States was facing a great depression that would last most of childhood life.

During the early 1900’s much of the farm labor that America had been so dependent on during its first 100 years, left the farms and headed to the larger cities of the industrialized north for higher paying jobs. The stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as “Black Tuesday,” marked the official beginning of the Great Depression, which began in the United States and quickly spread throughout the world. The next ten to fifteen years were marked by poor economic conditions and unemployment rates that reached as high as 25% in the United States. Many of the unemployed workers lived in the north were individuals had come to seek factory jobs that were lost as international trade plunged and factories closed or reduced labor needs as demands for American goods declined.

Many of the things Americans now take for granted were lost for a large percentage of Americans.

In many ways, the events of the 30’s brought families closer together. Moreover, while kids were still kids finding ways to have fun, children were forced to grow up faster than they are today. For many of them, graduating from high school was a luxury as young teenagers were often forced to seek jobs to help support their families. The events of his early life helped to establish who he would become. The fact he never looked at the things I looked at as prominent may have been because they hadn’t been an essential part of his life.

The 1940’s saw the American economy begin to turn around; however, for much of the world this wasn’t true. Europe was now in turmoil as Hitler led Germany on a collision course towards the second world war of the 20th century. For John Frederick and his family much of the conversation about what the United States should do was quite familiar. John, a WWI veteran was now an American citizen and yet his feelings for Russia, and his homeland of Poland were rekindled with the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939. However, just as they had done before the start of WWI, most Americans felt this was Europe’s problem and not an issue for the United States. In many ways, it was as if we had learned nothing from what had happened during the First World War. As Richard approached his teenage years, most of the family conversation turned to the need for the United States to once again defeat Germany. The events taking place in Europe seemed to be directing Richard and his bother towards the military.

Much of Europe was now at war; however, the United States remained neutral while supplying Britain with the war materials they needed to wage war against Germany. The United States didn’t enter the war until December 8, 1941 the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the war against Germany and Italy followed. Germany and Italy had an alliance with Japan, and once the United States declared war against Japan both Germany and Italy declared war against the United States. Within three days of declaring war against Japan, the United States had become an unwilling participant in a second world war.

With the declaration of war against enemies off both coasts of the United States, the necessity of rapidly building a military fighting force once again became a priority in America. Ernest John Frederick,

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Richard’s older brother was the first to join the military from his family. Ernest joined the Navy in 1943.

U-boat attacks against U.S. cargo ships had become more prevalent and were now happening closer to America’s own shoreline. The United States faced an urgent need to increase its naval presents in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which required a call for naval personal.

Ernest John Frederick US Navy

Richard Dix Frederick US Navy

A monument dedicated to the residence of Bristol, Rhode Island for those who died or served during WWII bears the names of Ernest J. and Richard D. Frederick.

Frederick.

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August 1944 Navy Muster Rolls Show Ernest John Frederick Aboard the USS Leon (APA 48)

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September 1944 Navy Muster Rolls show Ernest John Frederick Aboard the USS White Marsh (LSD 8)

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June 1945 Naval Muster Rolls show Ernest John Frederick aboard the PC 1230

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March 1946 Naval Muster Rolls show Ernest John Frederick aboard the USS Washington (BB 56)

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July 1945 Naval Muster Rolls show Richard Dix Frederick aboard the USS Albemarle (AV 5)

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September 1945 Naval Muster Rolls show Richard Dix Frederick aboard the USS Charger (CVE 30)

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January 1948 Naval Muster Rolls show Richard Dix Frederick aboard the USS Princeton (CVL 23)

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Richard D. Frederick’s Honorable Discharge Discharge from the Navy 19 March 1952.

Within a year of his bother enlisted in the Navy, Richard joined the Navy at the age of seventeen, shortly before the end of the war. His first tour of duty was aboard the USS Ambemarle AV 5. However, unlike his brother Richard stayed in the Navy until long after the war had ended. His last tour of duty in the Navy was aboard the USS Princeton CVL-23, an aircraft carrier where he served until his departure from the Navy eight years after he had joined the Navy.

While serving in the Navy, he met Dorothy Bernice Gunther, a young woman from Canada, whom he married and shortly there after the marriage failed. No one can ever quite be sure why some relationships last and others do not but as relationships go, one would have to say this one was a shooting star. White hot while it lasted and quickly fading away. I have often wondered who was a fault in my parents failed marriage as if placing blame would have changed the events of my life and things would have turned out better. However, each attempt to determine why my parent’s marriage failed only causes me to

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examine my own life and I am not sure I would have wanted it to turn out any different. The events of my early life only helped to make me into the person I am today, and it is almost impossible to see how my life could have turned out better.

After all my attempts to establish fault, the only thing I have ever determined was that maybe it actually didn’t matter. After all, our first real passion for the opposite sex is more physical than emotional, and I do not think this has changed over time. In fact, I do not think it was any different for my parents who were drawn together during a period of time where military men were looked up to in the United States. Maybe they were both to young to deal with the emotional toll placed on their shoulders caused by children at such an early age, or the fact that my father was gone for a large part of their early marriage.

In the end, the marriage did not work, but the passion that once existed was demonstrated in the form of three children, Karen in 1949, Richard in 1950, and Jacqueline more affectionately know as Jackie 1951.

With the war over and his marriage failing, Richard left the Navy in 1952 in an effort to save his marriage. One night after returning from work, he found Bernice in one of the local bars in the arms of another man. The end of their marriage came violently as Richard found himself in a bar fight with the guy that was with Bernice. The result of the fight was a series of cuts from a broken bottle to the man Richard saw as causing his problems, but in all reality his marriage had ended long before. In order to avoid the legal problems that were now facing him, Richard joined the Army and left town seeking a divorce from his estranged wife.

With Richard gone, Bernice was left with three young children. When the marriage ended, Bernice was ill equipped to handle a family both financially and emotionally. Bernice was too self-centered to be a good mother; electing to escape the life she now faced by turning her children over to the state orphan system. With Richard seeking a divorce from his wife and unable to return home due to legal issues, the children soon became wards of the state.

This was a troubling time for Richard. Even if, he could return home, the chances of finding a good job to take care of his children seemed unlikely. For the first time in America, the War had changed the way American families interacted and earned an income. Up until WWII, men were considered the breadwinners of the American family and wives stayed at home and raised the families. With most men serving in the military during the war, factories turned to women to produce the materials needed by the United States during the war. As the war ended, men returned home to find that many women were reluctant to return to the home as homemakers and were, now competing with men for the jobs once deemed as men’s work.

Such were the conditions facing a father who wanted desperately to support his own children. The poet Haniel Long wrote, “So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty.” The legal problems facing him if he returned home and the lack of work forced Richard’s decision to stay in the military, a form of life he seemed better equipped to handle.

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The Army was now taking a larger role in the police action required in Germany due to the blossoming of the cold war between Russia and the United States. The armies need for additional military troops in Europe, and Germany led Richard to a military unit known as “Special Forces.� A unit made up of troops qualified to perform unconventional, often high-risk missions. Part of their training was jumping from planes into trouble spots around the world if needed. Richard soon found himself far from his troubles back home while undergoing training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Once the training was completed, he joined a detachment heading for Germany.

Richards approach to life made him an ideal candidate for the Special Forces unit he was now attached too. His determination and his unwillingness to back away from any fight allowed him to advance faster than those around him and frequently got him into trouble. Others did their best to avoid confrontation, but Richard seemed to relish it almost as if it was his attempt to prove himself to those around him.

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Richard D. Frederick under goes parachute training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Richard D. Frederick during field training in Germany.

Military base in Germany for the 10th Airborne Unit training in Germany.

Richard D. Frederick with members of the Special Forces Unit (standing far right in both pictures).

For the Army, members of the Special Forces Unit were a relatively new type of solider first used during WWII. Their mission was to gather intelligence though reconnaissance and disruption tactics often

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accomplished behind enemy lines. The Special Forces Unit that Richard had become a part of spent much of their time in training away from the comfort of the beds in military barracks. Long difficult training often led to playing hard when they returned from field training. Much of that time was spent in the local taverns where German beer was plentiful. It was in one of those taverns he met the women he later married.

My mother’s fate could not have been more different from mine and yet in many ways similar. In some ways, we both became whom we are today because of the difficulties we faced early in life as much as we did from family. Those similarities may have allowed us to bond as a mother and son, even if she wasn’t the women that gave birth to me. Each of us faced unwanted difficulties while we were young. My life started grim, but the love she showed my sisters, and I turned that grief into the life of any average American child of the time. Yet, her life started like that of any child during that period before the events of the time robbed her of her childhood and forced her to grow up faster than what should be expected.

Emma Kretschmer was one of three children of Josef and Anna Kretschmer, born April 24, 1931. She was German by birth, but her parents owned land and a farmhouse in Czechoslovakia, which is a neighbor of Germany. She was the daughter of a farmer and lived the typical life of all children living in Europe during that period, at least for the fist eight to ten years of her life. Most of her early childhood was spent centered on helping with the farm chores, going to school, and having fun with her friends. However, the rise of Hitler soon brought about changes to the way of life she had grown accustom too.

The farm was fashioned in the style of most established farms of the time. The house, stables, storage barns, and workshop where built in the German style for that area with the central courtyard enclosed by surrounding buildings and walls. There was an opening in the front and large wooden doors in the back that allowed traffic and farm equipment to enter and leave through the courtyard. Steep slate roofs and only a small number of windows distinguished most German farmhouses built during the early 1900’s outside of Germany. For the most part window were limited to the front or courtyard area of the house. Additionally, the majority of these farmhouses were built to serve as multidimensional structure commonly used for other farming activities, as well as the families leaving quarters. The Kretschmer farmhouse was built along these lines, consisting of a kitchen area, leaving area, and sleeping area. The right side of the house consisted of a hallway that led directly to the livestock and contained storage unites on both sides. Most of the house was over 100 years old and stood to the left as you entered the courtyard. Although the house itself had been damaged by fire in the past, it had been restored to its original condition and use.

As farms go, one would have to look at Josef’s farm as a typical farm for that period. In addition to the farmhouse and other buildings, the land produced the typical crops for that region along with pastureland needed to raise hay and care for the farms livestock. Several different type fruit trees existed around the farm complex, which produced mainly apples and cherries. The livestock was made up of a few workhorses, pigs, and chickens along with a small heard of milk cows.

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Josef Kretschmer died in 1946.

Anna Kretschmer 1905 – 2001.

The normal German farmhouse built outside Germany during this period.

Although German by nationality, the Kretshcmer’s may have found themselves living in Czechoslovakia because of events that had taken place over two hundred years earlier. In an effort to improve agriculture production in the Russian controlled area, Catherine the Great provided land to German farmers who where willing to relocate.

Catherine was a former German princess who was familiar with the productivity of German farmers. This move was an attempt to increase agricultural production to reduce the financial hardship most Russian faced during this period. Because of Catherine’s efforts, many German farmers moved into Russian controlled lands. The later years of the 1930’s brought about changes in Europe that would disrupt the stability that most German farmers faced in much of the Russian controlled territory.

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Josef & Anna Kretschmer with their children (L to R) Josef, Emma, & Siegfried.

Emma standing beside one of family horses.

Anna standing in the courtyard of the farm with storage building in the background.

Emma standing outside the farm compound area with their house in the background.

While many countries had yet to get involved in a world war, Hitler made one of the first moves by taking Czechoslovakia in March of 1939. Germany met with little resistance taking Czechoslovakia because Hitler quickly came to terms with Russia agreeing not to attack Russia itself in return for its control of Czechoslovakia. For the most part, the rest of Europe was reluctant to take on Germany who had now

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formed a “Pact of Steel� with Italy. For the most, part the fall of Czechoslovakia went unopposed. Although they complained, little was done to prevent the forward progress of Hitter’s Germany.

German soldiers on horseback who had taken over Czechoslovakia in March of 1939. Emma and her older brother Josef background.. stand in front of the soldiers with the farm compound in the background

German soldiers standing with Josef, Anna, and his son Josef outside the farmhouse in 1939.

Siegfried standing in front of the farmhouse.

In an effort to protect its borders, Poland signed an assistance agreement with Britain after Germany had taken control of Czechoslovakia. However, within a month of the agreement, Germany attacked Poland and two days later Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declared war on Germany. The world was not yet at war; however, Germany and Italy were taking control of Europe and Japan was at war with China in an attempt to take control of Western Asia.

The rapid evolution of Germany during the early period of the war had little effect on the life of Emma or her family as they continued their lives as farmers. Within a year of taking over Czechoslovakia, Germany had attacked Poland, Finland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Yet, for the most part Germany had limited its advancement to the west of Czechoslovakia and remained neutral

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toward Russia. It was not until late 1940, once Germany had defeated most of Europe that Germany, Italy, and Japan all joined forces, signing the Tripartite (Axis) Pact. The pact was an agreement between these three countries to stand by each other over the next ten years. Once the pact had been signed Hitler turned his attention toward the rest of Europe and Russia. On October 7, 1940, German troops enter Romania and within months, the German Army attacked Yugoslavia.

On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union and life for Emma and her family began to change as the reality of war had now turned in the direction of Czechoslovakia. Up until that time, life for Emma had remained unchanged. However, now simple things like going to school began to change. Instead of going to classes, children were now required to work in the fields collecting herbs needed for medicine to care for wounded military troops. Gone were the usual days of classroom and farm activities along with having fun with her friends.

While the war was now taking a toll on farm life, as long as Germany remained in control of the war, life for German framers in Czechoslovakia was still somewhat sheltered from external events. For the most part, German farmers living in what was once considered Russian controlled territory were somewhat protected from much of stark reality of the things Hitler had unleashed on the world. It was not until 1943 that things began to change. Germany now found itself on the defensive along most of the fronts they had once easily controlled. In January of 1943, Russia began an offensive to retake much of the territory that Germany had been in control of over the last two years. In late 1943, allied troops entered the war and Germany had suffered significant losses in Italy and Russia. By early 1944, the Russian army retook Leningrad after almost three years of German occupation. As 1944 ended, Russia had retaken most of the territory that Germany had captured and was now turning all of its attention on Germany itself.

Emma standing with several of her friends during school before the war took away the innocents of childhood.

Emma Standing outside one of the local shop in her hometown before the Russians entered during WWII.

With Germany’s change of circumstances in battle, life for many of the German farmers in Eastern Europe was now changing for the worst. As Russian troops entered Czechoslovakia, many of the daily tasks the Kretschmer's were familiar with became more a matter of survival. Josef was now more concerned with

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protecting his wife and family than the farming activities that once occupied their time. The results of the war were becoming all too evident for Germans living in Czechoslovakia.

One day after Emma had ridden her bike to a nearby city to obtain supplies the family needed, the world as she had known it changed forever. As she was returning home, she heard planes above heading toward the village she had just left. She quickly hid in a small group of trees along side the road and watched as the planes took aim on the rail yard and village below. For the first time fear reached down and touched her soul as she watched the planes from above attack the small village, which had no defenses. Bomb after bomb fell as she watched in horror as the town seemed to explode into flames in front of her. When the planes had left, the silence of the trip home had been replaced with the cries of the wounded and dying in the village behind her.

News of the advancement of Russian troops caused considerable concern for the Germans living in many of the villages of Czechoslovakia. For most families, the women and children went into hiding while the men took care of the daily tasks on the farms. Russian troops advanced rapidly as the German Army retreated toward a more fortified Germany. Once the Russian Army had taken the village where Emma and family owned their farm things changed drastically. When the Russian Army had taken control of Czechoslovakia, all German landowners were given twenty-five minutes to gather their belonging as the soldiers took their land. The families where placed in a large warehouse as a form of temporary housing.

The uncertainty that they faced daily resulted in fear as days became weeks in their new surroundings. The Russian Army had afforded the German farmers some limited safety before they moved out of town, to take up new positions against their German foes. However, as the Russians moved forward, ruthless Mongolian soldiers replaced them. Their brutality wasn’t limited to the villagers of German dissent but to every man women and child they encountered. They spent their time looting the villagers of their wealth taking anything they desired. The leader was a young man, not much more than a boy, who always seemed to appear on horseback. He enthusiastically demonstrated his cruelty by shooting anyone who opposed him.

For the most part, Josef was able to protect his family by following directions and demonstrating they were no threat to the soldiers. Both Anna and Emma had gone into hiding to avoid the senseless rapes that many women of the village faced if caught by roaming soldiers. The brutality that the villagers faced only increased when the Mongolian Army raided a near by village who’s main industry was a vodka manufacturing plant. Soldiers, who often demonstrated their lack of concern for human life, now spent their time getting drunk, increasing the cruelty they imposed on those around them.

One day as the sun began to set, a group of drunken soldiers began advancing from house to house, searching for anything that interested them. This became a concern for Anna who was hiding in one of the houses they were approaching with her daughter Emma. Things were beginning to look hopeless when the attention of the soldiers was drawn too a women who ran from one of the houses they were searching in an attempt to escape. Anna hopelessly covered Emma’s ears from the cries of the women, placing her daughters head against her breasts as the soldiers took turns raping the women they had caught.

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Each day brought about new fears until the war ended and the Mongolian army abandoned the village as the Russian Army returned. By now, Emma and her mother had rejoined the rest of the family and things seemed to be taking on some sense of returning to something close to normal. Then without warning, the Russian soldiers ordered all those of German heritage out of the warehouse and into the street. They were marched to the rail yard where they were herded into railcars like cattle. Each railcar was packed so tight that all the passengers were forced to stand because there was no room to sit.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the doors were closed and the train began moving. For Josef and Anna the uncertainty of what their family now faced rekindled the fears they had experienced over the last few months. Time passed as the train moved slowly in some unknown direction. From time to time, the train would stop, and soldiers would open the doors allowing everyone to step out of their train cars for bathroom breaks. However, each stop only caused more fear due the uncertainty of what lay in store for each passenger. There were no bathroom facilities at the places where they stopped. The men and women were forced into open fields, to relieve themselves. Women had to sit on wooden blanks or squat in open fields while guards keep a watchful eye on each of their movements. Than they were herded back into the train cars, were they had been. Once everyone was in, the doors would shut, and the train again began moving into the unknown.

Finally, after more than a day of standing with little to no sleep the train stopped and the doors opened, but this time they were in a rail yard with buildings and other people moving about. To their surprise for the first time, they noticed that the majority of soldiers moving about the rail yard were Americans and even though they were still being moved about in a group, there seemed to be a more relaxed freedom of movement. Word quickly spread to each of those who had made the trip that they had been returned to Germany. After everyone was deloused, they were each given what amounted to $7.50 and housed in long barracks like buildings.

Anyone who was sponsored by an established German family was allowed to come and go freely from their living area as a way of working their way back into German society. Although they were German by origin Josef, his sons, and daughter found themselves working for various farmers in the area in order to create a new foothold in what seemed like a new world. Before long, Emma found herself working as a nanny for an American family who had been stationed in Germany because of the American military presents required to establish order in a war torn country.

While working as a nanny, Emma learned that her father had died while going to work one day. The cause of his death was never established, but the stress of the loss of everything he had worked for must have played a role in his death. The reality was the family was now forced to move forward without one of the individuals that had led them through the difficulties they had faced. It was as if with each step forward, life found a way of forcing them to take two steps back.

After working several years as a nanny life had somewhat returned to normal for Emma in her new surroundings. While things were not the same as they were when she was a teenage girl, she had accepted the reality of her situation. The carefree days she spent on the farm as a young girl with her father were now only

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a memory. Her brothers were now each working, and the family seemed to be adjusting to their new environment. Life became more normal for Emma as she carried for the children of an American family. It was during this time that she learned to speak English in order to communicate with the children in her care as she became more accustomed to a new culture.

One of the things Emma had taken up from her new surroundings was the habit of smoking. It was the 1950’s and society had yet to hear about the harm to one’s health caused by smoking. However, cigarettes were still hard to find in the German economy as the nation worked to rebuild after the war. Often the best source of obtaining cigarettes was from American soldiers who sold their rations to the locals. Americans had introduced cigarettes to the German culture and Germany had introduced a more flavorful beer to Americans. To those living in Germany beer seemed to flow as freely as soft drinks did in the United States.

Because beer was the drink of choice in Germany, soldiers often exchanged their cigarettes in the local taverns, which were a part of the lifestyle for most Germans.

One evening while attempting to buy cigarettes at a local tavern, Emma met a soldier who introduced himself to her. While he may not have caught her eye as quickly as she had caught his, he was immensely attracted toward the young German maiden that had somehow come into his life. It was during one of these exchanges that he produced a picture from his wallet of three young children and showed it to her. She carefully examined the picture, he had handed her. With that, he told her that these where his children and he was divorced. Had the conversation stopped there, it may have been viewed as just and exchange from a lonely American who longed to return home to his family. However, he continued their conversation by telling her that someday he would marry her and those would be her children.

During my life, I have had some friends that have tried different lines to attract their mate, but this one was unique. At that point, many of us would have withdrawn gradually from the situation and run like the wind, but for some reason Emma continued to listen to what he had to say. Many who read this may say she was crazy; however, knowing her as I do, I am not sure anyone that has ever met her would call her crazy. Regardless, the best thing that could have happened in my life up to that point was the fact that she did not seek the nearest exit and run home.

The strange way Richard had expressed his interest in this young German woman only peaked her interest in the American soldier that was sitting across from her. In order for them to get married, Richard had to produce his divorce papers, which stated the reason for his divorce from Bernice was that he beat her.

It was only after Emma had spent some time with Richard and the fact he did his best to convince her of what had actually happened that she agreed to marry him. After finding Bernice with another man and the ensuing fight, Richard was willing to sign any papers that would end his marriage to Bernice. On the 13th day of September in 1955, they were married in a military chapel located on the base where he was stationed in Bad Tolz, Germany.

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Marriage Certificate of Richard Dix and Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick.

Frederick.

On one hand, Richard had captured the heart of the women he wanted; however, he was unable to convince his father, John that this woman was the right mother for his children. His hasty departure from the situation he found himself in during his first marriage, along with the fact Bernice had given up control of the children left John as the government appointed authority over the children. Maybe it was the fact that John had grown up fighting Germans and not trusting them. Maybe he just remembered his own impulses when he met Vera; nevertheless he didn’t trust his son judgment. Then again, maybe it was that he actually had the best interest of the children who had now spent several years in an orphan system. Nevertheless, he was not surrendering control of the children until he met Richard’s new wife in person. While this move caused some delay in Richards attempt to regain his children, it may have turned out best because it gave Richard and Emma an opportunity to spend time with each other before three children where thrown into the mix.

A year and half after their marriage, Emma gave birth to their first child, Irene, born January 24, 1957, in Germany. With his tour of duty in Germany complete, shortly after the birth of their daughter, he returned to Fort Bragg, North Caroline with Emma who was now pregnant and their daughter. Their return to the United States led to Johns anticipated meeting with the women who had become his daughter-in-law before he had even met her. The comfort level Emma seemed too demonstrated in her new surroundings and the care she gave to his newest grandchild convinced John that she was a woman who could care for three

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children even if they were not her own. It was only then that John agreed to allow the government to return Richard’s children to their father.

Richard and Emma aboard the ship that returned him to America and brought her to America for the first time. time. Emma did not adjust well to traveling by sea and spent much of the trip sick.

The day for Richard to return to Rhode Island and bring his children home had arrived. With the paper work completed, Richard spent most of a day driving from North Carolina to Rhode Island to pick up his children. Emma, who was pregnant at the time, remained at home. Earlier Richard and Emma had made the decision to allow Richard to make the trip by himself. This was to give him time to bond with his children while Emma carried for their new baby.

Fear ran through every ounce of my body before I met my father for what seemed to be the first time in my life (for what I remembered of it). I do not know why I was overcome with these feelings because my father had left when I was so young, and there was no way for me to remember anything good or bad about him. Maybe it was because of the experiences of my past and not about anything he had done.

Other events that forced me to behave in the only way I knew to protect myself.

After being told about my fathers return my heart began pounding so hard, I could feel it in my chest as I rose to go outside as the state worker and mama Allard’s attention turned from me and more toward their own conversation. I sat there on the front porch contemplating all the horrible things that had happened in the past. With each new set of parents, things only seemed to get worse, and I could only imagine what would happen in the near future. Then in a flash, it came to me and I knew what I needed to do! I would run away! I had done it once before so running away seemed to come naturally. As I ran, I thought back to the time I had done this before. This time I was better prepared because I remembered all the mistakes I had made the first time and now I knew what I needed to do. Surely, there had to be more to life than the things I had faced.

Little did I know that I was not the only person who had learned a few things about running away since the last time I had attempted such a feat. Unlike my last endeavor this time I found myself in the hands of another police officer shortly after I had made my attempt at finding the freedom I so desperately sought. Again, I was taken home but this time to different circumstances. My actions had somehow justified the actions of my foster mother but for some reason this time the leather strap hung lifeless on the

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wall. I was just sent to my room where I passed the time wondering what was going to happen as I fell asleep.

The following day I did not go to school instead I just sat on my bed and waited for the inevitable. I had now given into the fact that I would yet again be forced to learn to deal with a new set of parents. My father arrived as promised, my sisters and I were packed to his car, and we began the long journey from Rhode Island to North Carolina. While my real father seemed likeable enough, I could not seem to overcome the tears and fear that seemed to follow me for most of the trip to my new home and a new beginning.

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Chapter Seven The Formative Years Being in the first grade when my father came to get us meant that I spent much of the next 12 years in school. The first six years were spent in speech therapy classes trying to overcome a stuttering problem I had developed due to the abuse I had endured over the last four years living with the Allards. For me, this was a period of healing from years of fear I had experienced from most of my adult contacts. Yet, it was still a difficult part of my life. Spending so much time in speech therapy caused many of my teachers to treat me as if I had a learning disability, and I grew to assume the role. This did little to improve my grades or to prove to others what type student I was capable of being.

Poor grades caused my father to reach the conclusion that I needed more help and he asked school officials to let me to repeat the third grade. While I know that he was doing what he felt was best for me, it only further exacerbated my image as a slow learner. My birthday was in January, and I had started going to school turning older later than other students during the school year. By being held back, I now turned two years older than my other classmates each year. Being older and bigger than the other students made it difficult for me to fit into most of my class settings. However, if the old saying is true, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” then maybe my dad was right. “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars,” Kahlil Gibran. Regardless, I am not sure what I learned in grade school.

Growing up as military brats allowed me to experience things that many children my age never experienced. After completing his medical training at Fort Bragg, my father was scheduled for another tour of duty in Germany. At the age of ten, I found myself on a ship with my family heading toward Gelnhausen, Germany where we lived for the next three years. Like my grandfathers who traveled to America at a young age aboard a ship, I now had the opportunity to experience a similar adventure.

My parents had allowed me the freedom to roam about the ship, but the fun came to an abrupt halt when my father found me rolling dice with soldiers aboard the ship who were also heading to Germany. No one could say I was actually gambling because I didn’t actually know what I was doing and for my newfound friends it was more about having fun because they always allowed me to win. Despite that, my father was not happy with me or my friends and my days of roaming about the ship ended. While my dad kept a tighter rein on me for the remained of the trip, I did celebrate my tenth birthday aboard the ship, which was announced at one of our meals, and I received a certificate from the ships captain indicating my advanced age.

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USS General Simon B. Buckner (T(T-AP 123) Troop Ship We Traveled to Germany on In January or 1960.

1960.

Richard’s Certificate of Completing Medical Training at Fort Brag.

Brag.

Coat of Arms for Gelnhausen, Germany.

Germany.

1st Battalion 33 Armored Division where Richard Dix Frederick severed severed as a Medic.

Medic.

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The American Military Base at Gelnhausen, Gelnhausen, Germany.

Germany.

My first trip to Germany was filled with learning experiences. Upon our arrival in Germany, I was introduced to many of my German relatives. My favorite uncle was Josef who loved to ask if I wanted to see America. If I replied, “no” he would ask if I could see it now as he pulled on my ears until I responded “yes.”

Sundays were a time for a social gathering of relatives and superb eating. We would travel to my grandmother’s who lived with her son Josef and his family. Uncle Siegfried and his family, who lived nearby, would also come, which allowed my mother’s entire family to take part in the Sunday meals. While I didn’t understand much of what was being said because they spoke in German, it was a time of fun and fabulous food.

The day always start with a midday meal that began with a bowl of soup followed by the main meal consisting of Wiener Schnitzel (fried veal), potatoes, purple cabbage, and griessnockerl an Austrian style semolina dumpling, covered with the drippings from the fried vial. Because remarkably few Germans drank water, this meal was always served with coffee, which my grandmother always loaded with cream and sugar for the children. After the meal was a time to explore our surroundings as the adults passed the time away in conversation. Later in the day, the table was spread with all forms of baked goods. Even if, I did not understand most of what was being said, it was a time I looked forward too.

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Dependent Military Housing Gelnhausen, Germany.

Germany.

Richard Dix Frederick as Medic stationed in Gelnhausen, Germany.

Germany.

Most of my first trip to Germany went by uneventful and seemed to be no more than a passage of time until one Christmas. I still remember the only significant gift that I remembered receiving as a young boy. Not because, I hadn’t received, Christmas presents before or after but because of the pure delight that it seemed to bring me. During my life, it may have been the best Christmas present I had ever received. The one least expected, but the one that provided me with an outlet to prove to my peers and to me that my life had meaning. A football, that had some mystical power over me, transforming me into the man capable of doing anything I wanted. There was magic in that football as each time I picked it up I saw myself scoring the winning touchdown in a game. I have often examined my past and looked for the things that my parents did for me which turned my life around from its early beginning, and I always return to that football.

That year I turned twelve and went out for my first football team. To others it was just a peewee league football team, and a way to have fun. To me, it was a place where I was no longer the kid in class that didn’t seem to understand what was happening in the classroom. My speed and size made me the perfect halfback, but I wanted to be the quarterback and I spent the summer practicing at that position. However, two weeks before the first game the coach’s family arrived in Germany, and his son wanted to play the same position I was playing. The day of our first game, I learned that I wouldn’t start as the team's quarterback, and I stood on the sideline somewhat dejected.

As I stood there and looked at the other team, I couldn’t believe how enormous size of each player.

Peewee league rules stated that no player could weigh over 160 pounds, but this team looked as if they were sending men to play boys. Word spread that the coaches were looking for a scale to weigh the players on the opposite side of the field, but we would start the game anyway. I stood somewhat depressed on the sideline as the team took the field for the first series of plays without me. The first play resulted in complete disaster for our team as we lost yardage. However, more concern was given to the fact that the coach’s son found himself screaming in pain with a broken leg. As the coach left with his son to receive medical treatment, the assistant coach came over to me. I was told to go in at quarterback and not to run anything fancy, just straight

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handoffs. Straight hand offs were all I intended to do, and I intended to give the ball to the first person that showed up, regardless of the color of his jersey.

By halftime, we found ourselves down by 36 points, but the scales had arrived. After the first three players on the other team were weighed, and failed the weight limit, so our coaches made the decision to protest the game. While the first game may not have gone the way one would have hoped, we went undefeated for the remaining seven games. Later we learned we had won the protested game, as well. As the only undefeated team, we were awarded a trip to Berlin to play the champion peewee league team of the American armed forces families stationed there.

We traveled by train through East Germany, the Russian controlled area of the country resulting form Germany’s defeat in World War II. As we entered East Germany, the train came to a stop, and Russian soldiers boarded the train and informed us that we were not allowed to take pictures while in East Germany.

They remained on the train until just before we reached West Berlin, were they departed. To many Americans the cold war was only a matter of words, to those living in Germany during this period of time it was all too real. Traveling through East Germany was as if we had entered another part of the world where there were no cars and few if any people. Towns and cities looked abandoned unlike the busy cities of West Germany.

The fact we won the football game while in Berlin was somewhat overshadowed by what we had seen the day before and the sight-seeing tour we were given by our hosts the following day. We were taken to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall. The Brandenburg Gate was built as a triumphal arch in the late 1700’s by the Prussian Monarchs as a sign of peace. While it had suffered damage during the war, it remained standing just beyond the Berlin Wall. The wall had been built just a year earlier not to keep West Germans out but to keep East Germans in. It was erected because the initial division of the city had done little to keep East Germans from leaving by the thousands.

World War II left the city of Berlin in a unique situation. The city was divided into halves where Western Forces occupied an area surrounded by East Germany, which was controlled by Russia. Two distinctively different forms of government controlled one city. By 1961, it was estimated that about 1,500 East Germans were defecting to West Germany daily, which was seen as damaging to Soviet beliefs. Large numbers of the East German people had become disillusioned by the poor economic conditions of the Soviet controlled area of Germany.

Construction of the Berlin Wall began on Sunday, 13 August 1961. In one bold move, Russian troops moved tanks into place and erected stone barricades while cutting off all subway and rail traffic between both parts of the city over a 24-hour period. East Germans were no longer allowed to enter West Berlin, which further damaged the East German economy. Over the next year, the Russians constructed a wall that consisted of barbed wire and concrete sections, which clearly divided the city.

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Check Point Charlie. The American side of the border crossing between East and West Berlin.

Berlin.

The sign above Check Point Charlie.

Charlie.

The Brandenburg Gate on East side of Berlin Wall - Look carefully, carefully, and you can see Russian soldier standing guard atop atop the gate to the right of the monument - the German flag is atop monument, monument, but Russian flag stands to the left. left.

Russian soldiers standing guard atop the Berlin Wall.

The Alt Reichstag building West Berlin, Germany Germany.

The West Germans constructed a platform that allowed visitors to walk up and peer over the wall into East Berlin. In June of the following year, President John F Kennedy would stand atop a similar

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platform and deliver his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. The initial construction of the wall failed to stop East Germans from defecting to West Germany. This forced the Soviets to clear an area and establish a second barbed wire fence 100 yards further into East Germany. The cleared area was booby-trapped with mines and armed guards who where given orders to shot anyone who entered the area. That strip of land was later given the name the “death strip.”

Over the years, continuous improvements were made to the wall to limit any chance of escape. No official records were kept by the Soviets of those who were killed while trying to escape East Germany before the wall was torn down in November of 1989. However, over 1,000 deaths were recorded. While the wall was in place, the official boarder crossing between East and West was a closely guarded area known as “Check Point Charlie.”

Another stop on the tour of the city was to the Alt Reichstag building, which was built to house the German parliament in 1894. The building was damaged by fire in 1933 while under control of the Third Reich and has never again been used for its original purpose. After the fire, the Nazis abandoned the building, and it fell in further disrepair until after the war. In 1960, some attempts were made to repair the building and to protect it from further deterioration. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, German official fully restored and reopened the building.

At the end of my second school year in Germany, my father received new orders, and we returned to the United States. He was being stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The trip back to the United States marked my first flight aboard an aircraft as we made the trip from Frankfurt, Germany to the United States via an air route. It had only been five years since my dad came to pick us up and I had already lived in two countries and traveled by ship, plane, and train; three forms of transportation that were new to me. My mother also had two more children Ernest (8 February 1958) and Anna (Annie) (30 September 1960 who was born in Germany).

For the first time, my parents made the decision not to live on a military base and purchased a home just outside Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky (3240 Lafayette Rd). The 1200 square foot wood frame house sat just off Lafayette Road. It was constructed on a lot that was three times longer than it was wide. Additionally, the lot was L shaped and ran from the road to the railroad tracks that ran about 250 feet behind the house and would become a source of many of my childhood adventures. The last 50 feet of the lot was twice as wide as the front and caused our yard to run behind our neighbor’s lot.

To the right side of house lived the Hunters and to the left lived the Halls with the Chilton’s one more house down. The odd shape of you lot meant that you yard actually ran parallel to both the Hall’s and Chilton’s lot at some point. The Halls had no children, and while they were friendly enough, they seemed somewhat stand offish at times. However, the Hunters and Chilton’s would become a large part of by teenage years because both families had three sons and a daughter. David Chilton was my age and we eventually graduated from high school together. Danny Hunter was about my age, but I was drawn to this family more because of the go cart track his father had made in their back yard than because of our friendship the would grow over the years.

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Emma Frederick standing outside our home at 3240 Lafayette Road, located just outside the city of Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky Kentucky. ky.

When we first moved into the house, it was easy for me to get to know all the kids of the neighborhood. Most of them were boys and we spent a lot of time playing together and going to school with each other. However, as kids none of us spent much time getting to know each other’s parents, after all they were adults. Yet when school started, I learned all I wanted to learn about Mr. Hunter, Danny’s father and our neighbor to the right because he ended up being my sixth-grade reading teacher at South Christian Elementary School. Now I know that, for many children, it is always gratifying to know your teacher, but I am not sure that anyone wants them to live next door. During the first half of the year when I wasn’t doing exceptionally well in class, my grades got to my parents a little faster than I would have hoped. However, it led to one of those childhood memories that cause me to laugh when I catch a student cheating in class today.

In the end, I would have to say that I would have to give Plomer credit for my desire to be a teacher; however, as a teacher I hated him because he was one of my hardest teachers. At the time, reading wasn’t my greatest joy, and the way he taught, I liked even less. Everyone in the class had to read aloud during the week, and each word that we didn’t know was placed on the board. A test was given every Friday covering the words we had trouble with, and we were required to learn how to spell each word and know their meaning by the end of the week. His tests consisted of either the definition where we would have to spell the word correctly or the word where we would have to write out the definition.

I am not sure what I hated worse during my earlier years in school; reading or spelling and now I had to be able to do both in one class. What was even worse was the fact that after we took the test we had to pass our test to the student in front of us who graded the test as he read out the correct answers. If only the ordeal had stopped there I might have been happy, but then he would ask each of us call out the grade of the student's paper we had graded for everyone to hear. During the first three six weeks grading periods, my grades were all F’s and this was reported to my parents faster than any report card ever did.

Just before I had finally given up, things seemed to come together for me. Joyce Scott, a girl that lived down the street from me had a crush on me for some reason, but I showed no interest in her. However, she sat in the chair in front of me, and was the one who graded my papers. One day I decided to ask her if she would grade my papers a little more leniently and to my surprise, she agreed. Before each test, I would tell her what grade I wanted on the test, and she would give me that grade. During the last three six weeks grading periods, I made two B’s and an A, thus passing the class.

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I do not disclose this story to prove that cheating pays because in the end, one only cheats themselves.

I discovered this with all the problems I had in English while in college. It is also necessary to point out that the interest Plomer had shown in me throughout my life, developed within me a desire to go into teaching. He had a way of always pushing me to think and to try things I hadn’t done before, regardless of how uncomfortable it made me feel. I am able to speak publicly now because he pushed me to speak in front of others. While I may have gotten one over on him in class, in the end, I think he got all he could from me as a student.

It was during the sixth grade that I became aware of the world outside my immediate surroundings.

At my age, presidents had come and gone without drawing any of my attention. America had gone to war in Korea and averted war during the Cuban missile crises, yet I can’t say that at such an early age, I was in tune with any of these events. Television was still in its infant stages, and the problems of the world existed only in the neighborhoods were we lived. I sometimes wonder if the bombardment of news we experience today via computers and television isn’t bringing the reality of the problems we face today into the lives of our children at much too young an age.

I sat daydreaming in English class one cool day in November more concerned with the end of the day and the bus ride home than what was being taught. During the class, the principle came to the door and asked our teacher to come to the door, and they talked quietly in the hall. When she returned, she informed us that President Kennedy had been shot. The silence of the class seemed to indicate that the subject matter we were covering was no longer significant to our teacher as we absorbed what we had just heard. Within a few minutes of that news, an announcement came across the intercom system informing us that President Kennedy was dead and that school would be dismissed early. For the first time in my life, the trip home was more about what had happened that day than what I was going to do when I got home.

Sometime during that year, our neighbor, Mrs. Hunter, invited my parents to church, but they were reluctant to accept the offer, so she asked if it was all right to take the children to church. From that day forward, we went to church every Sunday with Nelson Hunter who was the brother of Plomer and was currently living with his mother. Nelson was a young man who had just graduated from college and was a preacher at Fruits Chapel Church of Christ. It was during this time that my beliefs in Christ were developed.

It was also during this period I broke out of the shell I had enclosed myself in early in life as a way of selfprotection. Within a few years, I found myself leading the singing at the church as my love for music began to develop.

The next year I found myself attending Millbrook Middle School, and sports began to have a profound influence on how I viewed myself as a person. While I had already played one year of peewee league football in Germany, I hadn’t played it at the level that Coach Lyle expected of us at Millbrook.

Football under Coach Lyle was more organized, and our efforts at practice as well as in the games were more challenging. Sports in general seemed to be more of a social event for everyone at the school to get behind than what I experience in peewee league football which seemed to be more for the parents. Being recognized for what I could do on a football field helped to develop pride in myself and took away some of the stress

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caused by my failures in the classroom. As a halfback, I was able to show everyone around what I was capable of doing.

Richard J. Frederick 6th Grade Report Card.

Card.

While football had become a significant part of my life, it didn’t come without a cost. Both years I played football at Millbrook I suffered from a build up of fluid on my left knee. The doctors labeled it water on the knee, but it was not that simple because my knee would swell to twice its original size. Outside of football, I had become more of what could be considered the class clown. Often I spent more time in the principles’ office than in the classroom. I spent so much time getting licks from Coach Lyle and Ms. Austin, my coach and home teacher, that I had become conditioned to the punishment.

Coach Lyle had fashioned his paddle to inflict the greatest amount of pain. The paddle was made from oak and shaped to fit his hand perfectly. The wood was tapered from the handle to the end that met your rear-end and the thirteen quarter inch holes drilled in the body of the paddle allowed it to slice through the air with little resistance. Getting three licks from Coach Lyle was an unpleasant experience. On the other hand, Ms. Austin delivered her punishment more like an annoying mosquito than the bubble bee results that Coach Lyle inflicted. However, when I graduated from middle school Ms. Austin presented me with her

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paddle. She told me that after using it on me as much as she had done, she would not feel right using it on any other student in the future.

Richard J. Frederick 7th Grade Report Card.

Card.

My years at Millbrook were further complicated by the fact that my father had received orders for Vietnam, which would cause him to be gone for all of my eight-grade year in school. This was during a time in my life where I was beginning to take pride in the things I was accomplishing. For me, life couldn’t have been better, but for my parents their world had been rocked. Spring was in full blossom, and the school year was heading towards its conclusion when I learned that my father’s division would be leaving for Vietnam.

By 1966, the United States was fully engaged in the war and the number of American troops was rising. It was during this period of time my grades reached an all time low. Maybe it was because my father was gone for much of this stage of my life or maybe it was because I found success in football and I didn’t care how others viewed what I did in the classroom.

“The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.” By the end of the war in 1973, over 58,000 American soldiers had died resulting from

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combat. The war was one of the most divisive and unpopular wars in American history. Vietnam may have been the first experiences that my father and I would share and yet it was never discussed.

Richard J. Frederick 8th Grade Report Card.

Card.

My father was a private individual who found it easier to keep the things he would rather forget bottle up inside himself. It was almost as if he allowed them to escape, they could hurt those around him. I am sure the situation he found himself in was more difficult than what I encountered during the war.

My tour of duty was at sea at the end of the war, but I didn’t see the kind of action that he was exposed too.

Of the two of us, he had the more dangerous job, at the peak of the Vietnam War, during one of its bloodiest periods. He had the training needed in a mash unit required to care for the wounded until they could reach the mash facilities. His skills required him to fly into war zones and provide immediate assistance to the wounded as they were evacuated to mash units. Often what he did during the flight to a medical facility determined the success or failure of the doctors at the mash unit.

Once, when I caught him off guard, I asked him if he had ever killed anyone while in Vietnam. He responded that he only carried a handgun to defend himself; he was there to save lives not to take them.

However, on one mission the chopper he was riding in was hit and had to land in a hot zone. The gunner who operated the 50-caliber machine gun mounted at the door was an inexperienced kid who just arrived in Vietnam who froze while they were taking fire. With that, he pushed him aside, opened fire, and kept firing until another chopper came to their rescue. As they abandoned the downed chopper for the safety of

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their rescuers, he looked down at the 50 cal now standing idle in the door; the barrel was still red hot and smoking from all the rounds that had been discharged. He did tell me that he didn’t know if he killed anyone because he was not aiming at anyone at the time; he was just firing to keep Charlie at bay until help arrived.

Medical helo’s helo’s from their mash unit in Vietman used to carry Richard and others to rescue the wounded. wounded.

Richard’s sleeping quarters in Vietnam.

Vietnam.

Richard Dix Frederick standing ready at his mash unit in Vietnam 1968.

1968.

I was always amazed why someone with his training and knowledge didn’t seek a career as an EMT once he left the Military. Being in his early 40’s he was still relatively a young man when he got out of the Army because he had joined the military at such an early age. Once while, we were walking alone as he

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showed me his garden in Picayune, Mississippi, I asked him why he didn’t become an EMT. It took until after his death for me to understand his answer, “I have seen and washed out enough blood in my life.”

Nothing else was said, and we never talked about the war again. However, after his death I was watching a movie called “We Were Soldiers” and for the first time I was able to understand his response to me that day. During one scene in that movie, the rescue chopper sat idle at the end of the day after a full day evacuating the wounded. Soldiers were standing beside the open doors of the chopper throwing bucks of clear water across the deck of the chopper. It washed across the floor and ran out red on the other side.

Tears came to my eyes as I watched that scene because I now understood what my father had told me.

There is no way to understand the emotional demands placed on anyone who spent a year standing and kneeling in the blood of the wounded and dying.

The following year my dad returned as I began going to high school. In many ways, high school was an awakening for me. Students of all classes were intermingled, but there was still a clear ranking of students; freshmen were still freshman and members of the lowest class. However, for the first time my age didn’t seem to matter because many of my classes had students of various ages in them. However, my past still played a large role in the direction I would take when graduating from high school. After looking at my academic record, my guidance counselor told me, I needed to prepare for life after high school because I probably wouldn’t be going to college. This single statement would become the corner stone of everything I have ever done in life. While it was somewhat understandable why my counselor said what she did, I make it a point never to try to determine what a student is capable of accomplishing.

The first half of my first year in high school went better than expected. For some reason, it was easier or me to understand things and my grades went from all C’s and D’s to all A’s and B’s. In fact, I somehow managed to make the honor roll all but two of the grading periods throughout high school. Coach Lyle had transferred from Millbrook to Christian County and was now one of the football coaches at the high school.

This allowed for a smooth transition from middle school to high school football where Coach Lyle allowed me to demonstrate my ability as a running back. While I did not get all the playing time I wanted, I was able to letter as a freshman on the varsity team.

As the Christmas break approached, I learned something that again disrupted my newly found success and my renewed attitude toward school. My father had just received orders for Germany and we would be leaving before I could return to school for the second half of my freshman year. The chaos I had experienced in my life to that point had prepared me for the changes I had faced as we moved from one place to another; however, this was different. Moving and leaving my newly found success was not something I wanted to do. In fact, if my parents had told me that I could stay behind, I would have been happy to accept their offer. For the first time in my life I liked going to school, I had a little money from my job at the grocery store where I was working, and I was developing the friendships that one carries throughout their life.

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Chapter Eight Germany I had no desired to go to Germany, yet it became a point of my life that would strengthen my resolve as a student while allowing me time to become more understanding of my mother’s ancestry. However, going to Germany meant that I would have to say goodbye to friends. It also meant that I might never be able to play another football game with many of the individuals that I had spent the last three years with practicing and playing in games together.

The trip to Germany was intriguing, to say the least. Once again we flew, which made my mother happy because she wasn’t the kind of person who genuinely liked ships or ocean travel. On the other hand, if she only knew what was going to happen on this flight, she might have preferred taking a boat. Somewhere over the Atlantic, something went wrong. The real problem was in that it came at a place where returning to where we had come from was no longer an option; the only thing we could do was to continue towards Europe.

After one of the planes engines made a strange noise, the Captain came over the intercom system and insured us that everything was OK, but we would be landing in Holland instead of Frankfurt just as a precautionary measure. With that, each of us went about doing the things we had been doing with no real grasp the seriousness of the problem. For me, this may have been due to my age or a total lack of understanding of air flight. However, it was also comforting to know that my father never actually seemed to panic. After the Captain’s announcement, my father just remarked, “We have nothing to worry about unless the Captain asks us to get out and push!”

Within a few hours, we found ourselves on the ground short of our destination and sitting in a cold air terminal until they could check out the plane. Minutes became hours before an airlines attendant informed us that they were putting us up in a hotel overnight. We boarded a bus provided by the airlines, which took us on an interesting trip through the heart of Amsterdam. The bus driver drove in a manner, I had never witnessed before. With the large number of motorcycles and bicycles on the road, it was obvious that we must have killed at least a dozen people along the route to the hotel, but we managed to arrive with no dents in the bus.

The accommodations the airlines had provided us with were luxurious and the hotel was located in the heart of the downtown area. Everything about the hotel dripped the word luxurious. Expensive paintings hung from each wall and elaborately designed carpeting lined floors and passages throughout the hotel.

Lavish furniture sat along each of the wall leading to the guest rooms. Our rooms were elegant and much warmer than the cold airport where had spent a good part of the day. The beds were spacious and soft; it almost felt like we were some form of royalty staying in a room at the palace. That night we ate in the dinning room where each table was set with the finest porcelain china and gold plated silverware. In all our travels during my childhood, I had never seen or experienced anything on this level.

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The following morning we were taken back to the airport to continue our flight to Germany. When we got to the airport, we were informed that we would be allowed back on the plane to get our belongings, but we would be taking another flight to Germany. I went with my dad to get our things off the plane, and I was shocked at what I saw. As we approached the plane, I noticed a large hole in one of the wings, where an engine was once placed. One of the four engines had been totally removed for repairs. As it turned out, our somewhat entertaining side trip had come at an expense to the airlines far more than just a minor problem.

My father was stationed in Bamberg, and for the first time I became more interested in my surroundings and the opportunities they provided for me. I got a job at the base commissary sacking groceries for tips and made enough money to buy a bike that my dad was able to get from one of the soldiers leaving Germany. This allowed me the freedom to discover the countryside and move about more freely than I was able to do on my first trip to Germany. Bicycle travel on the roadways in Europe was far less dangerous than in America because it was a vital source of transportation.

Often some of my friends and I would cycle off base around the city of Bamberg exploring the countryside. Once we bicycled nearly 20 miles up a nearby hillside to an old castle, which was strategically positioned at the top to capture a view of the valley below. The castle had largely deteriorated over time, but it housed a live bear exhibit, which made the trip uphill more tolerating. When we tired from bicycling uphill, we would relax along the hillside under the shade a cherry or apple tree, filling ourselves on the fruit from the lower branches. While I am sure that the farmers may not have been extremely happy with us, had they known, I can’t remember a time when apples tasted this good. In addition, traveling through town, allowed us to stop at the local bakery to purchase some of the local pastry and breads that still make my mouth water today.

It was also during those two years in Germany that I was able to spend time with my Uncles and Aunts during the summer. Uncle Josef drove a dozer and planted trees to restore the forestland lost my logging. I spent one day in the woods with him as he worked to clear an area of stumps to make way for new trees. Our conversations were more of the give and take variety because he knew only a little English and I knew a little German but we managed to get along and had fun. Uncle Siegfried was more laid back, enjoying life and the things around him. His wife Aunt Burgle was a hoot. She was the one that spook the most English, and if you couldn’t have a good time when you were around her, you just weren’t trying.

My love for gardening was developed in the time I spent visiting my German relatives and exploring the countryside. Many of the German homes were adorned with beautiful gardens and manicured lawns. The gardens were made of various flowers and small-scale villages. Each small village would run the entire length of one side of the house and include miniature houses, bridges, and roads, often incorporating some form of running water. Your senses were overwhelmed by the odors and bright colors of the flowers while gnomes were strategically placed throughout the garden as if needed to safeguard each flower.

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Germany..

Views from and around my Uncle Siegfried’s home in Germany Going to school turned out to be more fun than the time we spent in school. Bamberg had its own elementary school, but those of us in high school had to travel an hour by bus to Nuremburg each day to attend high school. Each trip provided the young men aboard the bus with far too much time and opportunities needed to get into trouble. Our bus was reported so many times by German civilians that we were warned more than once by the base commander that any further complaints could result in our families being sent back home. However, such threats only slowed the pranks for a short while but did little to discourage further attempts at some form of mischief. On one trip to school following one of our warnings, someone reached out the window and stole the hat right off the head of a bicycle rider that we were passing.

For most of the boys on the bus, those types of childish pranks kept the ride to school each day interesting.

Nuremburg High School became somewhat of a challenge for many of the male students from Bamberg. A large number of us were excellent football players who refused to play for the high school, electing to play in the lower AYA division instead. Some of it was due to the problem of distance, and some of it was because Bamberg students and Nuremburg students just didn’t seem to get along. Part of the problem was caused by former differences and the fact that Bamberg students weren’t allowed to wear their Bamberg letter jackets to school. This was extremely distasteful for Bamberg students who had no place of their own to display their sporting achievements.

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I was introduce to Coach McNeal my first summer in Germany. He was an army drill sergeant that only knew one way of doing things, by out working and out conditioning your opponent. His approach to football was no different. Each practice required that we ran until we couldn’t run anymore and that all took place before the actual practice began. After hitting drills and running through our plays, we ran some more.

His methods weren’t something to be desired, but his results spoke volumes. In the two years, I had the pleasure of playing for Coach McNeal we were undefeated. In fact, only one team was even able to score on us, and the closest any team came to beating us during league play was 28-0.

The most exciting game I ever played in came in my second year under Coach McNeal, while a junior in high school. We had often talked about wanting to play Nuremburg High School and somehow he managed to arrange a scrimmage against them as a reward for going undefeated for the second straight year.

On paper, this would be no more than a scrimmage, but to each of the participants this was nothing short of war. Not only was there no love loss between both teams but never before had a higher division team played a lower division team.

Our record spoke for itself, but we still felt we had something to prove. While we had gone undefeated for two consecutive seasons, Nuremburg had only suffered five losses during that same period.

However, they felt their losses came to what they called stronger opponents, which was the sort of conversation that only added to our desire to beat them. I was even more motivated because the girl I was interested in was a cheerleader for the Nuremburg Eagles. This would be my only chance to play in front of her, even if she was cheering for the other team.

Lynn Finler was in my homeroom, and because the seating was arranged alphabetically, she sat in the seat in front of me. I don’t know why I was interested in her; after all, she lived in one town, and I lived in another, and there were plenty of young women who lived in Bamberg. However, Lynn had captured my attention. The only time I saw her was while we were in school each day, but to me, she was stunning. Even if, I wore blue and white (Bamberg colors) every Friday and not the burgundy and white of Nuremburg, she was always willing to talk to me. It didn’t hurt that she was an extraordinarily good-looking girl to boot.

Regardless of the reason that had brought us together to play that day, the time had arrived. It was a chilly day in early November, but both teams seemed ready to battle. I was so excited I barely remembered the bus ride from Bamberg to Nuremburg. We each sat in our own little world, where any conversation was directed towards what needed to be done during the upcoming game. Most of us had spent the last two years playing football with each other, and we had undergone countless hours of practice. However, never had we formed such a singleness of purpose as was evident for this football game.

Upon our arrival, we departed the bus and changed into our uniforms in the visitor’s locker room.

The dislike each team had for each other made it felt like we were in another country, not the high school we attended. Coach McNeal gave us our final instructions and then reminded us that we weren’t only playing for ourselves but for everyone who had ever played on an AYA level team. We could stay the little sisters of Germany conference high school football or we could step up and show them, we had arrived.

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We walked together as we left the locker room to the playing field as a sign of our singleness of purpose. I never remember one player asking, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" To this day I believe that everyone didn’t just think we were going to win, we knew we were going to win. When the whole team was on the field together, we ran to our bench on the opposite side of the field to a chorus of boos. The time for talk was over; it was now time to play the game.

I walked with Charles Vance and Ralph Witherspoon to the center of field for the coin toss with our helmets in hand as we had done in every game over the last two years. We had played in so many games before, but none that had so much meaning for each of us. We won the toss, and as our coach had always instructed us, we took the ball first. Coach McNeal viewed things differently than other coaches, he believed in making a statement on offense early. During almost every practice you could hear him yell out, “Hit them first, hit them hard, and you will own them for the remainder of the game.” Whenever he felt we weren’t giving it all in practice he made us run.

The first play was a handoff to me off right tackle, but someone must have given them the same speech or our playbook. The game was such a long time ago that I don’t remember every play, but I remember that play because there was no hole off right tackle, there was nothing but a bunch of burgundy colored jerseys waiting for me. If I had been hit that hard each time I ran the ball, I would have found another sport and stopped playing football altogether. It became all too obvious that they had come to play the game with the same focus and determination that we did.

As the first quarter ended, the scoreboard read as it had before the game. For two years, scoring had become so easy for us that it made the scoreboard look as if someone had failed to record our scores for some reason. The scoreless tie that lit up the scoreboard had to be a mistake. However, the fact that neither side had gotten as much as a first down was ample evidence that the scoreboard was right. I had played in several games during the last two years where I had already gained close to a hundred yards midway through the second quarter. Yet, now I would have felt good if someone told me that I gained ten yards. It seemed like I spent the entire first half running from sideline to sideline, but never up field. Each time I tried to turn the corner I ran into more of them than there was of us. Halftime had arrived, and still nothing was settled as the score remained as it began, with neither side scoring.

During halftime, Coach McNeal worked on a play that we had practiced many times but never found a need to run; that is until now. We were unable to slow down their defense or keep them from penetrating, which made us reluctant to pull our guards to help with any blocking on the outside. Yet, now our Coach McNeal wanted us to start the second half by pulling our right tackle and running left. Anyone who saw our right tackle might have understood why. Charles Vance was the biggest athlete with whom I had ever played football. He stood six foot six inches tall and weighed 295 pounds but not one inch of that was fat. He was solid as a rock, and he was the only one blocking in the first half. Now the coach wanted to pull him to lead the way around the left side. While other may have understood this move, I was the right side halfback and Charles was the only one who had given me any protection from their rushing lineman. However, I still felt the play could work because along with that large frame Charles had the speed to stay in front of me. My

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only concern was could our right end block down covering a defensive tackle in order for me to get the ball quick enough to get outside before the defense showed up.

In order to counteract their speed Coach McNeal told Steve Calhoun, our quarterback, to stop handing the ball off. He wanted him to move left with the play, using quick pitches to get the ball to me on the run and for me to start in motion as soon as the ball was snapped. For the remainder of the game, all running plays were quick pitches to the half backs, right and left. The majority of plays were to the left because this allowed us to use the blocking ability of Charles and my speed. While our left side halfback was a good football player, he was more of the blocking back type, than a true running back. The play seemed to be working to perfection. By starting in motion, I was able to get up to speed before I touched the ball. This enabled us to get to the corner faster, with more blockers than they had defenders. This play wasn’t designed to fool the defense; it was designed to pit our speed and power against their speed and power, which Coach McNeal felt we could win.

The second half started with the first miscue of the game in that we were able to tackle them inside the ten-yard line on the opening kickoff. We held for three plays, and they were forced to punt, allowing us to get the ball in good field position. After the punt, we found ourselves only 40 yards away from the first touchdown of the day. Coach McNeal called the offense over to him before we took the field and told us to keep it honest, just run the play as we had discussed. As we ran onto the field he once again shouted to us, “Nothing fancy, just run the play.”

The next three plays simply caught them off guard. They weren’t prepared to handle the number of blockers that we brought around the left side of the field, and they certainly weren’t ready for Charles Vance. If this were just a story, I would have scripted it to say that three plays later, I scored because of some impressive moves and outstanding running. The reality of the matter was that, for the next three plays, I ran for ten to fifteen yards before a single person touched me. Everything that seemed to be so hard in the first half worked to perfection for three straight plays, and on the third play I managed to reach the end zone.

After a failed extra point, we led six to nothing.

The remainder of the third quarter went scoreless as they made some adjustment which didn’t prevent us from gaining yards but did limit the yardage we gained on each play. However, the start of the forth quarter turned out to be a total disaster. We made what we felt was a good stop, causing a fumble but somehow one of their running backs picked up the ball on the run, and after a missed tackle ran for a touchdown. After they added the extra point, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. We had gone for two years without being behind in any game. In fact, we had only given up one touchdown in two years, and that was a kickoff return to start the second half of a game that we led by 38 points. Now for the first time we were going into the forth quarter, and we were playing from behind.

For the next two series that we had the ball we gained nothing. Time had now become our biggest enemy if we were going to win the game. With a little less than five minutes left in the game, we were forced to punt the ball to them, but we felt if we could hold them, we would have good field position for one final attempt at scoring. On their first play from scrimmage, their running back fumbled the ball and this time we

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recovered it inside the twenty-yard line. That fumble seemed to restore life to our team and brought us back from the walking dead.

On third down Steve Calhoun managed to fake a pitch to the outside and ran in the opposite direction unprotected. The play caught them off guard and he managed to make it to the three-yard line. Yet from the three yard line their defense seemed to stiffen as if they were trying to tell us that this was their day. After each play we called for a timeout to set a play that we felt would allow us to pick up the three yards we need to score, but nothing seemed to be working.

We were now down to a single play, score or lose the game. During our last time out, you could almost see the wheels turning in Coach McNeal’s head as we walked towards the sidelines where he was standing. In many ways, we may have been expecting him to give us some inspirational speech that would allow us to score but that didn’t happen. This time he told our backup tackle to take Charles Vance’s position at tackle. Everyone stood there somewhat bewildered as Charles started toward the bench. Then, Coach McNeal looked up and asked Charles where he thought he was going. He pointed towards our fullback who was using mostly for blocking and told him that he was out. He looked at our quarterback and told him to run the same play we had been running most of the second half but to the opposite side of the field, this time pitching the ball to Charles. As we headed back onto the field, his last words were to Charles, “Just catch the ball, turn the corner, keep your head down, and don’t stop until you cross the goal line.”

As we took the field, and Charles lined up in the backfield, I could see their defense trying to make adjustments. The fact that they had already used all their timeouts, left them somewhat confused as to what they needed to do, which was an advantage we needed if this play was to work. However, Charles had never played fullback, or even run the ball for a single play over the last two years. In fact, we hadn’t even practiced this play. Everything seemed to remind me of the football I often played as a younger boy in the backyard, where each play was designed before we ran it. But this wasn’t the backyard and everything seemed to be unfolding in slow motion.

The ball was snapped, and the pitch was made this time behind me in the direction of Charles. I made my way towards the first would be tackler to make some attempt at a block. I am not sure just what I did, but I know I slowed the defender down as I went to the ground in front of him. Following that, I am not sure what happened because I was laying face down on the field, but we won that football game 13 – 7. I will just leave it up to you to figure out what happened, but I know Charles scored. With the sound of the whistles, I looked up and saw Charles standing in the end zone. He had three defenders draped all over him still trying to bring him down, but he discarded each one as if they were toy soldiers trying to tackle a grown man.

Charles just stood there totally unaware of what he had just done. When it finally dawned on him, he just flung the ball up into the air. We would have carried him off the field, but there was no one on the field big enough or strong enough to pick him up.

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I finished playing my high school football the following year at Christian County after we had return to Hopkinsville, but I never again played in a game that had as much value to me as that meaningless game.

Upon returning to the states, I learned the Coach McNeal had been killed in an accidental shooting at the rifle range during a training exercise. No man had caused me as much pain or provided me with as much joy, and so I stood there with tears in my eyes as I read the news. The following year Bamberg and Nuremburg students sat down and overcame their differences with Nuremburg going undefeated as Germany high school football champions. Moreover, even through we had been writing each other; it was at the end of that football season I received my last letter from Lynn. It seems that time and distance where too much to overcome.

While we had returned stateside shortly before the end of my junior year, we returned with one less family member or one more depending on your train of thought. My oldest sister, Karen, had married Bill Dickinson while we where in Germany and she soon started her own family having three children; Jeffery 4 March 1969, Jackie 11 April 1970, and Georiana 11 July 1973. I didn’t want to go to Germany during that period of my life, but I have always looked back at that time with an overflowing about of joy. I will always carry the memories of those two years with me and look back on them with fondness.

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Chapter Nine The Last Summer of My Youth In many ways, we were fortunate in that my father’s orders were to return to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. My parents had rented their home during the last two years to a military family that had left a month earlier so things for me had somehow returned to life as I had known it a few short years ago. While my friends were a bit older, things had not changed, and it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things. The rest of my junior year was spent back at Christian County High School, which allowed me time to get back in the swing of things before my senior year.

I still remember sitting there in a small unair-conditioned classroom. The windows were opened, but it did little to help combat the heat as summer weather had finally arrived. Next year I would be a senior in a new building that was now under construction with air-conditioned rooms, but today that honestly did not matter. No one wanted to be in class as our teacher tried her best to get something productive done even if it was the last day of school. Nothing could ruin this moment as my thoughts were of summer and all the things I planned to do; little did I know what this summer had in store for me. It would be a time where my beliefs would be tested and much of my character shaped; such a short time in one’s life to have so many emotions tested. It was the summer where I would see my youth shattered as I passed from childhood to adulthood, without warning or without any knowledge of what was happening. It almost seemed strange that, before the next school year, some unknown force would push me into adulthood and somehow inform me that I needed to grow up.

When the last bell had rung and summer was finally upon us, everyone ran wildly to the buses that would take us home. My mission in the madness was to find the boys of summer. We were a strange cast of characters that I will always call my friends. They were the friends that I could talk to and share my deepest secrets with, or biggest problems. Everyone needs someone to talk to at that age. It was that time in one’s life when you think you know so much more than your parents, and no teenager in their right mind would ever think of going to their parents for help.

Johnnie and Prentice were the only members of the group who had cars. Johnnie’s father had died when he was in the ninth grade and left him better off than most of us (at least when it comes to money), and he drove a Dodge 383 Hemi Super Bee. Prentice was an only child and was more of a lone wolf than the rest of us. We came from normal families of that era. An era when most families had only one car and our mom’s job was still a homemaker, which made it enjoyable to know someone who had a car. Most of us used bicycles as our only means of transportation. If we needed to travel a good distance, usually Johnnie drove us there.

Prentice was the wild one of the group; he always seemed to want to do things a little different from the rest of us. Maybe it was because he was an only child or maybe the little devil on one shoulder was stronger than the angel on the other. Prentice was cool when being cool wasn’t always warmly accepted. He had shoulder length hair and was willing to try anything just for the thrill of it. If you could think of a way

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to find trouble, Prentice had already tried it. However, he was the one that pushed us to another level because he couldn’t accept the status quo.

As much as Prentice was the free sprit of the group, Benny provided us with our legal compass. It wasn’t that he actually wanted the role; it was forced on him because his father was the chief of police. It was rather amusing that his father would hold that position, yet no one ever seemed to meet him. Benny was uncomfortable talking about him, so no one pushed him on the subject. My dad always told me that it was good I never met him. “After all he is the chief of police,” he would say.

Our moral leader was Danny, the preacher’s son. He also got the job because of his father and not necessarily because of his character. Somehow, I was never sure if he was comfortable with that role, at times I felt he believed he should be the one who never did anything wrong. Being the preacher’s son kept him out of some of our more memorable nightly adventures. Some times he may have gone along with us only to prove that he was one of the gang, even if it went against his true nature. Yet, his unwillingness to take the chances that most of us would, may have been what kept us from getting into more trouble than we managed as a group of teenage boys. We played ball on land that his father owned, and his dad seemed to be around watching over us because he was also a teacher who had the summers off. While we never saw Benny’s dad, we managed to see Danny’s father almost every day. When we were out of school so was he.

He was often around cutting the grass on the ball field or helping us make repairs on our make shift backstop.

David was the secret intellectual member of the group. His father was a large muscular man who owned his own construction company and always seemed to be in a good mood. If we needed something done, we knew to go to him, and we would get the results we wanted. David was just the opposite of his dad.

He was small and extremely intelligent with an explosive temper, but he never genuinely seemed to stay mad long. We used his house for our hangout because of the game room in the basement, and the fact that his mother always seemed to have something for us to munch on.

For some reason unbeknown to me, I was the designated leader of the group. Maybe it was because I was older then the others, or maybe it was because of my status as a football player on the high school team. No one ever seemed to question my authority, and I was happy with the role. I have always felt better being a leader rather than a follower. My father being a military man taught me organization and it seemed easier to control the actions of the others in difficult situations, other than just following along.

Everyone accepted me as the leader except for Prentice who at times had to walk his own path. We always accepted this because we knew when push came to shove; he always stood behind the group.

Danny, Benny, David, and my self all had younger brothers who repeatedly tried to join the group but were considered outsiders because of their age. We allowed them to belong to the group to some extent because they were our brothers. However, the real reason why we allowed them to associate with us may have been that we needed nine players to make up our neighborhood softball team. They seemed to understand their role well because whenever a game was over they obeyed the unwritten rule that said they

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had to go. They seemed to be happy with the fact that, at times, they were a part of the group, and that they were allowed to hangout with the older guys.

We had the right chemistry to make us a group of individuals that called each other friends. Each of us had a role to play and seemed to accept the position without trying to take on new responsibilities. We had so many things in common that it seemed to strengthen our friendship and allowed us to think and act as one unit. We all went to the same school; most of us were in about the same grade, and we lived close to each other. Johnnie was the only member of the group who didn’t live in the neighborhood. However, his brother owned the local grocery store across the street and we were comfortable with him belonging to our group. Besides, he was the one with the car that was willing to take us where we wanted to go if he wasn’t working at the time. I often worked with Johnnie at he’s brother’s store, so it was easy to let him join our group. We were friends, and I can’t think of a day that summer that we weren’t together sometime during the day.

With summer came softball and the right to claim our self as the best team in the local subdivisions.

It really was not all that difficult because there were only two teams and we had the better athletes. All of us could have played in some league or another, but that would have meant traveling to the other side of town to the city ball fields. Maybe we didn’t join any local leagues because three of us often worked during the summer for spending money, and it was too far to ride our bikes just to play baseball. Therefore, we just stayed in our own neighborhood and played softball. We didn’t play on some well-manicured field with uniforms and coaches we just showed up every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at one o’clock regardless of the weather and played ball. The weather never quite stopped us because playing in the rain was often far more fun than playing on some glorious sunny day.

The field had wooden bases and was lined with flour that we had gotten from the store that Johnnie’s brother owned. There were no dugouts; everyone just sit in the shade of the trees that ran along the left field line when it was their turn at bat. We played softball only because the field was too small for baseball. The fences of the backyards that backed up to the ball field in left field and centerfield made up the outfield fence. However, there was no fence down the right field line because it was Danny’s grandmother’s backyard. His dad took care of the field were we played and the fence that once existed in his grandmother’s back yard had been torn down to make cutting the grass easier. The left field line was a railroad track, which was guarded by a row of pine trees, and the right field line was my parent’s backyard.

To most people it was just a field, but to us, it was whatever major league field we decided to play on at the time. Playing softball allowed us to hold onto your youth as we dreamed of becoming stars. Each achievement or extraordinary play became legendary until someone did something better. It was there I became involved in one of the great challenges of the summer. Prentice and I spent the summer seeing who could hit the most home runs. The battle had become part of the treasures you store in your memory for later years. Even now after watching major league players like Big Mac and Sosa, battle for the home run title during one epic summer, I was able to escape back to my youth and relive our rivalry.

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Summer had become a routine that was only interrupted by the night. Monday and Wednesday were days for sleeping late and playing ball. After each game, we would head over to David’s house and sit in the coolness of the basement to relax. We would talk of our accomplishments that day and what we planned to do that night. Friday was only different in the fact that I had to do the yard work around my parent’s house in the mornings. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday were spent working at the store Johnnie’s brother owned.

Then there was the night! That magical time we would spend without our younger brothers in tow.

It was a time for carrying out the kind of things that make you closer as friends and distinguished us as still kids at heart. The things you devilishly dreamed up in the light of day but can only become reality in the darkness of night. It was a time to be a boy! As the summer progressed, each of our boyish pranks took us to a higher level of professionalism. We worked hard at our trade and took immense pride in how we carried out each new act.

The nights started with our raids on the parkers of the world. Parking is that age-old practice where boys take their girlfriends out somewhere in their automobiles to be alone with them and make out.

The deserted streets of a new subdivision behind the new city high school seemed to be the place were many parkers gathered. I sometimes wonder if we had anything to do with stopping that trend or maybe I am just so old now that I don’t realize they are still doing it today. I never asked my daughters if they went parking, maybe because I honestly didn’t want to know the answer.

We would meet at the grocery store after closing to plan for our nightly raids. Shortly after the sun went down was the perfect time to catch most parkers. The new subdivision had no streetlights, only the newly created roads that would make up the streets of the subdivision were completed. While the streets had been constructed, they had not started building any houses yet and so this made it an ideal place for parkers. It was a place where parkers could park in one of the many coves and be all to themselves, or so they believed.

Once we had found our target, we would crawl up to our unsuspecting victim using the cover of the tall-uncut field grass, almost like a lion stalking its prey. When we had our targeted vehicle totally encircled, we would patiently wait for the right moment to strike. The ability of such a maneuver was to catch your victim at the height of passion. That moment when you knew that any confrontation would only ruin their night. I am not sure that any of us quite knew when this was, but it seemed that only David or my self gave the command to charge.

The attack would come from all sides as we ran toward the vehicle beating on any part of the car we came in contact with while yelling as loudly as possible. It only lasted long enough to frighten our target but not long enough to allow any retaliatory action. We took considerable pride in trying to catch our prey in the most compromising position. This would give them little time to respond before we were gone.

Scattering back into the tall field grass where finding us was impossible. By chance, if our victim didn’t have the good sense to leave we would regroup for a second attack.

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One evening after an attack on one car, a group of parkers gathered in an effort to track us down and confront us with some from of bodily harm for our actions. We were all scatter out which made it difficult for us to communicate with each other. Standing up to find anyone would have given away our positions, so I began working my way back toward the high school were we often met after our raids. As I crawled through the grass, I came across David, and his younger bother that he had let come with him that night and we began working our way back to our usual gathering place.

Once we had cleared the newly formed subdivision and the protection of the taller grass, we stood up and began walking in the direction of the high school, laughing about our narrow escape. At that moment, a car pulled up beside us and three boys jumped out running in our direction. The chase was on!

David and I, with his bother in tow, took off running though several yards in an attempt to elude those who were chasing us.

Now I had always considered myself as being fast. I was a member of the track team and a halfback on the high school football team but David managed to stay in front and his bother only trailed by only a few steps. After running for a few minutes, I came up with one of my less brilliant ideas. As we ran, it came to mind that there were three of them and three of us. The guys chasing us were just high school kids, and I knew I could handle myself, so I decided that I would stop and confront those chasing us.

I stopped and turned toward our attackers ready for the ultimate confrontation. I looked to my right for David and then to my left for his brother, and they were nowhere to be found. I turned and saw that they were still running in a direction away from those chasing us. It didn’t take long to consider the odds and realize that discretion was the better part of valor and I took off running again. This time I caught David and his bother, which somehow caused us to laugh as we ran. It didn’t take long before the boys chasing us determined that they couldn’t catch us, and they broke off the chase. Once again, we had escaped.

Why this brought about such sheer enjoyment I will never know, but when we seemed to lose interest in the parkers of the world, we would all work our way back to the new city high school. This was the designated regrouping area because the new subdivision was right behind the high school. The city high school was about a half mile from where we lived, but because we lived a few blocks outside the city limits sign, we had to go to the county high school. In the crazy world of politics, we lived within walking distance of one high school but went to another high school about ten miles away because of an imaginary line.

Often when we gathered back at the high school, we would sneak into the gym to go swimming.

Hopkinsville High School was one of the newest schools around with a state of the art indoor pool. The school housed an Olympic size pool used by the swim teams from all over Western Kentucky for most of the competition in that part of the state. It was the best swimming pool in town, but it wasn’t open to just anyone, unless you knew what we knew.

We would climb the side of the gym by using the steel I-beams that were left exposed for their aesthetic value. We found that by holding onto the I-beams with both hands, we could place your feet on the wall and walk up the side of the building. We moved like a colony of ants one after the other up the side

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of the gym until we were all on the roof. There we could use the skylight, which was never locked, to gain access to the gym because it was just above the catwalk that lead to the scoreboard. We never damaged anything we just used the pool for swimming in the dimness of the pools security lights. By doing this, no one ever caught on to the fact that we had found a way of getting into the building. The fact that we were all boys made swim suits optional, so it was just good clean fun, and we didn’t need all the things one usually takes with them when going swimming.

One day when we were working our way up the wall to the roof of the gym, someone shouted out the one word most of us feared the most. “Cops!” Everyone who was already on the roof laid flat to avoid detection but where was Benny? While we didn’t need anyone of us to get caught, the one we certainly didn’t want to get caught was Benny because his father was the chief of police. Then I saw it! Two hands hanging onto the roof and in a split second they were gone. We all quickly scrambled to the side of the gym, almost afraid to look down. If Benny had fallen, it was a drop of some twenty-five feet to the ground below.

We expected to look down and see his badly mangled body.

When I looked over the side, I could not believe my eyes. Almost as fast as Benny had fallen to the ground he jumped up and ran into the trees and bushes across from the gym to hide from the police who were now circling the school. Once they were gone, we all quickly climbed back down to see if Benny was hurt. There he sat, startled but unscratched in the bushes. It seems quite unbelievable the things you can do when you’re young. If I fell that far today, I would still be lying just where I had landed.

It seemed there were all kinds of things to keep us busy at night. If we were not chasing parkers or going swimming, we often played basketball on the lighted parking lot of the grocery store. We had painted a basketball half court on the parking lot and built a basketball goal that hung from the stores outside security light pole. This was great because it also provided us with a court that had its own lights. The cooler nights were the best time to play basketball in Kentucky during the summer because days were often to hot during the summer months. We would play until well after midnight. Occasionally the police stopped to break up the game and send us home. Not because we were doing anything wrong but because it was late at night. At other times, they would join us in a pick up game before sending us on our way.

When things got a little slow, we found other ways of getting into mischief. I wish I could say, "It was just the things kids did;” however, sometimes we were extraordinarily creative. One day after our softball game, we found ourselves sitting and relaxing in David’s basement trying to one up each other.

Finally, we changed our discussion to what we wanted to do that night when an idea hit us. Now, good ideas only come to mind once in awhile, and then only a few of those times are you able to act on those ideas.

However, this time was different! This was one of those rare moments were everything seemed to come together.

We had come up with the idea of scaring drivers at the railroad crossing about a half mile from David’s house. The idea came to us while we were playing with a powerful spotlight David’s dad had left in the basement. He often used the light with his construction company. We decided to record the sound of a train on a cassette player and use it along with the spotlight in our prank. With the cover of night, cassette

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player in hand, the spotlight and stand, a battery pack to run the spot light, and the devil in our hearts we had everything needed to make this the best prank of the summer, a once in a lifetime practical joke that would become legendary.

I am not sure who came up with the idea, but it seemed to have a life of its own. That night we all showed up on the train tracks behind our backyards to put the plan into action. We set up the light about one hundred feet from the crossing and decided that David would operate the light. It was the only fair thing to do because the light belonged to his dad and the rest of us wanted to be closer to the action anyway.

We moved up to the drop off beside the road next to the crossing so we could hide from any on coming traffic.

The railroad tracks behind behind our home in Kentucky, running from Hopkinsville, to Ft. Campbell and Clarksville, Tennessee Now we were ready for action. When a car approached the crossing, Benny would shine a flashlight in David’s direction, and he would turn on the spotlight just as a car approached the tracks. Then we would turn on the cassette player at full volume with the recording of a train playing loudly. The plan worked far more affective than what we had envisioned. Cars would slam on their brakes in an attempt to stop before the crossing, and others would gun their engines to try to beat an imaginary train. One person waited for what felt like fifteen minutes before they believed it was safe to cross even after we had turned off the light. A little old lady worked feverishly to put her car in reverse to avoid a collision with our imaginary train.

However, the highlight of the evening came when one man, who realized he had been duked, got out of his car and chased us a good distance down the track before he realized he was to out of shape to catch us. I have never been so glad to see someone stop chasing me at any time in my life. There we were running down the railroad tracks, David lugging a battery pack, Johnnie had the light stand, and I had the cassette player. If the adrenalin rush had not kicked in along with our head start, he could have caught us easily.

We spent the next hour laughing about our victims and our own mad dash to escape capture.

One night there was little to do because Johnnie was working for his brother, so I found myself alone with not much to do. I had gone to the store to buy a cold drink when I ran into David and his bother Wayne. Somehow, the conversation turned to what we could do that night and we came up with the bright idea of painting our names on the water tower about a mile down the street. David got two cans of black spray paint from his father’s things and we were off.

As we approached the water tower, we carefully checked out our surroundings and the made our way to the tower as inconspicuously as possible to avoid getting caught. Once at the tower I began climbing the long latter that led to the top. Once I had climbed about a third of the way up I noticed that neither

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David nor his brother was following, so I called down and asked if they were coming. With that, they began their ascent towards the top following in my footsteps.

Once I had reached the top, I stood there looking over the vast expanses of the city visible from my new perch atop the water tower. Then out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a police car pulling into the lot where the water tower stood. I quickly laid down on the planking that made up the catwalk that circled the tower and shouted to David still climbing the latter with his brother in an attempt to warn them. They both froze in their position as if to say if I don’t move you can’t see me. The patrol car stopped, and the officers turned the spotlight toward the latter of the water tower. Slowly the light moved up the latter until David and his brother were spotted. With that came the command, “You boys come down from there right now!”

Now I don’t know why I didn’t believe that included me but I remained there hidden from view. As both David and his bother slowly descended to the ground, I watched everything that was happening through the small spaces left between each slat of wood that made up the catwalk. Once on the ground, the officers spent some time, talking to both David and his brother and I lay there nervously waiting for them to order me down not knowing how I was going to explain this to my father. After a few minutes, one of the patrol officers opened the back door to the patrol car while both David and his bother climbed inside, and the car pulled off heading down the road in the direction of our homes.

I laid there petrified for what felt like an hour, not understanding what had just happened but to afraid to move. Finally, I got up the courage to do something and quickly made my way to the ladder to climb down. Once I had reached the ground, I started running in the direction of home never slowing down or stopping for anything. That night I had learned that I honestly had friends that I could depend on because during the whole ordeal neither David nor his brother said a word about me. Somehow, I had once again escaped.

When all else failed, and there seemed little to do we would raid the local freezers that many homeowner kept under their carports for something to eat. It is surprising what people left on their carports. We often found cases of sixteen ounce bottled soft drinks, charcoal, and charcoal lighter under the carport along with all the food you wanted in their freezers. Once we had everything we needed we would go out into the woods to start a fire to cook our bounty and enjoy the feast. Today, every time I go out to our freezer and see the lock on the door, I wonder if it was added to keep kids from climbing inside, or to keep people like us out. How we never managed to get caught, still amazes me today. Often when my wife asks me where I learned to cook, I just smile and reply, “In the woods.”

It was there in the woods we broke out certain magazines (“I assure you just to read the articles”) and told wild tales of our conquests, real or imaginary. OK, so we looked at the pictures and the stories were far from what was on our mind. It was just our way of having fun. When push came to shove, we were still boys and to us this was real men’s stuff.

It was here where we tried and failed at most of the vises of life. We tried smoking a cigar once and that made most of us sick; I didn’t believe that humans could turn that many colors. Another time Benny managed to get a bottle of Jack Daniels from his house, but no one could get past the taste, so we used it to

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make a bigger fire. As it turned out, most of us where more straight laced than we wanted to admit. To this day, I don’t know of anyone in the group who drinks or smokes. That is except for Prentice, but he was the first to leave the group, and he was the one who started the chain of events that would destroy my youth.

The day started like most other days that summer. It was the first day of July, and we were getting ready for our softball game with everyone talking about what we were going to do on the fourth of July.

Somehow, the conversation turned to the home run chase. It seems that I had hit three more home runs than Prentice, up until then. The game that day did little to resolve the issue as we both hit two home runs, but the rest of the day seemed to decide so many things.

After the game instead of heading over to David’s house as we had always done, I went with Prentice who had a car to cruise around town. There seemed to be some satisfaction in just cruising around the downtown area in a car. The joy seemed even greater when others that you knew saw you, and they didn’t have a car. It was no fun unless others saw you and wished they could join you. However, things seemed to get out of hand, and the fun disappeared.

As you know, Prentice set his own rules at times and today was no different. It seemed as if he needed more than just the pleasure of being seen driving around. Soon he was showing off by burning rubber and running lights. In general, he was doing things with a car that you shouldn’t do, and I was becoming uncomfortable because we had a few narrow escapes and I didn’t want to be in the car if he got pulled over by the police.

Later that day when we were going home Prentice pushed the car and excitement to the next level as was his nature. He started driving far to fast and at one point, ran a light and almost hit a car. The excitement by now gone. The fun was no longer there, and the conversation in the car came to a halt. The rest of the trip back to the store was in complete silence as neither of us said a word. When we got back to the store, I got out of the car heading toward the store when I turned and told Prentice something that haunted me most of the summer. I told him that if he kept driving that way, he was going to get himself or someone else killed, and I walked into the store.

That night we met at the store for a game of basketball once the store had closed when Benny came running up to us. He asked if we had heard the news, “Prentice was dead!” You could have heard a pin drop as we all stood there in silence. However, the silence in itself was as loud as any cheer I had ever heard at a high school football game. My brain was screaming with questions! Then as only a group of real friends could, we all asked at the same time, “What happened?”

It seems that when Prentice had left me at the store earlier that day, instead of going home he went back downtown and picked up some more of his friends. This time they began drinking and driving. Soon they were out driving around on country roads as fast as they could. They were hill hopping trying to get the car airborne. After they had gone over one of the hills, the car left the road and Prentice lost control.

The car hit a bridge abutment and flipped end over end throwing out each of its occupants with each flip like a child discarding old toys. Prentice landed face down in a drainage ditch full of water, and before anyone could locate him, he was dead. Even in death, he had done things in a different manner. He was

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rendered unconscious by being thrown from the car and drowned. Everyone walked away from the accident except for him, and that was only because of where he had landed.

Then came all the questions – Why didn’t he listen to me? Why was he drinking and driving? I know he did not drink that much. Why was he the only one to die? What were we going to do for our next softball game? What was going to happen to our home run dual? Why would God let someone so young die? Then like a flash, it came to me, he wasn’t dead. This was all just a terrible joke! The truth; however, was that for the first time in my life someone close to me had died. For the first time I had to face one of the realities of life. We must all die at some time in our life, some earlier and some later, but at some point we will all die, but for the first time death had a face and its face was a friend of mine.

I was not going to go see him at the funeral home, but my parents felt it was best I go. They just told me it was the right thing to do. To me however, it was as if I did not see him dead, then he could not be dead, and the next time we played ball he would be there like always. The reality of death is that it is an ending, but we had always been told that life for us was just beginning. I did however, honor my parents wishes, and I went to see him at the funeral home.

At the visitation, I saw him for the first time since I watched him pull away in his car. There he was lying in his coffin so still, so quite, it was as if time had stopped. I remember hearing someone say that he looked so peaceful, so natural. He wasn’t peaceful, and nothing seemed natural at all! He was to still, so still I was afraid to approach his coffin. It seems someone had told me that you needed to touch the coffin of your friends or loved ones after death so there could be some kind of closure. I couldn’t do it. My hands must have weighted a thousand pounds. I couldn’t lift even one finger to touch his coffin.

I still go to funerals of people who have died that were close to me, and I still don’t think they look real. Death may be the final destination for all of us, but that doesn’t provide me much comfort. I believe in God and life after death, but as a young man, I had more questions for God than any real acceptance of death. Moreover, why had they dressed him in that silly suit? He never wore a suit, so why should he be buried in one. I hope when I die they dress me the way I lived my life, after all I hate ties. In the end, I took comfort in that it must have made his parents feel better, even if it seemed so unnatural to me.

The next few weeks seemed different. No one cared if we could do something to make someone’s life uncomfortable. Softball was not the same, and we no longer cared who hit the most home runs. To this day, I couldn’t tell you how many homers I hit that summer because it just didn’t seem to matter as much anymore. Nevertheless, slowly things seemed to return to normal. I am not sure I know what normal is, but we began to have fun again, and for the first time since I left Germany I was in love. This was true love; the kind that only an eighteen year old would think could last forever.

Diana had come down from Detroit to spend a month of the summer with her grandparents. What luck, she was sixteen, beautiful, and her grandparents lived next door to me. I once again regained my home run swing when I knew she was watching. It is funny the things men will do to get the attention of a woman. The state fair was in town the week after she arrived and I found my chance to ask her out. I am not sure which was harder to do, asking her out or going to see Prentice at the funeral home, but somehow

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I found the courage and asked her. I am so glad she said yes because I am not sure what I would have done if she said no!

Our date was everything I wanted it to be, she was so a real beauty, and I knew everyone was looking at me, wondering how I got so lucky. I already had a bigger upper body because of the weights I lifted for football, but today I must have looked like Hercules. My chest stood out with pride as I walked around the fair with my date. However, things quickly changed. For some reason I was unable to win her a stuffed animal at anything I tried. My pride was hurt because of my failings. She laughed with delight watching how hard I tried to win her something that she could carry around the fair. I tried and tried, but I just couldn’t seem to win anything. Then came the brainstorm, the sure thing; a way that I couldn’t lose.

We came to a game that was played on a large table with a mouse. The table was divided into sixteen squares of different colors. In each square, a hole was cut in the center large enough to let the mouse enter. You were required to place a quarter on the color of the hole you felt the mouse would run into, and if he did, you were the winner. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my last ten dollars. I asked the man running the table for five dollars worth of quarters and watched as each person placed their quarters where they felt the mouse would go. I then carefully placed a quarter on every color. Four dollars worth of quarters, but this time I wouldn’t be a loser.

I am not sure I have ever actually heard of or seen what happened next. As the owner opened the box, even before the four-legged rodent started to run across the table towards one of the holes the owner rang the bell and called out in his commanding voice, “WE HAVE A WINNER!” Again, my chest stuck out as Diana could pick out any stuffed animal that she wanted. She chose a six-foot blue and white snake and put it over her shoulders. I was once again happy, but little did I know that even that would soon change, maybe I should have taken a hint from the fact she picked a snake as a stuffed animal.

The next few days we were together most of the time. My friends were hurt and didn’t seem to understand why I was spending more time with her than them, but I was in love and didn’t care. I no longer had time for our childish games. I still remember the night of our first kiss and the good times we had together. I guess now it was more than my first kiss because I had also kissed the love of my life and she had wanted me to. At least I felt like she had and I don’t think I slept at all that night. I could still taste the lips that had touched mine and somehow I felt that by going to sleep I would lose that taste forever.

Four days had come and gone since the kiss, and four days is a lifetime when you are young. I was done with the things my father had asked me to do, so I ran next door to see Diana. Her grandmother told me she had gone to the store for a coke, so I crossed the street and walked toward the store. As I approached the front of the store, a car parking there caught my eye. The car was of interest to me because it had different plates on it than a car from Kentucky. The plates read, Michigan!

When I reached the car, my heart stopped or at least I felt it had. In the back seat of the car sat some unknown person with my girlfriend! She was kissing another person. I was crushed! The only thing I could think of doing was to run. So, I ran and for at least a few miles. I would have run more, but I didn’t

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honestly know where I was going or why running would make my heart stop hurting. I just sat down and cried for a while before returning home.

The next few days I learned that being lovesick is not just an expression; it is an actual condition.

My chest hurt and I certainly didn’t want to eat which was something new for me. This was defiantly not normal for someone who could eat a half-gallon of ice cream at one sitting or ten orders of McDonald’s fries. The pain I felt was worse than that caused by the death of my friend, the woman I loved had betrayed me. This was the person whom I had gone to the fair with and I had given her the stuffed snake that I had won just for her. The SNAKE! I wanted it back!

Today as I reflect on those events, I can only think of how stupid I must have looked demanding that my stuffed snake be given back. Nevertheless, it was the only way I could get even with her for what she had done to me. It was the only way I could get back some feeling of being in control.

Time heals all wounds, but the summer certainly wasn’t the same anymore. Diana left and went back to Detroit. She told me, she was sorry, and that she didn’t intend to hurt me but the words meant little at the time. I started spending more time with my friends again, but soon football practice took up much of my time. The thoughts of my last year in school began to take over, and what school was going to be like in our new building. I never quite had that much fun anymore that summer. Even some devilish prank didn’t have the luster that it once had. For some reason I had grown up during that summer. That winter I got my lottery number for the draft, the Vietnam War was raging, and my number was low, so I knew I would be going into the military after high school. Somehow, my youth had escaped me when I was not looking. I didn’t ask it to, it just did.

Today I am a college professor with two daughters of my own and I no longer live in Kentucky. I still keep in touch with the friends I grew up with from time to time. Some have left Kentucky, and some stayed. Benny works for a company in Chicago and David owns his own company in Nashville. Danny and Johnnie were the two who stayed in Kentucky. Johnnie owns a liquor store his brother left him and Danny works for the school board and now owns the house that backs up to the left field part of the old ball field.

The backstop is now gone and the paths we wore out by running the bases have grown over, but when I see the field whenever I return home, I can still hear the laughter of a bunch of high school kids as they gathered to spend their summer together. It now looks like any old field you would find in a local park, just a little older. Somehow, it also had aged in that last summer of my youth.

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Chapter Ten The Journey Begins My senior year at Christian County High School, went as well as could be expected, considering I had started high school at Christian County but had spent the last two years in Germany. I had now become more involved in school activities other than just playing football, and I had begun considering what I wanted to do after school. I had remembered what my 9th grade guidance counselor told me and began considering what kind of work seemed to interest me the most. Graduation for me wouldn’t mean going to college, it would most likely mean being drafted because my (draft) lottery number was low. The need for young men in the military was still a concern due to the war in Vietnam.

11th Grade Report Card Richard J. Frederick.

Frederick.

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The football season came and went faster than I wanted it too. Each game meant more to me than it had in the past. Somehow, I knew that when the season ended I would no longer spend my time dreaming of success in the next game or the following year. Instead, it would mean an end to the one thing that had given me some sense of worth while I passed my school years away. For me, the final game of the season was more emotional than graduation. Yet, the real disappointment for me was that my father had only watched me play in one football game. After the game, he expressed his displeasure in the fact that we had destroyed a weaker opponent. My father never did anything physically to hurt me, but I often wonder if he ever understood what football meant to me. I often watched parents interact with their children after any given game, and that was something that I missed with my father. He viewed anything outside of school as something extra and a way for you to spend your time, not his.

However, my senior year did start to fuel my desire to work in the field of education. What I actually wanted to do was to become a teacher. Even though, I knew teaching might be out of reach, I still joined the Future Teachers of America as a means of satisfying my desire to teach. I had also taken a Home Economics class on a dare from my best friend, which ended with both of us taking the class. Ms. Brown was a budding energetic teacher who taught the class and she had a way of getting me even more interested in school activities. If she asked me to do anything, I just did it. She made it easy to enjoy school. Besides who wouldn’t want to take a class made up of all girls and two guys as a senior in high school.

That year we had a mock wedding in Ms. Browns class, which was staged before the whole Home Economics Department and I was groom. Ms. Brown went to considerable extents to make it as real as possible. She had arranged for us to get fitted in wedding attire while instructing the other home economics classes to organize an area to look like a chapel and to bake a wedding cake. The week of the wedding, I took a lot of good-natured ribbing about my up coming wedding from many of my classmates.

When the day of the wedding arrived, we learned that Ms. Brown had even managed to get a real minister to come to the school to perform the wedding, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I was once again leading the singing at the church where my family attended because music had become a significant part of my life. I joined a group in high school called “Sing Out America” who performed at the state fair, the state capital, and of all places the high school where my future wife attended, even if we wouldn’t meet for another five years. I usually tell her that it must have been in the cards that I sang for her long before we formally met.

Yet, the event I remember most about that time in my life came as the school year ended. Each year, all the students, gathered in the gym for an assembly where the graduating seniors were awarded certificates for their accomplishments during the year. I had no problem being recognized for being a part of the football team or participating in “Sing Out America,” it was my last hurrah while in high school and a good send off to start my life after school.

The final presentations were given to those seniors who had the highest GPA’s in various subject areas. While I had made all A’s during my senior year, I was in no danger of receiving any of these

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awards except in vocational school where I took drafting. I already knew I had the highest GPA at the trade school, and that award came as no surprise. Drafting was something that I excelled at, and I had designed the addition to the church were we attended. However, when it came to reading, writing, and arithmetic, I was just an above average student. Of the 365 seniors that were graduating that year, I ranked 53rd, and I knew that there were far more deserving students for those awards. One at a time each subject matter was announced and the winner was called to stage to receive their award. By now, I had received my award for drafting and taken my seat. For the most part, I had lost interest in the assembly and I was passing the time by having some fun with Johnnie Gee, a friend of mine.

As I sat there, I heard them announce the subject of Home Economics, but there was no way I was ready for the name they called out. Now I have never been shy about drawing attention to myself, but this turned out to be a bit embarrassing. I had just been announced as receiving the award for having the highest GPA in Home Economics.

Somehow, it didn’t seem possible. While I knew, I had made an “A” in the class, my grade was only a 96. Surely, someone else had a higher grade, and there had to be a mistake in the name that was just called out. Everyone in the gym seemed to take notice of this award because it wasn’t a girl that was receiving the award. However, no one was seeking to compliment me for my accomplishment; it was more about a male student getting the award for Home Economics. I walked to the stage and bowed accepting the award, which cost me more than a few good-natured shots from everyone that knew me. I still think the fix was in and Ms. Brown did that on purpose; however, I learned that she felt I deserved the award because of all the extra activities I had participated in during the class. Today I laugh when I think about winning an award in home economics. Still, I would have felt much better if they had called out another name.

The distance between my father and I seemed to grow during this period, but it wasn’t because he physically hurt me in any way. He just didn’t seem to have time for the things I considered paramount in my life, and I found it easier to spend as much time as I could away from home. Much of senior year was spent at Johnnie’s house. I still worked for his brother, and we had become close friends. His mother, who I affectionately called Ma, became somewhat of a second mother for me during this stage of my life.

The fact that my father and I didn’t do a good job of communicating with each other allowed me the freedom to do the things I wanted, providing they didn’t mean I was doing anything illegal. The only attempt at a “facts of life” conversation my father had with me was short and to the point. He just told me that he didn’t care what habits I developed as long as I remembered that if I drank to buy my own booze, if I smoked to buy my own cigarettes, and if I got anyone pregnant, I needed to marry her. On the surface, I am not sure many parents would ever use that type of recommendation with their son or daughter; however, my father viewed things from a military bearing, and it worked in my case. The fact that I was a little tight with my money at that age meant he didn’t have much to worry about. I was also the shy type, and I ran around with good friends, which kept me from most of the unhealthy habits one develops during their life.

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12th Grade Report Card Richard J. Frederick.

On one occasion, my father did tell me that I needed to be in by 12 o’clock because church started early the next day. It seemed rather odd to me at the time because he had never actually required that I come home at any particular time in the past. I grew up during the days where you felt safe leaving your doors unlocked, so I came and went according to my schedule more than any required time.

However, that night, time seemed to slip away faster than I had expected, and it was one o’clock in the morning when I returned home. Knowing that my dad had requested me to come home by twelve that night I entered the house as quietly as possible, not wanting to get caught as I passed my parents bedroom. While I was going through the kitchen, I heard the antique grandfather’s clock in the living room begin to chime. For a moment, I froze because I knew that once the chimes ended for the quarter of the hour, the clock would represent the hour with one chime for each hour.

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I knew there would be no way to justify the time if my parents were awake and the clock only rang once indicating it was one o’clock. Besides, I still had to pass my parent’s bedroom on the way to mine. Then like a flash, it came to me. I immediately went to the grandfather’s clock and opened the door as the clock finished its chiming for the quarter of the hour. When the little hammer went back, and moved forward striking the sounding rods to indicate the hour, I knew that it was only going to move once. Following that one chime, I reached inside the clock and proceeded to pull the hammer back eleven more times allowing it to swing forward, striking the sounding rods with each of my efforts. Once the clock had sounded out twelve o’clock, I quietly closed the door and walked down the hall to my bedroom.

Once again, I had escaped.

The following morning I got dressed and went out to the kitchen to get something to eat. My dad sat there with the paper, and didn’t say a word as he seemed to be caught up with the local news. I almost wanted to smile because I knew I had gotten one over on him. After a few minutes, he laid down the paper and got up from his chair. As he walked away, he turned and looked at me and told me that he would need my help later that day. I looked up and said, “Sure doing what?” With that my father told me that he needed my help loading the grandfather’s clock into his truck, it needed to be taken in for repairs because that night it had chimed the hour of twelve twice. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to, it was just his way of letting me know he knew what I had done and what time I came in that night. Yet, in some small way, it showed me a side of him that I had never seen before. When I got married, he gave me that clock, and it still sits in the hallway of my home. Each time I told my daughters what time I wanted them home that night, it sat as a reminder of days past.

I have often wondered if there were other things my father knew I had done, but felt some things were better left unknown. Before my last year in school began he sold me an old 1956 Chevy that he had purchased to fix up but never had found the time to get around to it. However, he would never take me out to learn how to drive, so I taught myself in the back yard. Once I had started to create a path in the shape of a figure eight, my dad made me move the car down behind the store where I worked. What he didn’t know was that late at night I would take the car out on old country roads where I developed my interest in cars and racing. Before I graduated from high school, I did manage to sell that old car for what I had paid my dad for it.

That summer after graduation, Uncle Sam came calling. It was not surprising, yet I had no desire to have anything to do with the military, and I certainly didn’t want anything to do with the Army. The Army only reminded me of all the rules my dad had required me to live by. If he told me once, he told me one hundred times, “As long as you live under my roof, you will live by my rules.” By now, my father had retired from the Army, but it was still in his blood. The funny thing is that my father got out because he felt the Army had become too soft and his time had passed. On the other hand, I wanted no part of the military because I viewed the Army and my father as the same.

To avoid the Army, I went to the Navy recruiter and asked if I could still join the Navy. Because my enlistment date had yet to arrive, I was allowed to join the Navy and avoid being drafted into the

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Army. Additionally, they allowed me join under the delay program and serve three months of inactive reserves before starting boot camp. This meant I could spend one final summer at home.

High school graduation with a friend, Johnnie Carr.

Summer no longer meant the things to me that it had meant in the past, and I spent my time preparing to head to the Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Boot camp for the Navy was three-months of training for all enlisted men; at least it was for most new recruits. For me, on the other hand, it lasted nearly five months.

Originally, I wasn’t assigned to a training company because of a positive TB reading. This forced me to undergo two weeks of additional medical testing to ensure that I was physically fit to continue with my training.

Within two weeks of beginning my training, I fell while going over a cargo net hanging from the rafters of a hanger during PT drills and seriously hurt my back. This landed me back at the medical center for another three weeks of rehabilitation until I had fully recovered. Again, I was forced to start my training one more time.

I certainly didn’t enjoy all the time I spent at the Great Lakes Training Center, but it turned out to be somewhat of a blessing. Everyone left boot camp eligible for promotion to E2 once they had served six months in the military. With the time I had spent in the inactive reserves and the length of time I was at the Great Lakes training facility, I left boot camp as an E2. Yet, each lessons learned while in boot camp only reinforced my dislike for the military. I was attached to Company E under the command or RD1 Sickle where I quickly earned his favor. Being raised in a military manner, I had already learned many of the things we were required to learn from my father. Because of the relationship I had developed with RD1 Sickle, I was placed in charge of the barracks for Company E. While in boot camp, we weren’t allowed to wear jewelry of any type. However, RD1 Sickle told us that if we won Color Company (an award given to the company completing training with the highest overall score), we could wear our jewelry the last week of boot camp. I worked hard keeping things in order and seeing that our barracks passed each inspection with the highest possible score to increase our chances of winning Color Company. After ten weeks of training, the results came out, and we had won.

Each of us understood the benefits of winning this award and the recognition it brought to RD1 Sickle and us, as well. During the final two weeks of boot camp, our company always entered first and left first. It was this kind of success that caused me to begin to develop some initial pride in the military. With that, I purchased a gold U.S. Navy ring to replace my high school ring. Because we were awarded Color Company, I immediately placed the ring on my finger and wore it with pride.

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The following day I was called to the quarterdeck by the officer of the day to meet with him, and RD1 Sickle to discuss the plans for the day. Upon entering the quarterdeck area, I saluted the OD indicating I was present as requested. However, the first words that came out of his mouth were, “What is that on your finger sailor?” I replied that RD1 Sickle had informed us that if we won Color Company, we could wear our jewelry. When questioned by the OD, RD1 Sickle indicated that he hadn’t made any such statement.

I was crushed. I didn’t always agree with my father and his military demeanor, but I never saw him go back on his word regardless of the cost himself. Later RD1 Sickle told me that I should never put anyone over me in that type of position. When I voiced my displeasure in how he had handled the situation, he just told me to, “suck it up,” and follow orders. I became so disillusioned by everything that happened that I went outside and threw my newly purchased Navy ring into the nearby lake. That particular episode reaffirmed by beliefs and was the heart of my distaste for the military. From that day forward, the only thing I wanted to do was to finish my tour of duty and get out.

During boot camp, everyone underwent a series of tests to determine if we had any particular skill set that the Navy could use. While undergoing one round of tests, the Navy discovered that I had the

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ability to hear things in random order and repeat them in that order at an unusually high rates of speed.

Following boot camp, I received orders to attend military intelligence training in Bainbridge, Maryland.

Intelligence training in the military is certainly a play on words, I wasn’t sure anyone in the military had any intelligence.

The school reminded me of being back in high school because our only obligation while we were there was to attend classes each day. Training lasted six months, and we were tested on Mores Code skills and learned to type at a high rate of speed, among other things. Typing was my biggest challenge because I had never learned to type while in high school. While we were undergoing training, the government was conducting background checks on each of us so that we could receive the top-secret security clearances we would need to carry out our assignments. Before completing my training, I had passed the one-year mark in the military and received my next promotion to E3.

I worked hard while undergoing my training in the intelligence field because we were told that the top two graduates would receive choice duty within reason. I spend extra time in the typing lab each day because I wanted to go to Hawaii. The hard work paid off, and upon completion of my training, I received orders for the Midway Islands, two small islands at the end of the Hawaiian Islands chain. Little did I know at the time what this actually meant! While this was somewhat of a relief, I still didn’t like the

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military, but things somehow seemed to be turning in my favor and I looked forward to heading to Hawaii.

After a month’s leave at home, I headed to the Nashville airport to catch a flight to Hawaii to finish my last three years in the Navy. The flight landed, and I caught a cab to Pearl Harbor and reported to the quarterdeck seeking directions for my military flight to Midway. I was directed to a waiting room and told to find a bunk and get some rest because the earliest flight to Midway wouldn’t leave for another two days. Regardless of what the future had in store for me, I was now in Hawaii. Knowing that I had some time to kill, I decided to spend the next two days on Waikiki beach.

The following day I ventured off base with someone I had gotten to know (he was in the same situation as I found myself in because he was also waiting for a flight to his shipboard duty). Rodney Painter was from Nashville, Tennessee, just down the road from my home town. Being from the same general area of the country, we found we had things in common and it made for good conversations in passing the time away. We were two young kids far from home for the first time in our lives, and we were still wet behind the ears. While we felt we knew everything, we still had a lot to learn about the real world.

That night we found ourselves on Hotel Street, the area of downtown Hawaii loaded with bars but more importantly women. Neither of us drank, and after entering several bars with little success at attracting someone of the opposite sex, we decided to return to Pearl Harbor. We made our way to the nearest bus stop and sat waiting for the next bus when out of one of bars further down the street walked one impressive looking unescorted woman. The conversation quickly turned to what we would say if she made it down to where we were sitting. Now I didn’t know about Rodney, but I was a bit shy and the only girls I had ever gone out with were girls I knew while I was in high school. As she came closer and closer to where we were sitting, I found my palms sweating and my heart began racing. Somewhere within the next few moments of time, she passed both of us sitting on the bench at the bus stop and neither of us said a single word as she disappeared around the corner.

I looked at Rodney and asked why he hadn’t said anything to which he replied much the same to me. There we sat, two men of the world, and neither of us uttered a single word to what we felt was a beautiful woman. The reality of the situation was that we were just two good-old boys from the south who hadn’t experienced enough of life to dare to speak to any strange woman. We just laughed at each other and past the time away by talking about what we would say if she ever came back.

Some times I think you need to be careful about what you ask for because before we knew it, that same woman turned the corner again and was heading back in our direction. As she approached, the bus we were waiting for pulled up and stopped. We each stood up to get on the bus more relieved than anything else. However, while we were waiting for everyone to get off the bus before we could get on, the woman that had passed us once already was now standing beside us. As I moved toward the door, she approached Rodney and asked in the deepest bass voice, “One of you darling have the time?”

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I don’t remember getting on that bus; I just remember finding myself in one of the empty seats grateful that the bus had arrived when it did. As the bus pulled away, I playfully joked with Rodney, indicating that she must have wanted him because he was whom she had approached. The bus moved down the street, and we watch her (if indeed it was a her) disappear into the bar, she had left earlier. On the window of the bar was an ad for a cross dressing show that night. I laughed at our narrow escape from one of the reality of life. Together, two boys from the south who had never been exposed to much more than high school dating had somehow managed to avoid what could have been an extremely embarrassing evening.

After spending two days together in Hawaii, I caught my flight to Midway and said goodbye to another friend I meet in passing. We had experienced so much together in such a short time, but our paths never crossed again. That was one of the things I learned about my time in the military, friends came and went, but the experiences we shared would last forever. Life stories and names that are never forgotten and yet somehow they were just tiny spans of time over one's lifetime. It was only during this period of my life that such friendships were developed. Today, the people I call friends with whom I can trust my life and deepest secrets have been developed over years, not days. My time in the military seemed like the time I spent in an orphanage. Friends came and went, often as fast as they had appeared, but our experiences will always be treasured.

The runway on Sand Island, Midway.

The flight to Midway went like any other flight; however, as we approached the island, I looked out the window in sheer amazement. I had expected a large island but to my surprise, I wondered how they could even call this an Island. It reminded me of the cartoon we often see with a small clump of sand surrounded by water with a single palm tree in the center. The runway where we would be landing stretched from one end of the island to the other. In fact, one end of the runway ended at a man made seawall, which extended out into the ocean. How could this be the military base, which was the turning point of the war against Japan during WWII? I did not see anything worth fighting over.

Midway Island as it is often called is actually, Midway Islands. The two islands that make up Midway are Sand and Eastern Island, which when combined, covered two and half square miles in area.

I could run around either island without breaking a sweat, but Sand Island was the bigger of the two.

The islands derived their name from the fact they are just about halfway between Japan and Hawaii.

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Both Japan and the United States wanted to control this small piece of real estate during WWII because planes could land there and refuel. This would allow the country who controlled the islands to reach their enemy and return successfully. During that period, few planes could fly from either Japan or Hawaii to the other island and return safely without refueling.

Orders to Midway Islands.

Midway was a Naval Air Station, which also provided limited docking for destroyer class naval ships. Often ships would dock at Midway to take on supplies and refuel. We landed on Sand Island because the runways on Eastern Island were too small for today’s larger jet aircraft and were in serious need of repairs. The highest point on the island was 27 feet above sea level, which was man-made to support the harbor tower. It looked as if any giant wave that hit the island might just wash right over the top leaving nothing behind. However, Midway was protected from the ocean by a reef that circled both islands, and laid about 1,000 yards off most of the beaches at its furthest point. From the air, the reef

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clearly acted as a divider between the deep blue water of the ocean and the light blue water surrounding the islands. Each island was surrounded by beaches composed of white sand with beautiful water, which was a cross between light blue and an emerald green color. The beaches on Midway were some of the finest beaches I have even seen. They were made of soft white sand, which virtually invited you to walk on them bare-footed. I have been to beaches in Hawaii, Florida, and other parts of the world, but none compare to the beaches on Midway.

The beaches on Sand Island, Island, Midway.

The most common method of transportation on Midway was by bicycle or waking. Only a few military vehicles were available required for official purposes only. In order to protect the birds that far outnumbered any human residence on the island, vehicles were limited to military use only. Midway is considered a bird sanctuary where all birds are protected by law. Gooney birds were the principal inhabitants of the island, and roamed about almost as if they knew we were the visitors, and the island undoubtedly belonged to them.

A Gooney bird (Albatross) is a large bird with a wingspan that can reach over ten feet. There large wingspan allows them to glide over water for hours at a time without a single flap of their enormous wings.

They are more graceful over water and rather clumsy on land. Within ten months of birth, Gooney birds leave land, and for a period of up to seven years before they return to their birth place to mate and spawn their young. They are loyal family members often mating once for life, and both male and female take turns protecting their nest.

Once arriving on Midway I discovered one of the bright spots about my time in military. All E2 and below were required to spend six month performing KP duty (working in the mess hall) before being assigned to their designated unit. Because I arrived on Midway as an E3, I escaped washing dishes for six months. Instead, I was assigned to a P3 squadron that flew between Midway and Hawaii tracking foreign sub movements. While some of our time was spent in Hawaii, the majority of our time was spent on Midway where our schedule gave me more free time than anyone needs on an island where the only women are married. Due to the size of the island, military housing was only provided to married E7’s and above.

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Additionally, any military personnel with a child of high school age or above had to live in military housing in Hawaii or they had to send that child to live with a relative. Midway had no educational facilities for high school age children.

Gooney birds freely roam Midway Islands.

Duty aboard a P3 meant exceedingly little in the way of work. If it wasn’t for my distaste of the military, I could have made a career out of this type of duty. Not only was the job easy but you received flight pay, which meant a little extra coin in your pocket. Our work schedule was 24 hours on and 48 hours off unless some unforeseen event forced us back into the air earlier. I often viewed many of the things that had happened to me while in the Navy in a negative light; however, this type of duty was not one of them.

For the most part 24 on consisted of 4 to 8 hours of flying time, 2 to 4 hours reporting and send message traffic to Pearl Harbor on the days activities, and the rest of the day on standby. We rarely stayed in the air for more that 4 hours. The majority of the day was spent on land in the communications center sending reports to Pearl Harbor via teletype over secured lines. While on duty, if I actually worked eight hours, it would have been a lot. Still, we were required to stay ready in case we were required to fly another mission.

What 48 hours off on Midway did was to give me too much time to get into different types of trouble. My lack of concern for the Navy was amply documented in my quarterly marks, which were often just slightly above minimum standards. Looking back on that time in my life it may have had more to do with my dislike of Chief Acock than the military. Chief Acock was assigned to communications and always seemed to feel a need to hold his position over the enlisted men under him. It was his way demonstrating he had power over us, but I have never had much time for those types of individuals.

My first negative encounter with Chief Acock came after the Navy issued a directive which indicated that anyone who was taking drugs could turn themselves in and receive treated without fear of retaliation. RM Harris, a seaman from communications that I shared a room in the barracks with, took

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advantage of this regulation and tried to clean up his act. Chief Acock knew that he couldn’t remove him from his current rate or rank, so he assigned him to what amounted to permanent KP duty.

The P3 I flew on while serving serving at the Naval Air Station Midway Islands.

Harris had been trained in the area of radio communications, but was now relegated to what amounted to as the barracks janitor while he remained an RM as the directive instructed. Chief Acock’s actions had circumvented the purpose of the regulation. This wouldn’t have been so terrible except that the Chief came by each day looking for reasons to belittle Harris’ efforts. One day while I was watching TV, Chief Acock came by and spent the morning hounding Harris relentlessly over silly things until he finally snapped and pushed the Chief against the wall. With that, Chief Acock quickly responded, “Now I got you.”

It was as if the Chief had found some sick pleasure in breaking an individual for no reason at all. The Chief then requested a Captains’ Mass (an impromptu court marshal where little evidence is needed to see if someone should be punished, hopefully to promote fair justice to lesser offenses). A Captains’ Mass can result in the loss of rate and rank. In this case, it did both. The loss of rank from E3 to E2 allowed Chief Acock to strip him of his RM designation, which allowed him to be removed from communications. Harris died two days later in what was called a swimming accident. Harris went swimming and disappeared. They never found him or his body. It was believed that he was washed over the reef and the current took him out to sea. It could have been an accident, but Harris was a troubled young man as a result of the things that had happened to him.

If I had not liked the Navy before, I hated it now. While we were off duty, we were allowed to wear civilian clothing and with this episode blazoned in my memory, I began wearing a dark blue tee

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shirt with large yellow block letters which read FTN (I will leave it up to you to decide what FTN stood for, but I hope you come up with something slightly more desirable than its intended meaning). This was nothing unusual, several individuals had one, but it was new for me. On one trip to the barracks, Chief Acock happened to notice that some individuals were wearing these tee-shirts, so he called us all together and told us that he knew what FTN stood for, and we were no longer allowed to wear these tee-shirts.

With that, I told him that I didn’t know what he felt FTN meant, but to me, it meant, “For the Navy.” I don’t think I impressed him because he told me if that is what it means, spell it out and I could wear the shirt.

That weekend I had to catch a flight to Hawaii where our P3 had been undergoing routine quarterly maintenance. A Continental Airlines flight had landed on Midway bringing in the mail and military personnel returning from R&R, and our flight crew managed to hitch a ride back to the main island. During the flight, one of my more brilliant ideas came to mind. I was looking at an in-flight magazine passing the time when I saw and add for Continental Airlines, which read, Fly Continental Airlines (FCA). This was all too good! While in Hawaii, I had 20 dark blue tee shirts made up, each with yellow block letters that read FCA (enough said) and in small yellow print under the letters, it read Fly Continental Airlines.

When we returned to Midway the following day, I adorned myself in one of the shirts. It was just my luck that while sitting in the mess hall Chief Acock came in. He took one look at my shirt, his face turned red, and his jawed dropped. The look on his face as he quickly came towards me only meant he wanted to beat the living stew out of me. As he approached, I quickly pointed to the lettering below each of the larger block letters that read Fly Continental Airlines. I am not sure I have ever seen anyone’s face turn so many colors so fast, but he didn’t say a single word, he just bit his lip and stumped off.

Communications Center Midway Islands.

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Highlighted area best characterizes Richard’s dislike of the military: RMSN FREDERICK has acquired an excellent understanding of the operation of the message center. Due to shortage of PO’s he has been assigned duties of watch supervisor. Possessing an adequate interest in his assigned duties, he carries out assigned tasks efficiently but he appears unwilling to apply any significant “extra” effort and has the occasional tendency to question some of the divisional and departmental regulations. The fact that he is able to work effectively with others is attested by the very satisfactory perform of his watch section, but he is sometimes short tempered and quick to fly off the handle. His long hairstyle detracts significantly from his overall military and personal appearance, even though his uniform is well-kept and his choice of civilian clothing is often questionable. He is active in group sports competition and has established an effective, friendly relationship with his shipmates. During this reporting period, FREDERICK participated in the Navy-wide examination for advancement to PO3.

This particular act turned me into somewhat of a cult figure in the communications barracks and helped to create a friendship with an individual that has lasted over the course of our lifetimes. We served

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together, fought together, caused widespread chaos together, and long after we had both gotten out of the Navy we reunited over the phone only to find out we had both gone on to college and were both teachers.

The only difference is that he teaches high school, and I teach college. His name almost makes the story too good to be true, Mothersbaugh, but for the remainder of my time on Midway we were a pair to deal with. If I was the salt, he was the pepper, and “I pity the poor fool” that got in our way.

Midway provided us with little in terms of entertainment. Most of our fun seemed to center on different sporting competitions among the men of each division. I was not much of a fast pitch softball player; I don’t like someone throwing a ball at me at 80 mph from 60 feet away. However, Midway and Hawaii was where I began umpiring, which became a passion of mine for most of my life (I umpired competitive softball on and off for a total of 34 years, reaching Gold status). On the other hand, Golf, basketball, and football were more up my alley.

Midway Jacket Patch.

My Stereo Equipment in the Barracks.

Midway Mess Hall.

Communications Barracks Third Floor.

Fall on Midway was a blast because the flag football season began and both Mothersbaugh and I had played high school football. Mothersbaugh was a quarterback in high school who had a rifle arm and I had played halfback. This gave the Communications Division a formidable backfield and made us more than competitive in a majority of the games we played. Regardless of the outcome, it was the most fun; I had on

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the island because it rained 24 hours a day in the fall. Midway was still part of the Hawaiian Islands, so it never got cold, but cooler days coupled with a light nonstop drizzle made for perfect football weather. Flag football in the rain was a task for only the sure-footed, but a blast to play.

During one game, I noticed that Chief Acock had come to watch us play, and he was standing along one of the sidelines. After one play, we found ourselves with the ball close to where the Chief was standing, and Mothersbaugh asked me if I was interested in taking him out. Enough said! I was to run a route that took me along the sideline right beside the chief, and Mothersbaugh would pass the ball to me a bit high in the Chiefs direction, which would allow me to run over him attempting to catch the ball. To cool!

Plans may not always go as planed, but this one worked too perfection. The pass was on target, which made my attempt to catch the ball all that more realistic. As the ball approached the sideline, Chief Acock reached up to catch a ball that seemed to be heading out of bounds as I lunged through the air in an attempt to catch the ball. The next thing I remembered was going to the ground in a heap on top of him as the two of us slide across the wet grass. Once the Chief knew it was me on top of him, he came up swinging and reaching for me almost as if he were a mad man. I pushed him back almost as if to say what is wrong with you.

Within seconds of his first attempt to swing at me, a tall spectator appeared from between us and ordered the chief away from the sideline. It was the base commander, and he had come to the game because we were playing the Administration Division. I didn’t hear everything the captain had to say, but what I did hear couldn’t have been pleasant for the Chief. Finally, the shoe had turned on him, and he became the recipient of his own medicine. However, in many ways the Chief was able to restore some order of balance with each set of quarterly marks he was responsible for filling out from that day forward. They were just above the minimum level you could give someone without taking them before the base commander. They often indicated that my attitude towards the Navy was less than what was desired, and the fact is they may have been the only thing the Navy got right.

Seventh hole of the par three golf course on Sand Island.

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Base Gym Midway.

Midway.

Football and Softball Field Midway.

Duty on Midway was spent in the air, sending messages, or my occasional trip to Eastern Island to work at the receiver site whenever our P3 was grounded for required maintenance. I think Chief Acock liked sending me to Eastern Island because it kept me out of his hair for at least 24 hours. I enjoyed the island because there were only three people there at any one time, which meant we pretty much had the island to ourselves. I also liked the fact that one military vehicle was afforded to the island which meant I could drive around the island instead of walking. I usually spent some of my down time while on the island racing around the old airstrips that had long since been abandoned. However, a vehicle wasn’t truly needed on Sand Island because one could walk around the island in about 45 minutes.

For the most part, you could almost say that things were more laid back, and duty on Midway was more like spending time on a vacation island in the Pacific. However, one of the most pivotal events that I was part of during my military career took place while I was there. The day began like any other where I was on duty except for the weather. A storm was on the horizon, and it was a fairly breezy day as we boarded our P3 and prepared to take off. I was not too trilled with the possibility of flying in this type of weather because it usually meant that the ride would be on the bumpy side. However, once we were airborne, and we flew away from the oncoming weather, things seemed to be more normal than I had expected.

We had been in the air for about two hours, and I was busy searching radio frequencies in hopes of catching some outgoing message traffic from a foreign sub when something caught my interested. I had picked up what sounded like Morris code coming from a surface ship (generally ships used Morris Code as a means of communications). This message seemed like the normal traffic sent from any cargo ship and I was about to switch frequencies when my ear caught something that sparked my interest. My attention was now drawn to the receiver in front, pressing the headphones against my ears in an effort to more clearly hear the message being sent. The sounds continued, dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot, SOS. I quickly jumped to my feet and got the attention of the flight chief letting him know I was receiving a distress message from a surface ship below.

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Eastern Island, Midway as seen from the air.

Shoreline of Eastern Island with Sand Island in the background.

All concern for locating sub traffic ended as our attention was immediately turned to the distress call from a ship that might be in trouble. After attempts to communicate with the ship failed, we turned in the directions of the quadrants indicated in the distress call. Within minutes of relaying the ships last know whereabouts to Pearl Harbor and Midway, a massive air and sea search for the ship was launched. Sea conditions were deteriorating and if the ship was in need of assistance, it was critical that we locate it as soon as possible. Our search lasted another hour before we reported that we had located four ships within 50 miles of the indicated quadrants, but none were the Heering Kirse, the ship determined to be in distress. Seas were now ranging between 20 to 25 feet, but we were forced to return to Midway to refuel.

Abandoned runways on Eastern Island.

Receiver site Eastern Island.

Once we had touched down on Midway, I ran to the message center to find out if we had received any further information on the plight of the stricken ship. Communications had now been established with the ship; however, all military aircraft indicated negative sittings due to poor visibility. The Herring Kirse was a large sea going cargo ship, and they were unable to secure one of the cargo doors. Due to high seas and deteriorating weather conditions, they were taking on more water than their pumps could handle. The ship

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was now dead in the water and in real danger of sinking. With two lifeboats capable of carrying 100 crew members and two additional inflatable craft capable of carrying an extra 15 crew members each, the crew of the Herring Kirse had ample lifeboats needed if they were forced to abandon ship.

I waited nervously for our aircraft to resume the search, but we soon learned that due to poor visibility two search aircraft to collide in midair and any other aircraft were to remain grounded until conditions improved. Both aircraft involved in the collision managed to avoid a direct collision, one was now on its way to Midway with possible landing gear problems, and the other was returning to Hawaii with six feet of its right wing missing; however, both aircraft were still airborne.

Midway immediately prepared for an emergency landing of the aircraft heading towards the island; however, after one flyover it was determined that the landing gear was down, and the plane landed safely.

Shortly after both planes landed, all communications with Heering Kirse ended, and a coast guard aircraft reported they had spotted a potential debris field indicating that the ship may have sunk. All efforts were now turned toward locating possible survivors.

I had gotten up at 2:00 A.M. that morning in preparation for our original mission, and by now I had been up for almost 16 hours. However, an adrenaline rush had kicked in, and I refused to leave the communications center until I knew if we were able to rescue any of the crew members. However, the air search for that day had now been called off due to the loss of light as the sun began to set. For the remainder of the night messages continued to come in about a possible location of a lifeboat indicated by faint signals from a distress buoy.

The following morning we were preparing to return to the search, but just before we took off the flight was cancelled because another aircraft had located a lifeboat with survivors. Weather conditions had now improved, and a positive location known so, Midway lunched its SAR helo in an attempt to rescue the survivors. Within hours, 12 crew members were plucked from the sea and flown to Midway. I remained in the message center waiting to see if we would return to the air in search of additional survivors when I received the following message from Pearl: Distress M/V Heering Kirse /OVSG A. Phoncon my LCDR cipperly/your CDR middleton of 10 Dec 71 1. Request both P3 ACFT presently on station subj SAR remain onstation PLE or untile released by OSC and terminate Midway. Request ACFT be able to continue search, after appropriate crew rest, as required by CENPACSARCOORD. 2. This confirms ref. A. This was a polite way of telling us that we had been flying or on call, past our allotted time, and we were required to stand down until we received the appropriate rest. However, going to sleep was something that I knew I would be unable to do.

The second day had now ended with only 12 survivors rescued from lifeboats. I had now learned that I could catch an occasional catnap in one of the offices where I could turn off the lights and shut the door.

The following morning I again assumed that we would be taking part in the search for additional crew members. As we once again prepared for take off, we were once again informed to stand down and wait for

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further instructions. Two ships, the Puna and the Montana, had rescued 19 crew members from the second lifeboat who informed them that the ship had a total crew of 36 and 5 crew members had remained on the ship and were assumed to have gone down with the ship.

Over the next two days, messages came in indicating that the debris field that had been located included two ring buoys with the name Heering Kirse stenciled on each. Debris showed signs of significant physical stress, which strongly suggested the ship, had obviously sunk. Additionally, debris was located with a floating light marker, which had been tied to boards indicating that some effort had been made by the remaining five crew members to abandon ship. However, their bodies were never recovered and after four days, the search for additional survivors was called off and I finally returned to my barracks. I had just spent four days with little to eat and little sleep, but my physical exhaustion was tempered by the self-satisfaction I gained from being able to assist in some small way. While so many of my memories of the Navy are surrounded with less than memorable, I will always remember those four days in December of 1971, where I played a role in saving 31 lives.

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Chapter Eleven The USS Preble – DLG 15 Being isolated from what most of us think of, as civilization was not always easy. Because of its isolation Midway was considered sea duty and once my tour of duty there ended; I was again told I would receive a choice of duty within reason. Now you would think that somewhere I would have learned that choice duty within reason didn’t mean the same thing to the Navy as it did to me, but again I asked to go Hawaii. This time I was surprised because my orders came through for the USS Preble DLG-15 home ported out of Hawaii. The war not over, so I viewed this with mixed feeling. On the one hand, I still would not be stationed directly in Hawaii, but on the other, I felt the chances of going to Vietnam weren’t that strong or at least that was my opinion.

There always seems to a clam before the storm, and it didn’t take the storm long to arrive. I quickly learned that I would not be flying to Hawaii to board the Preble; instead, the Preble was coming to me.

Within a few days, the Preble would be docking at Midway. The Preble had returned to Pearl to be fitted with some new equipment and was now returning to Vietnam. After adjusting to the only news that I certainly didn’t want to hear I began trying to find the silver lining in the news I had just received. Things could be worse; at least by being on a ship, I would be at sea and hopefully away from any action.

I sat at the end of the runway and watched the Preble slowly maneuver the harbor channel of Midway heading towards the docks located on the backside of the island. This was my first look at what would be considered my home for much of the next two years. In some ways, I am glad I was on Midway at the time, or I am not sure I could have made the decision to board the Preble, had I been anywhere else. At least after learning of the direction, which she was heading. However, there is no place to run or hide on Midway, so I picked up my things and reported as ordered. I quickly learned that life aboard a ship was significantly different from the duty I had become accustomed too. Gone was the spacious room that was afforded to us in the barracks, in its place was a small sleeping compartment. Beds were stacked three high and I found myself in the middle bunk. The storage space was limited to the length and height of the sleeping compartment and was just deep enough to keep a neatly folder shirt or pair of pants. The stereo equipment that once covered one of the walls of my barracks had now been shipped home because shipboard life does not accommodate those forms of luxuries.

The next few days were more about getting my sea legs under me and becoming accustomed to what I would be doing aboard the ship. The Preble was a guided missile frigate or destroyer class ship. She was 512 feet long from stem to stern, 53 feet wide at the beam (widest part of the ship), and she sat 20 feet in the water with a displacement weight of 5,800 tons. Because there is no way to weight a ship, its displacement weight is used to determine the weight of the ship. The displacement weight is the weight of the water needed to fill the gap that the hull of the ship makes when sitting in the water. Because the area of ship residing below the water line can be determined and the weight of the watered needed to fill that area can be calculated, it is easier to determine the displacement weight than to try to weigh a ship. Each ship differs by the amount of

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the ship sits below the water line. In order to float an object must equal or weigh less than the hole it makes in the water. If the object weighs more than the hole it makes in the water, it sinks.

A guided missile frigate is designed to act as a single combat unit or work in support of a strike force.

The Preble carried a full armament of weapons including a 5” 54 gun mount, torpedo launchers, surface to air, surface-to-surface, and surface to underwater missiles. The ship’s main weaponry was its missile system which used Terrier and extended range standard missiles used to engage surface targets, supersonic aircraft, and missile attacks against US interests. To counter an enemy beneath the seas, Preble was equipped with anti-submarine rocket-thrown torpedoes (ASROC), depth charges, and torpedoes fired from twin torpedo launchers. The Preble sailed with a full crew of 356 enlisted crewmembers and 21 officers. She was powered by four high-pressure oil fired boilers, which drove twin screws capable of producing top speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The USS Preble docked at Midway (far left).

The Preble deployed to the Far West from February through July 1964, experiencing her first operations in the South China Sea. An additional “WESTPAC” deployment occurred from June through December 1965, with the entire deployment being spent in the South China Sea. Preble was the first DLG called on for shore bombardment missions against the enemy in Vietnam. She was also deployed to Vietnam from October 1966 until April 1967 and from January through July 1968. A helo from the Preble, made it the first US war ship used to assist in an overland rescue of a downed pilot and his RIO, in the face of enemy opposition.

Original TV Guide listing of Hawaii FiveFive-O episode with the USS Preble included.

Following her 1967/1968 deployment, she was modernized for Anti-Air Warfare in 1969 and 1970. After recommissioning in May 1970, the Preble proceeded to her new home port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Preble returned to the Far West from 1971 to 1773. An episode of Hawaii Five-O was filmed on the Preble when she returned to Pearl Harbor in early 1972 arriving on the 29th of February.

Regardless of her history, I was now a member of her crew and we were heading towards Guam and the Philippians before returning to action with other US warships along the coast of Vietnam. Each day of sailing included additional training, and from time to time a general quarters drill needed to prepare us for

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possible enemy action while on station. Much of my free time was spent exploring the ship learning where everything was located. I was somewhat awestruck by things that were available to us and the ships firepower and capabilities. However, my first real significant event aboard the Preble occurred as we crossed the International Date Line, where I managed to lose a day for the first time in my life.

Ship Patch and sleeping compartments aboard the USS Preble, DLG 15.

15.

For the most part, the trip to the West was uneventful. The waters were friendly enough that the Preble seemed too maneuvered through them as if she were a small powerboat cursing across a lake. Days of sailing without a single sighting of land almost caused one to wonder if we had sailed into an area of emptiness where we were doomed to navigate until we found our way home again. The water was the deepest blue where only the occasional white cap and light blue sky created any contrast in color. Nights were complete darkness broken only by the moon and stars which seemed to lie in a vast area of darkness just beyond the waters horizon. The Preble moved across the top of the ocean causing the water that ran alongside the ship, to become a florescent light blue color as if to create an outline of the ship telling the Gods where we were.

Our arrival in the Philippines wasn’t marked by any memorable event other than it was the first time in almost two weeks that I was allowed to leave the ship. Reaching port provided everyone on board with a way of releasing the tension that had been building from ongoing training and tight quarters. This would become a pattern each time we left port for any extended period. The first few days generally were uneventful; however, each passing day caused even close friends to quickly get on each others nerves. On the one hand, it was good to be in port, but I soon found out that I still had a lot to learn about the world and Subic Bay, “Sin city of the Pacific.”

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USS Preble Preble at sea preparing to enter Subic Bay. Subic Bay is not a place for the faint of heart or for a naive young man who had just spent over a year of his life away from any significant female contact. I am more than proud of some of what I experienced during this stage of my life, but I am neither proud nor boastful about other things. It was a time of growing into whom I became and where I made many of the mistakes that I have carried through life. I do not offer this as an excuse for some of the things I did during this period, it was simply a period of my life where my wisdom was tested, and I often failed.

I am reminded of a speech by the late Jim Valvano who said, “To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.” While I may not be able to say, I did each of these three things each day during that period of my life, I can say each of these things was tested more than once. From time to time, I failed, yet with each failure I can truly say I grew a little more even if I did not know it at the time.

Within a few days of arriving in the Philippines, I had moved in with a young woman. I felt justified in my actions because I was up front and told her that there would be no emotional connection on my part, but I would take care of her as long as I was in that part of the world. While what I gave her didn’t seem like much, it did allow her to move into a small apartment building, which was considered middle class in the Philippines and somehow allowed me to consider what I was doing as ethical. I am often amazed at my children today and their understanding of the rest of the world. A simple gesture of twenty dollars every two weeks had changed someone entire outlook on life and yet it means so little in the United States.

In many ways, it may have been the fact that I meet Angela, a young woman from Baguio, who was living with a mama-san in Subic Bay, which kept me from getting into any real trouble while in the Philippines. I have always been attracted to women with long dark hair, and it was no different with Angela.

She was easy to talk to and didn’t dress or act the part of any of the bar girls in Subic Bay. For the most part, she was a kind soft-spoken individual; however, if she knew when someone was trying to take advantage of

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me, and she immediately stepped in with a commanding tone that seemed somewhat out of character for such a small woman who spent most of her time smiling.

Jeepney driver are the fastest way to get around on the street of Subic Bay but hang on to your hat there are no street signals. signals.

A river divides the naval base from downtown.

I discuss this part of my life only to present the full picture of whom I was, and not to represent myself as a hero. This was a period of my life where I was surrounded by to many temptations with little spiritual guidance. I don’t want to go into any more detail than what I have discussed in fairness to Angela and my wife; it was just a part of my life. At the time, the only thing I saw was what I wanted, and I failed to see how my actions could affect another’s life. It was not until we left the Philippines for the last time and I returned to Hawaii that I fully began to understand the consequences of my actions. I saw the pain in the tears in someone’s eyes that were a direct result of what I had done. Today I am haunted by the fact I lifted someone up for my own interest, and then discarded her when I no longer had a purpose for her. The memory of such events has made it easier to understand why the early relationships in my grandfathers and fathers life may have failed. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the love I have for my wife has lasted nearly forty years; I was more determined to never again knowingly hurt another person in my life.

Angela Subic Bay may have become more to me than its intended purpose, but the fact that this was a US Naval base used to supply war ships heading to Vietnam was about to become all to real. Once the ship was fully supplied and minor repairs made, it was time to get underway. The Preble pulled slowly from the safety of its mooring as it headed towards open waters. Each turn of the large screws under the ship meant we were that much closer to the coast of Vietnam as we crossed the South China Sea in a westerly direction.

For the first time since I had boarded the Preble, the winds blew down from the north making the last leg of our journey a foreshadowing of the future. I ventured up to the signalman’s cabin to feel the fresh breeze on my face and escape the confinement of the ship's interior. The Preble was no luxury liner and portholes were nonexistent. Each inch of the ship had purpose and each compartment below decks was closed with watertight doors during conditions of general quarters.

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The lower levels of the exterior of the ship were off limits due to the adverse weather conditions we were facing, and the lack of any outdoor exposure, made the interior of the ship seem more confining. For the first time in a few days, I was able to look out across the water to view our new surroundings. Gone was the sun and gentle deep blue seas that we had experienced in our travels from Midway. In their place was a gray ominous sky, which blocked the sun, making things appear gloomier than they were. The seas almost seemed clam except for the size of each wave, which had grown immensely. Now there was a clear distinction in each swell of the ocean. The ship road up on each wave as if it were attempting to climb out of the water and extend its wings. As the swell passed, the weight of the ship, which was now suspended out of the water, came crashing down submerging the main deck beneath the water. Each time the nose of the ship would dip beneath the water, I sat in nervous anticipation of its reemergence. In the distance, I could see the faint outline of the USS Saratoga, and I knew we had now joined up with other ships in the Gulf of Tonkin.

While on station in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Preble sailed in support of the Saratoga. While the Preble carried a variety of weapons, its surface to air missile system made it a force to be feared by enemy aircraft.

In addition to sailing in support of U.S. aircraft, the Preble would often run along the coast firing its 5 inch 54 gun mount inland in support of American troops or in an attempt to inflect as much damage as possible on our enemies.

General quarters became a common occurrence as enemy shore batteries often gained a fix on our position once we began firing, which resulted in incoming rounds. General quarters required everyone to be in battle stations, which may have come as a blessing because my sleeping quarters were forward, a few decks below and behind the gun mount. Round after round left the ship heading towards its target with a thunderous boom, which made sleeping almost impossible. It was often easier to sleep atop the burn bags, stored in the back of the communications center, to be burned whenever we reached a secure port. Once we had accomplished our objective, the Preble would head back towards deeper waters to limit any potential enemy return fire or possible air strikes.

The USS Preble crossing the South China Sea with USS Saratoga CVACVA-60 slightly visible in the foreground.

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An eighteight-hour work shift was not normal under combat conditions, so we learned to catch a few rays whenever and wherever possible.

Before long most of what we were doing became quite mundane under chaotic conditions.

Much of our time was spent behind the metal bulkheads of the ship where hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks without any acknowledgement of time. Day and night often became intermingled with an occasional break, which allowed us to spend time outside soaking in the sun and breeze off the ocean. The routine was only broken by our support in a rescue attempt of two American pilots who ditched in the Gulf of Tonkin due to damage caused by enemy gunfire. After being at sea for a little more than thirty days, we retuned to the Philippines for more supplies and to enjoy some time off.

Communications Communications Center USS Preble Being back in port meant time away from away from those things that meant little to me. I was more comfortable spending time with Angela than the men onboard the Preble. Drug use had become wildly popular with many of the younger sailors; that along with drinking seemed to be the most popular ways of blowing off steam whenever we reached port. Because I had no interest in either, spending time with those I served with was somewhat unattractive to me. It seems I was still seeking the one thing I had been searching for most of my life, a sense of stability where I was in control. I was trapped in a job I didn’t want, in a place where I didn’t want to be. My only escape was to get away from the things that reminded me of my current situation. While I did have friends aboard ship, those I would trust my life with were limited.

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Enjoying the sun during some down time in Gulf of Tonkin.

U.S. jet flying along ocean returning to the USS Saratoga.

Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea

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Missile fired off the Preble.

Destroyer group Gulf of Tonkin.

The rest of the month we spent in Subic Bay undergoing some minor repairs for damages we had received from incoming shore bombardment. Being in port allowed me ample time away from the Preble. At sea, I often found myself working 16 hour days, but in port I only had to stand duty once every four days for an eight hour period. The rest of my free time was spent off the ship and off the base. However, those times we spent in port came at a cost, each time we were ready to return to sea it became harder to leave, but leave we did.

The first of October saw us getting underway and heading back towards Vietnam. For some reason, the trip back to the action didn’t seem to take as long this time. Maybe it was because we had become accustomed to the trip or for some reason the apprehension we initially felt on our first trip was now gone.

Within days, we had the USS Saratoga in our sight, and once again, the clam was broken by the sound of our shells leaving the ship heading inland. October soon tuned into November, and we were still at sea. Early one day in November, planes from the Saratoga under the protection of the Preble spotted a large enemy convoy of over 150 vehicles, which resulted in a massive air and sea attack lasting nearly an hour. When the firing stopped over 80 percent of the vehicles had been disabled or destroyed, and the Preble slowly retreated to deeper water. Days later, the Paris Peace Talks resulted in a cease fire and the Preble headed to Hong Kong for two days of R &R before returning to Subic Bay. When the Peace talks stalled, the Preble was forced to return to action instead of returning to Subic Bay. December marked one of the heaviest periods of air bombardment of the war. Once again, the Preble took up its position along the gunline, firing rounds inland whenever the enemy was spotted. As Christmas approached, word was received that the Preble would be heading to Japan for the holidays. For me, this was the kind of news I needed because one of things I did like about the Navy was visiting places I had never seen before.

Japan was one of those places I wanted to visit; however, as Christmas approached and we were heading towards Japan we received an early Christmas present, something that only the military can give.

We received orders to return to action along the Demilitarized Zone. We arrived on station and received our first firing mission on December 25, 1972, “Merry Christmas.” Two days later, we came under heavy fire

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with several near misses and multiple hits from shell fragments. During a four-day period, we had fired more than 500 rounds toward enemy targets before being relieved and once again heading toward Japan. When we had cleared enemy territory and were allowed to venture outside, and the height of our action became more apparent by the numerous shell fragment holes all long the ships main deck.

Following a week in Japan, the Preble returned to the South China Sea heading towards the Philippines when she was once again diverted to help in the rescue of two down fighter pilots. While there, the Preble was order to take up a position in support of the South Vietnamese Army, which was now under attack. On January 24, 1973, the Preble spotted an enemy truck and tank convoy and opened fire to control their advancement until the South Vietnamese Army could respond. During the engagement with the North Vietnamese, the Preble took several hits including a near direct hit.

The war had become all too real to me. I was standing next to the receiver bay when an incoming shell detonated in the water beside the ship. The following explosion shook the Preble violently knocking me off my feet. As I scrambled to get up, alarms were going off indicating that the ship had been hit amid ship and was taking on water. Additional damage reports came in confirming that the Preble had suffered damage to the outer sink of the superstructure rupturing a steam line behind the receivers.

Steam began seeping between every small opening of the receiver bay, which looked more like smoke than steam. The communications center was heavily air-conditioned to protect the communications equipment, which produced high levels of heat while operating. The cool air inside the communication center caused what amounted to a steam bath and made our surrounding look worse than the reality of the situation. I was unaware that steam lines ran behind our receiver bay, which caused the steam from the ruptured lines to appear more like smoke, and caused me to believe the ship was on fire.

By now the only thing that crossed my mind was the fact I am not the best swimmer in world, and we would be forced to abandon ship along the shore where the North Vietnamese were firing at us. For this to happen now when there was talk of the war ending, seemed slightly unreal. How many times had we run the gunline and suffered no significant damage? By now, I had grabbed three life jackets because if I had to jump into the water, I wasn’t going to sink. Suddenly the door of the communications center swung open, and Chief Cook entered grabbing the life jackets I was holding and throwing them to the floor. The Chief immediately took control letting me know we weren’t about to sink in some colorful naval language commonly used in stressful situations. I may have had my differences with many of the leaders I had while in the military but on that day, I was grateful for his ability to take control knowing just what needed to be done.

We immediately began assessing the damage done to the communication center, which amounted to no more than the loss of two receivers and an antenna aft that was not responding. By now, the ruptured steam line was located and turned off so that the steam, which appeared to be smoke, stopped almost as quickly as it had started. As the steam diminished, the air in the communications center started to clear as we worked to regain control over the communications channels we had lost. Additional, reports began coming in indicating that the ship had only taken on a minimal amount of water, and the situation was

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under control. The Captains quarters were heavily damaged, but he was on the bridge at the time. Only the port lookout received minor wounds during the shelling, and the Preble escaped without any additional damage.

Damage done to the Preble from shrapnel or incoming round Vietnam.

Repairs were made to insure the sea worthiness of the Preble, and within hours, we returned to action. From January 24, 1973, to January 27, the Preble fired over 400 rounds in support of the South Vietnamese troops and had received return fire of over 150 rounds. This was the heaviest action the Preble experienced while I was on board, and it came as the war ended for American troops; however, we suffered no further damage to the ship. On the morning of the 28th Commander Blundell reported to the crew that the war was over, which resulted in thunderous cheers from the crew, which I am sure everyone in North Vietnam heard.

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My ride inland arrives and lands on the USS Preble.

Over the next few days, I was taken by chopper into some areas of South Vietnam to retrieve sophisticated inelegance equipment that we didn’t want to fall into the hands of the enemy. While I was never in any danger during any of these flights, it was sad to see the number of people trying to escape South Vietnam. Marine guards aboard the choppers weren’t there to protect us from any enemy action but to keep South Vietnamese civilians from over running our chopper in an attempt to escape as the Americans pulled out. On February 1, 1973, the Preble was relieved of duty of Vietnam and headed back to the Philippines for repairs before returning to Pearl Harbor.

I am not sure why I didn’t tell Angela that the Preble was returning to Pearl, but the issue never seemed to come up, and I elected not to discuss the matter. Maybe I felt it was better this way or maybe I just didn’t want to deal with what might happen. Regardless, I treated our departure as just another period at sea. In the end, it turned out that for once in my life I had done the right thing even if for the wrong reasons. I spent my 23 birthday in the Philippines as we prepared to make our return trip to Pearl Harbor.

When we reached Hawaii, I was surprised by the fan fair we received as the Preble entered Pearl Harbor. Every sailor not on duty was required to dress in his whites, forming a ring around the lower deck of the Preble while standing at parade rest. The ship slowly moved its way down the channel leading past the Arizona Memorial, into the harbor and turned in the direction of the piers toward our berthing assigned. As the tugs slowly maneuvered the Preble into place, a band on the pier began playing the national anthem as the family members of the crew gathered to greet their loved ones who were now returning home. While I had no family waiting for me, it was still a touching tribute, which ended Preble’s participation in the war.

The next eight months involved continuous training and shipboard maintenance to bring the Preble back in line with the high level of standards expected of the ship and her crew. While in Pearl, Commander Blundell was replaced by Commander Toole as the ship's Captain. During those ceremonies, the Preble was awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Combat Action Ribbon for its direct engagement with the enemy over the last year of the Vietnam War.

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Near the end of the summer in 1973, the Preble took a short cruise to the island of Maui with any family members who wished to make the trip. In some ways, it seemed a bit out of character being at sea with women and children aboard. While the trip meant more to those who had families in Hawaii, it did allow me some time to relax and see one of the more beautiful, Hawaiian Islands. However, like always behind everything the Navy did that made it more palatable, came something less enjoyable.

I had been looking forward to spending my last year in the Navy, in Hawaii, but that was not to be. By now I had become accustom to the island and everything it had to offer but that was about to change. I knew my way around and enjoyed several concerts and sporting events over the time we had been in Hawaii. However, we had received orders for the second Westpac cruise while I was on the ship.

As September ended, the Preble pulled away from the docks with the same fan fair it had received after returning from Vietnam. However, this time the band played Anchors Away and the family members were waving goodbye instead of greeting us upon our return. On the bright side, I had still been sending Angela twenty dollars every two weeks and our first port of call would be the Philippines. Yet, in many ways, I wondered what to expect. While it would be gratifying to see her again, I didn’t know what to expect.

By mid October, we arrived in Subic Bay and to my surprise Angela still lived in the same apartment and was waiting for me. I often wondered how the Filipino people knew more about when we would be in port than most of the crew. I always knew where we were going because I worked in communications, but ship movement was always kept secret to avoid disclosure of where we were. However, as always she was there waiting as if I had never left.

She may have never said anything about it, but as my way of saying I was sorry for leaving without telling her, we were returning to Pearl, I took five days leave so I could take her to Baguio, her hometown. We stayed in a luxurious resort hotel, and Angela showed me sides of the Philippines far away form the military seaport life I had become accustomed too. The trip allowed me to see the Filipino people as individuals whose lives were centered on things other than how they could make money off American sailors. While I had already seen several places I had never been before, I was amazed at the beauty of Baguio, which was tucked neatly into the side of a mountain, 4,900 feet in altitude. The city was the business, and educational center of that area of the Philippines and walking through the downtown markets became a real adventure.

A day after I returned to the Preble we once again departed the Philippines heading in the westerly direction that had once meant only one thing. However, now we were no longer at war and there would be no gun runs along the coast of Vietnam. Instead, we had long anticipated the Preble heading towards Australia and spending a week down under. Once the Preble had reached Indonesia, she turned to join the USS Hancock CVA- 19, along with other destroyers organizing an 163

Attack Carrier Task Group, which then headed in the direction of Singapore. We moved along the Malaysian coastline up the Malacco Straits and into the Indian Ocean. We were now sailing to a part of the world where no American naval forces had ventured since the end of WWII, and we were doing it at full speed.

Angela and me on a trip back to her home town of Baguio 1973.

Me in front of a local shop in the business area of Baguio.

Angela Angela lighting a candle in her church.

The hotel were we stayed in Baguio

Instead of going south to Australia we turned north north up the Malacca Straits 164

The Preble strained to keep pace with the Hancock, which was capable of traveling at much faster speeds. More importantly, we were moving faster than any supply or fuel ships could travel. We had gone to sea with thirty days of fuel and supplies under normal conditions on board but now we were burning fuel faster than expected. As our fuel reached the critical level, we turned to our only means of refueling, the Hancock. Aircraft carriers were capable of carrying much larger amounts of fuel for extended periods at sea.

For the first time since I had joined the Navy, I was getting an up close and personal look at a carrier. The whole time we spent in Vietnam sailing in support of a carrier, we could only see the aircraft carrier from a distance; however, now we were pulling along side the Hancock. It is hard to understand the enormous size of such a vessel, but I was standing on the highest deck of the Preble, which barely allowed me to stand eye level with the flight deck of the Hancock. The signs of age and time at sea was evident in her paint job. In many places, the appearance of brown rust had replaced the gray color of all Navy ships.

After refueling, we took up our position a good distance behind the Hancock.

Sunrise over the India Ocean.

The India Ocean was in stark contrast to the South China Sea that often welcomed us over the last year. Gone were the turbulent waters caused by the Northern currents and in there place was an ocean whose only waves were produced by our ships as they cut through the water. Each morning as the sun rose, you could stand along the side of the ship, peering across an ocean that was as smooth as glass, which often gave the impression, that you were looking into a large mirror. A single large pane of glass that extended to the sun, which reflected an array of colors as it rose and filled the skies with rich reds, oranges, and yellows. The waters were so clam in the early mornings, one wondered if Christ had asked his disciples to step out on these waters, would they have done so without fear of leaving their boat. Still we pressed on as each day took us farther away from the things I had become familiar with and further into the unknown.

While the Preble had been able to refuel from the Hancock the ships supplies, were now running low with no hope that a supply ship could catch us until we slowed down or stopped. For a period of seven days, the menu aboard the Preble remained a constant. Morning greeted us with spaghetti on toast (better known as s--- on a shingle), which was made from fresh baked bread because our loaf bread had long since been exhausted. Lunch consisted of pasta with spaghetti sauce as a topping, and for dinner the crim-della-

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crim, left over pasta from lunch mixed with spaghetti sauce. Seven days of nothing but bread, spaghetti sauce, and pasta! Once we had reached our destination, and allowed the cargo ship to catch us, I had eaten so much spaghetti I couldn’t stand the sight of anything red on the menu. The first meal we eat after resupplying at sea consisted of fresh beef, potatoes, mixed vegetables, with ice cream for dessert and not one person on the ship complained about anything on the menu or how the meal was prepared.

The task group that we were a part of had sailed to the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. We had involuntarily become a part of a show of force by the United States in an area of the world, which had been void of American military presence for over 50 years. The Yom Kippur War between the Arab’s and Israeli’s had caused tensions in the area to escalate. The seizure of free world ships by Somalia pirates along with the closure of the natural passage way from the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea. We were there simply to say enough is enough, capture of free world ships and the closing of a natural strait is against maritime law.

Pulling in behind the USS Hancock CVA 19 with her jets lined up on the flight deck.

Shortly after taking on fuel from a naval fuel ship that had now reached the area, along with the fresh supplies we had received a day earlier, the Preble went to general quarters. This marked the first time we had returned to battle stations for something other than a drill since the end of the Vietnam War. Commander Toole came across all communications stations aboard the ship and addressed the crew. He pointed out the seriousness of what was about to happen and his remarks were straight to the point.

Somalia was firing at free world ships attempting to enter the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and seizing any ship that refused to turn around. We were about to let them know that this was an illegal activity by their country that wouldn’t be tolerated.

The Preble was ordered to sail with another destroy through the straits into the Red Sea. If Somalia fired across our bow from a tiny island in the center of the channel as they had done with other ships, we were to continue sailing. However, if they took any direct military action against either ship or fired directly at either ship, we were ordered to, “Destroy the island.” In a show of force, missiles aboard the Preble were loaded onto the launch pad and aimed directly at our target as we approached the passage into the Red Sea. To me this caused more anxiety than most of our action during the Vietnam War. At least there, we knew what to expect, but now we were caught in a cat and mouse game with an enemy we knew little about, to see who would blink first. However, we sailed through uneventful and spent a day in the Red

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Sea without a single shot being fired from either side. After a period of a few days, tensions in the area began to settle, and there was no further need of a show of force by the U. S. Navy. With the need diminishing, we began the long journey back to the Philippines.

Refueling with the Hancock which gave the appearance of turbulent seas caused by two ships in close quarters cutting through the water.

Our time in the India Ocean did introduce several problems that we were forced to confront. One being that there were no publications providing frequencies we could use to stay in communications with Naval Operations. Everyone in communications stayed up long hours working feverishly to find frequencies that would work throughout the day. Of all the destroyers and carrier, the Preble was the only ship that stayed online for almost the entire time we were in the India Ocean. To commemorate that, we had a patch made upon returning to the Philippines, which signified this feat. It showed the Preble with the words “Communications 94 Percent Pure,” indicating the amount of time we stayed online.

There is a line in the movie “The Cain Mutiny” spoken by the character Lieutenant Tom Keefer which reads, “The first thing you’ve got to learn about this ship is that she was designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.” Too many things that were done while I was in the Navy often proved this line by the character Keefer to be correct. It seems that every time the Navy had a chance to do something correct, they managed to mess things up.

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Gulf of Aden / Indian Ocean (62 Days at Sea).

Sea).

Upon returning to the Philippines, we were debriefed and provided the Navy with everything we had learned during our time in the India Ocean. Each frequency we used and at what times of the days they were the most effective were carefully documented to produce publications to help other Navy ships that would follow in our footsteps. For our efforts, they gave the communications officer on the Preble an award for his efforts. The funny thing about that was, we rarely if ever saw him in the communications center, and I strongly doubt he could have set up a receiver if he had too. If anyone had asked him who did what when he received his award; he couldn’t have answered the question. In fact, he proved he didn’t know who did what by failing to thank a single man that helped get him the award he didn’t deserve. My distain for the Navy only grew after such events.

We enjoyed the next two weeks in the Philippines before we returned to sea. We were scheduled to spend a month in port, but that was cut short by a typhoon that was heading in the direction of the Philippines. During such a storm, ships do better at sea than tied to a pier, but I can’t say the same thing about the men who serve on them. During my tour aboard the Preble, we faced some unpleasant seas with swells in the ten to twelve foot range, however, nothing like what we faced during that storm. While other

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ships were going to sea in order to outrun the storm, the Navy wanted us to head directly into the eye of the storm to track it and proved weather data.

For the next two days, we rode swells ranging from 25 to 30 feet. As we hit each wave, the Preble would rise up out of the water with such ferocity that if you attempted to go up one of the ship's interior ladders it was impossible to lift your foot up to the first step. However, once the wave had passed, the ship came crashing down. At that point all you had to do was to grab the railings with both hands while pulling upward, and you could go from one level of the ship to the next with a single lunge. Yet, there was little movement about the ship because three quarters of the ships crew were seasick. In fact, so many men were sick that the main meal in the mess hall was nothing more than saltine crackers. There has never been a time in my life that I can remember where I was that sick.

Finally, the seas seemed to calm, and it felt as if we were tied to pier rather than riding out a typhoon. When the announcement came that we could use all exterior passages, I ventured out on the main deck to take in some fresh air, more than anything else. When I got outside, I saw one of the most astonishing sights. The water was almost motionless yet all around us the skies were dark and anger. For the next two days, we sat in the eye of the storm that had been so intense it ripped pieces of metal welded to ship off their mounts. However, the bad part about traveling into the eye of the storm is that the only way out is the way you came in and so for the next two days I spent most of my time just as sick as I had before.

For our efforts, we traveled to Hong Kong for some much-deserved R &R. This marked my second trip to Hong Kong, but more importantly, it also marked an adventure that almost cost me more than it was worth but I wouldn’t trade the memory of the event with anything I have done in my life.

My silhouette standing on top of a mountain looking down at Hong Kong harbor at sunset.

I had spent the day taking a trip to the top of one of the mountains that circled the city of Hong Kong with Sistrunk, a friend of mine in communications. The view as the sun set was incredible, and we had a good time, but Sistrunk may have had just a bit too much to drink during the day, so I decided to get him back to the ship before he got picked up by the shore patrol.

What happened once we returned to the ship would make us legends for the remainder of the time we were attached to the Preble.

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The USS Preble sitting in Hong Kong Harbor 1974.

1974.

Sistruck can always blame his action on the fact he was drunk but for me, I had just had a little too much of the Navy, nah I was just stupid. While we spent the day in Hong Kong, our sister ship, DLG-5 entered Hong Kong harbor and anchored a short distance from the Preble. There she sat, a twin of the Preble with the only exception being in the fact that she was DLG-5 and we where DLG-15. We sat on the fantail looking across at the other ship and then it dawned on us, DLG-5 was the Admiral’s flagship. Why, what had they done compared to us? We had all the awards, gone and done things that DLG-5 hadn’t done, yet the Admiral was on that ship. We somehow felt that if the Admiral should have wanted to sail on the Preble and not just a ship that looked like ours.

Before I knew it, Sistrunk had gotten a small bucket of white paint and a bush. The only thing that was left for us to do was to swim over to the other ship, climb the anchor, and paint a one in front of the five, thus making it DLG 15. One small problem lay in the fact, I wasn’t the best swimmer, and we still had to make it from one ship to the other with a bucket of paint. However, if you want to do something bad enough there are no obstacles that cannot be overcome. The next thing I knew I had a life jacket on and we were about to jump into Hong Kong harbor.

A short year earlier, I had no desire to jump into the ocean when I thought our ship was sinking.

Now I was about to step off the side of a perfectly good ship, with a drunken friend. The distance to the water was just a short ten feet from the bow, but I still hit the water and went under before my life jacket caused me to resurface almost like a cork, which had been held under water and then released. Regardless of the weather, water may not look cold, but this water was cold. However, we now found ourselves at a point of no return. The only way to get back on the Preble was to swim around to the other side and climb the ladder secured to the side of the ship for the dinghy, used to take crewmembers to shore. This would

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mean we would have to board at the quarterdeck, which didn’t seem like a great idea, given our current situation. We were in the water with only one option that made any sense, make our way to the other ship and carry out our original plan.

No act, bright or stupid, seems that great once you have had a good cold bath, but somehow we managed to make to the other ship. However, climbing an anchor with a bucket of paint is not as easy as it seemed while we were sitting on the fantail of the Preble. Still somehow we managed to overcome our second obstacle as we moved up the large chain links afford by the anchor chain. Once we reached a point where we could reach out and touch the ship, we realized that we had no way to open the paint. At that point any reasonable person would have given up and gone home but no one could say we were reasonable.

If we were going to paint a one in front of the five, it was going to be no small task because the five was enormous. Sistruck began swinging the paint can striking the side of the ship in an attempt to open the can. He somehow felt that if we could open the can, we could just let the paint run down the side and make our get away. Wrong! Before we knew it, there were armed marines shining lights over the side of the ship and a dinghy below us. Down the chain we went and into the dinghy as ordered. For the most part, a Captains Mask is relatively routine, but it takes time to convene. However, today was not one of those routine days. We were taken directly to the Admiral’s quarters. Now I have been called some awful names in my life but none of the things the Admiral had to say to us is worth repeating. After what seemed like an hour of calling us everything but Christians (more like about five minutes) he stopped. Everything went silent! With that, the Admiral turned to the officer of the deck and asked, "Who the hell is guarding my ship, and allowed two drunken sailors to climb the anchor chain and attempt to deface my ship?" Now I wasn’t drunk, but I didn’t believe this was the time or place to point this out to the Admiral.

With that, the Admiral told the officer of the deck to get these two dripping wet sailors out of his office, and he wanted to see the marines that on duty. We were taken outside and told to stand at attention while each of the marines marched into the Admiral’s quarters. If, you could multiply everything the admiral had called us by two you might come close to what he had to say to the marines. The next thing I knew we were being ushered to a dinghy by the officer of the deck. Once there he told us to get on the dinghy and to get back to our ship. He went on to tell us that if we knew what was good for us that we would stay on the ship until it left port because there were a few extremely upset marines that badly wanted to meet us!

The dinghy pulled away and began moving toward the Preble. Within a few minutes, we found ourselves standing on the quarterdeck of the Preble asking to come aboard. By now, everyone seemed to know about the dumbest thing I had ever tried to do in my life. Yet for some reason, when you are 24, things just don’t seem that stupid at the time. However, instead of getting into trouble, everyone only wanted to know how we had managed to get from one ship to the other without getting noticed. My answer remains the same today, “I don’t have a clue.” In fact, how we avoided getting into trouble with nothing more than a tongue-lashing will always remain a mystery. Maybe it was the Navy’s way of evening the score for all the things I felt that they had done that were wrong. However, one thing is for sure, I never

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stepped off a ship, into the water again. Oh, and I didn’t leave the ship the rest of the time we were in Hong Kong either.

Once we left Hong Kong, we stayed at sea for another month, taking part in naval maneuvers before returning to the Philippines. For the most part, heading to the Philippines was always one of the more enjoyable things I did while I was in the Navy. Yet, this may have been the hardest trip I ever made.

We would be staying in the Philippines for about three weeks before returning to Pearl Harbor where the Preble would go into dry dock for a complete overhaul. This meant that I would be getting out of the Navy long before the Preble ever returned to sea, so this would be my last trip to the Philippines. Somehow, I had to tell the woman I had spent so much time with that I would not be returning.

A week before leaving I broke the news to her, and she broke down in tears, which caused me as much pain as it did her. While I felt I had remained dedicated to my original commitment to Angela, it was still a difficult time in my life. In many ways, I felt I was doing nothing wrong, and it was time for both of us to move on with our lives, yet in others ways I couldn’t ignore the feeling of pain I felt in my own life.

Regardless, I held steadfast to my first beliefs and after our final night together, I said goodbye knowing that this part of my life was over.

I have often talked about the wrongs others have caused me in my life and yet I had so easily caused a wrong to another person. I am often puzzled at how easy it is for us to treat those we know in ways we hate others to treat us. It is as if our own benefit can overcome our wrongs but not the wrongs of others.

The memories of our last week together and the conversations that we had are often relived in my mind, and at times, I wonder what happened to her. Regardless of my intent, I had done the one thing, I learned to dislike in others. However, this experience caused me to grow a little bit more in my life. Today I cherish my relationship with my wife, daughters, and friends. I may disagree with each of them during the day, but at night I can now say the words that have often troubled me, I love each and every one of them, and my life would not be complete without them.

Three months later, I found myself in Millington, Tennessee at the Naval Air Base preparing to be discharged from the Navy. For the most part, I doubt that many of us who served in the military can remember the date we were discharged, but the date for me is a part of history. On August 9, 1974, I stood on the quarterdeck at the Naval Air Base in Millington watching a small TV as the clerk assembled all my papers in preparation for my signature. I had waited four long years for this date, and it arrived on the most inauspicious of occasions in American history. President Richard Nixon was giving his resignation speech, and as he finished his speech and waved goodbye to the public and boarded the helicopter that would take him to the airport, and I signed my discharge papers and symbolically waved goodbye to the Navy.

The Recorded History of USS Preble DLG-15 via naval internet records.

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The USS PREBLE (DDG-46) is the fifth ship to be named in honor of Commodore Edward Preble.

PREBLE was commissioned on May 9, 1960 as DLG-15 and was one of the first ships built from the keel up to fire Terrier guided missiles.

1972 During the spring of 1972, PREBLE participated in local exercises and continued training for her next WESTPAC deployment. On 31 July, PREBLE departed Pearl Harbor, enroute WESTPAC. PREBLE stopped at Midway Island on 3 August for fuel, 10 August at Guam for fuel and finally arriving at Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines on 13 August. PREBLE departed Subic Bay on 18 August for duties in the Tonkin Gulf.

On the night of 22 August, PREBLE sailed into the combat zone, off Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, and took station near the gun line. She was assigned picket ship duty in the Gulf of Tonkin, performing the functions of both North and Mid SAR commander, concurrently, the first and only warship to carry out such a simultaneous assignment during the entire course of the war. On 28 August, ADM ELMO R. ZUMWALT, Jr., CNO, and VADM J. L. HOLLOWAY, III, COMSEVENTHFLT visited PREBLE. On 30 August, PREBLE was assigned duties as South AAW/SAR controlling "ALPHA" air-strikes and air activity in the Hon La Anchorage. On 12 September, PREBLE's combat information center picked up a distress beeper from a downed A-7 Corsair off the USS SARATOGA (CVA-60). PREBLE vectored USS WILTSIE (DD-716), the closest rescue ship, to the exact spot for a successful recovery. Four days later, on 16 September, PREBLE picked up the beeper from an Air Force F-4 Phantom downed in the Gulf, near Dong Hoi. Within 25 minutes of the aircraft hitting the water, PREBLE had pinpointed the downed pilots, launched her motor whaleboat, and safely recovered both air crewmen.

On 19 September, PREBLE was relieved and proceeded to Subic Bay, R.P arriving on 21 September. On 23 September Martial Law was declared in the Republic of the Philippines. On 1 October, PREBLE departed Subic Bay, R. P., arriving on Yankee Station in the South China Sea on 3 October, to become plane guard for the USS SARATOGA (CVA-60). On 15 October, PREBLE was detached from SARATOGA and returned to the Gulf off Dong Hoi to resume South SAR/AAW picket duties. At times the monotony of the 'box patrol' was broken, when PREBLE was called on to maintain small arms proficiency by intercepting the tide of full rice bags which enemy supply vessels often loosed toward the shore. "Operation Pocket Money", the mining of North Vietnam's ports and rivers, had made it too hazardous for the communist freighters to get their cargo ashore otherwise.

On 2 November, armed reconnaissance aircraft under PREBLE's control spotted an enemy convoy of some 150 trucks. The ship requested additional aircraft and directed them to the target area. After the smoke cleared, the final bombs damage assessment stood at 80 per cent. Soon thereafter, combat operations against North Vietnam were curtailed, as the Paris Peace Talks progressed. PREBLE departed the Gulf of Tonkin for port visits to Hong Kong and Kaohsiung (Taiwan), before proceeding to Subic Bay for reprovisioning and repairs.

PREBLE returned to her South SAR station on 27 November. During mid-December, from the 18th on, PREBLE's forward air controllers participated in directing concentrated nighttime B-52 raids against Hanoi and Haiphong: part of "Operation Linebacker II." As Christmas approached, PREBLE completed her third gunline period, and was enroute Japan for holiday R&R, when a change of orders directed her to take position on the gunline, off the Cua Viet River and the Demilitarized Zone. PREBLE arrived on station 25 December, and got her first fire mission. On 27 December, she encountered her first enemy shore-battery counterfire receiving 7 rounds. Fragments from 122mm shells littered the weatherdecks after each fire mission, attesting to the numerous near misses that the ship received. Equipped with FLIR (forward-looking infrared) detection, the ship's gunfire interdicted a truck convoy traveling down the coast on the night of 28 December, and destroyed several vehicles, setting off numerous secondary explosions and fires. On 29 December, after having fired 532 rounds of 5-inch/54-caliber ammunition in four days on the gunline, PREBLE was relieved and departed the Gulf for Sasebo, Japan.

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1973 PREBLE arrived in Sasebo, Japan on 1 January. Transiting the Taiwan Straits, enroute the South China Sea, on 12 January 1973, PREBLE diverted to assist in coordinating the rescue and recovery of two air crewmen from an F-4 Phantom II downed in nearby waters. From 14 through 23 January, PREBLE took up picket station between Hon Gio Island and the Dong Hoi coast. Relieved by USS WORDEN (DLG18) on the 23rd, the ship returned to the DMZ and gunline duty in support of a South Vietnamese offensive. On 24 January, having laid down gunfire to disrupt an enemy truck convoy and suppress an attacking tank column, the ship took hits from 130-mm shore batteries. An antenna atop the aft mast was destroyed and a shell burst off the port side amidships ripped holes in the superstructure. The Commodore's Cabin was severely damaged, and the port lookout received some minor wounds. (The ship did not know it at the time, but this was the last hit on an U.S. Navy warship by North Vietnamese shore batteries in the Vietnam War.) Over the next four days, PREBLE fired 431 rounds supporting the advance of a South Vietnamese battalion. In return, some 169 rounds of North Vietnamese counter-battery fire harassed the ship. At 0800, on 28 January 1973, the ship's 1MC announced that the Vietnam War was over. PREBLE remained on the gunline until 1 February, when she was relieved to begin her eastward transit to Hong Kong and Subic Bay, and thence to Pearl Harbor. On 20 March 1973, CDR M. E. TOOLE, USN, relieved CDR P. BLUNDELL, USN, as Commanding Officer.

PREBLE's actions during the period 8 August 1972 through 24 February 1973 would, subsequently, see her awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. For participating in an exchange of hostile fire with the enemy on 27 and 28 December 1972 in the vicinity of the Cua Viet River, she would, also, be authorized to display the Combat Action Ribbon.

At Pearl Harbor, the ship resumed an intense rotation of maintenance and upkeep, watch qualification, and sea trials, in preparation for a fall deployment to the Indian Ocean area. On 24 September 1973, PREBLE departed Pearl Harbor for a six-month deployment. After calling at Midway Island and Guam, she reached Subic Bay on 14 October. On 19 October, after fueling and reprovisioning, PREBLE commenced her westward sail. During two months of special operations, as part of the first Attack Carrier Task Group excursion into the Arabian Sea, she crossed the South China Sea, transited the Straits of Malacca, entered the Bay of Bengal, and proceeded onward to visit the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden. Finally, retracing her route, PREBLE returned to Subic Bay on 17 December.

PREBLE received the following awards during 1973: Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Combat Action Ribbon 1974 With three weeks of upkeep and R&R behind her, PREBLE departed Subic Bay on 14 January 1974. She began to wrap up her deployment, with port calls at Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Manila and Singapore, interweaving two more stops in Subic Bay before returning home via Guam and Midway Island. On 22 March, PREBLE was again berthed at Pier Bravo in Pearl Harbor.

After a brief stand down, the ship resumed her local operational and watch qualification schedules. These included workups for forthcoming Propulsion Examining Board (PEB) evolutions, to be held after her ROH PREBLE entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard on 24 June for a 10 month ROH which included updates to the Combat Systems along with major engineering plant refits. On 14 September 1974, CDR D. E. JEREMIAH, USN, relieved CDR M. E. TOOLE, USN, as Commanding Officer of USS PREBLE.

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Sadly, the command was informed that crewmember ETN3 RICHARD A. CARSTENSON was killed in a bicycle accident on 13 November.

PREBLE received the following awards and presentations during 1974:

DESRON TWENTY FIVE Battle Efficiency "E" Departmental ASW "A", Gunnery, Missilery, Engineering and Operations "E" Awards Before leaving the Navy, it seemed as if that branch of the service made one final effort to prove to me that I had made the right decision to leave the Navy. My last set of quarterly marks had indicated I was not recommended for reenlistment, and yet, I was awarded the “Good Conduct Medal.” How absurd, of all the things the Navy could have given me a medal for; I doubt that good conduct was one of them. Today I can look back at my time in military with pride, but at that time, it didn’t mean much to me. In fact, it meant so little, I threw most of my medals away after they had been given to me. A “National Defense Medal” for serving in the military when I would have given anything to just go home, two medals for a war a wanted no part of, and now a “Good Conduct Medal” for the doing everything wrong, yet never getting into trouble.

7. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE (E-5 and above include comment on ability in self expression and command, orally and in writing, of the English language) PETTY OFFICER FREDERICK IS AN INDEPENDENT AND RESOURCEFUL WORK WHO DOES HIS BEST WORK WHEN ASSIGNED TO A PROJECT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED ALONE. PETTY OFFICER FREDERICK PARTICIPATED IN THE NAVY WIDE RM2 EXAM DURING THIS PERIOD AND WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF RM2 BUT ELECTED NOT TO ACCEPT THE RANK. PETTY OFFICER FREDERICK IS TECHNICALLY COMPETENT, AND AN EXTREMELY CONSCIENTIOUS WATCH STANDER. HE HAS PROVEN TO BE ONE OF THE MOST METICULOUS RECORD KEEPERS ASSIGNED TO THE OC DIVISION. HE IS NEAT IN APPEARANCE, HAS A VARIETY OF OUTSIDE INTERESTS, AND KEEPS HIS PERSONAL AFFAIRS AND FINANCES IN GOOD ORDER. PETTY OFFICER FREDERICK, HOWEVER, IS OCCASIONALLY DISRESPECTFUL, AND CONTEMPTUOUS OF AUTHORITY, HIS INSUBORDINATION HAS SPANS ALL LEVELS FROM DEPARTMENT HEAD TO LEADING PETTY OFFICER. SUCH ACTIONS HAVE BEEN PREJUDICIAL TO GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE. RATEE’S COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS GOOD AND HIS ABILITY TO WRITE IS ABOVE THE STANDARD OF HIS PEERS. BECAUSE OF HIS PROBLEM OF DISRESPECT, HOWEVER, PETTY OFFICER FREDERICK IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR RE-ENLISTMENT. The remarks section of my last quarterly marks: Note that I turned down a promotion because it would have meant I would have had to extend my enlistment and the Navy even offered to send me to college to become an officer if I reenlisted; however, when I turned that all down suddenly I wasn’t recommended for reenlistment. It is rather amusing how things manage to get worded to suit the situation; I wonder how this would have read had I accepted their offer. Regardless, this was an accurate depiction of me at the time.

With my discharge papers in hand along with the good conduct metal the Navy had just bestowed upon me, one of the most misunderstood periods of my life came to an end. I didn’t know it then, but some of my fondest memories are littered within those four years. While I hated the Navy, it may have been the singular event in my life that changed me from the boy I was into a young man. There are names of men I

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served with that will forever be a part of my life, along with accomplishments and regrets I can never forget.

I traveled three quarters of the way around the world, visited places like Hawaii, Midway, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines, worked to save lives, and preformed my duty to the best of ability. Today I am proud to know that I can stand with all those who have served the United States of America.

The USS Preble DLG 15 / DDG 46 was decommissioned in 1999 / and cut up for scrape metal in March 2002.

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Chapter Twelve Homeward Bound My return home was a real revelation to say nothing else. I am not sure what I expected to find when I got home, but somehow I felt like I had already had a weight lifted off my shoulders.

After giving up four years of my life to Uncle Sam, I knew there had to be more to life than the military. My dad had made this his way of life, but it wasn’t what I wanted out of life. My long time friend picked me up at the airport in Nashville, and I headed home.

In so many ways, Hopkinsville, Kentucky remained the same on the surface, but to me, it had changed. It had been four years since the last time I spent any quality time in the place I have always called home, but what I found was that life had gone on without me. My younger sister Jackie was now married, and the people I graduated from high school with had started their own lives. All this made it seem as if I had just moved into a new town. I sometimes found that I was introducing myself in order for others to get to know me, individuals whom I had known for a good part of my life. It was as if I had returned to a city of strangers. Outside of my best friend, I honestly didn’t know anyone except for his friends, which seemed to limit my social contacts.

I had no real desire to return to my parent’s house, so I rented an apartment and began looking for things I could furnish it with in order to make it livable. For some reason, I knew that meeting my dad wasn’t going to be easy but I knew it was something that I had to do. I had been home for almost a week before I worked up the courage to return home to tell my parents that I was now home. The last time we talked was almost three years earlier. I had spent nearly two years in the Navy without a single letter from home. In anger I wrote my dad telling him that I was tired of going to mail call and not getting a letter from home. I actually wanted to hear something, but I would rather he wrote nothing than to keep expecting something to come from home and receiving nothing. At least that way I would know what to look forward too. I might have been able to word that a bit better, but I have often been a bit to direct in my life and with that, my father honored my request.

My dad was in the front yard when I walked up the driveway, and I said hello. I told him that I had just completed my four years in the Navy and decided that it wasn’t for me. With that, he didn’t ask about the things I had done while I was in the Navy. Instead, he just called me a sissy and told me the only reason I got out was because I couldn’t take it as he returned to what he was doing.

I didn’t know what to say to him after that, so I left him to what he was doing without saying anything else. I then went in and said hello to my mom and left. This marked the beginning of a

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trying period of my life with my dad. A time when I was better off stayed away from home, and if I did go home, to say as little as I needed to say and leave.

Somehow, I managed to find a job in a small factory. Finding a job was one of the most essential tasks if I planned on staying out of the military. I had turned down a government job in Hawaii before I left military service, and I needed the money in order to pay my bills. With the security clearance, I obtained while in the Navy and the training I received, doing similar work for the government would have been easy. However, I needed to be willing to live in Hawaii or Washington, DC, but neither placed seemed to interest me. Much of the charm that I had once held for Hawaii wore off after spending a year on the island. I had worked so hard to get to Hawaii, but the cost of living was far too expensive to make it my home. It turned out to be one of those nice places to visit, but you just wouldn’t want to leave there.

Cress Manufacturing Company produced high fire ceramic kilns for the hobbyist. Finding a job at Cress turned out to be somewhat of a blessing. On the bright side, Cress was one of the highest paying jobs in Hopkinsville and one of only a few jobs that were available. However, it would soon become unionized, making working for Cress a trying experience for someone who had never believed in union ideals. One of biggest fears I faced after getting out of the Navy was being forced to return because I couldn’t find a job. It was now a year after everyone had returned from Vietnam and many of the jobs available in America had been filled by returning vets by the time I got out of the military.

Cress allowed me to utilize the skills I have always had with my hands and getting others to follow in a positive manner. I have always sought to be a leader and don’t do well as a follower, which may have been the reason for my feelings about the Navy. I quickly rose to the position of Production Operations Manager, settling into the job I felt would carry me throughout life. If only I knew what the future had in store for me, maybe I would have run back to the Navy.

The next six years were the most confusing time of my life. It was during this period I attempted so many things and fought so many inner demons all in hopes of finding some direction in my life. I often questioned whom I was and what I was trying to accomplish. Some of the things I tried during this period became interests of mine, and I have carried them throughout my life while others I would just as soon forget.

One of my biggest battles centered on my faith and the church. I started going to church at the age of twelve and never truly lost my faith in God, I just questioned him at times. However, when I joined the Navy and left home, I left the church. For the most part, I felt the Navy wasn’t the time or place for church. In so many ways, I somehow returned to the orphanage I left as a young boy during my four years in the Navy. Often I found myself depending more on myself than others.

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It was so much easier to take each situation where men had failed me as excuses for my actions.

Instead of setting the standard, I allowed others to take the lead and blamed them for my actions.

When I returned home, I began going to back to church, but soon something happened that once again gave me a reason to blame others, which seemed to justify my actions. One of my younger sisters came to me and told me that she was pregnant. How do you tell someone still in high school what he or she should do in his or her life when you aren’t even sure what you are doing? Yet my sister did the right thing; she took responsibility for her actions, went forward at church and raised an upstanding young man. What I didn’t understand was how the members of our church would treat her after she came forward. At first, there was the compassion and understanding one expects, but that seemed to quickly diminish as everyone seemed to distance themselves from her. I didn’t want this in my life, and I didn’t like it, so once again I pointed my finger at God and stopped going to church. It was easier to blame others for my decisions as I shut out all attempts by others to talk to me.

At home, my dad was wrong, at church members were wrong, just about everyone was wrong except for me. Placing blame on others was so much easier than trying to determine if there was anything that I could have done differently. I had become good at relying on myself, but I soon found that to be a lonely kind of existence. I was now working at Cress Manufacturing Company and managed to purchase my first new car, which I can honestly say became the first true love of my life. All of my spare time and money went into taking care of my car. Why not, more people knew me by that car than they did for who I was as a person. So began my love affair with cars.

While working at Cress, I developed a friendship with one of my coworkers who had a healthy appetite for dirt track racing. One Friday I agreed to go with him to a race, and I was hooked. Together we built a car that belonged to his wife and the three of us where soon spending most of our money and weekends at the track. I drove, Tommy worked on the car, and his wife was the owner. Together we managed to keep the car running from week to week, splitting all costs and winning three ways. There is no real way to describe the feeling or rush you get from inside a car on a dirt track. The competitive side of me that I had developed while playing football had now resurfaced. I had now found a new method of determining my self worth.

My desire to win allowed me to do things behind the wheel of a car that I have long since lost the nerve to try; yet, winning didn’t come as easily as it did in football. To be successful in racing it takes money, which only comes with winning, unless you have a rich uncle. Within a few years, the money we were spending to race somehow caused racing to lose its attractiveness. I often tease my wife blaming her for forcing me out of racing, but I know it wasn’t her because she never saw me race. We started dating a year after I climbed into the window of that race car one last time. In 179

reality, the two years I spent racing were much like the years I played football. No one I cared about watched me play football and no one I cared about watched me race. The girl I was going with at the time had no interest in racing. She was more interested in going out with friends on Friday nights than my desire to race, which may have been the real reason we broke up.

While racing may have run its course in my life, it did little to quench my love of cars and the feeling I get from the power of an engine. That feeling has often been my escape when I find myself angry at the world or myself. Once I found myself in that position after a blind date with a teacher my parents neighbor had set up for me. At the end of the date, she told me that if I wanted to take her out again, I would have to cut my hair. That was the wrong thing to say to me. I fought with my dad over the length of my hair, I fought with the Navy over the length of my hair, and I wasn’t going to argue with any girl over the length of my hair.

The only thing I could think of as I returned to my car was, “who did she think she was to tell me what I needed to do with my hair”. On what planet did she think I was ever going to ask her out again? Inside my blood boiled as I turned the key to start my car and backed slowly out of the driveway. However, when I put the car in first gear and dropped the clutch, I think I made the statement I wanted her to hear. My tires cried out as they spun across the pavement, and I quickly shifted through all four gears.

Lafayette Road was pretty much a smooth, straight road out in the country, and it didn’t take long before I reached 135 mph. I peered in the rearview mirror and saw the headlights of a car a good distance behind me, so I decided to slow down in case it was a police car. As I slowed, down to 60 mph the car behind me appeared right behind me and within seconds all I could see were the blue lights flashing atop the car. I pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the office wondering what this ticket was going to cost me.

Now on any given night the chances of getting pulled over by the Sheriff in Christian County were slim. You stood a better chance of getting caught by one of his deputies because the sheriff was usually at home by that time. However, I wasn’t that lucky and everyone knew that if the sheriff pulled you over, you were going down. Yet, for some unknown reason, I had always found a way out of trouble and tonight proved to be no different. The sheriff asked where the fire was and told me to step out of the car. We walked to the back of the car where his deputy stood, to my surprise it was Johnnie Gee a friend of mine from high school. Johnnie sat behind me in homeroom, and for the last half of my senior year in school, we had study hall together where we managed to keep things entertaining.

We shook hands, and he walked back to the patrol car with the sheriff leaving me to stand there pondering my fate in the headlight of their patrol car. Finally, the doors of the patrol car 180

swung open, and both men walked slowly in my direction. The sheriff handed me a pad and told me to sign on the bottom. He then asked me if I knew how lucky I was that he was feeling good that night. I did get a ticket, but he had written it for doing 65 in a 55, which was just a $25.00 ticket. As he returned to his car, Johnnie told me to slow it down because the sheriff actually wanted to have my car towed, but he had called in a favor because we were friends. With that, he said good night and we parted ways. I wouldn’t see him again until our 40th class reunion, and I still owe him a favor. Still I have been known to push a car to the limit from time to time because of the adrenalin rush I get when I feel an engine has given me all that it can, but that night I didn’t break the speed limit by one mph as I returned home.

The next few months I wandered in an out of relationships with women I met on the boulevard on any given Friday night. I often met with friends at the mall after dark to talk cars and to hang out. Most of the available women in town often showed up there hoping to find someone to hang out with and to have some fun. One night I picked up a young woman by the name of Alecia.

She was a bit on the wild side, but she knew how to have fun, so we decided to drive to Elkton, Kentucky for some unknown reason, it just seemed to be the thing to do that night.

Elkton was in Todd County, which was the home of one of my high school rivals when I was in high school. The road into town was a long straight stretch of road that passed right in front of the local McDonalds. I slowed my car down and turned in so that I could circle the local fast food giant. Like in any of the small towns in Kentucky during the day, things were no different in Elkton than they where in Hopkinsville. Most of the young people hung out around these types of establishments.

As we circled, several of the young men from town where standing around their cars and for some unknown reason Alicia felt she had to hang out the passenger side window. Before I knew it, she had somehow managed to annoy most of the young men in the parking lot, and they were heading to their cars. Now I have never been against a good fight, but I was against a good fight if it is me against the world. On top of that, I would never get into a fight while driving the car I treated like a baby. I promptly exited McDonalds heading back towards Hopkinsville, and for once, I was extremely appreciative of the horsepower under my hood. As we pulled back into the city limits of Hopkinsville, I had to admit that Alicia had livened up the night to some degree; however, it was then I decided that I wasn’t up for this type of excitement in my life.

The next weekend I found myself talking to Nancy who was dating a friend of mine. She suggested I meet a neighbor of hers who was currently unattached, and in my age range. Nancy arranged a blind date and I met Gail Willis for the first time the following night. The date went well, and she turned out to someone that sparked my interest. One date led to another and soon we were 181

an item, which provided some stability in my life. Weeks became months, and the idea of marriage soon entered my thoughts.

One Friday when I got home after work, I was getting ready to pick Gail up when I received a phone call. To my surprise it was Gail, she had called me to tell me that she was no longer interested in me and that she was going out with someone else. I was lost, I didn’t know what to say or do. I wanted to talk to her, but she insisted it was over, suggesting we should go our separate ways. When she hung up, I found myself standing in the kitchen of my apartment still holding a phone, which now echoed the sound of a continuous dial tone as I stirred at the wall across from me.

Garth Brooks has a song called “Unanswered Prayers” and I am sure glad God knows more than I do because I have long since learned that Gail has been married five times since we broke up.

Over the next few months, I was lost and no longer cared about the things that had once seemed so influential in my life. I hurt in a way that I had never felt before and even lost the desire to eat, which caused me to lose almost 30 pounds over the next two weeks. I began examining my spiritual roots, trying to determine if this was God’s way of punishing me for the things I had done to Angela while I was in the Philippines. This was one of the lowest points in my life as I searched for answers and found none. I was the one that needed someone’s shoulder to cry on this time, but there was no one for me to turn too. I was alone and yet somehow through all the pain, I learned that when you reach your lowest point in life, you are the only person that can make the decision to get up, dust yourself off, and move on. The support of those around you is extremely valuable, but that decision is still yours.

More determined to look forward instead of backwards I began to plan for the upcoming weekend for the first time in a long time. As weekends go, this weekend wouldn’t have seemed much different from any other under different circumstances. The pleasantly mild night air provided some relief from the heat of another summer day and the full moon left the sky so clear it looked as if you could pick the stars out of the heavens one-by-one. Regardless it was Friday night and time to prepare for the weekend activities that had become a part of our lives in the mid 70’s.

Friday night was date night and a time for cursing the boulevard, while showing off the horsepower of our muscle cars. It was a time when gas was cheap, and cars gave young adults the freedom they seemed to lack during their high school days. Besides, we didn’t have computers or cell phones that provide the youth of today with so many indoor distractions. If you wanted to meet someone, it wasn’t over the internet, you had to get out and meet people. In small towns the night spots for the younger generation weren’t night clubs; it was on the boulevard from behind the wheel of a good looking ride. I may have lost the love of my life, but I didn’t lose my car.

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Each Friday after work, was a time spent detailing every inch of my muscle car from the front bumper to the back end of the car. When four o’clock arrived, I was the first to punch the clock as the shift at Cress Manufacturing ended. With my paycheck in hand, and time to burn, the weekend had officially begun. I seldom allowed dust to settle on my car so the first stop after cashing my check was always the car wash. This had become a way of life since the day I had purchased my Duster, a quick rinse and then the painstaking task of hand drying the car from top to bottom. Even the chrome breather and valve covers under the hood had to be towel dried. To clean your car right, it was necessary to ensure you could see your reflection in each inch of the body and any exposed or concealed chrome that made up your car.

1974 340 Plymouth Duster 4 Speed Manual Transmission.

Only a week after I had purchased my 340 Plymouth Duster I had the valve covers replaced with chrome covers along with the air filter housing.

Throughout the year, most of my paycheck had gone into making my car look, sound, and perform better than other cars you often saw around town.

The next thing I added to the car was Hooker Headers and Thrust Glass Packs, which gave it the feel and sound of pure power. Later I added air shocks and traction bars so that I could replace the stock wheels with Cragar rims and wider rear tires to insure grip and traction for faster take offs. Each change, down to the sports steering wheel, was made to make this car an extension of my identity.

While this seemed like any other Friday night, it was different in that I no longer had a girlfriend I needed to pick up for a night of fun and excitement. Gail had left me, but tonight was no long about her. For the first time in a long time, I needed to return to the boulevard, that magical stretch of road three miles long. The boulevard was a place where most young adults found themselves on Friday nights in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Tonight, I would announce to the world that I was ready to return to the living. As I opened the door and took my place behind the wheel, it almost seemed somewhat surreal because I knew I would be cursing the boulevard without a significant other sitting across from me. I took a deep breath and turned the key. The rumble of the engine as I pulled onto the street was almost therapeutic in nature. The night breeze blew in my face through the open window, and the sights 183

and sounds seemed to restore my purpose in life with each depression of the clutch and sift of the gears.

It didn’t take long once I had reached the boulevard to forget the past and the realization that I was alone in the car. I rolled slowly to a stop as I approached a red light in front of McDonalds that was one of our local hangouts. McDonalds was at the midway point of the boulevard with a Dairy Queen at one end and the mall parking lot at the other. As I sat there waiting for the light to change I noticed a Ford Mustang with two female passengers pulling up beside me. For the most part, I wouldn’t have given this car a second look but to my surprise, the driver was depressing the accelerator gently while waiting for the light to change. It was as if to say, I have a better car than yours. Now there were cars out that night faster than mine; however, this wasn’t one of them. Even if it was, I was up for the challenge.

Each depression of the accelerator only brought out the competitive nature in me. I slowly began to accelerate the engine of my Duster with the clutch fully depressed waiting to release of the horsepower that was building under my hood. By the time, the light changed to green the engine was fully engaged as I quickly released the clutch. The rear end of my Duster sat down as the rear wheels began turning at a rate much faster than the speed of the car. The horsepower that had been building was now unharnessed, demonstrating that my Duster clearly had more horsepower than the Mustang to my right.

The sights and sounds of the night had been broken by the sound of turning tires against the pavement and the smoke created by the friction between spinning tires and asphalt filled the air. My eyes were glued to the tachometer to determine the optimal time to shift gears as I pulled away from the light. With that, my Duster quickly laid waste to the Mustang that had once sat beside me, and I knew I had to get off the accelerator because the speed limit on the boulevard was only 45 and I had now reached 60 mph.

I cruised to the end of the boulevard, turning into the local Dairy Queen. Once we had reached the end of the of the boulevard, we would circle the Dairy Queen exiting in the opposite direction, in order to make our return trip to the mall parking lot. The mall was a place where friends often sat and talked about their cars while passing the night away. As I pulled away from the Dairy Queen, a police car pulled in behind me and turned on their blue lights. I pulled into the parking lot of the dealership where I purchased my car and turned the engine off thinking I was about to get ticketed for what I had done earlier. While I sat there, the Mustang that had seemed to cause the problems I was now facing passed by as the two female passengers headed toward the other end of the boulevard.

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After waiting for what seemed like several minutes, a police officer departed his car and walked slowing up to my cars window. Now I have never figured out what causes us to say the things we do when we are pulled over; however, the only words that came out of my mouth were, “What did I do officer?” I made the statement as if I had no idea what I had done and yet as it turned out, I actually had no idea. To my surprise, the officer asked me to start my engine. As I reached to turn the key, I look towards the officer and told him that everything in my car was street legal. The glass packs and headers did make a slight rumble, but they were not extremely loud. Once the engine of had started, the officer stepped back while examining every inch of my car. He then told me that he had received a report of a red Ford running up and down the boulevard with open headers.

You can’t make things like this up, and I quickly pointed out to him that I was driving a Plymouth and not a Ford. To that, the officer took one more look at my car and said, “It sure is”, and told me to have a good night. While there was some comfort in that I wasn’t getting a ticket, it was still somewhat deflating in that the car I had just smoked, witnessed me getting pulled over.

I slowly pulled back onto the boulevard, but all I could think about was the story I now had to share with my friends as I headed toward the mall. Within minutes of my encounter with the police, a familiar car pulled along side me and motioned for me to pull over. I was dying to tell someone of the horrible treatment, I had received from the police (it is always easy to exaggerate facts when it comes to the police) so I pulled over. I turned into the parking lot of a local outlet while the driver of the other car circle around and pulled along side me going in the opposite direction so that our drivers side windows were right across from each other. The driver was Alicia, who had once been the basis for some foolishness in my life. Still, she was a member of the opposite sex and someone that I could talk with.

As we were talking to each other, I notice that another car was pulling along the passenger’s side of my car. As the car came into full view I noticed, it was the same Mustang that had started this whole ordeal; the same car that had given my night a sense of adventure. Some may think that the night couldn’t have turned out any better. I had gone from being alone to a place where three women were now in search my attention. Along side the driver’s side door was Alicia, a casual friend, even if there was no attraction between us. On the other side were two females I didn’t even know. The funny thing was that I didn’t want to know them.

I may have felt the way I did because they had challenged my masculinity at the stop light earlier, but for some reason I just didn’t like the driver of the Mustang. We had never met, I didn’t even know her name, but she seemed to be the kind of person that I wouldn’t have given a second look at under normal circumstances. Her passenger sat quietly in the distance not saying a 185

word, but for some reason I placed her in the same category. I guess you could say she was guilty by association because she was with someone I had already determined I didn’t like. There was no reason for me to like or dislike her because I had never actually gotten a good look at her and she never said anything to me.

With no attraction towards the occupants of the Mustang, I turned all my attention towards Alicia until they became annoyed at the cold shoulder I had given them and pulled away.

Over the next several days, my encounter with the Ford Mustang and its occupants became the forgotten part of my story about being pulled over by a police officer. It was more fun talking about the fact that the police officer didn’t know the difference between a Plymouth and a Ford.

Regardless of the reason, the two occupants of the Mustang that started my exploits had long since been forgotten. However, little did I know that one person in the mists of all that had happened that night had gone unnoticed to me and yet I hadn’t gone unnoticed to her! The passenger in that Mustang who had sat so quietly that night soon changed the course of my life.

A week had now come and gone and instead of sitting at home alone on Friday night, I again found myself cursing the boulevard. After thirty minutes of driving, I noticed some friends parked and talking at the mall so I stopped and backed my Duster up in line with them and we began talking about our cars. It only took a few minutes before the hoods were up on our engines, and we were deep into conversations about what we could do to increase horsepower and whose car looked better or could go faster.

I was leaning against the side of my car talking to a friend when I noticed someone I knew pulling up in front of me and slowing to a stop. The door opened and out stepped Nancy, my friend who had introduced me to Gail. Nancy was a lot of fun to hang around with, but she was going with another friend of mine, so I wasn’t sure why she stopped to talk to me unless it had something to do with Gail. As she closed her door and moved in my direction, the passenger’s door of her car opened and out stepped one of her friends.

She stood there silhouetted against the night sky, not attempting to move in my direction or say a word as Nancy walked over to me. Yet while, Nancy was talking, the only thing that had captured my attention was this six foot tall beautiful young woman with thick black hair. Then Nancy told me that she wanted me to meet one of her friends, and with that, she motioned for her to come over. All the discussion of cars had now stopped as I watched each movement of her body as she moved in our direction.

Nancy introduced her as Phyllis Wallace and told me that after seeing me last week, she wanted to meet me. She found out we were friends and asked me if I would introduce her to you.

With that, I was taken aback in that I hadn’t remembered meeting her the week before. At least I 186

didn’t think I did. How could I forget meeting an attractive young woman just week a week earlier? It was then I heard her speak for the first time as she told me that she was the passenger in a Mustang that pulled along side me on the boulevard. She was the passenger that sat obscured in the background. My attention had been on the driver who seemed more of annoyance than someone with whom I wanted to spend my evenings.

Phyllis Kay Wallace High School Graduation Picture.

It surprised me that she was still willing to seek me out after the way I had treated her and her friend during our encounter. We talked for about an hour before I got up the nerve to ask her if she wanted to go to a movie the following day. When she agreed, I seemed quite relived as I got the directions to her house so that I could pick her up. With that, they both returned to Nancy’s car, and I turned my attention back to my friends and our cars. However, as they drove off I did receive a few catcalls from my friends who had taken in most of your conversation.

The following day I left my home earlier then needed because I wasn’t familiar with the area of the county where she was from. The simple fact she lived on a farm was something strange to me. I was a city boy, and the only time I spent in the country was when I was driving from one city to the next. From the directions, she had given me; I knew her family’s farm was off highway 272, a road that ran from Hopkinsville to Cadiz, Kentucky. I had made several trips between these two towns, but I had made little use of this road because highway 68 was a four lane road and the one most individuals used when traveling this route.

The directions she gave me seemed easy enough on the surface. When I reached Caledonia, I needed to take the first left, and she lived in a white house about two miles down the road on the right just before the bridge. I had several things on my mind, so I didn’t pay much attention to the sights as I drove down the highway. I felt I could pay more attention, when I reached Caledonia.

However, 20 minutes later, I found myself approaching Cadiz and I hadn’t seen Caledonia. Being a man and knowing that asking for directions was totally out of the question, I turned around and headed back down 272, this time in the direction that I had just traveled.

I have been known to drive somewhere so deep in thought that I don’t remember the trip I had just made. This time I was determined to pay closer attention to the things around me while 187

looking for some evidence that I had reached a town that had gone unnoticed to me the trip before. However, before I knew it, I was approaching the cross roads just outside of Hopkinsville.

I then realized that I had once again traveled down this same stretch of road looking for a town that now seemed nonexistent. At the cross roads, I saw someone working in the front yard of their home and decided that if I wanted to meet this girl again, I would have to stop and ask for directions. The house sat beside a small country church, so I pulled into the parking area of the church, put my pride aside and asked this person if he knew how to get to Caledonia. With that, he told me that it was about five miles back down the road, “I couldn’t miss it.”

I stood there rather dumfounded in the fact that I had now gone down the same road twice and couldn’t find this place called Caledonia. Yet, someone had just told me, “I couldn’t miss it.”

My confusion most have shown because he once again told me to drive about fives miles back down the road I just came down, pointing in that direction. He then told me to look for the volunteer fire department on the right hand side of the road. With those directions, I climbed back into my car and headed back down the road.

When I had gone about five miles, I slowed down and started looking for a fire department, but all I could see was an old barn on the side of the road and a white block building beside a house on the other. As I approached the barn, I saw some faint writing, which read Caledonia Volunteer Fire Department and inside the open doors was an old fire truck. Then I turned to the block building on the left hand side of the road only to see a small sign that read Caledonia Grocery Store. I couldn’t believe it, I almost had to laugh! I had spent the last 30 minutes looking for a town that consisted of a barn and block building no bigger than a small one bedroom home.

Shortly after passing the grocery store, highway 272 intersected with another highway, and I assumed this was where I had been instructed to turn left. As I made the turn onto the intersecting highway, I found myself laughing once again. There in one corner of the intersection was an old broken down sign, only visible to those who made the turn due to the condition of the sign, which read “Caledonia pop 18!”

Surly the Gods where playing some kind of joke on me for the way I had treated my soon to be date and her friend the week earlier. No one could come from a spot in the great U.S. of A. such as this and call it home. Caledonia was a town without a single stoplight or stop sign for that matter! That is if you where willing to call this spot on the road a town. However, I was now more determined than ever to find the place where this girl who had sparked my interest, lived.

After turning left at the crossroad, I began looking for a bridge because I knew if I went over it, I had gone too far. Yet, with what I had just encountered, I somewhat expected to find no more than a drainage ditch. The directions I had been given so far seemed to come from some 188

fiction comic book, so I wasn’t sure what lay in store for me as I continued down the road toward my destination. However, after I had gone a few miles, I saw that I was approaching a bend in the road and to my surprise a bridge that crossed a small ditch. To the right was a small white house, which I assumed was where my date for the night lived.

The Old Wallace Farm House.

House.

The front porch was adorned with a swing and a large cherry tree shaded the yard. At the end of the driveway sat a blue pickup truck and a brown Grand Torino. To one side was a pond in front of a barn along with an old shed with a Massy Ferguson tractor sitting inside with a smaller tractor parked outside. I pulled slowly into the drive, backed my Duster up under the shade of a tree, and turned the engine off. Everything seems rather strange to me in that I was now picking up a girl that I knew little about, and I most likely would have to meet her parents. To this point in my life, I hadn’t known many of the parents of the girls I had dated for any extended period.

I opened the door to my car and began climbing out when a tall chiseled man came from around the back of the house carrying a 22 rifle. Now I don’t know how most of you have envisioned picking up your date for the first time, but I was about to cut bait and forget I ever met this girl. It took every ounce of my courage to introduce myself and tell a man whom I learned was her father that I was here to pick up his daughter for our date.

He walked to the front door and called his daughter and then took a seat on the swing resting his rifle across his lap as I stood there by the front steps wondering, what’s next. Over the course of time and working long hours with this man who would become my father-in-law, we came to know each other well, but neither of us had a whole lot to say to each other on that first meeting. When Phyllis came to the door, all I asked was if she was ready and when she walked down the stairs, I remarked, “Nice meeting you,” to her dad as I quickly departed. To this day, I couldn’t tell you if I opened the car door for her or not. I am not even sure how I got into my car!

I just know that I had the key in the engine, and I was pulling out of the driveway.

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As dates go, this date was a disaster! A series of bizarre directions to a town that exists only in the imagination of those who are from there, a father who had accomplished his intended purpose (putting the fear of God into anyone picking up his daughter), and a date that just didn’t seem to go anywhere. Maybe it was a result of the events leading up to the actual date itself, but by the end of the day, I just wanted to drop her off and forget I ever meet her. In fact, I was sure that this was the last person I would ever call again.

The following week went by quickly, and as the weekend approached, I couldn’t see myself cursing the boulevard alone again and on Thursday night, I broke down and called Phyllis. This went on for several weeks until without even knowing it; somehow, this girl from the country had become a part of my life. She worked in the city for one of the local banks and before I knew it each Friday she would stop by my house after work and we would spend the evening together before she returned home.

One weekend we found ourselves driving down the boulevard in the left lane talking about what we could do that night. Suddenly Phyllis told me that some old man had pulled along side me in a green Duster and was accelerating a bit as if he wanted to race or something. As I looked over at the car beside me, he again accelerated and then fell back. With that, I down shifted, popped the clutch, and gave my Duster a little gas. My car jumped forward as if to say you aren’t about to outrun me. Once again, he darted up in front of me.

With traffic in front of my car, I was forced to let him to stay ahead of me. I fell back and pulled in behind him moving right up behind his rear bumper. Each movement of his produced a counter movement by me and by now Phyllis had become extremely concerned about the events that were unfolding. Phyllis then told me that I needed to stop because in her own words, “He was just a little old man.” At County Club Lane, he turned right off the boulevard. With that, I turned right following closely behind the car in front of me. “Richard, you need to stop, you are going scare that man.” I told her that I didn’t care, “he started it” as if somehow I had lost my ability to reason. At the next light, he turned left and again I followed.

Within a mile, he put on his turn signal and pulled into an up hill driveway that led to a light green colored house, sitting along side the road. The fact that he had now turned off the road seemed to bring some relief to Phyllis. Surely, this ordeal was now over, but to her surprise I turned into the driveway behind him. Phyllis was now pleading. “Richard please, he didn’t do anything to you.” With that, I came to a stop turned the off the engine of my car and looked at Phyllis and said, “I know I just wanted to introduce you to my parents. That little old man is my dad.” She had now met my parents and the events of that day somehow cemented our relationship.

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Chapter Thirteen Two Families Unite I met her in August and actually didn’t want to go out with her again after our first date, but somehow we had become comfortable with each other. How that happened is beyond me, but somehow we seemed to grow closer together as time passed. Still, I often wonder if any couples first attraction toward each other is anything more than a physical attraction rather than true love. True love should go far beyond the words that so freely flow as a way of expressing our feelings or that physical attraction between members of the opposite sex. In many ways, I consider myself lucky in that Phyllis was somehow willing to stay with me during that period of our relationship where I struggled to find an answer to these questions.

I am not sure Phyllis ever felt that she was as good looking as I did. From the first time, I saw her getting out or Nancy’s car, I saw an extraordinarily beautiful young woman. Yet there was always three things I was determined not to do in my life (get married, have children, or own a Ford). Over the next six years, each of those commitments would fall. Thanksgiving that year started a series of events that would put an end to the first of those commitments.

By October, we were spending most of our free time together. She had now met my parents, and from time to time I would spend the night at her parent’s house in the country, and I was becoming comfortable with them even if I wasn’t sure how they felt about me. I was still a city boy dating the farmer’s daughter. It was rather difficult to get a read on her dad because he didn’t seem to say that much the first few months that I knew him. However, her mother, more affectionately known as Marg, drove me nuts the first time I met her. She always called me baby and was continuously asking me what she could do for me. Most individuals may have liked the attention she gave me, but it often made me feel uncomfortable. I hate the expression baby, and for someone who learned early in life to take care of them self, it made me feel uncomfortable for someone to work so hard at trying to make me happy.

The first Thanksgiving I spent with Phyllis presented us with some logistic problems but provided me with an in depth view of this woman that was now taking up so much of my life. That day we had to eat with my parents, Ms. Carr, her parents and grandparents. In each of these settings, she was comfortable and could carry on a conversation with just about anyone. While she attracted more attention than I could have ever hoped too, she was able to make me feel at ease even in environments, which I had not grown accustomed too. From time to time, she made it a point to get me involved in a conversation or to come by and lean against me as if she was shoring up a wall that had weakened due to a lack of attention. After spending the better part of four months with her, I was now convinced that this was a woman I was at ease with and someone with whom I could spend the rest of my life. Yet, as the following weekend approached, I fought an inner battle with myself attempting to determine if I should or shouldn’t ask her to marry me.

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Friday came faster for me than I had planned that first full week in December. I had something serious to ask Phyllis, who had now left work and was on her way over to my apartment. Stopping by my apartment had now become commonplace. When she arrived, I met her at the door of my apartment as she entered. I looked directly into her eyes to which she replied, “What?” I then uttered the words that I felt I would never say, “Will you marry me?” I didn’t quite get the answer I was seeking; however, for Phyllis, it was fitting. Instead of a yes or no, she asked me if I was serious. With that, I told her yes, and while I didn’t have a ring if she said yes we could go that night to Goodlettsville, a suburb of Nashville, where she could pick out a ring. Goodlettsville had a Service Merchandise Shopping Center that sold diamond rings. While this may not have been the most romantic of setting, I am pleased to say we drove to Goodlettsville that night.

Following the trip to Nashville and purchasing an engagement ring, we had a delightful meal together, even if for some reason she didn’t feel that good that night. Following our meal came the hardest

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part of everything that had transpired that night. Most people would think that asking someone to marry them would be difficult, and while that was a bit on the hard side, I knew the real difficulty lay in front of me. I now had to take her home and tell her parents we were going to get married. I had been in extremely difficult situations with my own father, fought in a war, been in far to many fights, drove cars way to fast and drove cars into places where most people wouldn’t have the nerve to while racing, but I had never stood in front of a father and told him, I was about to take his daughter.

I have always been someone willing to push the speed limit whenever I go somewhere but for some reason the 80 miles we traveled back to Hopkinsville, I managed to drive about 5mph under the speed limit. Phyllis still wasn’t feeling her best and spent the time leaning against me as she passed the time away sleeping, leaving me lost in my own thoughts. My hands began sweating as if I was deep into some strenuous project as the miles clicked off, and we got closer and closer to her parents farm.

Phyllis woke up shortly before we reached the farm, but she didn’t seem to feel the same anxiety that I felt. The smile had returned to her face as she spent the time looking at her ring and then looking at me only to return to her ring. I pulled slowly into the driveway as I had done the first time I came out to pick her up, but this time, I would have left if her dad had come out to meet us with the same rifle in hand.

In some ways, I was lucky in that I wanted to marry the farmer’s daughter because farmers tend to go to bed early, which was where her parents were when we entered the house. I felt some relief due to her parents being in bed, but that didn’t last long. Before I knew it, Phyllis had run into her parent’s bedroom telling them the news. In many ways, this took the pressure off me from having to face her father with the words coming out of my mouth, but for some reason, I still wasn’t looking forward to seeing her parents emerge from their bedroom.

Her mother was the first to arrive; quickly crossing the distance from her bedroom to where I was standing to give me a hug while flashing a smile that seemed to cover her whole face. While this was somewhat comforting, my eyes couldn’t leave the direction of her parent’s bedroom as I waited for her father to enter the room. He must have taken some pleasure in the fact he could make me feel uncomfortable as it seemed like an hour passed before he made his entrance. Unlike Marg, he walked slowly in my direction. As he approached, I wasn’t sure what to expect from him as he shook my hand and softly told me to take care of his daughter. For the most part, her father didn’t say much to me, but when he did say something, it was done with such conviction; I seemed forced to let him know that I loved his daughter. As we spook to each other, he never let go of my hand until I had assured him those where my intentions. With that, he released his grip from my hand as we seemed to have reached a sense of understanding. As time passed, we became closer, and I grew to accept and understand my soon to be father-in-law.

Over the next several months, I learned that Phyllis had her daddy wrapped around her little finger, and there would be other times he let me know that this was his little girl. However, as time passed and we worked our way towards our wedding, I learned the little things that made the woman I had planned to marry, who she was. I have never been the kind person who concerns himself with the smaller

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things in life; instead I spend more time seeking answers to more complex issues. However, Phyllis wants to know everything about anything. If curiosity killed the cat, and Phyllis was a cat, she would have died several years ago. Some times this has suited her well while other times it has gotten her into trouble.

Curiosity Killed the Cat They say, curiosity killed the cat.

But frankly speaking, aren't we all guilty of that? We all have questions, we'd like to have answers to, but cannot find. It may not be to our advantage, but no stone will be left unturned, or left behind. If you're looking for the proper answers, don't veer off course. Just be certain it's coming, form the right source. Most importantly, make sure what you're being told, is true. Then beyond a doubt, you're going to find out and all your wondering days, will be through!

Audrey Heller

So it was during the first Christmas we spent together after our engagement. I knew what she wanted for Christmas because she has always been a person who lets everyone know what she wants, which may have come from her ability to get what she wanted from her father. What she wanted was a tape player for her car, which was only equipped with a standard radio. I told her brother that I had purchased her a tape player, and I was going to have it put in the car right after Christmas. However, Phyllis tricked her brother into telling her what she was getting which I soon discovered. So, about two weeks before Christmas, I had the tape player put into her car and told her that was her Christmas present, and she wouldn’t be getting anything from me on Christmas day. What surprised her even more was I wasn’t kidding because I had nothing more to give her. While she may have been somewhat disappointed with the events of that Christmas, her curiosity has never diminished.

Soon winter gave way to spring, and James told us that he was giving us one third of 5 acres of tobacco for our wedding present. I am not sure what he actually gave us because for the remainder of the year I became his farm hand. Yet, it was something he didn’t have to do, which allowed us to buy our first real furniture. However, if I’d have known all what was evolved, I would have said, “No thanks!” I have always told anyone willing to listen; I raised two crops of tobacco that year; my first and my last. Raising tobacco is not a form of continuously hard work, but when there is work to be done, it is not only hard, it is demanding work that must be done now, not when you can get around to it.

We had originally wanted to get married on Sunday, July 4, 1976, a date that would always be easy to remember, our countries bicentennial. However, we felt that the traffic would have caused us problems on

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our honeymoon, so we decided to move the date to Friday, July 2, 1976, a date that arrived much faster than I had planned. Before I knew it, I was taking part in a bachelor’s party where I did something that maybe wasn’t the smartest thing I have ever done, yet I had done some stupid things in my life. I have never been a drinking man, but somehow several bottle of Cold Duck and champagne appeared during the party. Before I knew it, I had consumed just a bit too much. I can’t tell you much more about that night, but I am sure that none of it could have been all that good. The following morning I woke up so sick that if I had been given the option to relive the night before, I would have taken it. Every time I stood up I lost the content of my stomach, which forced me to lie back down. The only position that I felt comfortable in during the day was on the floor, curled up in a ball with a pillow on my stomach.

The day passed, and I was sure that I was going to die when the doorbell to my apartment rang.

There stood my best man informing me that it was now 5:30 and I was getting married at 7:00, so I need to get up and get dressed. Getting up wasn’t something that I planned on doing for the rest of my life; however long that would be. Somehow, Johnnie got me to the church on time, but I am not sure how because all I wanted to do was to lie down. By the time we arrived, everyone was looking for me with some talk that I might be a no show. I am sure glad that most of the attention was turned back towards my bride to be because I would have agreed to anything at the time if they would have just let me lay down.

Regardless of the how I was feeling the wedding went as had been rehearsed without any slip ups on my part. I stood there as the doors in the back of the church auditorium opened, and there stood the most beautiful radiant woman I had ever seen. She was dressed in a long flowing white gown and was holding the arm of her father who stood on her right side. As the music to “Here Comes the Bride” began, and she slowly walked with her father toward me, I stood there mesmerized by her beauty and the faith in my decision to marry her was reaffirmed.

Marriage is an institution of divine appointment given in wisdom and kindness to increase human happiness and to support social order. In the Bible, which should be the lamp to your path in every relation, you will find the directions needed in this.

Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?

You Richard Frederick, and you Phyllis Wallace, having come to me signifying your desire to be formally united in marriage, and being assured that no legal, moral, or religious barriers hinder this proper union, I as you to join your right hands and give heed to the questions now asked you.

Richard Frederick in taking the woman whom you hold by the right hand to be your lawful and wedded wife, will you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in the bad that may darken your days, in the good that may light your ways, and to be true to her in all things until death alone shall part you?

Phyllis Wallace in taking the man whom you holds by the right hand to be your lawful and wedded husband, will you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, in the bad that may darken your days, in the good that may light your ways, and to be true to him in all things until death alone shall part you?

Then are you devoted to each other until death parts you.

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May I have the brides ring? Do you Richard give this ring to Phyllis as a token of your love for her?

Will you Phyllis take this ring as a token of Richard’s love for you and will you wear it as a token of your love for him?

May I have the grooms ring? Do you Phyllis give this ring to Richard as a token of your love for him?

Will you Richard take this ring as a token of Phyllis’ love for you and will you wear it as a token of your love for her?

Having pledged your faith in, and love to each other, and having sealed your solemn marital vows by giving and receiving the rings, acting in the authority vested in me as a minister of the Gospel and looking to Heaven for divine sanction, I pronounce you husband and wife in the presence of God and these assembled witnesses. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

You may kiss the bride.

I am not sure if it was because I was still feeling the effects of the night before or because I was so caught up in the moment, but the wedding ceremony felt like it only lasted a few seconds and then I was married. We had exchanged vows along with our wedding rings and lit the unity candle indicating that we had come in as members of two families, but we were leaving as husband and wife. My bride had come in with her father as Phyllis Wallace, but she left with me as Richard and Phyllis Frederick. Tommy Wilhite, the preacher of the local church performed the services.

Many weddings in the rural southern part of American during the 1970’s were truly a church affair.

The wedding and receptions were usually held at the church, which was often the only building capable of handling such an event. Weddings were often one of the few social events that brought families and the community together. We were married at the Locust Grove Baptist Church in Caledonia, Kentucky, a small country church about two miles from the Wallace farm house and where Phyllis had been going to church.

Our reception fell in line with those held in many of the churches of that era. A reception line was followed by finger foods and punch and the cutting of the cake. Because the reception was held in the church, the champagne was replaced with sparkling cider for which I was extremely thankful considering the events of the night before. Still it was a time to have fun and for family members and friends to catch up on past events.

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Somewhere during the reception, we managed to have our wedding pictures taken and to find time, to slip into clothing that was more comfortable before we said our goodbyes and headed off on our honeymoon. When I began changing my clothes, I discovered that my mother, who loves a good practical joke, had gotten a hold of my pants and had some fun. It seems she had sown a few rows of stitches up each of the legs of my jeans, which made putting them on impossible. This caused me to spend about fifteen minutes working to removing all the stitches so that I could get dressed. Once I had finally changed clothes, I managed to leave the dressing room to an ovation from everyone that knew what my mother had done.

Once we had both returned to the reception area, we thanked everyone for coming and headed in the direction of the side door of the church where our car was parked. Once we had gone outside and made it through a shower of rice we discovered what our so called friends had done to my wife’s car. Now I knew most of my friends wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a little fun, so I parked my Duster in a locked garage so that no one could get to it. This turned out to be a wise move because if they had done to my Duster what they had done to Phyllis’ car, I would have had to kill half my wedding party. They had written just about anything you could think of all over the car with white shoe polish. Additionally, they had covered all

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the door handles with Vaseline, attached balloons and cans to the rear bumper, stuffed the car with used news papers, and the following day I found an open can of sardines under the front seat. I had to commend them for their efforts because I couldn’t have done a better job myself.

With my wife in tow, we managed to get into her car and pulled out of the church parking lot heading towards Bowling Green, Kentucky, where we had planned to spend our first night together. As we left the church, I quickly learned that the attachment between Phyllis and her father was stronger than I had ever expected. She began crying about leaving her father, which continued for about 30 miles until I finally pulled over and told her, it was time to make a choice. Either she was my wife first, and her father’s daughter second or she was her father’s daughter first and me second in which case I would take her home. Wile I felt it was necessary for me to make a point, I was more than relived that she chose to be my wife first. With that, we began our lives together.

Following our return from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where we had gone for our honeymoon, we began to settle into our news lives as husband and wife. Somewhere during those first few months of our marriage, I had gone to the bank where she worked to pick up a box of things that had belonged to her that she wanted me to pick up. As I stood there beside the box waiting for her as she talked to some friends, I noticed an old desktop calendar sitting on top of the things in the box. I guess you can say that curiosity finally got to me, and I pulled it out and began reading some of the comments she had written on each page of the past year. As I turned to each date, I came to August and found something that was quite astonishing to me. There on one of the pages in early August was the statement, “I have met the man that I am going to marry.” I almost dropped the calendar. I had just met her in August that year and didn’t actually like her, but she felt she had already met the man she was going to marry. It almost made me wonder who really was in control. If I had read those words after our first date, we would have never traveled the road we have traveled together.

However, today I am glad that at least one of us had some sense of direction when we originally met.

Four years later the first of our two daughters was born (November 26, 1980); two lives that have always been as different as day and night; yet, two lives that have played a large part of my life. One takes after her mother and the other takes after her father. One viewed everything with a skeptical outlook; the other never looks beyond the moment and is always willing to help those around her. One looks like her mother, and the other looks like her father (and I am still sorry for doing that to her). One attended college with a purpose and direction while the other went to college because it was something to do at the time. One would burst into tears with a stern look; the other wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction that they somehow had gotten to her.

They even managed to arrive in two distinctly different manners. The first must have forgotten to hear the alarm clock because her due date came and went without her arrival. When the day finally arrived, she kept the world waiting for almost the entire day as if she needed to make some grand entrance. To this day she still keeps me waiting. The other just wanted out, and if I had been five minutes slower getting to the hospital she would have arrived in my truck with me the attending physician. By the time I dropped her mother off at the hospital entrance, parked the truck, and walked to the delivery room, she had already

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arrived and was playing cards with the doctors. Well, she wasn’t actually playing cards with the doctors, but I am sure glad the traffic officer at the end of the street were we lived didn’t hold us up any longer than he did. I hadn’t watched my first daughter’s birth and honestly wasn’t interest in watching our second daughter birth, even if I had gone to classes for the grand event. As it turned out, she didn’t want an audience any more than I wanted to be there because as I walked into the delivery room they told me, “Congratulations it’s a girl.”

Even the things they did in common, they managed to do as opposites. Both played high school and college golf yet with two distinctly different approaches to the game. One played with reckless abandon while he other played with the precision of a surgeon. One had a long flowing swing that allowed her to drive the ball considerable distances for a woman and the other had a short compact swing, which allowed her to control the flight of the ball. One played because she loved to show the boys what she could do while the other played to prove something. One was more concerned with how she looked on the golf course than the game itself and the other was just there as a way of passing the time. Regardless of their abilities on a golf course, the worse thing that could ever happen would be to have them play against each other. Neither was willing to give into the other and despite who the winner was; the battle lasted far longer than their round of golf.

While the three most prominent women in my life may have disappointed me from time to time, they have helped to make my life complete. I had spent a good part of my life looking for some form of acceptance, and now my wife and daughters do just that even if at times we fight some of the same battles that I fought as a young man. The only thing that has ever troubled me since the marriage to my wife is I am now married, I have two daughters, and yes, I drive a FORD! The three things I had said I would never do before I met my wife. Moreover, those three women still make me do the things I say I wouldn’t do to this very today! Today I truly believe God placed these women in my life to save me from myself, and for that I will always be thankful.

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Chapter Fourteen Great Men and Women Who Helped Shaped My Life I am amazed at how we rush through life until something happens that cause us to reflect on such events and what they mean in terms of our own lives. We spend so much time trying to win the game of life that we often fail to see the players and what they bring to the game. The fact that we even choose to participate in life should make us better players, and yet so many of us fail at the game. No one is perfect, and so it is inevitable that we make mistakes along the way. While it is reassuring to know that such events help prepare us for the next, they can also cause the game to speed up in such a way that it makes things harder, forcing us into making more mistakes. Relying on those who have overcome similar mistakes in life will help to increase our chances for success.

Why do we get so caught up in the game that we are powerless to see the world around us? As I reflect on life, I find that only life-changing events have had the ability to cause me to change my direction or attempt to determine the true meaning behind my actions. Am I the person I want to be or do I actually know what it is that I want to be? Often the death of those close to me has caused me to see how short the game undoubtedly is and exposes my weaknesses as to what is relevant in life. So it has been with the death of many of the men and women in my life who have helped shaped me into whom I have become today.

Life would be so much easier if winning was a true measure of our greatness or some sort of immortality we could hang our hat on. I have known far too many individuals that have passed through life who have seemed to have failed but are seen as winners while others seem successful yet die alone. Can we be winners in life yet losers in death, or losers in life but winners in death? Why is it that so few of us seem to be afforded winners in life and death? Searching for such answers has caused me to examine the lives of those who have touched me in hopes of finding the solution to the true meaning of life.

I met Charles Carr as a boy, and while I doubt our paths would have crossed under different circumstances, it is still funny the way things worked out. Our age difference alone should have indicated why it was unlikely that we would become friends throughout life. The first time we met, he was a young man, and I was an immature boy who had not yet reached his teenage years. However, Charles would play a large role in my success as a business leader later in life.

At the ripe old age of twelve, I felt it was time I had an allowance for the things I did around the yard; however, I made the mistake of telling this to my dad. While I pondered the idea of what to say to my dad, when it came out of my mouth it seemed so wrong. However, my dad didn’t seem angry; he just took me by the hand and walked me across the street to the local grocery store, Carr’s Superette No. 2. There he talked to owner, Charles Carr, and told him that I could sweep and mop floors. Charles looked at me and told my dad he could use some help, but the pay was only ten cents an hour. Nothing else needed to be said as my dad left me at the store, and I began working. The year was 1962, and you could still buy a cold drink for a nickel, so working for ten cents an hour was OK with me.

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Much of the success, I have enjoyed in life, I can attribute to the fact that Charles was willing to take me under his wing and instill in me many of the work values that have become a part of my life. One day, after finishing the task that he had assigned me, I sat down waiting for someone to tell me what needed to be done next. When Charles saw me sitting there, he asked me what I was doing, to which I replied that I was waiting for him to tell me what to do next. With that, Charles looked down at me and told me that successful people don’t have to be told what to do. Successful people are the one’s who after completing a task start the next because it is what needs to be done, not what they are told to do.

Charles would go on to teach me many business lessons along with some practical lessons about life.

He had his hands in so many things and he often took me with him to many of the events. Once when we were taking some supplies to the fair that someone had ordered, I noticed that he shook hands with a large number of people. When we were leaving, I told him that it seemed like he had a hundred friends. Charles just looked at me and asked why I felt he had so many friends. I told him that he knew everyone, to which he responded that there was a significant difference between knowing someone and calling them friends.

Friends are the individuals you can count on in difficult times, the ones you can depend on during difficult times. There have been too many times during my life when these words have rung true.

From our first improbable meeting until I graduated from high school, I worked for Charles and his family became my second home. Charles had a younger brother who was my age, Johnnie, and we became close friends, so I spent as much time at 1505 Walnut Street as I did at home. During the summer months, much of the week I stayed with Johnnie at the Carr’s house, but returned home over the weekends because I always went to church with my family. After the store closed each night, I usually went home with Charles and Johnnie where we enjoyed a TV dinner and watched “the Avengers” on TV. Each time life seemed to have gotten the better of me, Charles provided me with a way of getting back on my feet. When Cress Manufacturing Company went out of business, and I found myself out of work, he once again came to the rescue. I was now a young married man and Charles had sold his grocery store and built a liquor store. When I decided to go to college instead of taking another factory job, he once again gave me a job working at the liquor store. He also allowed me to set my schedule around my classes, which provided me with the opportunity to finish school and move on with my life.

Charles taught me to stop and smell the flowers as I passed through life, mindful of the past, but ready to take advantage of what lay ahead, always willing to laughing at myself. One summer when I was still in high school, and the store had just closed, I went home with Johnnie and Charles to eat a late meal and watch TV as we had done some many times. Charles asked me if I wanted more milk and I shook my head indicating yes. He then started pouring the milk and told me to say when. However, I had become extremely enthralled in what was happening to one of the characters on TV that I wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around me. Suddenly I felt a cold liquid substance all over my lap, and I jumped up from the table. Everyone around me was now rolling in laughter as Charles simply said, “I total you to say when.” Life was never boring when you were around him.

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He also allowed me to join his inter circle of friends and often had both my wife and I over to his house for social events while I was working my way through college. One day he told me to get in his truck because he was going to pick up his boat. He often spent time at the lake with friends, but today he invited me to tag along with him. A few hours later, we were at Kentucky Lake where he tried to teach me how to water ski. I am not sure what I learned that day, but I do know that I drank enough water to lower the lake by at least six inches. Yet he never lost his patience as he attempted repeatedly to get me up on the skies.

Helping those you know is often easy but helping those you don’t know is a much different story.

Charles taught me not to forget where I came from, always ready to reach down and help anyone up who has fallen. If Charles noticed someone that needed help he didn’t just throw money at them or take them a burger from a local fast food restaurant, he would take them somewhere to get a good meal and never sought any recognition for what he had done. I may have moved on with my life and have had better paying, and rewarding jobs than those Charles gave me, but I am not sure that I ever had a job where I enjoyed myself as much as I did when I worked for him.

Many people have touched me during my life, but I hold a significant place in my heart for those who encouraged me reach higher, instead of telling me what I couldn’t do. My football coach in Germany was one such person. He had a positive impact on my life, instilling in me the need to reach higher. I only knew Coach McNeal the two years I played football in Germany, but he was the first person in my life who expected my best effort 100 percent of the time. Each practice he refused to allow me to give him anything but my best. Yet, each time I accomplished something on the field during a game he was the first to greet me as I walked toward the sideline. There he always managed to grab me by the shoulder pads, pulling me right up to his face to tell me, “Now that’s what I want to see from you, that’s what makes you special.” He then would slap me on the back of my shoulder pads as I passed him on the way to the bench.

When I was around coach McNeal, I never felt like I had reached my full potential; instead I always worked to improve even when the outcome was more than enough. He made me look at the bigger picture, always searching for something that few of us find in life, a desire to seek perfection. Coach McNeal’s favorite expression was, “It takes the same amount of energy to do something wrong as it does to do it right, so if you are going to put forth the effort, do it right!” He taught me not to give up just because something seems difficult. If you fail, look at yourself and ask if you gave it your best. If you did and you still failed, pick yourself up and try again. Success doesn’t come to those who fail to try; it comes to those who are willing to keep trying until they succeed. Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly".

The first close relative I remember in my life was my grandfather. Each of us should be able to say that the first significant person in our life was our parents; however, life didn’t afford me the opportunity to know my parents before I knew my grandfather. He always had a way of appearing at critical times in

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my life, yet he was never the demanding type and as fast as he emerged, he would disappear again. He never pushed me to be all I could be, neither did he point out the things that I did that were right or wrong; he just stood at a distance. It was as if he were an interested spectator hoping his team won, but more comfortable on the sidelines.

My grandfather was the first family member whom I felt comfortable talking to about my past, about questions I had and life in general. He developed within me a desire to seek answers to the things that I questioned. I can’t remember a time that I spent with him as a boy or young man when he was unwilling to listen to each of my questions and softly provide me with an answer. He opened the doors to my families past and allowed me to roam freely about examining each of its treasures. Then, as his place in my life had played out, he was gone.

On one occasion, I traveled to Massachusetts with my wife and daughter and spent some time talking to my grandfather. We talked about the events that bought him to America as a young man, the family he made for himself, his parents, and the trails he faced during his life. However, he never talked about my grandmother, and she never talked about him during what little time I spent with her. It was almost as if both had decided that the events of that relationship would remain their secret. I managed to uncover some details about my grandparents but not of their relationship. When they were married, our last name was still Feduruk, which was later changed to Frederick and my grandmother carried that name until she died, long after their divorce. I would have loved to have spent more time with one of the most self reliant, soft spoken gentlemen that I have ever known but like so many of us do, I left something for tomorrow as if I had some assurance that tomorrow would come.

One day while I was visiting my grandfather he surprised us by taking my wife and me on a ride with him to some unknown destination. We loaded up in his car, an older model Plymouth station wagon while my grandfather took his place behind the wheel. He didn’t tell us where we were going, and I had no idea of what he had in store for us. The trip brought back memories of a time as a young boy when I had ridden somewhere with my grandfather. He sat quietly behind the wheel of his car watching everything that was taking place around him. The car seemed almost to large for a man of such small stature; however, he sat there with both hands on the steering wheel as if he was in total control. Even my wife, who is know to question everything, sat without making a sound in the backseat steering out at her soundings as we speed through the country side.

My grandfather was now in his late eighties, but it became apparent that I received my passion for speed from him because he wasted no time in getting to where we where going. We pulled into the driveway of an older house somewhere in Massachusetts. I am not sure where or in what city because I had left the north so long ago. We walked up to the front door and were greeted by an older man and woman. My

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grandfather introduced the old man, as Huestis his bother-in-law, but the woman was Huestis sister because Tanka, his wife, and my grandfather’s sister had died earlier. We spent most of that visit covering the history of the shoe making business and the past. They fixed a meal, and we ate and talked, but I was somewhat dishearten to learn that another voice from my past had taken some of the secrets of my family to her grave.

Candace with Grandpa and Grandma 1980.

1980.

John Frederick 1982 three Years before his death..

John Frederick holding Candace.

Candace.

That was as close as I ever got to learning about my grandfathers past as we never again sat down and talked about the past. My grandfather loved growing things and taking care of the land which he must have developed early in life before leaving Poland. Shortly after moving down south to live with my father he broke his arm while working in the yard, and it was discovered that he had cancer. When the doctors talked to him about his health and their need to start treatment, my grandfather said no. He calmly told them that he was 94 years old and had lived a full life; if it was to be, it was to be and he was at peace with death. Two weeks later he did just that, never again leaving the hospital. As in life, my grandfather had taken his death with grace and on his own terms.

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Unlike my grandfather, the relationship I had with my father was significantly different, too little time and too many unanswered questions. My father had spent most of his life in the military and only knew one way of doing things, the military way. There comes a time when anyone in the military passes from being a civilian to soldier and my father had long since passed that point before we genuinely got to know each other. Maybe it was the battles my father and I fought that kept me from crossing that line of civilian to military because all I wanted to do when I was in the military was to get out.

Only a short year earlier at my grandfather’s death, my father told me that he would be next and he was right. Soon I found myself returning to Mississippi with my wife and daughters to visit him in the hospital because he had suffered a heart attack. My oldest daughter had already spent some time with him before they moved to Mississippi, but my youngest daughter who was only seven months old, had never seen her grandfather. Distance and my unwillingness to accept the uncertainty of the future had kept me from traveling down to Mississippi since my grandfather’s death.

After spending a few days with my family and visiting my father, we returned to Kentucky almost as if we had accomplished a task and we where now returning home. To this day, I find it hard to describe the relationship I had with my father. For to long it was more comfortable for me to stay at arms length from him. I always found it easier to talk to my mother rather than my father. Somehow after, I met my wife and my first daughter was born, we seemed to grow closer, but more as strangers each protecting secrets that we didn’t want the other to know. It was easier to consider our relationship more as two individuals who paths had crossed in life, than as father and son.

I wish I had spent more time trying to develop a stronger relationship with my father once we had torn down the barriers, but that never seemed to happen. Time and distance had become our enemies.

After visiting with my father and getting the doctors to allow us to let him hold his newest grandchild, it was time to return home. The doctors warned us that he didn’t have much longer to live, three to six months, but work awaited, so we made plans for getting together later that summer, and left to return home.

Within a few minutes of arriving back in Kentucky, I received a phone call from my sister telling me that our father had just suffered a massive heart attack and was on life support. She told me that, in the morning, the doctors would allow us to decide if we wanted to unplug the machines that where keeping him alive. I knew that was what my father wanted but I didn’t want to make such a decision. Regardless of the battles we had fought during our life times, he was still my father, and I would never be able to tell anyone to unplug him.

My wife and I made the decision to get some rest that night from the long drive back home, and in the morning we would start our trip back to the Mississippi gulf. That night I prayed for God to remove the burden of such a decision from me and he answered my prayer. Shortly after, I had fallen asleep; my sister called again and told me that my father had died. True to his word, he was the next one to die, almost one year to date of his father’s death.

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The next morning I dropped my youngest daughter off with the Hunters who had agreed to watch her and we returned to Mississippi to attend the funeral of my father. The trip was a somber reflection on the relationship that had existed between my father and me. In so many ways, I seemed to disagree with him during our time together; however, now I could see so many of his characteristics in myself.

Often during my life, the words of songs have proved me with some comfort and insight into issues that have caused me problems. Words found in songs often have some magical power, which allow me to find the answer too many of the things troubling me. I have always loved songs for both their musical value and the meaning behind the words. Driving down the highway towards Mississippi, I heard a familiar song come over the radio. Harry Chapin was one of my favorite singers, I still know every word to Taxi, one of my favorite songs. As I drove along the highway, another of his songs I had heard many times before came on the radio. Yet, this time the words reached down into my chest and pulled my heart out. It moved me to the point that I was forced to pull the car off to the side of the road, and for the first time since my father’s death, I cried openly.

The Cats in the Cradle My child arrived just the other day He came to the world in the usual way But there were planes to catch and bills to pay He learned to walk while I was away And he was talkin’ fore I knew it, and as he grew He’d say, “I’m goona be like you dad You know I’m goona be like you” And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin’ home dad?

I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son You know we’ll have a good time then My son turned ten just the other day He said, “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let’s play Can you teach me to throw,” I said “Not today I got a lot to do,” he said, “That’s ok” And he walked away but his smile never dimmed And said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah You know I’m gonna be like him” And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin’ home dad?

I don’t know when, but we’ll get together than son You know we’ll have a good time then Well, he came home from college just the other day So much like a man I just had to say “Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”

He shook his head and said with a smile “What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys

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See you later, can I have the please?”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin’ home son?

I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then dad You know we’ll have a good time then I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away I called him up just the other day I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind” He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time You see my new job’s a hassle and kids have the flu But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad It’s been sure nice talking to you” And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me He’d grown up just like me My boy was just like me And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin’ home son?

I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son You know we’ll get together then I am sure Harry Chapin didn’t write this song for me, but the words rang all to true. Everything that had troubled me about my dad was in the words of this song, all the way down to the ball. I have often wondered what our relationship would have been like had he taken the time to watch me play. As I sat there, I began to see that in many way I was turning out like him, I had become so caught up in my own life, I had allowed what little time I was able to talk to my dad slip away. Since that day, I have made a determined effort to be a part of my daughter lives.

Memories

April 2, 1986/Journal rjf

Day One: I find myself in the hospital standing by my father’s bed. Today they allowed him to hold his newest grandchild, my second daughter, it was the first time they have seen each other. Time and distance somehow make us forget the importance of spending time with those close to us. The doctors had told us that his heart was failing, and the end was approaching, so I am glad I made this trip home so my daughter could see her grandfather before he died.

April 3, 1986/Journal rjf Day Two: I don’t know what the future has in store, but both my wife and I will have to go home so that we can return to work. I know that the doctors have told us that my father doesn’t have that much longer to live, three to four months but work waits. We will bid our farewell with the knowledge that we will return this summer, two months from this time and spend some quality time together.

Later Day Two: I found myself walking through the front door of our home in Kentucky when the phone rang; it was my sister telling me that my dad had suffered a massive heart attack a few hours earlier. They had placed him of life support where he was now fighting for his life. She informed me that by morning, we must let the doctors know if we wanted to have the machines that were keeping him alive, turned off. I know that it was my fathers wish not to be placed on life support but how do you say turn off the machines

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that are now keeping his heart beating. How can I decide if he should live or die? If there is a God, why must I be asked to make such a decision?

My Prayer: O God answer my pray - my true nature forces me to examine the things around me, and so I find myself questioning your very being. I am lost, and I don’t understand why or what to ask but God if you are listening I need to know you care and that you understand my questions. Maybe I am still too young to understand, but God can you tell me why I have been placed in such a situation and why my father must die so early in life? If you are actually all powerful, why is that you give life and take it back again? Can you answer this; tell me why? Your words tell us, we have but to ask and you will answer; that you will not place a burden on our shoulders that is too much for us to carry. Yet, here I sit waiting to make a decision about my dad’s life and I find it so hard to make the decision that is being asked of me.

Why haven’t you done anything to help me? Can’t you see the pain in my mother’s eyes and the difficulty of a decision I must make? Why God why?

Gods Answer: I stand here watching time pass knowing I wouldn’t be able to make the decision to let my father die. I can’t tell the doctors to unplug the machines that allow him to cling to life. Then the call comes informing me that my father has passed away. I sat dazed on the side of my bed; I could only wonder if I had angered God and caused my father death. It was then I realized that maybe God had heard my cries and taken the burden from me. God had taken care of the things I was unable to do and I didn’t have to make the decision that had so greatly troubled me.

Reflections: Just a day in terms of my life and yet a lifetime had seemed to pass by. I wanted so desperately to hear him one more time so I wouldn’t forget the sound of his voice, to smell the scent of his presence so I wouldn’t forget his aurora, and to place his image in my memory so that when he was laid to rest I could still see his face. Yet the harder I tried to do each of these things the more they seemed out of my reach. I finally feel asleep trying to do the impossible.

April 4, 1986/Journal rjf Day Three: After making that long drive back to my parent’s house, I found myself walking out to the garden, which my father and mother had taken so much pride in growing. As I walked with him in sprite, among the flowers, I began to remember the lessons I learned by the things he did in his life. I remembered the first football be gave me, I remembered him taking us to church when I was a young man, and I remembered each kiss he gave our mother before he left each morning and when he returned that evening.

I saw the things within me that had been a part of his life. Some things that I was determined never to do in my life, but I find myself doing today. I saw the gift I had in making things grow as I walked through the garden, I remembered the joy he showed in watching me receive my college degree as his first child to graduate from college, I remembered the times when I thought I knew all the answers and he allowed me to grow, I remembered every fight we had as I began to spread my wings and was determined to prove to him, I was a man. I remembered him standing beside me at my wedding and telling me to always love my wife, I remembered the day my first daughter was born and how he stood there and laughed aloud; when I asked him why he was laughing, he replied “now its your turn,” I remembered the fact that he would let my daughter do all the things I got in trouble for and how he got upset with me when I tried to correct her, and I remembered how he taught me to be a husband. Why are we so blind when we have time and yet see so clearly, when it is too late?

April 5, 1986/Journal rjf Day Four: Somehow God had answered the exact question I had asked him earlier. In life, there is death and we are all appointed once to die, but my father lives in me, and my only hope is that others will see me in my daughters. Someday when I see my daughters do something they learned from me, I will laugh as my father did because I know I learned those things from him and he still lives in each of us. So when my time comes to an end, I hope my daughters will know that death as in birth is a beginning and not a conclusion, and I will always be with them as my father is with me.

April 6, 1986/Journal rjf

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Day Five: Today I faced a challenge I wasn’t prepared for and I only hope in some small way I helped. I woke up early and went to the kitchen of my parent’s home where my mother was busy fixing breakfast. I walked in, and we began talking when all of a sudden she broke down in my arms in complete tears. She just kept telling me that she didn’t know what she was going to do. I felt so helpless holding a woman that had always been my tower of strength. All I could do was to stand there holding her until she regained her composure and slowly returned to what she was doing. After we had sat and talked for a short period of time. Will be returning to Kentucky tomorrow, I only hope my mother will be OK. I have spent so much time reflecting on the passage of individuals like my father and grandfather while gathering information and pictures to document the stories of our family’s history. Over the next fifteen years, I continued to work for Prudential. Change is so hard, and change is often the result of necessity rather than a planned progression. Somehow, my fear of change forced me to accept a job I no longer liked and to abandon the lessons learned form the events of my past. I worked to stay connected with my family but still managed to get caught up in the success of the corporate world as a means of determining success in my life.

Once again, life dealt me a wake up call, and while it didn’t seem like a life-altering event, it did make me reexamine where I was going in my life. I don’t believe that I am much different then other individuals in that I often become to comfortable with my current surroundings. If Cress Manufacturing had never closed down, I would still be working in that factory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Because Cress closed, I went back to school; becoming the first college graduate of my family and landed a job in corporate America. Yet, I had no real desire to work in the insurance business, and I often found myself stifled in the coat and tie world.

Something would have to change to overcome the indoctrination I had received from Prudential, which strongly equates success with financial gain.

One Monday morning I arrived at work as I had always done in the past, but today something was different. Waiting in my office was an auditor from Prudential who told me that I would have to leave my keys with him, and I couldn’t return to the building until their audit was completed. I had already received word that auditors would be coming to the Memphis office to check on reports of wrongdoing, but I wasn’t worried because I had never done anything that I felt was wrong. However, here they were and they were in my office. As I left the office, my mind raced around in circles trying to determine what if anything I may have done that could cause me to be audited. The more I thought, the more I was troubled about the unknown. I had never done anything intentionally wrong, but could I have somehow done something unintentionally wrong?

As I reflect back on that period, it reminds be of the time, I had been called into Jay Cress’s office and told that Cress Manufacturing would be closing. My life seemed to be defined by one brief statement. I had two new cars in the driveway, my wife and I had just purchased our first house, and about two thirds of our income had just been taken away. Still, I picked myself up and went to college, which only made me a stronger individual. I was now more determined to stop letting others have that much control over the outcome of my life. Yet once again, the world as I had known it seemed to be crumbling around me. Again I was told that I wasn’t wanted.

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Three days went by and with the passing of each hour; the pressure of the unknown began to influence my ability to function. By the end of day two, I was no longer able to sleep as I examined everything I done over the last two years in an effort to determine if I had done anything wrong. During that time, I saw a side of my wife that I had never seen before. Love has always been such a strange word to me. Since my early childhood, it had always come with some hidden meaning, and I rarely use the word. However, during that period my wife sat up with me each night. As the weight of the world seemed to be crushing me, she spent her time reassuring me that everything would turn out all right. She provided me with the shoulder I needed at that time, for which I will always be grateful. During this period of my life, I began to understand what a real relationship meant. I finally understood that our relationship had grown to much more than a physical attraction. Often a crisis destroys a relationship but somehow the events of that week strengthened ours.

Thursday afternoon of that week, I received a phone call requesting my presence in the office Friday morning. The following day I arrived at work walking slowly towards my office, almost as if I was a condemned man. I sat down in the chair in front of the auditor, who was now sitting behind my desk, “in my chair!” Without much fanfare, he slid an old Prudential check across the desk for me to examine and asked if I had seen it before. I replied that it looked like any Prudential check made out to a client and there was no way I could answer his question. With that, he turned the check over and asked if the signature on the back was mine. I carefully looked over the signature and told him that it appeared to be mine.

Somehow, my answer seemed to cultivate the same kind of response you would get from feeding raw meat to a hungry lion. Immediately he seemed to set up taller as he asked me if I understood it was against company policy to accept any money from a client of Prudential, for personal use. His attitude and demeanor had now caused me to turn to a defensive posture and abandoned the meek unknowing position I had taken over the last week. I quickly responded that if he was implying that I had taken any money from any client, he was strongly mistaken. He then told me that if that was the case, I needed to explain the check.

I once again examined the check to determine the date when it had been issued and I began searching my deposit books for deposits around that date. Within a few minutes, I had the answer for which I was looking. Anytime I sold a hospitalization plan, I always showed clients the need to attach a daily income hospital plan (DIHP) to cover any expenses that weren’t covered under the plan while they were in the hospital. The client had agreed, and two policies were written with the client requesting I use his dividend check from Prudential to pay the first month’s premium. This left me with a dilemma in that hospitalization plans and DIHP’s go to two different departments, but I only had one check. Therefore, I endorsed the check and deposited it, obtaining two cashiers checks, attaching one to each application. The amounts on the deposit directly corresponded to the amount of check in question.

The auditor once again examined the check, looked at my deposit book and told me that in all of his years of service he had never come across a set of books as well keep as mine. Over the last ten years that he had check, I was out of balance by only three cents. He went on to inform me that Prudential had received an anonymous report that someone in Memphis was stealing money from Prudential clients, and this check

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raised a red flag. I was amazed; I had spent a week in agony trying to determine if I had done anything wrong over something that could have been explained in about five minutes. I told him that while I appreciated his remarks, I didn’t understand the manner in which this problem had been handled. If he had told me, I was being examined for stealing from clients, I would have enjoyed the week playing golf. I went on to say, “It appears that this company assumes you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent, which seemed contradictory to the American way of life.”

While I didn’t immediately leave Prudential, my faith and desire to work for the company had diminished to the point I knew that leaving was just a matter of time. Yet, I have never felt any anger towards the company. If anything, I am thankful for what Prudential had done for me while I was there, but I was also grateful that they forced me to re-evaluate what I wanted out of life. After 18 years of service with Prudential, I returned to college to complete my graduate work and turned my energy towards the profession I have always desired in my life. It may have taken a little while to get there but at the age of 50, I began teaching at the college level at a small college in Holly Springs, Mississippi called Rust College.

Plomer Hunter Sad news about others who had helped to shape my life returned as the 1900’s came to an end, and we began a new century. While I can look back at many individuals that have helped me over the course of time, I am only able to look at a few who helped me become a man. As I journey through life, facing obstacles that have forced me to make tuff decisions, I have always been able to return to previous events to find an example that has provided some insight to use and move forward. The individuals that helped me are rare but to whom I owe more than I can ever repay. Mr. Hunter had opened the world to me in the form of words; however, he often joked about the fact that while he may have started my engine, he sometimes wished he could turn it off. We often talked at length about stories of my past, and after several hours he would find some nice way to say it was time for me to go home.

One Final Story In Memory of

Plomer Hunter January 10, 1932 – August 28, 2003 By: Richard J. Frederick 8/30/2003 This day would be more difficult than most because the trip I had to make was something I would have rather not had to do. Retuning to Hopkinsville was easy, the reason for the trip made it difficult.

Leaving class and my student behind, all I could think about was the five-hour trip I was about to make. An unplanned trip that meant I had to reschedule all the busy things that seem to take up our time. Yet, the trip had to be made; it was my way of saying goodbye to someone who has meant so much to me during my life. Some of the values that forced me to make this trip where taught to me by this man whose death made the trip necessary.

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The drive started out like so many other trips I have made in my life, to many cars driving way to slow. It seemed even worse on this day because it was the beginning of the last official holiday of the summer. Maybe a little music would help reduce the stress of the drive ahead of me. I have always liked listening to Alan Jackson because his songs seem to be so simple and yet have so much meaning.

With that, I reached down and found my newly purchased Alan Jackson CD, “Greatest Hits, Volume II” and placed it in the CD player.

I am not sure if I was actually listening to anything in particular because so many things seemed to be rushing through my mind. I had made it back to Memphis from Rust College, but Hopkinsville was still a four-hour drive and the traffic only seemed to get worse. Maybe the news stories about this being the busiest weekend of the year for traffic was right. At least it looked that way or was it just that all the cars seemed to be going where I needed to go?

For some unknown reason, a song seemed to catch my attention. Maybe it was a far too familiar tune, or maybe the words just seemed to catch my attention; whatever the reason, I became fixed on what I was listening to, Alan Jackson’s song about “The Little Man.” The song is about how uncomplicated life once was until our fast paced society created the Walmart’s of the world and forced the little man out of business in the rush-rush pace we find ourselves in today. One stop shopping! A place where you can get in and out fast, after all there are so many things to get done today. Everything seems to move to slow for us today (like this traffic) because even with one stop shopping we now get upset with the lines at the checkout. Why is it that they never seem to open another register when I am in line with to many people waiting to check out?

I am not sure if it was the reason for the trip or the song, but I started thinking of the past and a simpler time. It actually may have been a little of both that brought my mind back to Hopkinsville and my youth. All the things that seemed to bring joy to me at a younger age have somehow vanished into the fast-paced world we have made for ourselves. It is funny how one’s death seems to be the only thing that can slow us down for some brief period of time. The death of someone we know often causes us to reflect on life and our past; a chance to wonder about the future before we re-enter the rat race we call life. Why are we in such a hurry to reach the end of our lives?

I can remember when we drove downtown to accomplish all the tasks of the day; when downtown was the business district of most small towns. It was the days of Cayce Yost, Planters Bank, Cunningham’s TV, Tom Wades Clothing, and Clayton’s Jewelry Store where I purchase my senior key; stores that had meant so much to me as a young boy and seemed to be the heart of the city. Some of these businesses were forced to close as the business district shifted to Ft. Campbell Boulevard.

Still, others changed their names or just survived because when it comes down to it, Hopkinsville still has some small town qualities.

Regardless of the fate of many of these businesses, downtown Hopkinsville is not the same as it once had been. The theater down by the courthouse that showed a different movie each week is gone, but Ferrell’s still stands. Who thinks of downtown Hopkinsville without thinking of Ferrell’s? However, even Ferrell’s shows signs of age with its badly worn step by the front door. Once you could even go downtown to purchase a new Dodge or Pontiac because both dealerships were, of all places, downtown.

Everything seemed to draw you inward toward the center of town, not pushing you to the outer edges of the city. You could watch a high school football game at the Walnut Street stadium, buy your groceries from Carr’s Superette, where I got my first job, and get your gas from the Texaco filling station on the corner. A real filling station! However, even the filling stations have died over time, a place where your gas was pumped for you, your oil was checked and changed, and your windshield got washed by an attendant, all with a thank you and without you leaving the comfort of your car. All this was done by people who were not in a hurry to see you leave but by people, whom you felt truly cared.

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The town even has a different makeup today than it did back in my youth as the Walmart’s and Lowe’s slowly take over. The city started on Ft Campbell Blvd by the Hammons Moving & Storage building. Back then, the boulevard was a place for the youth to cruise on Friday nights and show off their cars. The city limits sign on Lafayette Road stood at the railroad crossing by a small tavern, which sat down in a hollow. An imaginary line that determined who lived in the city and who lived in the county. This fact caused me to have to take a bus to high school, when there was a new high school just a little more than a block from where I lived. The city high school was located in the county, but county residents had to attend the county high school while city residents went to the city high school located in the county. Sometimes you are forced to laugh at the decisions of city leaders.

While the beginning of my life wasn’t something to write home about, for some reason things have always seemed to work out well for me. Moving to 3240 Lafayette Rd, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, when I was 11 years old, worked out to be another of those right moves. Even if it was something out of my control, moving to Kentucky played a significant role in my personal development. It was during that time that I learned the values that made me whom I am today; when neighbors cared about neighbors, which always meant that you had more than one set of parents watching you.

Neighbors! On the side of our house closest to the city limits, lived a quiet couple that had no children and seemed to keep more to them self. However, the same couldn’t be said about the neighbors on the other side. Mrs. Hunter, a woman who reminded me of the Energizer Bunny because she kept going all the time lived on the right side of my family’s house. Beside her lived her son and his wife along with their four children. With the Hunter’s four children and my parent’s six children, things may have changed forever for that section of Lafayette Rd. I don’t see how that piece of property can ever handle that much action again.

When we moved in, the first attraction that caused me to want to get to know the new neighbors wasn’t the fact that they had four kids. No, it was the go-cart that seemed to scream out to me and invite me over. It was there I met him for the first time. My parents may have already said hello to him, but children didn’t spend much time talking to adults when I was young; however, he was the one thing that stood between me and that go-cart. Mr. Hunter, and adult, one of things most kids attempt to avoid. Yet, to my surprise, I seemed to be able to talk to him even if he was an adult.

Maybe it was because he was a teacher who taught young children or maybe it was because I just liked to talk. I seem to do much better at talking than I do at listening. A fact that may have caused him to wish I hadn’t found him so easy to talk too. However, for now it wasn’t what I was thinking about.

It didn’t take long before he allowed me to ride with him on the go-cart. A track had been carved into his and his mother’s backyards caused by countless trips driving the go-cart around in a circle on that small piece of ground. After a few laps, he let me drive all by myself. That alone would have made him a friend for life, but it was only the beginning of some magical influence which allowed me talk to him when I was unable to talk to others.

Now I don’t want to give anyone the impression that we had become friends. After all, I was only eleven, and he was an ADULT! Worse yet, I would soon learn that not only was he a teacher, he would be my teacher. In some way, it made it a little easier when I showed up at South Christian Elementary School because I already knew someone; Mr. Hunter was my reading teacher.

It didn’t take long for me to wish that maybe I didn’t know him. He was the hardest teacher I ever had, and he lived next door. This fact meant he reported to my parents, which was a fact that I certainly didn’t think was any to cool. However, it may be the sole reason why I am able to sit here and write today. For the first time, someone made me see words and learn how they went together.

One thing Mr. Hunter carefully worked on was our spelling. Spell check is the greatest thing man ever came up with because I have always hated spelling. Mr. Hunter may have opened my eyes to the world of reading and writing, but I still hate spelling! In the larger picture of life, I am glad he was one of my teachers because today I write short stories as a way of expressing myself. I have found it

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an easy way to allow those around me to enter my world as I convey my thoughts. Someday my daughters and their children may enjoy reading about where they came from.

How strange is it to move in next door to someone who would turn out to be one of your teachers?

Stranger still is the fact he was a preacher. Sometimes I wonder if God thinks I need a little more guidance than others do or maybe he knows I do. When it came to life choices or how I should conduct myself, Mr. Hunter always seemed to play some role in my make up. At a younger age, when I drew a line in the sand between God and myself, he wasn’t afraid to tell me, I was wrong. Yet he did it in a way that a parent tells a child, unlike others who condemned me without understanding why.

Then he just seemed to sit back and wait; waiting for the prodigal son to return home.

Most of us would have thought that would have been enough for someone who was just a neighbor to do for someone else. Yet, even after he taught me in school and taught me in life, he went even further helping me in life. It was both him and his wife who took care of my first daughter during the days where both my wife and I had to work to make ends meet. At this time, he was still driving a school bus, and he always allowed my daughter to ride in the bus as he parked it behind his home, something that she still remembers today. It was as if he had found a new go-cart to attract another Frederick. She felt so grown up at the age of four because she got to ride the bus like the big kids, even if it was just for an extremely short distance. It is easy to see how she felt sitting in the seat behind Mr. Hunter on that bus much as I had done on the go-cart many years earlier.

I also felt his influence over me when deciding to become a teacher. I always wanted to teach; however, standing in front of people makes most men weak in the knees, and I can’t say I was any different. I had an ability to communicate, but no one made me use it until he did. Before I could say, no he had me teaching the adult bible class at church and of all things, preaching from time to time.

I can still remember him watching and listening to me the first time I stood behind the pulpit and preached. It was as if I had returned to the sixth grade, and he was grading me on my performance.

If the truth be told, I only stood behind the pulpit that first Sunday so that no one could see how badly my knees where shaking. However, through his encouragement after those first few sermons, I was able to come out from that place of hiding and talk to everyone as easy as I talked to him. When I saw how easy it was to talk to others about things I had discovered, I knew I wanted to teach. As I have told so many others, teaching is the greatest job on the face of the earth, a place where I am paid to do the thing I like the most, talking where my audience has to listen.

I was once asked how I managed to do such a good job raising two daughters. I told that person I had excellent examples to show me the way, or maybe I was just lucky. However, I don’t believe luck had much to do with it. Men like Mr. Hunter instilled in me great values. Some of the beliefs I developed in the classroom, some came by way of my parents, and still others by neighbors who cared about all those around them. Lessons learned about making time for your children and the children of others.

These things made it easy to make good decisions and make time for my daughters. It was how I learned right from wrong and the things that matter most in life. Things that I have passed on to my daughters like listening to someone who just loves to tell a story.

If all I learned from Mr. Hunter was how to speak and write than I could say my life was better for it.

However, that was only the beginning of his influence over me. My life had taken many turns, and for some unknown reason he has played a part in many of the things I have found that make my life complete. I know that even in death he will have some impact on what I do and who I am, not because he is here to listen to my stories anymore, but because he listened to them so many times before.

I arrived in Hopkinsville to say goodbye to a friend and found that so many of my friends were there doing the same. It seems only fitting to know that I wasn’t the only person he had touched. When I think of the old days in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, I will look back on the time I learned from a neighbor who cared about those around him. How much different the world would look today if we

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all just took the time to care about those around us. If I am a good teacher, perhaps it is because someone took the time to let me drive his go-cart and for taking the time to listen to my stories.

Like so many of the men I have known in my life, the time I had with each was far to limited, and before I knew it, they were gone. In so many ways, life seems to cheat us as if it doesn’t want us learn too much, to fast. Far too often, we are caught up in our own lives, and we fail to see the wealth of knowledge that those who came before us bring to the table. It is only through the lives of those who have gone before that we understand the real lessons of life.

I have faced things in my life that have caused me to question the faith of men and at times the existence of God. When my sister had a child out of wedlock in the mid 1970’s, she asked the church for forgiveness. They listened to her request, but I didn’t see any real forgiveness as she often sat at church in a row by herself before she stopped going to church. If this is what being a Christian was about, then the church wasn’t for me. It was at that point, I left the church, but for some unknown reason God had not left me.

In 1979, my first daughter was born, and I began to realize that something was missing in my life. My wife and mother convinced me to return to the church and to God. However, I have never been able to do something half-hearted, so I went to God in prayer. I asked God to help me understand why man often fails to understand what he wants us to do and to show me what he wanted from me. I only tell you this to help you know what one friend has meant to me in my life.

Frank Edwin Morris We met when he was a young man, and I was still in high school.

He drove a Sunbeam bread truck and delivered bread to the store where I was working. However, this wasn’t the first place I had met him. The first place I met him was at the Cadiz Church of Christ where I had gone with a friend. We often met at a local church on months with a fifth Sunday to sing. We both led singing at the church we each attended, so we often found ourselves at these events. The common bonds we had made him easy to talk to, but if you ever met him, even you would find it easy to talk to him. His smile, his easy-going nature, his passion for life, just seemed to make him that kind of person.

Four years in the Navy caused a temporary break in our friendship as the paths of our lives went in different directions. I returned from the Navy but we still went to different churches. The events of my life had altered so many things for me, and I had become a far different person than the one I was when our paths first crossed. In talking with friends, I had learned that a drunk driver had killed his son in an auto accident. I wondered why it seemed that good people are the ones who suffer the most in life. To this day, I believe that our paths crossed again because of that prayer asking God to help me realize how he expected me to serve as a Christian in such an unforgiving world.

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I chose to return to church at Little River Church of Christ, a small country congregation outside of Hopkinsville, Ky. Plomer Hunter was the preacher there but who do you think was one of the first person I met there, Frank Morris. He was leading the singing, and his presence gave me a friend that I could talk with. However, what I learned about him after we met would help me grow as a man. You see, he didn’t react the way I thought he should have after a drunk driver had killed his son. Instead of seeking some sort of revenge, he went to jail to see this individual, forgiving him, teaching him about Christ, and aiding in his acceptance of Christ. God had answered my prayer by showing me a real act of forgiveness.

If the only thing Frank taught me was how to forgive, I could say it was good that our paths crossed, but he meant much more to me as a friend. Yes, I had learned a valuable lesson, but as in life, all things change. I moved to Memphis but often my family stayed with Frank and his wife when I returned to Hopkinsville as a guest speaker at the Little River church. Frank and I often played golf, if you can call what he did as playing golf, and then it happened. He learned he had ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, one of the cruelest diseases known to man. ALS robs you of each muscle in your body one by one. A disease that allows you to think, to love, to feel, and yet you lose the ability to express any of these feelings as you lose your ability to move or speak. You become trapped in a body that no longer works, but your mind is still able to functions. The victims find themselves trapped in a body that no longer works until even their heart (another muscle) gives way and they die.

Again, he taught me something about life and its true meaning. While I had often wondered why God would allow so many bad things to happen to such a good person, I never saw him question God. If Job was alive and Frank could speak, I would have loved to hear their conversation. Frank never expressed remorse, he only wanted to make the best use of the time he had left with his wife. Time passed, and the disease began to take its toll. I had learned from friends that his speech had gone, and the only movement he had left was with his head and eyes. It seemed if anyone should curse God and die, it would be Frank and yet his faith never wavered.

I returned to Hopkinsville one weekend to do something I had put off for to long. I had to drop by and see my friend at least one more time. The only problem was, what do you say to a friend who can no longer speak, and you know is reaching the end of their life? How can I even begin to comprehend how he feels? Yet, I had to go by and see him regardless of the difficulty; I owed him that much because of what he had done for me. I tried to find a way out, to let him be at peace with himself, but when I called his wife to ask if he was up to having visitors, I didn’t get the answer I was looking for. I told her, I would understand if he didn’t feel like having guests, almost hoping she would say it wouldn’t be a good idea at that time.

However, that wasn’t the case as she invited my wife and me over.

We arrived to find that Elizabeth had him sitting up in his wheel chair, and I saw a smile come to his face as we entered. While he was only able to move his head from side to side, his eyes seemed to put me at ease. He was still the same person I always found easy to talk too. Soon I had said something he felt was funny and his head rocked backwards and I could see a smile in his eyes and heard an awkward laugh, due to

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his condition. He truly was the friend I had grown to love over the course of so many years and his wife knows I tell only a few people that I love them.

As we talked, we were interrupted by a phone call. Someone had called and told his wife that Franks brother’s mother-in-law had just died. It wasn’t unexpected, she had been in failing health for some time, but at the news, I watched this grown man who was struggling for life, weep openly. Someone who was facing his own mortality didn’t see his own pain but felt the pain that he knew his brother’s family was facing. Before we left that day, the smile seemed to return to his face as if he had wanted to put us at ease. I had come to comfort a friend, and I found him comforting me. As I drove off, I was once again reminded of Jim Valvono’s speech. In the space of our short stay, I had watched a friend show me the true meaning of life, I had watched him laugh, I had watched him cry, and I knew for him that was truly a full day.

I had gone to see a friend whom I felt must be questioning God and walked away in absolute amazement. There seemed to be nothing my friend could do to help me anymore it was my turn to help him and again he strengthened me. Again, he taught me and helped me grow as a man. I expected to see a man questioning God and what I found was a man at peace with himself and with God. Since his passing, I am no longer able to sit and worry about the little things that seem to take over our lives. During our last visit, I watched a friend make all the problems of this world seem small in comparison and yet he still enjoyed life.

Maslow said that man has needs and that the needs fall in a set order. Our first need is for the basic things in life like air, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Our ultimate need is self-actualization or the need to believe our life has meant something. Today I can tell you, I had a friend who was able to reach the point of self-actualization. His life meant something and every person who ever knew him can honestly say their lives are better because they met him.

A Letter to a Friend By: Richard J. Frederick December 29, 2002 To: Frank and Elizabeth Morris A Wonderful Day Have you ever found yourself lost in thought while driving somewhere? The cares of this world sometime seem to overwhelm us, and we find ourselves arriving at a destination wondering how we got there. Did I run over anyone on the way, or did I stop at all the stop signs and red lights? It is a miracle we don’t have more accidents than we do.

Each morning seems to be the same. So many things are happening, and so many things need to be handled. It seems truly remarkable how quickly our thought allow us to slip out of our current situation, shifting from one moment to the next without any real sense of what we are currently doing. Each day I find myself driving to work and like so many of us, lost in thought as if somehow I can imagine the cares of this life away.

Why I usually choose to pray when I am driving is beyond me. Does God even hear me during this time when so many things seem to come across my mind? Sometimes I wonder if I even have the time for God or if he has the time for me. Yet somehow, I believe this is one of the few times during the day

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when I think the distractions of the world can’t take over or is this just wishful thinking? It seems at times as if even my mind is in a battle for my time. Have I honestly made time for God? Sometimes I wonder if I am lost in a conversation with God, or if I am splitting the time between him and the problems of this world. Each request to God triggers another thought and the battle rages on. Am I talking to God, or am I more concerned with the problems I am facing?

This morning was different in so many ways. What a glorious day for the beginning of spring. The sky was overcast, but it was not raining. The temperature was the highest it had been in some time, somewhere in the low seventies. It was a time of renewing as the trees showed signs of new life, and the first flowers of spring opened their blooms. A time when you could put down the window of your car as you drove along; allowing you to take in the smells of the earth as it seemed to come back to life, and you could feel the warm breeze on your face. Spring had truly arrived.

Like each morning, it was also a time for prayer. Today was a time to ask God to help two families extremely close to me: one a friend who is trapped inside a body that no longer functions, and the other a dear neighbor who has serious health issues. There were many other things I wanted to ask God for but these two people have been heavy on my heart lately.

While asking God to do something I know that he could do if he wanted, I found my mind once again dashing off to find other answers. Why do some people suffer more than others suffer, or do we just not pay attention to the problems of others? What good plan can God have for allowing us to suffer?

What is it that God has in store for each of us and what does he want from me? Then I remembered that I was talking to God, and I had to get back to the subject of my prayer. Again, I ask God to strengthen me and help me grow as an individual.

My mind somehow turned in another direction, and I found myself wondering if God was actually listening to me. Does God even hear me? I closed my pray by asking God again to strengthen me because now even I was questioning my conviction in what I was asking. It was at that moment one of the most dramatic events in my relationship with God took place. As if by some overpowering force, the rays of the sun shone through the cracks in the clouds in a series of rays that stretched from the heavens to the earth. Narrow bands of light broke through the clouds, each getting wider as they approached earth. A powerful show of light; as if God wanted to know why someone like me was questioning him. Do you know who you are talking to? Do you remember the places you have seen of my vast creation? Did you watch my mighty display of power in the storm that passed over your house this weekend? Can you turn the gloom of winter into the fragrances of spring? Why are you questioning me?

The sight alone was overpowering, but at that moment as I had finished my pray and was turning up the radio, the song I heard almost overwhelmed me. The words were so powerful that they could have only been an answer from God telling me that he was listening, and he was in control.

I can only imagine what it will be like When I walk by your side I can only imagine what my eyes will see When your face is before me I can only imagine Surrounded by your glory What will my heart feel Will I dance for you Jesus Or in awe of you be still Will I stand in your presence Or to my knees will I fall Will I sing hallelujah Will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine

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I can only imagine I can only imagine when that day comes And I find myself standing in the Son I can only imagine when all I will do Is forever, forever worship you I can only imagine I can only imagine I can only imagine when all I will do Is forever, forever worship you I can only imagine (Words by: Bart Millard and song by Mercyme) I wouldn’t have been able to tell you who wrote this song or the singer’s name, but I was forced to go out and buy the CD, as if by some magical force. I had heard the song before; my daughter had first introduced it to me. The song had meaning then, but now it reached inside of me and touched me. I guess God felt I needed to hear the words one more time in order to fully understand their true meaning.

While I am not the type person that believes that God comes down and talks to us anymore, he sent his Son and gave us the Bible to do that, I do believe that God answers prayers. Sometimes he just expects us to open our hearts to hear what he has to say. It is so easy to get wrapped up in what we want to hear that we miss what he is telling us. I would have felt significantly better if someone would have called me and said; you aren’t going to believe this, but everyone has fully recovered; however, that didn’t happen. Often, as you have already read above, I wonder why God even listens to me; the two people that I was praying for are far better examples of what God expects from us.

I still don’t know what God has in store for those that mean so much to me, but I can rest easier today. I can rest easier knowing that regardless of what God has in store for them; someday we will all be with him. Yes, I can only imagine what it will be like to walk with all those who have touched my life in some way, hand in hand forever. To walk in a place so glorious while talking with men who suffered so much for Christ. To stand in the presences of Peter and Paul would be overwhelming in itself, but to be in the presence of God, it is hard to imagine. In a place where there will be no sorrow and no more questions. Yes, I can only imagine.

If you have ever wondered if God is listening, I hope this little incident in my life has helped you.

Please remember Frank Morris and Francis Dunkin in your prayers.

God bless you, Richard A few short months after that pray I was called with the news that Frank had died. In some ways, I was glad he could now walk again with his son and those who had gone before him. In other ways, I knew I would miss his gentle demeanor and friendly advice. However, I had agreed to perform his funeral and now my thoughts turned to what I was going to say.

Frank Edwin Morris June 6, 1941 – December 16, 2006 In Memories of a Friend, a Loving Father, a Devoted Husband, and a Christian 220

While driving home one day I noticed a hearse lead by a motorcycle patrolman approaching, so I pulled off to the side of the road to show my respect for the departed allowing the hearse to enter into the gave yard. At first, I was impressed with the number of cars that seemed to be following the hearse. It seemed as if this was a well-respected individual; however, things were not as they had first appeared. When the hearse made the turned into the gave yard none of the other cars followed. They were just staying behind the hearse to show the same respect for this individual that I had done by pulling over.

I pulled completely off the road and stayed there watching as the funeral workers unloaded the casket and lowered it into the ground without a single prayer and only one person there to say goodbye. My thoughts now turned to how lonely a life this person must have lived that only one individual cared enough to attend his or her funeral. I almost wanted to cross the street to ask the only person standing there, what kind of life had this person had lived, and give her my support.

I wanted to tell you this story so that you could see the stark contrast in what that individual meant to those who were left behind and what the life of Frank Edwin Morris has meant to each of us. The fact that so many are here today is a testament to his life. As I pondered over what I would say today that would in some small way do justice to the life Frank lived, I was once again reminded of that lonely funeral. How could someone spend their time here on this earth and only touch a single life, while others, such as Frank, touched the lives of almost everyone he met?

Those of you that know me know that I have spent most of my adult life obtaining one college degree after another. To me there are so many questions that I would like to find the answer too.

Like what makes us the men and women we become? Surely becoming a man or woman must have something to do with more than the mere act of turning some magical age. Christ was yet a child in age when he attracted others around him to listen to what he had to say. What are the ingredients that mold our lives in such a way we mean something to those around us?

The simplest answer might be the order or preference we give to the things that consume our lives.

So today, I want to talk to you about Frank Morris in the terms of his priorities, using the events that so many of us have used to describe Frank and why he was important to us. I have read and heard far too many examples to use them all so if I do not use an example of how Frank touched your life, store it, treasure it, and remember it as I will remember all the things Frank taught me.

As a Professor of Management, I am often been asked to conduct seminars for students on interviewing techniques. I always start by asking the audience what are the two most important things that employers are looking for in their employees. The answers always center on things like education, experience, and skills. Most are shocked when I say no, that the research suggests our ability to communicate with others and how well we fit in with those around us are the two most important things employers are looking for in new employees. Knowing this, it is easy to use Frank as an example of an individual with these qualities.

As we reach our golden years of retirement, how many of us have been rewarded with the symbolic gold watch? While this is a symbol of our service, how many of us can clearly say they have demonstrated an ability to always communicate well with others, and they fit in with those around them? How many can say that not only the organization you worked for but the customers you served were willing to honor you with a feature of your service placed in the local newspaper?

Frank was so honored. One line in the article caught my attention because it accurately describes Frank, “He long ago ceased to be just the UPS man and became a friend. People have known they could count on him.� Can those around us count on us?

Again, I ask students how they measure success. The answers often revolve around money, position, and power. If you are not a millionaire or the President of a Fortune 500 company, you must have failed in life. Frank did not measure success at work in terms of how much money he had

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accumulated or the position he held; he measured success by his ability to do the very best job he could for his employer and the customers he served.

Today so many of us are only concerned with what we can achieve for ourselves. Frank demonstrated his desire to do the best job he could for those who employed him, to give each employer an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. This became apparent to UPS when they tried to recruit him. Even through, he wanted the job dearly, after interviewing for the job, when he was asked if he could start the next day, Frank responded by telling them that he couldn’t leave his present employer in that manner.

How many of us would have left our current employer without a singles days notice to get the job we genuinely wanted? Frank could not do this. UPS was so impressed by his honesty that they held the position for him while he gave his current employer two weeks notice and two weeks of quality work.

Frank showed that a simple route driver, who was willing to do the job right, treating those he served with respect could reach a level of success many of us may not achieve in our lifetime. He showed all of us that there is honor in simply doing a job well.

Frank was a friend and he showed me what being a friend means. We laughed together and cried together, and he taught me one should care about those around them. I was impressed with Frank the first day I met him. I was about sixteen years old and working at a grocery store where I knew him as the Sunbeam Bread man. I soon found out that we both led the singing at the church where we attended. I may have been younger than Frank, but he always took the time to talk to me. At the monthly singings, he always made it a point to say something to me. It seems that each time I needed someone in my life to point me in the right direction, I looked up, and there was Frank.

I always knew he was a friend because when I needed someone to listen; he listened, when I needed support, he lent me his shoulder, when I needed to hear something that I didn’t want to hear, he told it to me with compassion and you knew he cared. He knew how to laugh at himself and showed me how to laugh at myself while enjoying life.

When I left the church because I felt someone had hurt a member of my family, he taught me how to forgive. When I spoke publicly, he always listened and always encouraged me. I have always seemed to take things too seriously and viewed winning as the goal. When I was too intense with my daughter as her golf instructor and coach, he took me aside and told me, I could be pushing her away from me and talked about the harm that could cause. This led to a long conversation with my daughter and an unforgettable senior year of golf, but most importantly a daughter that is a close friend who has truly become a woman. When my dad died, I knew he cared because he was there and was willing to listen.

Moreover, did I tell you that Frank played golf? In fact, Frank was the only professional among a strange group of four of us that played golf each time we all got together: Frank, Willie, my daughter, and me. Did I tell you that Frank played golf? I may have learned many things from Frank, but golf was not one of them. He was only a professional because I often felt that the owners of the golf course would have paid us money if we had played golf somewhere else. Yet, I never met someone who truly understood how to enjoy playing golf more than Frank. He never got angry, never threw a club, he never saw himself as someone other than a weekend golfer, never said anything that could be considered bad, he just enjoyed the game and the success of those around him.

If he were just my friend, he still would have impressed me with his kindness, but he was a friend to so many. I have read the stories, so many of you wrote to Frank on his 58th birthday.

“For one, to call you FRIEND is such a blessing, your kindness and thoughtfulness seems without end.” – Mary Ann Brockwell

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I am not sure you could know Frank second hand but here is a person that for a long time had only known about Frank through a close friend. Yet, Frank had such an impact on people that he even touched the lives of people he had not met.

“I am so glad that I no longer feel that I only know you second- hand.” – Lisa Frank always enjoyed life and the fellowship of friends.

“We have shared a lot of meals together. You and Elizabeth have always been so hospitable and had us over for meals. One occasion stands out – You were living in the country near Pee Dee – Richard was passed a bowl of varnished rolls to place to the side. He mistook them for a bowl of rolls meant for the meal and before anyone could say a word, he took a big bite out of one. Everyone just rolled with laughter.” - Richard and Linda Rider I was there and that was funny but Frank never made you feel like he was laughing at you, but with you because he could also laugh at himself.

“We were thinking about some of the things that we have done together and had a good laugh.

We will never forget the night that you dropped the breaking plow in your driveway and turned a goodly portion of your new driveway.” - Dale and Lou Ann Rogers It seems that Frank farmed about like he played golf. Dale and Lou Ann went on to say they valued his friendship.

“Frank is loved and respected by those who know him. He is one of a few people I know that only good things have been said about. Frank has a knack of saying the right thing at the right time.” – Rosebud “Our family has truly been blessed because of the kindness and love you have shown toward us.” - Sandra Ellis “I am a very fortunate person to have so many good friends and that includes you and Elizabeth. For that fact, I am thankful daily. Some people go through life never knowing that blessing. You are a wonderful example in both the good times and the bad times. You are generous. You are perceptive. You know how to make people feel good about themselves. You know how to laugh with your friends. You know how to cry with you friends. You know how to forgive. Most important you know how to love each friend in a way that helps us the most.” – Judy McCutcheon There are many more examples but time prohibits me from listing them all.

Frank was a true family man, a loving father and devoted husband. Again, I often ask students to provide me with some of their practical life examples that relate to what we are discussing. I am often amazed at the stories about how some students were raised. If Ted hadn’t died as a young man, I am sure that he could tell you about some of the good times he had with his father. I often measure my success as a parent by what others say about my daughters. Everyone that spoke of Ted always talked about how polite he was, in a letter to Frank; Mary Ann Brockwell described Ted as someone: “Who was always kind to me; always treating me just like his kid sister, never letting on that he’d rather I run on and do something else with kids his own age.”

It seems that Ted had turned into the same type person as his father. There is a country song about a father watching his son’s behavior, and he asks, “Where did you learn to act like that?” His son’s response was he learned it from him because he wanted to be just like him. Even if you never knew Frank as a father, just knowing how Ted turned out should tell you all you need to know. Elizabeth

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proudly points out that Frank was a loving and devoted father, someone that took an interest in his son and spent countless hours with him.

Frank cared so much for everyone in his extended family. Once when I was visiting him long after ALS had taken away his ability to speak I was touched by his reaction when learning of the death of on one of his brother’s family members. There sat a man who couldn’t speak or move and yet he openly wept when he learned of the troubles facing his brother.

Frank was the husband to Elizabeth for 43 years and loved her dearly. The fact that he lived as long as he did with the cruelest of diseases is a testimony of his love for his wife. In all the years I have known both Frank and Elizabeth, I have never heard a cross word from either of them.

Elizabeth has allowed me to share with you a letter she wrote to Frank: I love you in more ways and for more reasons than there are words to describe. I love you for never letting a day begin or end without telling me you love me. I love you for trying to make me believe that I could do anything, when I feared most things. I love you for the goodness with which you have always treated me. I love you for being such a good provider for your family—working long and hard to make sure we had things that we needed and wanted. As the song goes, “I love you for a hundred thousand reasons, but most of all I love you ‘cause you’re you’. What a difference you have made in my life.

Finally, Frank loved God. If I had never read the story of Job, and were told the story today without using names, I would have made the connection to Frank. Yet just as Job had done, Frank may have questioned God, but he never turned his back on God or blamed him for things that had be felled him. In First John Chapter Two starting with verse three we read: If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. However, if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God: Whoever says that God lives in him must live as Jesus lived.

Frank lived as Christ lived. When I teach business classes, I usually tell students that organizations often benchmark themselves against other organizations. Benchmarking is the process of copying the methods of successful organizations as a means of improving. Just like organizations that use the benchmarking process, I have become who I am by following the best examples of those around me. One close friend of mine taught me how to be a successful businessperson. Many of my leadership skills I learned from my father. However, the person who has taught me how to forgive and how to live like a Christian was Frank Morris, but I am not the only one Frank touched this way. Here are some of the things others have said about him: “Frank’s character is recognized by all who know him and it reinforces the truth that a man is a living example of his religion and his belief in Jesus Christ.” – Todd County Judge Executive and Elkton City Major “I can’t help but think of how excited and proud our Heavenly Father must be of devoted Christians like you. I want to pattern my life after the example you have shown to trust God, live with love in your heart, and strive to make heaven my home.” – Chris and Mary Ann Brockwell “Frank’s example has always been one that encourages me.” – Dimple Sills “Frank has always been a person that I admire and look up to. If I had to choose one person that I could be like, it would be Frank.” – James Ellis Young

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“I think your greatest achievement is the thousands of lives you and Elizabeth have touched because you were willing to share with the world your sorrow and your recovery due to Ted’s death. What an example you did set! I was amazed at you at the time…I am still amazed.” – Judy McCutcheon There comes a time in each of our lives. When we wonder if those around us will remember us, or will we be as the individual who only had one person willing to take the time and say farewell. Diamond Rio produced a song that says there are more than Angels that live among us, that when we die we continue to touch the lives of those around us. How exciting it would be if each of us could say we made a difference in someone’s life. I start each day by looking into the mirror and telling myself that today, someone can honestly say their life is better because they met me. I do this to remind myself that my purpose on this earth is to help others not just myself. Saturday night, I looked in the mirror and told myself that today, I am certainly better off because I met Frank Morris.

To those who have given up their time today to say goodbye to a family member, friend, or brother in Christ, I can only remind you of the lyrics in another Diamond Rio song: “God only cries for the living because the living are left to carry on.” Today the Angels in heaven are rejoicing while we mourn the loss of a close friend. I am still not sure I can tell you what turns us into men and women, but if you want an example, let me take the time to tell you about my friend - Frank Edwin Morris.

Shortly before Frank died, I lost another friend. The Dunkin’s had become our neighbors after we had our house built. They were the new kids on the block, but I am not sure you could call them kids. They lived next door to us for about ten years but somehow once we met them, it seemed as if we had known them forever. He was a little man full of life and loved to travel, and she was a silver hair angle that I never saw without a smile on her face. Even at her funeral, she seemed to be smiling at me. I am not sure the undertaker had to perform any extraordinary magic with her makeup when preparing her for the viewing; her smile was just part of her.

Flowers By: Richard J. Frederick

In Memory of Frances J. Dunkin Thank you for touching our lives Spending time in a garden is my way of relaxing. It takes me away from the problems of the world and allows me to spend time with the beauty of nature. A time when I am able to “stop and smell the roses” as we hurry through life. To watch something grow under your care, gives you a sense of utter pride. This year like so many before it, I used the return of spring as a time to work in my garden and to plant the flowers that would adorn my yard. I had spent the last two weeks in the garden planting flowers, pulling weeds, and watching old flowers come back to life. Spring seems to be a magical time of the year.

She came into my family’s life a little over ten years ago and yet it seems as if I have known her forever. Why wouldn’t I? The cheerful woman with a beautiful smile, that rare flower that seems to bloom all year and only brings joy into the lives of those she touched. She had become almost a

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member of our family over time, but we became friends the first time we met. I do not remember a single day when she didn’t have the time to talk or to tell you about the good things you had accomplished. I never met her when she wasn’t more concerned about the individuals and things in their lives more than the things in her life. Even when the end seemed to be at hand, she always asked me first about my daughter, and how she was doing at college, showing little concern with the pain that she was facing.

We met in 1990. They were the older couple that purchased the house next door; the grandparents my children were missing because we did not come from this area. It is hard not to remember each Christmas they lived next door, my daughters always took a plate of cookies over to them. Each time she sent them back with a little something she came up with that seemed to be the highlight their day.

If you said, “Yes but it was Christmas”, then I would have to say that you didn’t know her. She always found ways to rejoice in the accomplishments of those around her, giving of herself on each special day, be it Christmas, your birthday, winning your first golf tournament, having something written about you in paper, or just a new job. She knew it all! She became a part of the lives of the people that knew her.

She was like the flowers I planted for her under her bedroom window called Early Morning Sunrise.

Not because of their cheerful yellow color but because they seem to grow everywhere they touch.

They became a part of their surroundings; she became a part of us. Each spring she always took the time to tell me how much the flowers I had planted for her brighten up their yard.

The Dunkin’s were in the twilight of their lives; a period of time when the children have developed their own lives, and you find yourself free to travel and travel they did! Sometimes I wondered who spent more time parking in their garage, them or us. You see while they were gone we parked one of our vehicles in their garage so that strangers would think that someone was home. However, I am not sure you could fool anyone that knew them because if the motor home was gone, so where they.

Even the trips that took them away for months at a time seemed to bring some joy to each of us.

While it was never fun to see them leave, it was fun to catch up on the events of their travels and what had happened while they were gone. To see her standing there, giving directions to her husband as he backed the motor home into its designated location when they returned was a real treat. I always wondered how they kept from running over everything in sight. Then the stories would start, but she never failed to tell me how beautiful the yard looked and thanked me for taking care of it.

I could tell you stories about her husband, but that is a story for another day. Today my heart and thoughts are full of the things I know about her, and the things each of us will miss about her. She took considerable pleasure in the flowers that I planted for her each year. Her husband was not much of a gardener. I once told her my job was made harder because I had to find flowers that looked good and were Mr. Dunkin proof. It seems that he had developed a knack of killing everything that grew.

Each year I added a few more flowers to the plant beds and each year she talked of the joy she had in seeing the rainbow of colors they produced. I think the thing I will miss the most is the joy she saw in the flowers. She was so happy that she had flowers.

This year the flowers seemed to speak the loudest. It was as if they knew something was wrong and they wanted to look their best in case she returned. This year before the flowers could come back to life she was taken to the hospital, never again to return home. Each flower even though they were transplanted from my garden, with its rich black soil, seemed to grow bigger and brighter than mine.

Each flower was twice the size of mine and had three times the blooms. Maybe they wanted to be seen from a distance because I am sure she is looking at them today and the smile has returned to her face.

Yesterday God looked down on his flower garden and picked one of the best roses to adorn his kingdom. I wish I knew why he chose her because we will all surely miss her; however, each time I see my daughters brighten someone’s day and care a little more for those around them, I know I will see her. Each time I see a flower, I will be reminded of her smile and the joy she filled our lives with.

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With that, I find peace with Gods decision to take another flower home. If each of us could only say that we made the world a little better than we found it, how full our lives would be. Frances Dunkin certainly led an extraordinary life and I thank God for the time he allowed me to know her.

There is no way I could talk about those who have had an impact on my life without speaking about my mother. I can honestly say that I don’t know where I would be in life today had it not been for the one person who taught me how to love and the true meaning of love. However, when I speak of my mother I do so in the form of my stepmother who is and will always be mom. Dorothy B. Gunther was my birth mother, but I have learned in life that it takes more than carrying someone for nine months to make a mother. A mother is someone who picks you up when you have fallen, comforts you during your first real heartache, is willing to correct you when you are wrong yet always standing beside you, and someone who can tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. Dorothy Gunther may have brought me into this world, but Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick is my mother. Emma is one of those rare individuals that can look at what others have thrown away while understanding their true value and with a little care bring them back to life. During my life, I have never referred to my stepmother as anything other than my mother, and I don’t care to do so now, I only use the term stepmother for clarity.

The fact that she even came into my life only strengthens my belief in divine guidance. I have never been sure how my real mother actually felt about any of her children. She had children from three of her five marriages, but she never took the time to raise any of them. Most of my younger life, I questioned which one of parents was actually at fault for the earlier experiences in my life. Almost as if I needed the answer in order to make my life perfect. To my surprise, finding the answer did little to improve my life, it only forced me to deal with events that I wasn’t prepared to handle. And so it was when my real mother called answering the question that had haunted me throughout life. For that, I am thankful even if it wasn’t what I actually wanted to hear.

I had just graduated from college and now understood what it meant to have something so small and precious depend on you, with the birth of my first daughter. I had just sat down after spending a few hours in the yard with a small bundle of energy that could somehow turn any day into pure joy with a simple hug, or a glance from her enormous brown eyes. My wife worked gallantly to regain some control over our daughter caused by my failure to maintain any sort of discipline as we played in the back yard. As I sat laughing at my wife and her attempts to calm our daughter down, the phone rang. I walked over to the wall in the best of moods and answered the phone.

To say I wasn’t expecting a call from the person on the other end of the phone would have been an understatement. I stood in total disbelief as the voice simply said, “Richard, this is Bee your mother.” I am not sure how I responded to what I had just heard because so many thoughts filled my head. I had just heard a voice that I hadn’t heard for over 29 years of my life. Yet, she talked to me as if we had known each other all our lives and she was just checking in on me. All the things I wanted to ask her had somehow escaped me as she attempted to tell her life story since that day she made the decision to give me away. I managed to tell her that I was now married, and she was a grandmother, but that seemed to go over her head as if her agenda

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was to let me know about what had happened in her life. I had told her, she was a grandmother, and she didn’t even ask what we had named her granddaughter.

After she had managed to tell me everything that she wanted to say, she told me that she was going to pay for my sisters to fly out to Washington to visit her, but she didn’t have enough money to pay for me to come. I told her that I understood, and it was neat hearing from her. Then she asked me if it would be all right if she came down to Kentucky to visit with me next year. I told her that would be fine and with that she said goodbye and hung up. My wife had picked up another phone and was listening to our conversation, and she asked me what the call meant to me once it had ended. I told her that I wasn’t sure because I didn’t even fully understand what just happened, but I knew what I had to do. I called my mother and told her that my real mother had just called me and wanted to come down to Kentucky to visit me. My mother just told me that she knew she would be calling because she had called her first and asked for my phone number. Then she asked me what that meant towards our relationship. I told her, nothing. I only had one mother, and that she would always be that person. She was my mother and the grandmother of my children.

Two years had come and gone before I heard from my real mother again and like our last conversation, she seemed to be more concerned with what she wanted to say, than anything I had to say. We exchanged pleasantries without a single question about my wife or daughter; however, what she said next gave me the answers to all the questions I had about my real mother. She told me that her husband had given her the money to go on vacation, but she couldn’t come down to see me that year because he had only given her enough money to take one trip. Her friends were going to Hawaii, and she had never been there before, so she wanted to go with them. Then she told me that she would try to come down and see me whenever she could put the money together to make the trip.

I handed the phone to my wife and walked away. Phyllis told me that she was still on the phone and asked me what I wanted her to do. I just responded, “You can say goodbye or just hang up. My mother gave me away before I turned two, and she just gave me away again, and I will never let her give me away again.” The funny part of the whole things was that I wasn’t really mad, I was more relived. It was as if she had removed the burden that I had been carrying for so long in life. I was no longer concerned with who had caused the problems I faced early in life. I knew for the first time that I wasn’t the reason behind what happened to my parents. My life was great, and learning the answer to that question would change nothing.

Several years later, my real mother sent me a letter seeking my forgiveness for what she had done in her life. I returned her letter and told her that I didn’t know what I was forgiving her for because I actually wasn’t mad at her. I had a fantastic wife, two beautiful daughters, and a terrific job; my life couldn’t have turned out any better. I don’t think that was what she wanted to hear from me because in her next letter, she disowned me. Now that was a bit funny, she gave me away twice in my life, and now she had disowned me. I still wasn’t mad, I just wondered how you can disown something you have already given away. Isn’t that like disowning your wife after you have divorced her?

Several years later, my sister called to tell me that Bee had died and asked if I would be going to her funeral. I told her, it would be difficult because it would be like going to a funeral for someone you didn’t

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know but just decided to walk in on. I guess I could have handled things a little better while she was alive, but I am not sure either of us ever would have actually known how to talk to each other. Maybe I hadn’t given her the peace of mind she was seeking, but I meant what I said and told it to her with no animosity in my heart. How do you express a fondness for someone whom you don’t know and has made no real attempt at being a part of your life?

I wasn’t mad at her. In fact, I have never been mad at her. I only wanted to find answers to the questions that troubled me. I have never blamed her or my father for any of the negative things I experienced in my life. In fact, I now look at the past events of my life as those things that have helped me to become whom I am today. I just didn’t know her and lacked any emotional attachment towards her, good or bad.

Our exchanges in life had been those of two strangers passing time while waiting to catch a bus, each going in different direction. If the woman who became my mother hadn’t taken the time to reach down and accept me, I am not sure if I would have felt any different. However, I am so thankful that while I was never able to develop a relationship with my real mother, I have a mother, and my children have a grandmother.

I credit my faith and my relationship with God to two women. The first is my wife who was determined to make Christ a part of our marriage and the second my mother who knew what to say and how to say it. At the time, my wife's faith was stronger than mine, but like so many others, she didn’t know how to reach someone as strong-headed as me. In many ways, I knew I was wrong, but I wasn’t willing to listen to anyone willing to try to point out any of my weaknesses. When my wife told me that she wanted to go church with our daughter, I went to the one person whom I had always trusted in my life, my mother. After all, I knew that my decision was based on something that had happened to my sister and her daughter, so she had to be on my side. When I told my mother what I was facing she looked at me and told me that if I could answer two questions, I would know what I had to do. That sounded easy enough, so I told her to ask the questions.

The first question she asked was, “Do you feel that the way others treated your sister was right?”

With that, I knew going to my mother was the right decision because that question was too easy to answer. I somewhat beat on my chest as I looked at her and said, “No way, they weren’t right.” She never changed the expression on her face as she then asked me, “Based on your answer you only have to answer one more question. Are you willing to go to hell for the sins of others?” My jaw dropped as I looked into the eyes of my mother knowing that she had allowed me to condemn myself. So many people had spent their time telling me that I was wrong, but she was the first person to let me tell myself that I was wrong; that Sunday I took my family to church, and I have never again allowed anyone else to determine my faith.

While I have never been sure why so many lessons in life are so hard, I am sure that everything we learn is not always in a classroom. Some of the best answers I have found in life have often come from the lives of those around me. Learning might be the example of love a stepmother demonstrates when she accepts you for who you are and still loves you as if you were her own. Then again, learning may be the act of placing your faith in God, other than yourself. Maybe learning is finding a young woman or man who loves you unconditionally or the birth of a child who seeks the answers to the same questions you have faced in life.

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Maybe learning is all the help you received from all those around you who taught you how to live your life and how to love. Kahlil Gibran may have stated it best when he wrote, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.�

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Chapter Fifteen The Wallace Family Our paths crossed for the first time on a hot summer day and if you were to hear him tell the story, it would be significantly different from the actual events. You see, he loved a good story, and he could embellish the actual event with the best writers of our times. I backed my car under the shade of a tree beside the driveway of a small farmhouse in the country, which may have been a mistake. I was there to pick up the farmers daughter who would later become my wife for our first date. To the very end of his life, my father-in-law loved to tell people that I was so afraid of him the first time we met that I had to back into the driveway. In reality, I didn’t even see him until I had gotten out of my car, and I had backed into position under the tree to avoid having to back out of an unfamiliar driveway. However, if the truth were told, once I had gotten out of my car and caught a glimpse of this tall chiseled man, he may have been a little right.

He came from around the back of the house with a 22-hunting rifle cradled in his left arm and what appeared to be some dead varmint in the other. We spent the first few seconds sizing each other up as if we had met for a duel at sunset. He was the seasoned gunslinger who wanted to know if I was deserving of going out with his daughter; I was the young gun hand looking to add another notch to my belt. He walked slowly to the front porch, laying two squirrels on the ground as he took a seat on the porch swing, laying the rifle across his lap. Each movement he made seemed to have some meaning and underlying purpose.

That was my first impression of the man who would later become my father-in-law. I often wondered what he truly felt as we crossed paths for the first time.

While I am sure that there are those who are born in the city who become farmers, it has never been my pleasure to meet such a person. Most of the real farmers were born farmers; it is something in their blood and James was a farmer. The Wallace family came west from North Carolina after receiving land grants for their help during the Revolutionary War and agriculture has always been in their family.

Most of the Wallace family who headed west settled in Stewart County, Tennessee, in a hilly area known as Bumpus Mills.

It was there James Thomas Wallace was born in June of 1930. James was the son of Bithel and Anne Mae (Page) Wallace, farmers by trade. Yet James would never truly get to know his father who died of pneumonia before he turned six years of age. Within two years of his father’s death, his mother married James Henry Hammonds who became his stepfather. However, this marriage lasted only four years before the death of the second person whom James had called dad. Over the span of twelve short years, James had once again found himself without the parental guidance of a male figurehead. While so many of us freely talk about the difficulties in our lives, all this had happened to James before he became a teenager. To make matters worse, the country was now in the mist of the great depression which made it difficult to find work or the money needed to support his mother and siblings. With such an inauspicious start to life, James no longer had the luxury of being just a boy.

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The Hopkinsville – Clarksville region of Western Kentucky and Tennessee was an area of the country known for its rich agricultural history. Bumpus Mills is a hilly area of the country to the west of Hopkinsville, and to north of Clarksville, known more for the tobacco they raised throughout the 1900’s.

Timber production and agriculture were the main means of earning an income for the residents of Bumpus Mills. Poor road conditions made this area unattractive to industrial companies which seemed better suited for the larger cities of the north. James grew up during this period, which had a tremendous impact on why he became a farmer.

Low tobacco prices set by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) Trust, established in 1904 to control prices, made tobacco farming difficult for the poorer farmers to make a living. In order to combat the tactics of the ATC, farmers gathered together and created a secret society known as the Knight Riders.

The Knight Riders often used violence against the tobacco industry and those loyal to the ATC in an attempt to force reform. Such was the backdrop for a period of time that who force James to become a man, shedding his childhood days far too early in life.

Two notable actions of the Knight Riders came against the cities of Hopkinsville and Clarksville.

These cities were known for their tobacco warehouses where much of the tobacco was bought and sold from surrounding areas. On December 7, 1907, the Knight Riders attacked and took control of the police station in Hopkinsville cutting the city off from any outside contact. During the night, they burned three tobacco warehouses to the ground before leaving. Following the attack on Hopkinsville, the Knight Riders took over the telephone operating structure in Port Royal on March 9, 1908, cutting lines between Port Royal and Clarksville. These events along with the Great Depression were just a part of what the farmers in this area had to face during the early 1900’s.

While the Knight Riders were no longer considered an active group during the 1930’s, James once told me the story of an incident that happened to him as a young boy in the hills of Stewart County. The sun had set on a day as the end of summer was approaching. James was a young boy around twelve years of age who took on any work in tobacco fields to earn an income during the harvest period. This was the time of the year for cutting tobacco and farmers often used every available hand to get their crops to the barns. Work was plentiful for anyone willing to work, and a typical day ran from sunrise to sunset. After a full day of work, James found himself walking home through the woods when he heard horses approaching. Not knowing anyone from the area that would be out riding at this time of night, James decided to hide in some nearby bushes until he could determine who was approaching. Within minutes, a group of riders carrying lanterns approached the place where James was hiding but didn’t attempt to stop.

As they passed, James noticed that the riders were masked as if to hide their identity. They rode on without saying a word and were gone as fast as they had appeared.

While James was unable to determine if the riders were a lingering faction of the Knight Riders, he did talk of how frightened he was by the events of that night. Regardless if, this was how the events actually unfolded that night or just the memory of a frightened youth; it was indicative of the times. Life for a farmer was often difficult with little reward other than the satisfaction of a job well done.

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As a young man, James met and married Margaret Frances Melton on July 21, 1951. Margaret was the daughter of Wilson Garfield and Callie Lee (Lovell) Melton and was born on May 20, 1926. James had just turned 21, and Margaret was four years his senior, which may have provided him with the maturity he needed at that time. Before their marriage, Margaret had given birth to a girl, Joan Melton on August 6, 1948. James and Margaret had three children of their own during the 1950’s Judy Gail (July 28, 1952), Phyllis Kay (October 5, 1954), and Danny (January 23, 1958). During the early 60’s James purchased his first piece of land that became the beginning of the Wallace farm located in Trigg County, Kentucky just off of highway 272. This was quite an accomplishment for a young man growing up in a poor farming community.

Bithel Wallace Death Certificate 16 Jan 1911 – 3 March 1936

I look at those farmers who fail today because of the debt problems, and I wonder how James was able to accomplish all the things he did with so little. He was able to do so much with no formal education to speak of and the circumstance he was forced to deal with so early in life. What did he do that was so different from those around him that were unsuccessful? Maybe he was just ordinary man who didn’t need to live in the finest house, have the best equipment, or the biggest barn. Maybe the things he lacked as a

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youth made such things have less meaning to him. He just seems to be happy getting by with what he had.

Maybe he was more focused knowing where he had come from, what he wanted, and what was out of his reach.

I haven’t known many men that saw life the way James did, or who believe having the most doesn’t make you more of a man. For the most part, James was more at ease telling others how good they were then seeking the spotlight for him self. After spending one summer with him, I saw his willingness to place others in the stoplight while he remained in shadows first hand. Whenever we went to the country store where others would sit and talk about the weather or their problems, he just talked about how good a job I had done. I was the best tobacco setter, the fastest cutter, or no one could work in the barn as well as me.

Every story he told was with some extraordinary feat I had accomplished, and it wasn’t just with me, he often talked about his grandchildren with the same enthusiasm. It was hard not feeling good about yourself when you were with him because you were the center of his conversation.

For a man that wasn’t the best educated (in terms of a formal education), life on the farm taught him well. He knew how to run a farm on a low overhead, could make the best of trades, and was able to think on their feet. James was more than just a farmer, he was a vet when he needed to be, a butcher, a mechanic, and many other things all rolled into one. I would be amidst if I failed to pass on some of my more memorably experiences about life as a farmer and life in general.

James feeding a calf on the farm After spending the day working on the farm, my wife and I decided to spend the night in the country because there was some additional work that needed to be achieved the next day. I was lost in sleep when Marg awaken me in the early hours of the morning informing me that James needed my help in the barn. Now farmers might not consider getting up at 4:00 a.m. as early but it was not my idea of fun. After struggling to get up, I headed toward the barn. You can only imagine the look on my face when I got to the barn only to see James lying on the ground with one arm up to his elbow, inside a cow. I actually wanted to say excuse me while exiting the building, but he handed me a rope that he had tied to a calves legs still inside the cow and told me to pull. I think my response was something on the order of, “do what?” I would have paid money to see the look on my face, but he seemed to handle each difficulty with the level of professionalism that was needed at the time.

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During the first real cold spell, a year after I had married Phyllis, I was introduced to what “hog killing weather” actually meant. Being from the city, I have never truly been particularly fond of cooler weather. When it is cold outside, I would much rather be curled up under the covers of my bed fast asleep.

However, I had agreed to spend the day on the farm helping James “Kill his Hogs, so to say.”

By now, I somehow felt the power slipping from my grasp as I was spending more of my free time on the farm while taking part in far too many farming activities. I pulled into the driveway that cold Saturday morning along with my wife, and while she headed towards the warmth of the house, I headed in the general direction of stables were several men along with James were standing. One of the men was Lloyd Choate, a bother-in-law of James, holding a rifle in his arms. James was a creature of habit who never killed his own livestock. Lloyd was the only person James would allow to shot his hogs. After the display of marksmanship I witnessed over the next hour, I understood why.

Before I knew what was about to happen Lloyd had raised the rifle he was holding to his shoulder, taken aim, and fired a shot in the direction of one of the hogs. James quickly ran to the pig and with the long knife he was holding and cut the pig’s throat. With that, I lost any desire to be a hunter, in fact, I could have called it a day and would have been happy with my decision. I am not sure that I even moved as Lloyd took aim and fired five more shots. Each shot struck its mark with the accuracy I had never seen before. Six shoots were fired, and six pigs lay dead on the ground, which was once their home. Each shot neatly placed between the eyes of the intended target. If there had been a single target, all six shots would have fallen within the area of a quarter. After the final shot, Lloyd lowered the rifle and walked back to his truck, after asking James if that was all for the day. Lloyd was a man of few words, but I learned one thing that day, I didn’t want to make him mad if he had a rifle in his hand.

Following the marksmanship display I had just witnessed, the gate to the pigpen was opened so that each of the hogs could be hoisted by their hind legs and placed on a trailer. Once they were all loaded, they were taken to another where all their organs were removed and then they were placed in a large tub of hot water. Being a city boy, I had no idea what happened next, but I quickly learned. The hot water was used to loosen the hair covering the pig and for some reason I ended up with the task of removing all the hair.

Up until that day, I didn’t know there were that many parts of a pig that one actual eats. At one point, I almost believed that the only part of the pig that wasn’t eaten was the hair that I had to remove.

Everything else was fair game. Even the guts, better known as chitlins in the south, were cleaned out and taken to the house to be cooked for dinner that day. Now I had always been open to trying new things when it come to eating, but after I saw what had been washed out of these so called “chitlins” as they were being cleaned, there was no way I was going to take part in that meal. In fact, you still can’t get me to eat chitlins to this every day. However, Marg as was her nature, was more than will to fry a few slices of fresh tenderloin for me, which I was more than willing to eat while everyone else feasted on chitlins. Most of the meat was salt cured and smoked, making some of the best country hams I have ever eaten and the remainder of the meat was either frozen or ground into sausage.

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For the most part, James was more likely to laugh than get mad. However, there were times when I saw him raise his voice, but they were more limited in scope and once he made is point his softer demeanor seemed to return. Being soft spoken, one would think that here was a man you could get one over on but it didn’t take long for me to learn that his wasn’t the case.

Phyllis and I had been to a family gathering at her sisters house in Clarksville, Tennessee, and we were returning to the farm when we spotted James up ahead of us driving down the highway in his pickup.

Now James was country and doing anything in a hurry was out of the question, which included how fast he drove his truck. I, on the other hand, didn’t see things in the same manner. I remember the feeling of satisfaction I got as I passed him in my 340 Duster zipping down the road at above average speed. The big red sports machine going 85 mph had just blown by that little country driver doing every bit of 50 mph.

I got to the farm before him and backed my car under the shade of the cherry tree in the front yard, which now had become my customary parking place. I was sitting on the front porch with a smile on my face when he pulled in and got out of his truck. Without saying a word, he motioned for me to follow him. He was walking toward the back pasture, which he did from time-to-time to check on his cows, so I followed. James walked without saying a word, almost as if he was lost in thought until we were a good distance from the house. Once we had topped a high area of the farm and lost sight of the house, James moved over next to me, putting his arm around me, and without raising his voice said, “Son if you ever pass me going that fast with my daughter in your car again, I will kill you. Do you understand?” I quickly acknowledged that I understood everything he just said. He then dropped his arm from around my shoulders and continued walking as if nothing had ever happened. The subject never came up again and I never passed him going that fast again, with or without his daughter. It was the only time I had ever known him to be upset with me, and I felt I needed to keep it that way.

Farming has never truly been my calling. I was born in the city and find comfort knowing that others are willing to pay me for what I know and not for the amount of work I perform in a given day. In some ways, I always got the impression that James was trying to make a farmer out of me. For our wedding gift, he didn’t give us some large sum of money or an expensive give. Instead, he gave us one third ownership in five acres of tobacco he had gotten from another farmer in the area. However, I am not sure what he gave me because somehow I also got one third of bills and received one third of the profits. I wish I would have understood what it meant to receive such a generous gift, because I seemed to have failed to grasp its true meaning. Somehow I had become a hired hand and found myself spending more and more time on the farm.

Tobacco farming is not one of the most time consuming endeavor; however, when the work needs to get done, it isn’t something that you can put off until tomorrow. When the work needs to get done it must get done now. In addition, little did I know that caring for my one-third interest in my tobacco meant that I was also responsible for helping James with his tobacco. After all, it only seemed fair considering he helped me as well, but I certainly wasn’t interested in raising so much tobacco.

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Planting was easy and in some ways fun. I was allowed to drive one of the tractors, the older smaller one because while he would let me drive his newer bigger tractor, he never let me use it in the field.

Somehow he got the big boy tractor while I got the one for the small boys. Once the field was ready for planting I somehow got the pleasure of riding the setter which seemed to be one of the most mundane jobs I have ever had the pleasure of doing in my life. I soon demonstrated that riding a two man setter was no more than a one man operation and this seemed to elevate my status on the farm. Once the plants were in the ground much of what needed to get done seemed to come to a dead period where little if anything needed to get done. It was the calm before the storm, so to say.

As the summer turned to fall, that peaceful period of relaxing on the front porch seemed to disappear. It did it without notice or a hint of what was to come. Before I knew it, we were in the fields cutting the tobacco that had grown under James’ watchful eyes. My competitive nature seemed to get the best of me the first day we spent in the fields. For some reason, I couldn’t let the farmers beat me down any row as the day progressed. Again James would tell others of the city boy who had come to town using his masterful skills as he worked in the fields. After the build up of each break, I only wanted to show him, I was the man to beat when it came to cutting and spiking tobacco.

We worked from sun up to sun down, and that night sleep came easy. I had always been a late riser and often stayed up well past midnight each day, but that day falling asleep was easy. The next morning I woke up early, rested and ready to go. I slide out of bed and bent over to put my socks on, and as I started to stand up, I found I was stuck. Every muscle in my body cried out in pain, and it felt like it toke an hour for me to reach the upright position I had enjoyed the day before. As I went in to eat breakfast before another day in the field, I walked a bit slower, but I did my best not to let on to anyone about the pain I was in.

Each day during that week, I learned of new tortures that raising tobacco could bring to this boy from the city. Soon we were taking the tobacco that we had cut and spiked to the barn where it would be hung until each leaf had cured. Now you would think that when someone tells you they are giving you the easiest job, you would be a bit more skeptical of what was being offered. Now it seemed logical that person at the top of the barn, would only have to handle the tobacco that was handed up to him while the person on the bottom had to handle every stick of tobacco. However, you would have thought that someone would have told me that the temperature at the top of barn, next to the tin roof with the sun barring down on it was HOT! I mean real hot! Within an hour at my new perch, I had removed everything I could comfortable remove, and still remain modest. The sweat that was now running down my body created the impression that I just stepped out of a shower. Somewhere in the course of four hours working the barn, I had lost fifteen pounds.

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Richard J. Frederick

James Thomas Wallace

Danny Wallace

When the last stalk of tobacco was hung in the barn, it was as if a humongous burden had been lifted of my shoulders. Now came another period of time to relax while we waited until the tobacco cured in the barns. Striping tobacco wasn’t a hard job, but it took time to pull each leaf of tobacco from their stalks and tie them in bundles (known as hands of tobacco). Day-after-day we stripped tobacco in cold conditions

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with the barn providing the only protection from the elements. When the time came for us to sell the tobacco, I wasn’t sure if what I felt was relief or pride in what I had accomplished that year. However, one thing was unmistakably clear; I had raised two crops of tobacco that first year, my first and my last.

I wish there was no reason to enjoy farming, but many of the experiences I took part in have become things I long for as time passes, a simpler life and a time to reflex on the past. I enjoyed the time talking to James under the shade of a tree after a hard morning of work or sitting around the table eating county ham and talking about the day’s accomplishments. Mostly, I enjoyed going to the local store at lunch and sitting around the back room eating a baloney sandwich, drinking a soft drink, and telling tales of the past that seemed to have a life of their own. County life may not have found a place in my heart; however, the time I spent on the farm taught me to enjoy the ordinary things in life. Farmers are more concerned with today’s cares because tomorrow will create challenges of their own.

James had a way of making you feel comfortable even when work was involved, it was easy to see where you stood and what he expected of you; however, Margaret always seemed to make me feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t because she was mean or uncaring, I don’t think she had a mean bone in her body; instead it may have been because in some way, I think we were both searching for similar things.

Margaret, better known as Marg, always seemed to be seeking the acceptance of those around her. The harder she tried to please me, the more I distanced myself from her.

I learned early in life to take care of myself and not to expect much from others. Often when others try to help me, my defenses are heightened, and I push people away. Some seems to relish the attention that others show them, but I look for the hidden reason for such actions. I was uncomfortable with her unrelenting desire to do things for me and her term for endearment. She always used the word “baby” in a non-treating sense to most people who knew her, but the expression has always made me feel uncomfortable. I can still hear her today each time I walked into the farm house. “Baby is there anything I can get you? Do you want something to eat?” I so wanted to scream, “No, if I wanted something I would have asked for it and stop calling be baby!”

Margaret’s nature left her more of a figure behind those she cared about than someone people noticed. Since her death in November of 2011, I have learned more about her than I discovered during the thirty plus years I knew her as my mother-in-law. Of all my children’s grandparents, Margaret may have had the most historical branches in their ancestral tree. Marg’s family has a direct line to the Ross family with some weak evidence that it is the same Ross family of John and Betsey Ross. While that link may or may not exist, there is a direct line to William Clark, which is the second half of Lewis and Clark. I have spent so much of my life trying to understand the past, yet I somehow felt uncomfortable spending time talking to someone whose roots may have been able to shed some light on the things that have meant so much to me.

I have always been puzzled with the things that attract us to those we choose to share our live with and the same is true with James and Marg. They seemed to be so different and yet their relationship lasted until they both died. The things I think that should lead to successful relationships often fail while strange

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things seem to make relationships thrive. In the end, it may be that opposites are truly attracted to each other.

Together they raised four children Joan, Judy, Phyllis, and Danny, yet even that holds a mystery for which no one seems to know the answer. Margaret came into her relationship with James with a daughter, Joan. However, no one knows the real story behind the oldest of the four children. The secrets of the past seem to have been locked in the past because the family members able to answer those riddles are now gone. Joan uses her maiden name, Melton, which she received from Margaret, but she was raised as a Wallace, it remains unclear who was her real father. However, James and Margaret raised her with their other three children.

Family secrets now lie in the hands of the Wallace children, but none of them seem to know the answers that will unlock the past. No one seems to know how James and Margaret meet or stories about what attracted them to each other. In studying the past, I have often found that individuals from my parent’s generation and earlier did a better job of keeping things more to themselves. And so the lives of James and Margaret (Melton) Wallace will remain a mystery to future generations, but some keys to the past may rest in the recorded history discovered from past family members.

Eulogy for Margaret Francis (Melton) Wallace May 20, 1926 – November 2, 2011 Given by: Richard J. Frederick Today we come to celebrate the life of Margaret Francis (Melton) Wallace, more affectionately known as Marg to her family and friends. Celebrate seems like such an inappropriate word at a time when the room is filled with those who only feel the pain and sorrow of the loss of a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, family member and friend.

I have never liked funerals because there never seems to be any real words that can comfort someone in a time of loss. Let’s face it this is tough stuff, and there is no real way to prepare for it.

My wife spent the last two weekends traveling to Kentucky so she could spend some time with her mother and yet when the phone call came last Monday, there was still this immense sense of sorrow.

I am sure that each one of you here today has faced this same feeling sometime in your life, but we still can’t understand how someone else feels, and it doesn’t make the task of saying goodbye to someone you have shared your life with any easier.

Having lost my father at an extremely early age, I often question why these things are even necessary and why we must go through with them. Being a teacher, I usually search for answers to difficult questions in the writings of wise men. In times like this, I usually go to the Bible and one of the wisest of all men Solomon. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that it is good for us to do the things we are doing today. Ecclesiastes 7:2, reads: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every person; the living should take this to heart.”

I have often heard others say that you shouldn’t let others see you cry. In fact, my wife even gives me a little kind-hearted ribbing when we go to a sad movie because I am the one more likely to leave with a tear in their eye. However, I am reminded of the story of Jesus attending the funeral

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of his friend Lazarus. Here was a man that knew what was in store for Lazarus. If anyone could find peace in death, it had to be Jesus and yet when he saw how his friends were suffering John 11: 35 says; “Jesus wept.”

While this verse is more commonly known as the shortest verse in the Bible, it shows that Christ did take on human form and understood the pain we are facing here today, and if the son of God felt a need to cry then who can honestly say crying is wrong. Again, Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes the third chapter that there is a time for everything under the sun “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

If it is all right to be sad then why should we envision this as a celebration of Margaret’s life? Webster defines the term celebrate as: 1) to perform publicly and with appropriate rites, 2) to honor by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business, 3) to demonstrate satisfaction by festivities or other deviation from routine 4) to hold up or play up for pubic notice. Therefore, we do indeed celebrate the life of Marg.

The greatest tragedy in life is not to have lived for 85 years and died, it is to have lived for 85 years and never touched a single soul. To have lived a full life and yet not one person can remember a single event that would cause them to pause and reflect on your life or to take notice. I was impressed with all those who stopped by yesterday during the visitation to express their sympathy and to share a story with the family about how Margaret touched them in some small way. I am even more impressed with those of you that have taken the time out of your busy schedules to be here today. To me, it would be sad to have a funeral where no one came, but today we can truly celebrate the life of Margaret because of the presence of each one of you.

Most of us find that we celebrate in life after some measure of success or some masterful accomplishment. So how do we measure the success or accomplishments of a person’s life? Marg wasn’t a community leader, she wasn’t a movie or rock star, nor was she a Nobel Prize winner for that matter. What she was, was the loving daughter of Wilson and Callie Melton, one of their six children, the wife to James Thomas Wallace who passed away November 8, 1999, the mother of four children Joan, Judy, Phyllis, and Danny, the grandmother of five grandchildren John, Drew, Candace, Sara, and Lisa, and the great grandmother of four great grandchildren.

While you may not be able to measure her life by the plaques on her wall, seven of her direct decedents have college degrees (that is seven out of 13 or a 538 batting average, which isn’t a lousy average), one daughter becoming a nurse and mother of one, another a military officer, government employee and mother of two, another a paralegal and mother of two, a son who stayed home to take care of the farm, grandchildren who have become successful as a real estate agent, a teacher, an engineer, retail leaders, and mothers and fathers of four great grandchildren. Who knows maybe one of her great grandchildren will be that Nobel Prize winner, and they will be able to thank Margaret for taking the time to give her children the things they needed to succeed in life.

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Today we are here for three reasons: One to remember. The thing I will remember the most is that she was a servant to all, working so hard at making life easier for all those around her.

Almost to a fault, she seemed happiest when she was doing something for anyone other than herself.

Once she found out that I liked fried potatoes, I couldn’t stop by the house unless she stopped what she was doing to make me some fried potatoes. Now do I look like I need any more fried potatoes?

Margaret was country to the core. It didn’t take you long to know that she had spent her whole life in the country and that she believed in God and family. You just had to spend a few minutes talking to her. Marg was the wife of a farmer and she worked hand in hand with James taking care of the crops in the field and caring for the livestock while raising their four children.

However, those hands hardened by daily chores were part of a gentle soul who found her way to church on Sunday even after working six long days during the week, and if you needed help, she was always ready.

Let me say it again, Marg was pure country. I remember once as a young man, when I had come out to the farm to see Phyllis before we were married, Marg fixing us dinner. Being 25 and single, you didn’t have to ring the dinner bell twice for me. I soon found myself sitting at the table getting ready to feast on some good old fried potatoes when Marg asked me if I wanted a salad.

Now I am not against things green, so I said sure. Once she had placed some lettuce on my plate, she asked me if I wanted any dressing to which I replied “that would be nice.” Before I could say another word, she had grabbed the hot skillet from the stove and was pouring grease all over my lettuce. Now Marg may be country, but I’m not country! I jumped up and said what was that; to which she replied didn’t you say you wanted some dressing. Ya, Thousand Island, Ranch, Honey Mustard, maybe a little Blue Cheese but not grease. I am sure that each of you here today has a similar story that you remember and can tell that will bring a smile to your face.

Second, we are here to say goodbye. As hard as these types of events are in our lives, they are a means of letting go. They are part of the healing process that keeps us from letting such events get us down where we can’t move on with our own lives. In fact, I am sure that if Marg where here today she would be the one handing out the Kleenex, putting an arm around you and telling you that it would be all right.

Finally, this is a time for each of us to examine our own lives. The certainty of the matter is that we are all going to die someday, so days like today remind us to ask ourselves the tough questions that we often fail to consider as we rush through life. Am I ready to die? Where will I go after death? Will anyone remember me for the things I did to help others in their journey through life, or will I be someone with no one standing by my gravesite?

The time to take care of things in your life is now because we do not know what tomorrow may bring. Proverbs 27:1 states: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” This passage gives us two reasons to act on our own lives right now: 1) Life is

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uncertain, and 2) Life is brief. James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.�

I am reminded how short life surely is in the fact that while my wife and I no longer call this part of the world home, as a young boy I walked the same halls of this funeral home with my parents. We were here to pay our respects to someone they knew from church that had passed away. It was one of the first funerals that I had attended, and I remember seeing a lot of older individuals and thinking about how old everyone seemed to be. Yet during the visitation for Marg, some 45 years later, I found myself wondering if any of the younger children that were there had those same thoughts about how old some of us seemed to be. Were they now looking at us as if we were the old men and women in attendance? Yet those earlier events of my life seem like they just happened yesterday.

In reality this funeral is more for us than it is for Marg, it is a time to remember, a time to say good-bye, and a time to reflect on our own lives.

Pray If the only measure of an individual comes from the dollars they have in their checking account, my in-laws would have been failures. However, if I have learned anything in life, then I tend to believe that while money may be a measure of a man, wealth can be measured in many ways. James and Margaret were successful farmers, successful partners in life, and successful parents, which in my eyes made them wealthy individuals. James was the husband of one wife for 48 years with three daughter, one son, and five grandchildren and Margaret was his faithful partner. James was a man whose word could be trusted, and Margaret was someone willing to help anyone at anytime. I once read something by Emerson where he indicated the true measure of a man wasn’t in the things he owned but if in some way, he had touched the life of one person, and made a difference. I know this is true about James and Margaret Wallace, and I am proud to have had them be a part of my life because through them, I gained a little wisdom and they raised a respectable daughter who became my wife and mother of our children. Today I am a little wiser for knowing them.

James Thomas and Margaret (Melton) Wallace

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Chapter Sixteen Records from the Past (Frederick Family) The following exerts are provided from various sources and bring to light many of the trials and tribulations of some of the early Frederick family members. Some of the stories where passed down by family members, while others are a matter of public record. Each of these events gives some indication of when the Frederick family came to America, where they came from, and some of the family’s rich heritage.

It is also necessary to note that much of the recorded history on the family of John (Federuk) Frederick 1895 -1985 and Dorothy Gunther (unknown – 2011) has been forever lost due to poor record keeping procedures in the Russian controlled area of Poland before the end of WWII and the fact that Dorothy Gunther family history is unknown. All attempts have been made to assure the accuracy of these events; however, following family names out to ten generations could have resulted in some misleading information.

Vera (Lee) Frederick (1908 – 2001) is the wife of John Frederick (1895 -1985) and the daughter of Parish and Mary Bell (Buckingham) Lee.

James B. Lee (1819 – unknown) is the son of James M. Lee and Susan (Blair) three generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family and resided in Kentucky. The following article is recorded in the Edmonson County court records, located in Kentucky:

(Story: James B. Lee - Arinda Young Divorce September 1873, Edmonson County, KY – Arinda Young Lee filed for divorce from James B. Lee in Edmonson County, KY, on Sept. 1, 1873. Her name is 245

misspelled as (Orinda) on this document. James Louis Lee and Joseph Francis Lee gave depositions about how James had mistreated Arinda for several months, having taken up with another woman "of bad character" and left the county abandoning her. This had gone on for six or eight months, and they saw him carry his clothes to the other woman's house (She was not named). Arinda states that she has children still with her and will be compelled to support them. She says James and the other woman have gone to Tennessee. James had for the last twelve months abused and maltreated her, manifesting a settled aversion to her. The judge granted her the divorce, giving her custody of the children, and inhibited James from "disturbing her possession of said children or property. "There is no date on the final judgment. -- Edmonson County Circuit Court Book #6).

James B. Lee – Arinda Young Marriage February 22, 1843 – Edmonson County, Kentucky

James M. Lee also known as Jim “Bug” or Jack was the son of James B. Lee and the father of Parish Lee who married Mary Bell Buckingham on June 28, 1881, who where the parents of Vera (Lee) Frederick, wife of John Frederick. They resided in Edmonson County, Kentucky. The following is recorded in the book “Near Elko” by Kenneth H. Lee and is a story told by a grandson of James M. Lee :

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"I've heard my grandfather talk many times about living in Nashville, TN. He enlisted in the army during the Civil War by giving his age wrong. Shortly there after his mother came to the military office intending to get him out by telling his real age, but they had already shipped him out to another state the day before. "Jim Bug" was too young for service. Later Jack was shipped to Nashville to be discharged. Early in his life Jack worked where they butchered cattle.

While working there he nearly lost one finger, which was permanently damaged. The day Jack came home from service his mother, and the rest of the family were eating under the shade of some cedar trees in the back yard.

It was then that Jack rode up and asked for something to eat. He wasn't invited, so he got off his horse and strolled to the table. Having been gone for four years his looks had changed, and his family didn't recognize him. His mother demanded, "Who are you, young man?" He calmly replied, "Jack Lee," but she insisted, "No you ain't. Jack Lee is my son, and he has been gone four years." Jack held up his hand showing his crippled finger which he had hurt in Nashville several years before, and with a devilish smile said, "I guess that should identify me." {The grandson isn't identified.} Not much is recorded on Blair family, which is Parish Lee’s (father of Vera (Lee) Frederick) mother’s family. However, there is evidence that Lilburn J. Blair father of Parish Lee’s mother was murdered in 1877. Records show that Margaret (Strange) (1785 – 1870) married John Bailey Blair (1787 – 1849) in December of 1794 in Tennessee. Margaret and John Blair where the parents of Lilburn J. Blair.

December 15, 1877, Edmonson Co., KY, USA, Lilburn J. Blair was shot and killed near Age school

by John M. and John L. Smith. They were later convicted and sent to prison. Bert Higginbotham, Smiths Grove, KY 5-15-2009

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History becomes a bit harder to understand during the early settlement of America. The following recorded history dates back to 1772 and contains information about Matthew (1727 – 1798) and Agnes (Lusk) (1707 – 1749) Young, five generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family. The records indicate that both Agnes and Matthew came to America from Ireland as indentured servants who were unable to pay the debt they had incurred. Matthew and Agnes (Lusk) Young had a son named Matthew Young who also had a son named Matthew Young (listed as a junior). The following court records are found on page 119, Council Journal 36, meeting of December 1, 1972:

The following Persons presented Petitions setting forth that they were Protestants and had recently come to settle in this Province with their respective families from Ireland and were desirous to settle and cultivate some vacant lands in the back parts of this Country. But by reason of their extreme poverty they were altogether unable to pay the fees due to the several offices for their Grants and that they were in hopes to have received some aid from the Province as their Countrymen had hitherto done; therefore, prayed his Excellency to grant them such relief as in his goodness he should see fit. His Excellency thereupon observed to them that the Bounty given by the Province had ceased long since. In that they had no reason to expect any assistance from the government, appearing that they were extremely poor his Excellency proposed to the several officers to deliver out their Warrants without experience to them and to take the risk of being paid by the public which they severally agreed to and the Secretary was ordered to prepare Warrants of Survey for the under mentioned persons VIZT. Agnes Young 100 acres, Henry Young 100 acres, Matthew Young, 100 acres.

John Houston (1690 – 1755) is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family and hails from Ireland. Records indicate that he and his family took a Reformation stance during the religious tribulations in Ireland during that period and eventually came to America. John Houston died in Virginia while clearing land. The following is a memorial for John Houston given by the Reverend John Sawyers (DD by William Houston Craig, pg. 26):

It is tradition that the Houston’s dwelt on the "Lowlands" of Scotland, and being persecuted for their religious opinions, fled to Ireland to escape their bloodthirsty enemies. They took a decided stand in favor of the Reformation; adopted early the tenets of Calvin; sustained with their hearts' substance and blood the religious views of John Knox, and were persecuted for their rigid adherence to the Bible as their rule of faith and practice and to "Presbytery" as the scriptural form of church government. John McClung Houston was a trusted and respected leader, he headed the list of subscribers for funds to erect a new stone

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church building; and he aided in building a fort for defense against the Indians. He became a local magistrate.

At the age of 65, he was killed by a falling limb while clearing a field.

Edward Houchin (1692 -1765) is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her Father’s side of the family. While it is not sure when he arrived in America, there are several passages from Dr. Paul Houchin’s records of the family history. Edward Married Hannah (Aner) in 1721 and had 14 children. The following is taken from the writings of Dr. Paul Houchin:

"Edward first appears in the Goochland Co. records in May 17, 1737. Much of the records of this county were destroyed. The first record is a deed. It may have been shortly after the death of his father Edward. At that time, he purchased land from Henry Webb and his wife Elizabeth. The deed sates that Edward was living on the land at that time which was on the north side of the James River upon Little Lickinghole Creek and having 250 acres. His neighbors were George Payne, Thomas Sammons, Josias Payne, and Allen Frazier. He acquired other tracts of land in Goochland County in St. James Parish Northam. Edward Houtchens made his will the 7th day of December 1762, and it was filed for probate 19 Feb 1765.

When you examine the Frederick family tree it is easy to get confused when it comes to Benjamin Johnson (1739 – 1785) six generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side. This was during the earlier history of the United States and cousins often married cousins, but this story almost makes you think that there were no more than two families living during this period. Benjamin is the son of William and Margaret (Pace) Johnson from Goochland, Virginia. Benjamin Johnson married his cousin Susannah Pace who had a daughter Susannah Johnson who married her cousin Edward Pace. So Susannah Pace became a Johnson and had a daughter who became a Pace. I would have loved to have gone to those family reunions.

Born in Christ Church Parish, Urbanna, Middlesex County, Virginia.

Benjamin Johnson married his cousin Susanna Pace daughter of Joseph Pace and Ann Bashford on July 22, 1759 in Goochland County, Virginia. The marriage is noted in the Douglas Register along with the birth of their children. Benjamin first appears in Goochland on the Tithable Lists of Goochland County: Mr. John Smith's list of tithables 1759 tax list William Johnson next to Josiah Pace: page 86 William Johnson & Benj. Johnson with him.

It appears by this that sometime before 1759, Benjamin had gone to live with his brother William on his land in Goochland. He probably worked the land along with William until he purchased land next to his brother from their cousin Josiah Pace.

Benjamin Johnson patented land in what was then Albemarle County but is now Fluvanna County on July 26, 1765 on the branches of Phil's Creek bounded by Arthur Hopkins, John Moseley, Philip Thurmond, 249

and Guy Smith. Phil’s Creek can be found today in Fluvanna County and is a tributary of Byrd Creek.

Although it did not adjoin William’s land, it was not so far that Benjamin would have a difficult time to farm the land.

Benjamin also purchased 140 acres in 1766 adjoining his brother William. This land was purchased from his cousin Josiah Pace son of Joseph Pace and brother to his wife Susanna. The purchase of this land is recorded in Goochland DB 9, Page 71.

Abstract : Sept. 3, 1766. Josias Pace to Benjamin Johnson for 60 pounds current money of Virginia, 140 acres on Little Bird Creek. Bounded by George Payne, William Johnson, Johnson John Moseley & Joseph Pace. Witness: Andrew Harrison, Wm. Harrison, Joseph Pace, Francis Houchins. Signed: Josiah Pace. Rec. May 19, 1767. Elizabeth relinquished dower right.

Benjamin and Susanna lived on this 140 acres for many years. The tax lists for 1782 and 1784 lists a Benjamin Jr. with Benjamin. Then on May 16, 1785 Benjamin died leaving a will: Goochland DB 14, page 60: In the Name of God Amen. I Benjamin Johnson of the County of Goochland being very infirm at this present but praised be god of sound sense & memory as to what worldly estate it hath pleases God to bless me with I give and bequeath in the manner and form following item: lend unto my loving wife Susanna Johnson my land and plantation whereon I now live also too hundred and sixty acres of land in Fluvanna County also four Negroes & their increase also my house and stock of cattle, sheep, hogs, also all my household goods & furniture of every kind also my crop of corn wheat and oats also what money I have in hand all debts that is owe to me all that I have mention and my plantation tools and other kinds of tools I have lent as affour said unto my loving wife during her widdowhood or natural live. Item after my wife Death or marriage it is my will and desire that the whole of my estate shall be sold to the highest bidder and the money equally divided amongst my children Joseph Johnson, Benjamin Johnson, Susannah Pace, William Johnson, Curtis Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson & my Grandson Charles Houtchkins after deducting fourteen pounds of his part then to share an equal part with my above mentioned children now in case any of my above mentioned children should die before they arrive to lawful age or leave no lawful issue That their estate to be equally divided amongst the survivors of my children to whom I give the same and to their heirs and do ordain constitute and appoint this my last will and testament and do appoint my loving wife Susannah Johnson my whole and soul executor in witness where of I have hereunto let my hand & seal this Eighth day of March one Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Five. Signed sealed in the presence of William Massie William Johnson - Stephen Johnson Benjamin Johnson (seal) At a court held for Goochland County May 16, 1785 this writing was prov'd by the oaths of Wm. & Stephen Johnson to be the last will & Testament of Benjamin Johnson Dec'd which was therefore admitted to Record.

It appears Benjamin’s brother William was a witness to the will. It is possible their brother Stephen was also a witness. However, it is more likely that this is William and Christian’s son Stephen who would be 250

22 at the time the will was written. Although Benjamin had willed that his land be sold after the death of his wife, it seems Susanna, who lived for many more years, had other plans as we find most of the land was not sold and is found in the hands of Benjamin’s sons…

Susanna Johnson appears on the 1785 tax list along with two of her sons, tithables Joe Johnson and William Johnson. By this time, Benjamin Jr. was head of his own household. Susanna is listed with one tithable William Johnson in 1786. Also in the 1786 tax list Susanna is listed as insolvent.

DB#15, pg. 147 List of insolvents for the revenues and certificate collection for the 1786 returned by Wm Sampson Dty. Sheriff for Stephen Sampson.

Name

Revenue

Susannah Johnson

Certificate

2/16/6

2/16/6Rec: Nov. 21, 1788

Susanna is not on the 1789 tax list, so we can assume she died sometime between 1788 and 1789.

Middlesex County, Virginia

Christ Church Middlesex Established 1666

John H. Pace 1722-1790 Born April 8 1722 Middlesex Co.VA Served in Revolutionary War Died Sept 20 1790 Goochland Co.VA Married Susannah Houchins married 1743 Goochland C.VA Joseph Pace 1698-1765 Goochland, Virginia, Married Ann Basford Middlesex County, Virginia March 18, 1721 Children: John Pace 1722 – 1790 George Pace 1725 Josiah Pace 1727 Daniel Pace 1728 Lettice Pace 1731 Rachel Pace 1734 Elizabeth Pace 1737 Mary Pace 1739 Suzannah Pace 1740 – Married Benjamin Johnson December 21, 1766, her 1st cousin) 251

Joseph Pace 1741 Sarah Pace 1722 John H. Pace (1722 – 1790) or Middlesex County, Virginia, Married Susannah Houchins (1723 – 1808) 1743 in Goochland County, Virginia, Served in the Revolutionary War Children: Murray 1741 Mary 1744 William 1745 George 1747 Susanna 1749 Ann 1753 Elizabeth 1759 Edward 1761 Francis 1764 Rachel 1766 Charles 1768 Stephen 1770 James 1772 Ann Pace (Basford) - widow of Joseph Pace 1698-1765 On March 15,1768 at Goochland County D.B 9/132 appointed John Wright Jr., the husband of her daughter Mary Wright, as her attorney in fact to act for her in connection with a suit in the General Court against Richard Stark to recover certain slaves. * refer to - Jeff Smith’s site Pace Family History – Interactive Family Histories Edward M. Pace 1761, Married Susanna Johnson Goochland County Virginia September 21, 1784 Children: Edward Rachel

Christ Church Historical Market

Christ Church

The following is the recorded history of William Johnson (1700 – 1745); there is no record of origin of this information. William Johnson is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick’s father’s side of the family.

William Johnson was born about 1700. Little is known about William until he was married to Margaret Pace daughter of John Pace and Elizabeth Newsom. Their marriage September 26, 1721 and birth 252

of their children is recorded in the Christ Church Parish Middlesex Register. The Records of Middlesex are difficult to research, many having been destroyed during Bacon’s Rebellion, and later during the Civil War, We have been unable to locate the deed to the estate in Middlesex that William and Margaret lived on, but we have a clue as to where William and Margaret made their home in Order Book 4, page 252. William Johnson was appointed surveyor of the Roads in place of William Kidd, and the Court then ordered that the “surveyor of the road leading to Urbanna Town do cause the way to be made convenient for conveying tobacco from the Upper ware house to the landing.” This, along with the fact that according to the Pace Society of America, Margaret’s parents John Pace and Elizabeth Newsom lived on LaGrange Creek in Urbanna would indicate that William and Margaret also lived in or near Urbanna. In 1736, William acquired land in Goochland County from Charles Bond. Since the deed lists William Johnson “of Middlesex” we know he did not come to live in Goochland. Although he probably made the trip to inspect his property in Goochland, it is a trip that would have taken several days sailing from Urbanna down the Rappahannock into the Chesapeake Bay, and up the James River to Richmond where he most likely would have had to make the trip overland or by Bateau another 30 or 40 miles since the river was only accessible to small boats or what later became known as James River Bateaus from Richmond west. Since he left this Goochland estate to his son William Jr. in his will, it is likely he sent William Jr. there to look after this estate shortly after obtaining ownership.

The deed from Charles Bond to William Johnson is recorded in Goochland DB 2, pages 193 and 194…

Charles Bond and wife Mary to William Johnson of the County of Middlesex two hundred and fifty acres on the Little Byrd Creek. Witness: James George, Joseph Pace, Thomas Brackett. BUT On page 195, after the Deed from Charles Bond to William Johnson of Middlesex we find an odd thing: Goochland County Circuit Court Deed Book 2 page 195 Know all men by these presents that I Charles Bond of Goochland County am beholden and firmly bounden unto William Johnson of Middlesex County in the Sum of Thirty Six pounds of lawful money of Virginia to be paid unto the said William Johnson his heirs Executors or administrators or assigns in the which payment well and truly to be made I bind myself my heirs Executors and administrators firmly by these presents sealed with my seal and dated the Eleventh day of February in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and thirty five. The condition of this present obligation is such that if the above bounden Charles Bond his heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns shall from time to time and at all times hereafter observe perform fulfill accomplish and keep all and singular the covenants grants articles and agreements which on his and their parts is and are to be performed help and observed mentioned and comprised ______ (?) indenture of Bargain and Sale and furrent made or mentioned to be made between the said Charles Bond and Mary his wife of the one part and the said William Johnson of the other part and bearing equal date with these presents according to the true Justeus and meaning of the same indenture thou this obligation to be void otherwise to remain in full force power and virtue. Signed Sealed and delivered in the presence of us….And Mary his wife Interlined before signed Teste: James George Joseph Pace Thomas Bratkitt At a Court held for Goochland County April 20th 1736. Charles Bond 253

acknowledged this bond to be his act and deed, and it was thereupon admitted to record. Teste: Henry Wood Esq. Charles Bond agreed on paper to put up twice the amount of money than what William Johnson paid for the land. A bond of this type was not particularly common during this period and usually had a neutral third party involved. According to Bond Researchers, Charles Bond’s wife Mary Parks was from Essex County… It appears this is part of the same Bond family who came from Maryland and were related to William’s mother, Elizabeth Mussett Johnson. (See notes on Henry and Elizabeth) Charles Bond would be a cousin to William of Middlesex. William Johnson died in 1745. We find his will in Will Book B, page 62: In the name of God Amen, I William Johnson of the County of Middlesx being very sick & weak in body but of good and perfect senses and memory praise be to God for the same knowing the uncertainty of this life and being desirous to settle things in order do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and from following that is to say first principally I commend my soul to almighty God my Creator assuredly believing to have full pardon, and free remission of all my sins to be saved by the Moritous death of our Blessed Savior Christ Jesus and my Body to the Earth from whence it was taken to be buried in such a Christian manor as to my Executors hereafter named shall be though Meet and "Conservant" and as touching my Worldly Estate my Will and meaning is that the same shall be imposed and disposed as hear after is expressed. Item: I give and bequeath to my son William Johnson my plantation in Gougsland County to be posed after my def. to him and his heirs for ever, Item: I lend unto my beloved wife all the rest of my estate both personal and real during her natural life and after her def I give unto my son Henry Johnson this land lying in Middlesx County to him and his heirs forever, And after the death of my beloved wife, I give all the rest of my estate both personal and rail unto my children as followeth to be Equally Divided amongst them Henry Johnson, Benjamin Johnson, Stephen Johnson, Sammual Johnson, Aveslah (Avarila?) Johnson. I ordain my beloved wife my whole executor of this my last Will and Testament. Lastly I do revoke and make void all former Wills or Testaments Whatsoever by me made and spoken and this is only to be my last Will and Testament In witness whereof I have set my hand and fix my seal this Month day of March ye 5th Anno Dom 1744/5 William Johnston (whole signature spelled with a 't') Teste: William Wood Mary M(her mark) Sadler Charles Wood It seems that Margaret may have been pregnant with a son she named John at the time this Will was written. because in 1760 WB E page 88 Henry Johnson and Benjamin Batchelder are appointed guardians jointly and severally of Stephen, John & Samuel Johnson orphans of William Johnson. However, in WBE page 175 we find the sale of William Johnson's estate after the death of his wife Margaret in Urbanna. And there was only 5 children named participating in the division of the estate. We can assume that William Jr. in Goochland was the “last person” although not named. Some of the right side of the page is unreadable. It would appear by this that if there was a John, he did not live to receive a part of his father’s estate or he did not receive a part because he was not listed in his father’s will.

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While there is no recorded history of Jehu Dyer Hawkins (1785 – 1883), he is mentioned in a recorded obituary for his granddaughter, Amanda (Hawkins) Whittle, daughter of his Elias Hawkins. Jehu Dyer is five generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family and he married Elizabeth Ann OBannion (1788 – 1880) in 1808. Jehu and Elizabeth resided in Edmonson County, Kentucky. Jehu Dyer Hawkins is sometimes confused with his father John Dyer Hawkins (1756 – 1840).

Grandaughter's obit – 1936 - In an obituary of Amanda (Hawkins) Whittle, daughter of Elias Hawkins, granddaughter of Jehu Dyer Hawkins, Jr, dated 1936, she states: "She was the granddaughter of that old pioneer Jehu D. Hawkins Jr. who came to Edmonson County more than a century ago in an oxcart and by honest toil accumulated a large estate in lands and plain common sense and fair dealings which characterized him and made him loved and respected by his neighbors was exemplified in his granddaughter."

Will of John (Jehu) D Hawkins 5 March 1883, 1883, Edmonson County, Kentucky

Will records of Edmonson County Kentucky 1872-1948 Vol. 2 pg 36 In the name of God Amen I John D Hawkins of the county of Edmonson and the state of Kentucky being physically weak but sound in mind and disposing memory and calling to mind the uncertainty of human life and being desirous of disposing of all my property such as it has pleased god to bless me with I therefore give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth Ann Sturdivant all the trace of land lying East of Big Beaver dam Creek the line at the creek to so run as to include the mill site on said creek. It is further my desire and I so will that if I die before my wife that my son E B Hawkins take care of my wife for which he is to be paid for his care and trouble out of my estate and the residue of my estate to be Equally divided among my children and heirs at law. I further will and bequeath to my grand daughter Mary B Ray the residue of the afore said land tract of land all of which lies on the west side of Beaver Dam Creek, being the same land I live on.

Signed in the presence of witnesses by my hand this day of 5 March 1883. Therefore, will and bequeath to Elizabeth A Sturdivant and her children all of my old homestead land near Beaver dam Creek Running both the west bank of the creek so as to give them & her the mill Seat and the rest I herein bequeath to the children of Mary B Ray deceased And the rest of my property I herein will and bequeath to my son E B Hawkins for his care and trouble in taking care of me and my wife until our death.

I L T Woosley clerk of the Edmonson County court do certify that on the 5th day of March 1883 the forgoing instrument of writing purporting to be the last will and testament of John D Hawkins Decd the original being last was on the 5" day of March 1883 at a regular term of the Edmonson County Court produced in open court and Hawkins and J N Lewis proven be the oaths of 255

Elias to be about the same in substance as the original which together with Codicel and Statements of the witnesses was probated by said Court as said will and ordered to be entered of record and that I have truly recorded it and this certificate in my office. Witness my hand this 8th day of March 1883 L T Woosley.

William Hawkins (1725 – 1799) is the grandfather of Jehu D. Hawkins (1785 – 1883) and is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family. William married Elizabeth Wall (1722 – 1800).

BIO_WilliamHawkins • • • • • • • •

1725-1799, Orange, Virginia, USA Source: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgibin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mison&id=I559 ...........

ID: I559 Name: William Hawkins Sex: M Birth: ABT 1725 in Saint Thomas Parish, Orange, Virginia Death: 28 Oct 1799 in, Orange, Virginia Note: Married - Parents: Mildred Showalter Farmer, Bites and Pieces

of the Hawkins Family Puzzle; p. 8; KY. Historical Society; Frankfort, KY. Death: Orange County, VA. Court Wills; Will of William Hawkins dated 17 ____ 1799 William Hawkins, son of William Hawkins and Mary was married to Elizabeth Wall and lived in St. Thomas 256

Parish, Orange County, VA. In 1786, he purchased land on Flat Run joining Craig's Lease. Flat Run was called Wildcat Run in earlier years, and most of it was owned by Gov. Spottswood who deeded some of it to his overseer as payment for looking after his affairs while he was in England. The rest was leased. The Hawkins property was obtained from an heir of Spottswood.

William's name appears as a witness on various documents, and he was an appraiser who worked in several counties in VA. His signature is on several petitions in Orange County, which are printed in a remarkably entertaining book called Patriots of the Up Country by William H.B. Thomas. One of the petitions was a plea to divide the county into separate districts because of the inconvenience travel to the Courthouse cause. Another petition, signed by William Hawkins, was instrumental in obtaining separation o f Church and State after the American Revolution.

When the War of Independence was over, the majority of the Americans became disillusioned with the Church of England for obvious reasons. A law was passed in VA to give the Church Property to the Protestant Episcopalian Church. Around the same time, tent revivals were becoming appealing to residents of the area who were dissatisfied with the discrimination in the Church of England. Only the wealthiest members were invited to become officers in the Church, and even certain pews were assigned to the more influential families.

In other colonies, there was a status connection with the location of graves in the Churchyards. In VA, this was not of too much concern as most of the families had their own cemeteries on their plantation. Usually strangers and residents who lived near the Church were buried in the Churchyards. Before the war, membership in the Church was mandatory with fines and punishments given to those who failed to attend. There were residents who preferred to be Baptists or Presbyterians or Quakers and they resented strongly, their tax money being given to the Episcopalians. William Hawkins' signature appears on several petitions requesting that this law be repealed.

William Hawkins died in 1799 and left a will written in 1789 in which he mentions his widow, Elizabeth, daughter Mary Mankspile, widow of John Watson. His sons were Reuben, Archelous, John, Elisha and William. The property on Flat Run was left to sons Reuben, and Elisha.

Change Date: 11 Aug 2007 at 15:48:49 Father: William Hawkins b: ABT 1705 in, of Orange, Virginia Mother: Mary Smith b: ABT 1715 in, of Orange, Virginia Marriage 1 Elizabeth Wall b: ABT 1725 Married: ABT 1749 Children 1. William Hawkins b: 17 Dec 1749 in, Harrison, Virginia 2. Elisha Hawkins b: 25 Aug 1752 in, Crown Colony, Orange, Virginia 3. Reuben Hawkins b: ABT 1754 in, Orange, Virginia 4. Archelous Hawkins b: ABT 1756 in, Orange, Virginia 5. Jehu or John Dyer Hawkins b: 25 Aug 1756 in, Orange, Virginia 6. Mary Hawkins b: ABT 1758 in, Orange, Virginia 257

The Buckingham name may be one of the longest standing names in Frederick family tree. Thomas Buckingham (1693 – 1760) resided in Connecticut and married Mary Parker in 1722. Thomas is the seventh generation removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family and should not be confused with his son of the same name (1720 – 1754). The Buckingham name was still in the family tree until Vera’s mother Mary Bell Buckingham married Parish B. Lee June 28, 1881. Much of the recorded history of Thomas Buckingham and Mary Parker is recorded in the book “Town of Essex” by Richard M. Bayless, which records the history of Middlesex County and is published by J. H. Beers & Co. 36 Vesey Street, New York. Thomas Buckingham was a minister and leader of the community where he settled with his family in Connecticut.

"In 1800 Duncan Stewart, Nimrod Crosswell, Robert Nelson, Seth Outlaw, William Pugh, John

Stancil, Thomas Shaw, Thomas B. Ferrill, Christopher Brandon, Littleberry Hamilton, John Kingins, Z.T. Shemwell, John Ferrell, Maricy McCollum, Etheldred Wallace, Samuel Ross, William Carr, N. G. Morris, Charles Polk, John Bird, Walter Boston, Thomas Buckingham, Jack Warford, John Gardner, and Jarris Taylor came from North Carolina and settled in different parts of the county."

Thomas Buckingham sailed from London, England in the ship Hector and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts, June 26th, 1637. From there he went to New Haven Connecticut. His wife's name was Hannah.

Reverend Thomas Buckingham, son of the preceding was born in the early part of the year 1646. His wife's name was Hester Hosmer. He died April 1st, 1709. Thomas Buckingham, son of the preceding was born 29 Sep, 1670. He married Margaret Griswold, Dec 16, 1691. He died Sept 12, 1739. Thomas Buckingham, son of the preceding was born Jan 24, 1693. He married Mary Parker, April 5, 1722. Died Dec 13, 1760.

Jedediah Buckingham, son of the preceding was born Jan 20, 1727. His wife's name was Martha Clark. No date of death. Esther Buckingham, daughter of the preceding, was born Sept 25, 1763. She married Enos Gary, Feb 25, 1787. Died Aug 27, 1841.

Enos Gary born 23 Sep 1757. He married Esther Buckingham, 25 Feb 1787, was the first settler of the City of Rushford, NY, near the beginning of the 19th century. By occupation a wheelwright and farmer.

Was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Enlisted from Lebanon, Connecticut and served 10 months under Captain John Isham and Colonel John Chester. He drew a pension of $8.00 per mont for 12 years previous to his death, which occurred 19 Sep 1844. (End of information by Rev Charles Ailsworth Gary, taken from a paper compiled by him, a grandson of Enos and Esther (Buckingham) Gary).

Town oF Essex Richard M. Bayless [transcribed by Janece Streig] Streig] Geographical and Descriptive The town of Essex lies on the west side of the river, and is bounded on the north by Saybrook, west by Saybrook and Westbrook, and south by Old Saybrook and Westbrook. The soil of this town is composed of a 258

mixture of sand and loam, in quality and proportions suitable to make for the most part a soil that is without moderate fertilizing, very productive and favorable to cultivation. Several ridges of hills, founded upon rock ledges, extend in a general northeasterly and southwesterly direction across the town, and their intervals afford rich flats of arable land or spontaneous meadow.

The width of the river at Brockways, against the northern part of this town-the site of an ancient ferry-is 96 rods. The tide in its ebb and flow here varies about three feet. Nott's Island, lying southeast of the latter point, belongs to the town of Lyme. It was formerly called Eight Mile Island. Brockway's Island, lying opposite the north part of this town, also belongs to Lyme. Potapaug Point is the low point of land upon which the principal part of the village of Essex is built. Numerous localities are mentioned in the ancient records, some of which retain their names to the present time, and some have been forgotten by their ancient names.

Scotch Plains, or Scott's Plains, was the comparatively level tract stretching away from the neighborhood of the railroad station southwest to Westbrook. It was of a good soil, and, probably having, but little wood upon it was easily cleared. The land was fertile and very desirable as "plowable" land, and the proprietors all, or nearly all, had shares in it. The origin of the name is unknown, but it was in use among the earliest settlers.

Kelsey Hill is west and southwest of Deep River, about one and a half miles from the Connecticut. It is mentioned as early as 1702, when land was laid out on it for Rev. Thomas Buckingham. Land was also laid out at the south end of it for Benjamin Lynde in 1723.

Whittlesey’s Brook, mentioned as early as 1727, is a small stream about one and three-quarter miles south from Potapaug Point. John Clarke Jr. took up land on his £50 right where the brook crossed the country road.

Rocky Hill is on the west side of the turnpike, a short distance north of where the late Alpheus Parker lived. Rocky Hill Plain lies east of it, beginning a little south of it and extending north to the land of John CASE, a distance of about two miles. The "boyne tree," spoken of in the original description of the quarter lines, stood near it. The term "boyne tree" means bound tree.

Muddy River is a brook that drains Scotch Plains, and flowing northward near the railroad station empties into Falls River. Sites for mills of different kinds have been improved upon it.

Viney Hill, named as early as 1709, is the hill eastward of where Jared C. Pratt now lives. The hill has from time immemorial have been covered with running evergreen vines, called ground laurel or running vine, which circumstance gave its name. The vines are in much demand for decorative purposes on festival occasions, and, beside the local use for this purpose, whole sloop loads have been carried to New York. A brook by the same name flows through it into Muddy River.

Book Hill is an elevation of about 200 feet, northwest from Essex village, near the north line of the town. Beaver Pond lies on or near the south line of the town. Beaver Pond lies on or near the south line of the 259

town. It was once a beaver pond, and had a dam across it which was constructed by those industrious animals.

In 1705, the proprietors granted John Clarke liberty to dig out the stream that ran through it, the pond then being a sort of marsh. At that time, the dam was there, and the records show that it lay below or south of Clarke's land. It has long been known as a quagmire, the ooze of which was of unknown depth. In olden times, cattle used to go astray, and sometimes never return or be found, and it was supposed that they had wandered into this marsh and sunk out of sight in its ooze. The Rev. Thomas Buc Buckingham, kingham one of the corporators of Yale College settled on the border of this pond, and tradition says that he made something of a business of trapping beavers, which were numerous here then, and their skins were valuable.

His home was near the Porter Griswold place. When the Valley Railroad was built, great difficulty was experienced in getting a foundation solid enough for its roadbed. Piles, 70 feet in length were driven down, and repeated attempts were made before the sinking of the road bed could be arrested. The pond now feeds the stream that furnishes power for a grit mill at Saybrook.

Walnut Hill was probably the hill to the west of the settlement of Ivoryton. It was noted for the growth of hickory wood, which it bore.

Cedar Swamp, mentioned in the records as early as 1728, is in the western part of Chester and is still known by its original name.

The Maple Tree, a well known locality at the time was probably at Meadow Woods, near where Muddy River joins the Fall River.

Bushy Hill is a wild country north of Ivoryton. It was known by this name as early as 1727. Later a road led up to it through a pair of bars near the present school house in that vicinity.

Stone-pit Hill, which name has been contracted to "Stumpit Hill," by which it is familiarly known, is the hill to the west of the residence of Dr. B. H. Stevens. It has quarries of granite on the north side. These quarries were known and utilized at an early date, and gave the name, which appears as early as 1750. The tradition has been handed down that General Washington and his staff passed through this region once during the Revolution. He was on his way from New London to Hartford, and his road lay over this hill. As he passed this point, several boys who were near the road were overawed by the military appearance of the party, but as they stood gazing with fear and wonder the General bowed to them. This incident was related by Wells Denison and others, boys at that time, but who have now long since passed away in the ripeness of old age.

Gridley's Cove was that now called South Cove, on the south shore of Potapaug Point. The former name was given to it in 1702, or before. A heap of rocks in the cove bore the name of Gridley's Rocks.

Prospect Hill is the high hill now just south of Ivoryton, where George Clark formerly lived. Samuel Willard had land on it in 1722. Its name appears in the original bounds of the quarter.

Tillis' Point is now called Ferry Point. This bluff on the river, above the old ferry, is names in honor of a man by the name of Tillis, who was killed by the Indians and buried here. This is a tradition that ante-dates any written record. Curbine Point, which lies just above this, is now called Sills' Point.

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Robert's Hill is situated about one-third of a mile north of the Congregational church in Centerbrook.

In its side, and on the old Eli Denison place, there is a quarry of steatite or soapstone, which was also sometimes called Cotton Stone. This lies about one-half a mile northward from the railroad station, on the road Meadow Woods, and near the present residence of Richard Denison. The existence of this bed of stone was known to the Indians. They used the material in making pots and mortars, some of which have been found in their graves, and about the fields in the vicinity. Soon after the Revolution, the owners of a furnace in Killingworth used the material in making an oven for baking steel. It is said to possess durable qualities, and to be capable of taking a very high polish. Efforts were made as early as 1815 to bring it into use in manufacturing, but it was found to be too hard for practical purposes, and nothing further than preliminary experimenting was done. A quarry of granite lying near it is now being worked.

Great Hill is a mile west of Essex village, on the right of the road going to Westbrook. Long Hill is below the village, on the west side of the turnpike that leads to Saybrook. Millstone Hill is on the north line of this town, about two miles above the village, and about one-fourth of a mile from the river. The name was applied to it previous to 1704, at which date land was laid out at the west side of it to John Webb.

Pound Hill is the elevation in the back part of the village, on which the churches stand, and it received its name from the circumstance of a cattle pound being once located here. The old road from Saybrook to Hartford ran along under this hill, but above the present line of North street. This bluff is about 40 feet above the level of the village street on the point, which extends from its foot easterly to the river. It commands beautiful views of the embowered village beneath it, the coves on either hand, the winding river, and the opposite hill-sides.

The name Potapaug is variously spelled, but most commonly it appears in the old records as it is here spelled. It is of Indian origin, and is said to mean "bulging out of the land or jutting of the water inland." It was applied by the Indians to the point upon which the village of Essex stands, but was early applied by the white settlers to the whole region known as the Quarter, which then covered the land of the present towns of Essex, Saybrook, and Chester.

The list of Potapaug, which then did not include Chester, for the year 1814, amounted to $25,186.72.

There were then 275 dwelling houses and seven merchants' stores. There was a library belonging to the Second Society of Saybrook, which in 1695 contained 30 volumes and had previously numbered 100.

Business began to thrive, and the village to build up soon after the Revolution, at which time there were but few houses on the Point. The number of dwellings in the next 30 years had increased to 30, and within a mile as many as 100 could be counted, besides a few stores and mechanics' shops. These were mostly on Main street.

The expenses for maintaining the various departments of the town work for the current year, included in the last report of the selectmen were: for the almshouse, $11.92; for partial supplies, $612.80; for roads, bridges, &c., $2,346.68; for schools, including teachers' wages, $3,775.22; interest on the funded debt, 261

$2,293.71; notes, $1,540.28; taxes, $1,875.80; sinking fund, $1,500; salaries of officers, $604.35; liquors, $1,278.55; small-pox $63.03; miscellaneous expenses, $623.39; making a total of $16,525.73; which was provided for by receipts from taxes, loans, and balance from the previous year, and other sources, amounting to $19,610.29.

John B. Buckingham (1813 – 1885) three generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick served in the Union army during the Civil War. John married Martha Ensor who had a son William Milburn (1842 – unknown). Martha Ann Ensor (1811-1906) was the sixth child of William Talbott Ensor and his wife, Martha Ann Lasley. The Ensor’s were originally from Maryland. Thomas Ensor, Martha’s grandfather purchased land in Washington County in 1787. Both William Ensor and Thomas Ensor were farmers.

William Milburn married Sarah Jane Beckner in 1868 and where the parents of Mary Bell (Buckingham) Lee, mother of Vera (Lee) Frederick.

Enlistment Date: 30 Sep 1861; Rank at enlistment: Private; Enlistment Place: Camp Ward, KY; State Served: Kentucky; Survived the War?: Yes; Service Record: Enlisted in Company F, Kentucky 21st Infantry Regiment on 30 Dec 1861; Mustered out on 15 Apr 1862 at Camp Morehead, TN. Sources: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky.

Source Information: Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Original data: Data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA Service history (Wikipedia):: history of the regiment John B. Buckingham served in during the Civil War (Wikipedia) The 21st Kentucky Infantry was organized at Camp Hobson, near Greensburg, Kentucky and Camp Ward, Kentucky and mustered in for a three year enlistment in December 31, 1861 and January 2, 1862 at Green River Bridge, Kentucky under the command of Colonel Ethelbert Ludlow Dudley. Before the war, most of the regiment's men were members of "The Old Infantry" a state guard unit under the command of Captain Samuel Woodson Price, who would later command the regiment.

The regiment was attached to 11th Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Ohio, to March 1862. 11th Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, to June 1862. 7th Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to July 1862. 23rd Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to August 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Left Wing, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 262

1863. Unattached, Army of the Cumberland, to January 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps, to June 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps, to August 1865. Department of Texas to December 1865. The 21st Kentucky Infantry mustered out of service on December 9, 1865.

Detailed Service: Service Duty at Green River Bridge, Ky., until March 1862. Moved to Creelsboro; thence to Nashville, Tenn., and duty there until April 1. Moved to Columbia, Tenn., April 1–2; thence march to Shelbyville April 24, and duty there until June 11. Dumont's Expedition to Cumberland Mountain June 11– 14. Expedition to Wartrace June 17–19. Moved to Tullahoma July 2, thence to Duck Bridge July 4. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 20-September 19. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22, Battle of Perryville October 8 (reserve). Nelson's Cross Roads October 18. Pittman's Cross Roads October 19.

Reconnaissance on Madison Road October 20. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 12, and duty there until December 26. Dobbins' Ferry, near Lavergne, December 9. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26– 30. Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. At Murfreesboro until June.

Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Liberty Gap June 25–26. Occupation of middle Tennessee until August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountain and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Ringgold, Ga., September 11. Catlett's Gap September 15. At Whitesides during battle of Chickamauga September 19–20. At Chattanooga, until October 1. Action at Anderson's (or Mountain Gap), near Smith's Cross Roads, October 1. Anderson's Cross Roads October 2. Duty in Sequatchie Valley until November 19.

Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Tunnel Hill, Missionary Ridge, November 24–25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. Chickamauga Station November 26. March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 18. At Chattanooga and Shellmound, Tenn., until January 1864. Regiment veteranized January 11, 1864, and veterans on furlough until March 30. Moved to Cleveland, thence to Blue Springs, Tenn., April 26. Atlanta Campaign May to September. Tunnel Hill May 6–7. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 8–13. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Near Kingston May 18–19.

Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22–25. Operations on Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Burnt Hickory May 25. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15– 17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5– 17. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Jonesboro September 5 and 12. Operations in northern Georgia and northern Alabama against Hood October 1–26. Moved to Nashville, Tenn.; thence to Pulaski, Tenn. Nashville Campaign November-December. Columbia, Duck River, November 24–27. Spring Hill November 29. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there until March 1865. Expedition to Bull's Gap and operations in eastern Tennessee March 15-April 22. At 263

Nashville, Tenn., until June. Ordered to New Orleans, La., June 19; thence moved to Texas. Duty at Indianola and Victoria until December.

Casualties: The regiment lost a total of 218 men during service; 3 officers and 57 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 6 officers and 152 enlisted men died of disease.

Catherine B. (Pace) Hawkins (1811 – 1896) was the wife of Benjamin Pace (1801 – 1859) and five generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her father’s side of the family. Shortly before her death the following will was recorded under her maiden name.

Catherine B. (Pace) Hawkins 1811 – 1896

Will of Catherine B. Pace recorded July 3, 1896 in Edmonson County, Kentucky.

The Will of Michael Gladman (1702 – 1789) is recorded in the following passage. Michael married Rachel Baker in 1727 and is six generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. Michael was born in Liverpool, England before coming to America.

In the name of God Amen. I, Michael Gladman of Baltimore County in the State of Maryland, being at this time in health and of sound memory and of understanding praise be God, but for advance in years and reflecting in the uncertainty of life, and willing and desirous to of such as seems to me just and right of such worldly estate as by permission and assistance of divine providence. I have acquired, here do hereby make and order such distribution in manner following. That is to say principally and first of all, I commit my soul to the hands of Almighty God from 264

whom I received it and my body to the earth to be decently interred at the discretion of my Executor, hereafter named. I give and bequeath to my dearly beloved son Michael Gladman after my decease all my plantation known as Hearth Pool, containing fifty acres to him, his heirs and assigns for ever. I give and bequeath to my son Michael Gladman and Rachel Gladman, my daughter all my personal estate such as household furniture and all livestock, whatever after my decease and the decease of my darling beloved wife Rachel Gladman to be equally divided between them.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son John Gladman five shillings sterling money to be paid by my executor. I give and bequeath to my daughter Rebecca Cross five shillings Sterling money to be paid by my executor, and lastly I constitute and appoint my said son, Michael Gladman to be my sole executor of this my last will and testament hereby revoking and uttering disannulling every other will at any heretofore by me made. I witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and affixed my seal this day of one thousand seven hundred and eighty two.

Witness: Joshua Hurd, John O'dell, William Weer. Baltimore County to wit on the 19th day of September 1789. Came John Odele and William Weer two of the subscribing evidences of said county deceased and made oath that they did see testator sign and seal this will that they heard him publish pronounce and declare the same to be his last will and testament that at the time of his so doing he was to be best of their apprehensions of sound disposing mind and understanding that they subscribe their names as witnesses to this will in his presence at his request and in the presence of each other and of the other subscribing witnesses sworn before me register of will for the county aforesaid. William Buchanan. Liber #WB 4, Folio 381 Will dated 1782, probated 1789 Johan Nicholas Beckner was the Frederick family’s first real connection to Germany. He was from Wuerttember, Germany and came to America in 1740 settling with his family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Johan married Anna Killian in 1724 and is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick. The following the recorded his of Johan’s arrival in the United States:

Johann Nicholas Beckner arrived in Pennsylvania September 27, 1740, aboard the Lydia, sailing from "Rotterdam, last from Dover", with 180 passengers.

On the passenger manifest, he was listed as age thirty-six. The only other family member listed was his son Johann Nicholas Jr., age fifteen. Women and children under the age of fifteen were not routinely named on the passenger lists at that time. He was naturalized in Philadelphia in 1743 and appears on a tax list there in April of that year. He is next found in York County, Pennsylvania. In 1770, he was named as a single member of the Great Conewago Church of the Brethren. It is believed he died before 1779 as he is not on the tax lists for York County, as are his sons. No record has been found naming Johann Nicholas's wife or children, with the exception of his son Johann Nicholas, Jr. in a day when large families were the rule, it is reasonable to assume that his family was no exception. All children listed were found in the York County, Pennsylvania area. All ages work out to be approximately two years 265

apart, which is the typical age spread for the time period, the same names appear in each family, etc. (That Lawrence is a son of Johann Nicholas has been generally accepted for many years and indeed, Lawrence and Nicholas Jr. moved side by side to Virginia and their families were close for several generations.) There does not seem to have been any other Beckner families in the Pennsylvania area during these early years. The only exception is a tax listing for Jacob Beckner, with 200 acres, in 1783, however, the tax list shows that there are no inhabitants on this property. This listing could well refer to either Jacob, son of Nicholas Jr., or Jacob, son of Lawrence, and not necessarily an elderly man as some would have suggested. If there was another family in the area, there most likely would have been more evidence than a one year tax listing. Therefore, we have listed Marillis, John, Magdalina, Michael, Peter and Henry as additional "probable" children of the immigrant Johann Nicholas Beckner. *Taken from book "Beckners in America The First 250 Years", compiled by Brenda Cook Beckner & Barbara Roland Beckner, published by Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD. 1996, page 2 Captain John Higginbotham (1695 – 1742) married Susannah Walker and later married Frances Riley fought in during the American Revolutionary War. John is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. While there is not a lot of history recorded on the Higginbotham family, there is evidence that the family grave site may be the oldest in the United States with that surname. John and Frances Higginbotham came to the America from Ireland.

Amherst County, Virginia - Located on property originally divided among the siblings of Moses Higginbotham (1713-1791) in 1751, the Higginbotham Family Cemetery may be the oldest cemetery bearing this surname in the United States. The cemetery is located on that portion allotted to John Higginbotham (1726-1814), which is adjacent to the allotment of his brother, Moses, who being the eldest son, presumably kept the land owned by his parents, thought by many to be John (ca1695-ca1741) and Frances Riley Higginbotham. Located on the parcel allotted to Moses was until a few years ago, an old house foundation that may have been dated to the early to mid 1700’s, according to Beverly Morris Higginbotham (1886-1968). The foundation stones have since been removed by person(s) unknown according to Eric Smith of Westvaco, who saw the stones when his company was harvesting the trees located thereon.

The property passed through several hands down through the years, among which have been a family by the name of Whitten. It is currently owned by Westvaco and is used as a tree farm. The cemetery was not disturbed during the original harvesting and is currently untended and overgrown.

This cemetery is listed in the "Gravestone Inscriptions in Amherst County Virginia", Revised Edition 1999, published by the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society, as the Whitten Place Cemetery on page 292. The entry reads:

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"Thomas Higginbotham large stone only marked grave, surrounded by graves marked with field stones said to be the graves of his slaves who were freed long before the "War Between the States". Higginbotham, Thomas, Jun 10, 1767-Feb 1835 Excerpt from "Threads of Ancestors” Ancestors” "Family of John and Frances Riley Higginbotham” John and Frances (Riley) Higginbotham came to Virginia from Ireland early in the 18th century, with five children, John, Moses, Aaron, James, and Anne. Four other children were born in Virginia, Benjamin, Joseph, Rachel, and Thomas. Tradition says that John Higginbotham, father of this John, also came ..."

John Higginbotham (b. June 10, 1695, d. April 17, 1742) who came from England, settling in Amherst County, Virginia, married Frances Riley in 1793. Some history of the Higginbotham family tree can be fround in: [Higginbotham] Peery, Joseph S. "Higginbotham Genealogy," The Utah

Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1916):189-201. Digital version at Internet Archive. http://archive.org/details/utahgenealogical1916gene. However, most of the recorded history in this article traces back to children of John Higginbotham other than his son Benjamin who is the direct decent of James Wallace on his mothers side of the family. Little in this article supports anything other a few minor records of John Higginbotham.

Captain Samuel Higginbotham ancestor Vera (Lee) Frederick, six generations removed on her mother’s side of the family.

John Higginbotham (son of Charles Higginbotham and Ann Rawlings) was born June 10, 1695 in Parish of St. Phillip, Barbados, WI, and died April 17, 1742 in Amherst Co, VA. He married Frances Riley on 1713, daughter of John Riley and Mary Unknown.

Notes for John Higginbotham:(W and M Quarterly) John and Frances Riley Higginbotham came immigrated to Virginia from Ireland, and children John, Moses, Aaron, James and Anne, and settled in what is now Goochland Co, VA (information taken from the Bible recorded of Tirzah Higginbotham London (1783-1841), daughter of Captain John and Rachel Banks Higginbotham. John came from Ireland when he was 9 years old with his father and mother and other children.

The Higginbotham’s had about 20,000 acres of land in Albemarle and Amherst Cos from 1749 to 1800, according to the Land Register office in Richmond, VA More About John Higginbotham and Frances Riley:: Marriage: 1713 Children of John Higginbotham and Frances Riley are: Moses C. Higginbotham,, b. Abt. 1715, Amherst Co, VA, d. February 1791, Amherst Co, VA.

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Sons of the Revolution Documentation – Captain Samuel Higginbotham Last Will &Testament of Larkin Higginbotham pages 1 & 2 – 22 Jul 1863 Edmonson County, Kentucky. Larkin Higginbotham (1795 – 1870) was married to Mary Polly Howard (1794 1870), and they resided in Edmonson County, Kentucky where they both died. Their estate was settled shortly after their death because they died in the same year. Larkin is four generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. Below is the original handwritten will of Larkin Higginbotham.

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Larkin Higginbotham's Estate Settlement 28 May 1870, Edmonson County, Kentucky Francis Graves Jr. (1679 – 1748) is seven generations removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. While it is not sure when the Graves family came to America, it is most likely that Francis Graves Jr. was from Rappahannock County, Virginia because that was where his father lived and died. The following is some of the recorded facts known of Francis Graves Jr., including his will:

Will of Francis Graves, Jr. of Essex Co. VA. (W.B. 8, p.90) Parish of St. Ann's, dated June 25, 1746, probated Oct. 18, 1748. Bequeaths to daughter Clarer Higinbotham seven pounds currant money and the remainder of my personal estate to be divided among my other four children, Jane & William, Elizabeth & Mary; after my wife's death the negroes to be divided among 6 of my children, Viz: Jane, Ann, Clarer, Eliz., Mary and William. Wife Ann and son William exors. Wit: Edward Almond, John Sneed, Nicholas Sneed.

William Rennolds and James Rennolds to go on Ann and Wm. Graves Exors. bond.

According to The Diary of Robert Rose, p. 320 Francis Graves, Jr., who died in 1748, had a nephew Benjamin Graves who had been overseer, first for the Rev John Bagge on Thomas Button's "Range" plantation in Essex Co., in 1726 and earlier, and then for Parson Rose at the glebe in Essex Co., VA. Francis Graves, Jr. probably was born in (Old) Rappahannock Co., VA because his father died there. Richmond Co. was formed from (Old) Rappahannock Co. in 1692 and Francis Graves, Jr.'s birth date is estimated as 1680, so he probably was living in Richmond Co. not too far from Ann Reynolds when the two were of

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marriageable ages.

LDS: (AFN:NKWQ-DQ) The Valentine Papers, Vol 1-4, 1864-1908 Satterwhite Family Essex County Records John Satterwhite of Caroline Co. from Wm. Graves of same Co. £113: the plantation that Frances Graves, decd. and the sd. Wm. Graves formerly lived on in claiming a just quantity of 250 acres of land together with ten acres adjoining thereunto that the sd. Graves ' have lately purchased of James Rennolds, the above 260 acres being in the counties of Essex & Caroline. July 7, 1755, Ibid, p. 135.

Henry Gatewood (1690 – 1777) married Dorothy Dudley (1695 – 1751) in 1716 and is the seventh generation removed from Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. After the death of Dorothy, Henry married Tabitha Collins in 1757. The earliest recorded history of either Henry or Dorothy was recorded in Essex Co. Virgina in 1722. The following marks the recorded history of Henry Gatewood and Dorothy Dudley:

1637-1700's, Essex, Middlesex, Spotsylvania Counties, United States In John and Amy Gatewood and their descendants 1666-1986 by Carol Gothberg, p.211-212: "John and Amy Gatewood had son Henry Gatewood, b.16__ Rappahannock Co, Va; Will proved 18 Dec 1777 Spotsylvania Co, Va (WB E:269); names wife Tabitha [2nd wife] and children: William Jr., Austin & Ambrose; sons Peter, Larkin, Richard, Henry Jr; daughters Keziah Sandidge, Dorothy Foster. Executor: Richard Gatewood; Wit: Edward Herndon, Edmund Foster, John Frazier, Henry Crutcher & Anthony Frazier. Henry Gatewood was last recorded in Essex Co, Va in 1722 when he received payment from step-father Joseph Baker's will. In 1742, he was in King & Queen Co, Va when Hugh Saunders & wife Caty deeded to Henry of King & Queen Co, 207 acres in St. George Parish, Spots. Co on Mattapony (DB C 1734-42), dated 3 Jul 1742. Wit: Robert Coleman, Henry Gatewood, Sarah Coleman. From then until his death in 1777, he bought several tracts of land. Henry married 1/ Dorothy Dudley before Aug 1714 Essex Co, Va; m. 2/Tabitha Collins (she had no children.)

Dorothy Dudley, b. 1695; d. 1751 Spots. Co, Va, dau of Richard Dudley (2nd son of Edward Dudley as shown by will of Thomas Saxe proved: 1 Jan 1654/5 and Elizabeth Dudley. Will of Richard names daughters Elizabeth Gatewood and Dorothy Gatewood, dated 10 Dec 1716; proved 16 Jul 1717 Essex Co (Bk 16:79). According to book "Living Descendants of Blood Royal" pp. 323-327, the Dudley line traces back to King Edward I 1239-1307, who m. Eleanor of Castile in 1254. William Gatewood (son of Henry Gatewood and 1/ Dorothy Dudley; 271

Henry, son of John and Amy), b. ca 1720 Essex Co, Va; d. after 1780 Amherst Co, Va; married 1742 Spotsylvania Co, Va to Ann Gatewood, widow of John Boswell. William also lived in Albemarle Co, Va. ANN, possible dau of Richard Ransom of Gloucester Co, Va." [There are no other references to William and Ann Gatewood].

There is a brief history of John and Amy Gatewood (parents of Henry Gatewood) and their descendants recorded in the book “Living Descendants of Blood Royal” p. 323-327. author unknown.

William Howard (1763 – 1844) of Richmond County, Virginia was the fifth generation removed of Vera (Lee) Frederick on her mother’s side of the family. He married Elizabeth (Marshall) in 1789. The following is a record of his will and a brief record of his history:

William W. Howard was born July 23, 1763, in N. Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. On December 14, 1789, he was married to Elizabeth Marshall in Albemarle County, Virginia, by B. Bennett, Minister. Elizabeth was born about 1767 in Calvert County, Maryland. She was the daughter of William Marshall born about 1740 in Lyons Creek 100, Calvert County, Maryland and Eleanor Austin born about 1745 in Calvert County. On June 3, 1840, William made the following will found in the Albemarle County Clerk's Office, Charlottesville, Virginia: In the name of God Amen. I William Howard of the County of Albemarle, and the state of Virginia, being in a low state of health, but of a sound mind and memory and calling to mind that it is appointed once for man to die, I therefore make this my last will and testament, in the manner and form following, to-wit: Item First, I desire that all my just debts should be paid. Then I leave to my beloved wife, Elizabeth Howard, all my land and all my other property of every description during her lifetime. Then I give and bequeath unto my son William one cow and calf and two sheep.

Item I leave and bequeath to my daughter Fanny one bed with stead and furniture, one cow and calf and two sheep, and $250 dollars.

Item I leave and bequeath unto my son Eli one bed and furniture, one cow and calf and two sheep and the Comet colt and all the crop that is on the land at his mother's death.

Item I give unto my son David one bed and furniture, and one cow and calf, and two sheep.

Item I desire at the death of my beloved wife that the land and all the remainder of the property should be sold and the money equally divided amongst my children, they hereafter named, to-wit: Mary Wells, Mildred Dorsey, John Howard, William Howard, Frances Howard, Richard Howard, Eli Howard, and David Howard.

Item I do make and ordain Richard Wolfsey and my son Eli executors of this my last will and testament and do revoke, renounce, and disannul all my wills, testaments heretofore made by me and do acknowledge this to be my last will and testament.

In witness where for I have hereto set my hand and seal this 3rd day of June in the year of our Lord, 1840. In the presence of witnesses: John Gibson, Jr., Randolph Harris, and William Harris.

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William Howard (Seal) At the court held for the County of Albemarle, on this 5th day of February 1844, this last will and testament of William Howard was this day introduced into the court and being proved by the subscribed witnesses thereto, it was ordered to be recorded.

Ira Garrett, County Clerk" William died before February 5, 1844, and Elizabeth died about 1848, both in Fredericksburg Parish.

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Chapter Seventeen Records from the Past (Wallace Family) The only sure thing about family history is there are often varying versions of the actual events depending on who tells the story. Sometimes history is viewed much like the police officer who takes statements from all the witnesses of an accident to hopeful uncover what actually happened. The Wallace family is no different from any other family. Often events are recorded slightly different depending on the source you use for your research, but in the end you hope to find the larger truth. With that in mind, we will attempt to examine many of the stories that have been recorded in history or passed down from one family member to the next to determine past events that helped create this family. (The information contained in this chapter may or may not have been verified by this writer. This author gives full credit to all those who have taken their time to research the Frederick family tree. All the information found in

Monotype Corsiva print has been copied from various sources.)

Some of the earliest history of the Wallace family is recorded in the book “Between the Rivers, History of the Land Between the Lakes” by Betty J. Wallace, professor at Austin Peay State University. Family records show that William D. Wallace (1756 – 1825) was born in North Carolina and married Susannah Exum (1755 -1826). They later became the first Wallace to move to Stewart County, Tennessee; however, Betty Wallace indicated he was born in Scotland. He was the son of William D. and Martha (Andrews) Wallace Sr. from North Carolina, supporting family records of the Wallace ties to North Carolina. William was six generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family.

Per a history book... – 1800 , Sailne Creek, Stewart County, Tennessee USA Per the book "Between the Rivers, History of the Land between the Lakes" written by Betty Wallace a native and History Professor at Austin Peay State University (IBN #1880617-01-30 page 22:) "Etheldred Wallace, a tall, stern man left Edinborough, Scotland with parents, William and Susanna, and seven brothers to settle in Virginia around 1770. For some reason, Etheldred went back to Scotland but later returned to settle in North Carolina around 1774. While there, he married Amy Taylor, who owned land in Martin County, North Carolina. Around 1800. Etheldred and his family, which included his father, moved to Saline Creek near Bumpus Mills. Three of Etheldred's brothers joined him there, but for some reasons, they moved in 1805 to Ashland, Kentucky."

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The source provided for this information is "Stewart County Historical Society, The Stewart County Heritage: Dover Tennessee (Dover, Tennessee: Stewart County Historical Society, 1980), 441" John Exum (1695 – 1775) was the grandfather of Susannah (Exum) Wallace. He was eight generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on this father’s side of the family. John Exum and his wife Elizabeth (Kinchen) 1709 – 1764) lived in Edgecombe County, North Carolina where he died in 1775. An abstract of William’s will is shown below and was filed in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. William Exum lived in Isle of Wright County, Virginia at the time and made his will, April 25, 1720, and same was probated August 22, 1720 (Great book, p. 51) reads as follows:

William Exum, (d.1720) Will Abstract. – 25 April 1720 , Isle of Wight County, Virginia: William Exum made his will, April 25, 1720, and same was probated August 22, 1720 (Great Book, p. 51), as follows:“gives to his son John Exum, £3:10:0: curr. To his son William Exum of land on the north side of Round Hill Swamp, in Isle of Wight County at the mouth of Reedy Creek, son Joseph Exum the remainder part of the tract of land at Round Hill, son Robert Exum, 100 acres adjoining Robert Crockers plantation to the land I now dwell upon, daughters Ann & Sarah his plantation together with all the privileges belonging as long as they live unmarried and then to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten. Wife, Susan ½ of his household goods and moveable property. Executrix, wife Susan. Wit: Thos. Atkinson, Francis Exum. Wm (X) Crocker. “ Captain Christopher Clark was the great grandfather of Sarah (Sally Clark) Wallace, who was the wife of Axium Green Wallace of Stewart County, Tennessee.

Captain Clark was a lawyer from Middlesex, Virginia who married Penelope Johnston in 1709. Captain Clark was seven generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on this father’s side of the family.

Christopher Clark Bio Information: Christopher Clark was a law partner of Nicholas Meriwether, ancestor of Meriweather Lewis and owned land in Hanover County, Virginia on Cedar Creek as early as 170506. Christopher was a tobacco planter, Captain of a militia company and justice of the peace in Hanover. The Clarks are among the first settler beyond the Chestnut Mountains. Christopher Clark has 5000 acres of land in Louisa and Albemarle. He had joined the Society of Friends late in life and dies the same year.

Sallie Ann Moorman (1640 = 1710) was the mother of Captain Christopher Clark and the wife of Micajah Clark. They were married in 1688 and came to the United States from Isle Wright, England. The family settled in Virginia.

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Quakers Zachariah Moorman (father of Sallie Ann) and his family were Quakers who left England to escape persecution. Five Hundred First Families of America by Compiled and edited by Alexander DuBin, Fourth Edition, 1972-1973,The Historical Publication Society, One East Forty Second Street, New York, New York 10017, page 228.

Edward Johnson (1649 – 1704) was the father of Penelope Johnson (wife of Captain Christopher Clark). Edward married Elizabeth Walker (1680 – 1725) and came to America from Scotland to settle in Virginia. It is not sure if they were married in America or in Scotland, but the first records of their children are recorded in America. One of the oldest family portraits is a painting of his father Arthur Johnson (1587 -1661 see a copy of painting below).

Edward Johnson: Marriage to Elizabeth Walker – Edward's name first appears in this new parish as the father of children born during the 1680's. The Parish Register of Saint Peter's New Kent County, VA from 1680-1787, pub. by ...Colo. Dames, 1904, page 17, has the birth records for children of Edward Johnson and "wife Elizabeth". Thus we also find the first and only documentation for his wife's name. [Their marriage is not in the Blissland Parish book as given by several researchers.]

Change From Johnston to Johnson – It is also noteworthy that two of Sir George and Christian Johnston's daughters played a role in the future "Johnsons of Virginia" story. Daughter Janet Johnston married distant (third) cousin Sir Robert Johnston of Caiesmill (Cayesmill) and was the mother of Alderman Robert Johnson, Deputy Treasurer of the Virginia Co. (Sir Robert moved to England during the late years of Queen Elizabeth's reign (1558-1603) which is when he changed the surname spelling to Johnson). – This may be a factor in why some family tree members record their name as Johnston while others record their name as Johnson.

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Sarah “Sally” Elizabeth Clark (1818 – 1900) was the wife of Axium Green Wallace; however, the marriage didn’t work out and both Sarah and Axium later remarry. The picture below shows the family of Axium Green Wallace after his marriage to Sarah had ended. Sarah married Evan Wallace and Axium married Minerva Cherry.

Back Standing: Rebecca WhitehurstWhitehurst-Wallace 1845 Sally Elizabeth Wallace 1863 LittleBerry Wallace 1838 Augustus Henry Wallace 1853 Daniel Newton Wallace 1847 Front Row; Row; Agnes Naomi Wallace 1857 Amy TaylorTaylor-Wallace 1780 Martin Vanburen Wallace 1813 Minerva CherryCherry-Wallace 1821 Acium Green Wallace 1813 Rebecca D. Wallace 1855 Explanation of picture (who is who): 1 Amy (Taylor) Wallace (sitting in rocker front row), widow of Etheldred Wallace 2 Axium Green Wallace (son of Etheldred and Amy Wallace) and wife Minerva Cherry Wallace sitting front row 3 Axium Green’s son (by Sally Clark) Berry Wallace (Littleberry standing hand on rocker) 4 Berry’s wife Rebecca Whitehurst Wallace, and their children Sally Elizabeth Wallace (held by her mother) and Martin Vanburen Wallace – standing front row between Amy (Taylor) and Minerva (Cherry) 5 Children of Axium Green and Minerva Wallace: Daniel Newton Wallace and Augustus Henry Wallace (standing back row), Rebecca D. Wallace and Agnes Naomi Wallace (standing front row) Early WilliamsWilliams-Clark Connections in Stewart Tennessee According to the Will Book of Stewart Tennessee, Elisha Wiliams [Sr, b 1789 Martin Co, NC, d. 1846 Stewart Co TN] was administrator of the estate sale of Littleberry Clark, in May 1835. Independent family records confirm that Littleberry Clark was born 1771 in Sussex, VA, and died 1835 (or late 1834) in Stewart Co, TN. Littleberry Clark's wife, as recorded in Familly Data Collection, was Sally Lashley, b. 1775, d 1845.

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At the May 1835 estate sale of Littleberry Clark, administered by Elisha Williams, the buyers included 'widow' Clark, Armistead Taylor, T S Scarborough, and Elisha's son Calvin R. Williams.

A different Will Book entry, #349, shows John B. Clary selling 222a to Elisha Williams Sr, the Trustee for Sally Clark. This confirms that Elisha was administrator for Littleberry Clark and his wife Sarah "Sally or Sallie" Lashley, both originally of Virginia.

Independent family tree research indicates that Littleberry Clark was the younger brother, by one year, of General William Clark, (pictured left) who was the 'Clark' in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who later became General of the Louisiana Militia, and finally Governor of Missouri Territory. More biographic information on Littleberry Clark is currently unavailable, but there is mention of a Clarks Creek on Saline Creek, in Stewart Co., which may have been where he lived.

Also, Littleberry Clark's eldest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth 'Sallie' Clark (pictured left), b 1818 in Sussex VA, married Evans Wallace, b. 1807 Edgecome/Martin Co, NC, and their child Emeline Wallace, b. 1840 married Elisha Williams Sr's youngest son, Benoni Williams, b. 1838.

So Littleberry's granddaughter married Elisha's son, a further indication of a Williams-Clark connection in Stewart TN in the early 1800s.

Captain Christopher Clark (1681 – 1754) was the grandfather of Little Berry Clark (1771 – 1834). He was married to Penelope Johnson (1684 – 1760); however, there has been some controversy over her last name but not that he was married to Penelope. Christopher and Penelope Clark were seven generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family.

from:http://homepages.rootsweb .ancestry.com/~lksstarr/JohnsonSection/Johnson%20Web%20page.htm

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Upfront: Johnson as the surname for Penelope, wife of Christopher Clark (c1681-1754), is disputed by perhaps 2/3 of those researching this couple. It is my personal conclusion the case for her being a Johnson is stronger than for her being a Massie or a Bolling. However, a good case can be made for the other surnames and no one can cite specific "documented evidence" to prove their side. Johnson comes from the birth entry in the St. Peter's Parish Birth Register: "Penelope, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Johnson." Whether this Penelope is the wife of Christopher Clark, is the question. Massie comes from family tradition best stated by Gershom Perdue in 1878. This letter may well hold the key to sorting family relationships, but not everyone interprets his words the same. Others, based on the given names of numerous descendants, believe Penelope's surname was Bolling.

Penelope's Massie link is supposedly through an illegitimate daughter of the first Lord Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley-Cooper (1621-1683). Meanwhile, Dr. Lorand Johnson's stated "proof" Edward was the son of Dr. Arthur Johnston is disproved. The cited book was found in the Library of Congress after this report was written. At least three researchers have gone through it, page by page. None found the letter, let alone mention of "cousin" Edward. This breaks all those purported links between Edward and the Johnston’s in Scotland as well as the "suggestive evidence" Walker was the surname for Edward's wife, Elizabeth.

It should be noted here there are only four "documented" children for Edward and Elizabeth of New Kent County: Thomas b. 1680; Eliz. b. 1682; Penelope b. 1684; and Rachell b. 1686/7. So far we've identified only one son for Thomas: Benjamin of Hanover County. Our collective attention was turned in the other direction: searching for clues in Edward's New Kent County neighborhood linking him to (or as) one of the earlier Johnson’s in the tidewater area.

Joseph Taylor Jr. (1751 – 1818) is six generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family. His father Joseph Taylor Sr. (1726 – 1806) fought in the revolutionary war. He married Sarah “Sally” Elizabeth Best.

Joseph Taylor Jr. born: March 4, 1751, Orange County, Virginia Died: March 22, 1818, Richardsville, Burial: Taylor Cemetery Richardsville, Warren County, Kentucky Parents: Joseph Zachary Taylor & Nancy Walker Married: Sarah “Sally” Best 1780 280

Children: Frances “Frankie” 1783 Amy 1784 Delilah 1786 William Warren 1787 Allen 1789 Mary Ann 1791 Seraphy Temperance 1793 Nancy 1797 Sarah 1800 Joseph Best 1801 Elizabeth Ann 1803 Charlotte 1805 Hannah Barker (1687 – 1754) is nine generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family. Hannah was married to Walter Lashley who forms a direct line of descents to Sarah Salley (Clark) Wallace’s parents (Her mother was Sarah Lashley).

Hannah Barker – Barker Family Genealogy Forum Forum Re: Hannah Barker and Walter Lashley, Sr. VA Posted by: Martina Barker Aldred Date: December 11, 2000 In Reply to: Hannah Barker and Walter Lashley, Sr. VA by L. Lasley Albermerle Parish records, 1739-1778, page 217. Indicates Hannah Lashley died 5 sept 1754. infor, John Bane. Hannah for many years had a disorder of the mind, recovered and continued for 6 or 7years. About 18 months to 2 years after she relapsed she died. She was the daughter of John Barker Jr. and Grace Busby.

The Whitehurst name contains a long line of descendants to the Wallace family. Littleberry Wallace (1838 – 1920) married Susan Rebecca Whitehurst in 1859. Batson Whitehurst (1739 – 1823 is six generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family. The following article is recorded by a Whitehurst family member: Story Generation Five Batson Whitehurst, born c1757, Prinsess Anne County Virginia, died 1823, wife unknown. He moved with his parents to Beaufort County North Carolina when he was about four years old. He enlisted in the Revolutionary War 20 July 1778 and served nine months. He was enlisted as Batson Whites instead of Batson Whitehurst Batson had many land deeds on record in Beaufort County North Carolina, but he sold his land before he moved to Hawkins County Tennessee with his son, Thomas Joshua and his family. This move was between 1821 and 1823.

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When Batson made his will 26 March 1823, he did not name his wife as heir so she must have been deceased. Among those names in his will were four grandchildren: (Patsy) Martha, Batson, John, and Thomas (Jefferson) Whitehurst.

(1) Batson Whitehurst, Jr. no information (2) Simon Whitehurst. married Mary Ann Scott (3) Arthur Whitehurst. Had a son William Whitehurst born 1788 that married Elizabeth (4) Richard Whitehurst had a son John C. Whitehurst born 1803 that married Elizabeth Bryan.

(5) Thomas Joshua Whitehurst Often the Page name in the Wallace family is contributed to James Thomas Wallace’s mother Annie Mae Page (1915 – 1997); however, the same Page branch of the family appears on both his mothers and father’s side of the family. Elelheath Page (1716 – 1778) is seven generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on this father’s side of the family. There are several different spellings of Eleltheath (Axolheath, Axelheath, or Axel Heath), but this seems to be the one used most often. He married a woman named Christian, but there are no records of whom she was before she married Eleltheath in 1756.

Estimates of his birth have varied considerably, as late as about 1715. He died sometime between July 1779 (when his case against James Overstreet was continued to the next court and March 1780 when the case was dismissed because the plaintiff (Exolheath) was dead). (Goochland Co., VA Ct. Order Bk. 13: 204 and Ct. Order Bk. 14: 21) His name may have been Axel Heath Page. A biography of a descendant in a Henry Co. Missouri history asserts that the grandfather of Anderson (i.e. Exolheath) was of English descent. His name is also seen as Axelheath among records of descendants. Tithable lists of 1765, 1766, and 1767 shows the Exolheath household included 500 acres. Court records show Exolheath was appointed a surveyor in 1753.

The first mention of Axelheath in the Goochland Co. Nov., 1753 Court record, "Ax'l Page is appointed surveyor of the Church Road from Toney's Bridge to Leak's Bridge with the usual gang." In Levy Court, Dec., 1754 "Exhollheath Page pd. for erecting two sign posts - 50# tobacco."

Tithable and court data of Goochland Co., Virginia show that at least four Pages, John, Robert, Jacob, and Axelheath, arrived there about the same time, between 1740 and 1750. Whether they were brothers or related is unknown.

Exolheath was probably in King and Queen Co. before going to Goochland, as the following report by Dolores Rutherford indicates: "About three years ago, a correspondent was doing research in the VA State Archives and found a record involving Exolheath Page of Goochland Co. in the VA State Archives labeled as Goochland County Judgments, 1762 Sept. 1754 Exolheath Page of Goochland Co., VA was sued by Thomas Bridgeforte; Exolheath and John Page - grand jury action against them for not keeping road in repair - charges dismissed; Aug. 1763 John 282

Page (probable son of Exolheath sued by James George - summons executed & defendant (Page) failed to appear in court; Dec. 1763 John Page sued Alexander Bathe (charges unclear - might be forgery or counterfeit of 3 pound notes. Page did not appear in court. Instead John Lee (a brother-in-law) appeared to give bail for John Page. [John Lee had married Betty Page, a daughter of Exolheath Page on 11 Sep. 1755 in Goochland Co., VA].

Axelheath was taxed on 500 acres from 1763-1768, but no deeds or patents exist to show he owned the land. Aug. 1764 Exolheath Page was witness for Thomas Miles; John Lee was witness for Thomas Miles; Robert Page was witness for Thomas Milrd; June 1765 Deed of William Page to John Page proved by Thomas Starke; Sep 1765 Exolheath Page witness for William Hodges vs. John Payne, minor; Oct 1769 Exolheath Page was sued by John Payne - defendant not arrested because of action by plaintiff court awarded attachment against the estate for 9 pounds, 17 shillings, 8 pence with 50 shillings damages; Exolheath Page, an ancient and poor person excused from paying levies in the future.", July, 1773.

Died during the trial of Page vs James Overstreet sometime between July 1779 and March 1780. Died in St. James Northam Parish. His recorded will, dated 1778, left all to his youngest son Joseph, after the death of his wife Christian: His will was recorded in the Goochland Co., Virginia Deed Book 12 on pg. 161. It reads: Know all men by these presents that I Exolheath Page of Saint James Northam Parish in the County of Goochland for the Love I bear towards my Youngest Son Joseph Page of the Parish and County aforesaid have given and granted and by these presents do freely hearby and Absolutely give and grant to my said Son Joseph Page all and Singular and household Stuff Chattles moveables and immoveables both real and personal whatsoever they be or in whose hands custody or possession the same may be found after the Decease of my well beloved wife Christian Page to whom I Lend the same During her natural Life and then to my said Son To Have and to Hold all the goods Chattles household Stuff Implements and all other the premises to my said son Joseph Page his heirs or assignees. From henceforth to his own proper use and be hove as his own proper goods absolutely on condition of his living with me during my natural life The said Exolheath Page have here unto Set my hand and Affix my seal this Twenty first Day of January In the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Seventy Eight his Signed Sealed, and Delivered Exolheath X Page Seal In the Presence of mark James Allen Reuben Wotherspoon At Court held for Goochland County August the 17 th 1778 This Deed Poll was proved by the oaths of the Witnesses hereto to be the Acts and Deed of Exolheath Page and ordered to be Recorded.

Comments: Previous land and property owned by Exolheath had probably been given to his other children prior to this will. He was relatively poor, and exempt from taxes and other obligations, by the time the will was written. The witness Reuben Wetherspoon was a neighbor and young in-law of Exolheath. The clerk's script in the will was a somewhat older type and difficult to read. We have preserved his spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

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LDS 161 contains information on Axelheath Page and descendants. Other children have been attributed to him but without proof. We show a son John who married Unity Harris. Some other researchers have concluded that Axelheath had a son John who married Edith Cauthan. Marriages and children are recorded in The Douglas Register for both of these John Pages, who were of about the same age. Apparently both lived with or near Axelheath in the vicinity of Lickinghole Creek. We know that the John Page who married Unity Harris relocated to North Carolina. The other John appears to have remained in Goochland Co. It's possible that Axelheath and Christian had a daughter Christian, probably born about 1739. The Douglas Register shows a Christian Page married Thomas Wilburn Oct. 22, 1759, and they had children Elizabeth Sept. 12, 1760, Nannie Mar. 24, 1763, and Robert Mar. 24, 1763. Some descendants of Robert Page of Goochland Co. 1710-1786 claim that Christian was his daughter, although there is no known proof. Others claim that this same Robert Page was Axelheath's brother. We have adopted the latter view, although proof is lacking.

In Goochland Court Order Book 13, pp. 99, Aug, Court 1778, a deed from Axelheath to James Page is proved. The actual deed gives the grantee as Joseph Page, in Deed Book 12, pp. 161. Book 13, pg. 78, July 1778, Exolheath declared dead.

Axelheath's ancestors are unknown. Records have been lost for New Kent Co. where he may have been born. We note that a John Page, Jr. was in possession of 300 acres in King and Queen Co., and 400 acres in New Kent Co. This appears to be the son of John Page who was transported to the Colony of Virginia on July 4, 1635 from England, on HMS Transport. He was 18 at the time. Maybe these were Axelheath's ancestors, but there is no known evidence supporting this. Another suggestive hint is that Exol is the name of a swamp in King & Queen Co., Virginia and must be named after someone named Exol, and heath in England is a desolate place (swamp?). Later research shows the land was owned by a John Echols, and there appears to be no connection between him and our families in Goochland Co. Another idea was a report that a Page and an Exol landed early in Gloucester Co., Virginia. Still other suggestive findings are the following postings on the rootsweb/Page forum: Exholheath Page Author: Shirley Dexter Date: 4 May 2002 5:52 AM GMT I have found a place in England, near Coventry which is called Exhall and there was supposedly an Exhallheath, along with Great Heath, and Little Heath, on the North side of Coventry in Warwickshire.

There is also an Exhall near Alcester, near Stratford on Avon. Shirley Gross Dexter believes this could be a clue to follow and welcomes the input of others.

England transported many felons and political outcasts to populate the early Virginia colony. Five males, having the surname Page have been counted from Middlesex, England, in the period preceding Axelheath's birth, including Richard in June 1663, Edward in Feb. 1672, John in Jul 1686, Richard in Feb. 1693, and Richard (alias Jenkins) in Dec. 1697. There may have been others of the Page surname who were 284

transported by England to the Virginia colony from other locations. We note also that many Pilgrims fled from England to Holland in 1608, and later came to America from Holland. They couldn’t afford to hire ships or buy the supplies necessary for the voyage, so they contracted with a British company to transport them to America as indentured servants. It took seven years for them to gain their freedom after they arrived in this new country. "Transported" merely means that someone else paid for the trip. "Immigrated" means they paid for the trip themselves.

The name Axelheath apparently carried down to later generations. An Axel Page settled in north Missouri in the early 1800's, and an Axel Heath Page married Sally Innes in Amherst Co., Virginia Apr. 12, 1807.

Goochland Co. Deed Bk. 12, pg. 161 has a "will" for Axelheath. It is clearly written as a "deed", not a will. The document in that deed book was dated Jan. 21, 1778 and was recorded on Aug. 17, 1778.

There is mention of Exolheath Page of Goochland Co., VA in the August/September 2001 issue of Tidewater Virginia Families in an article contributed by Minor Tompkins Weisiger (pgs. 98-103). The article is titled "Depositions Relating to Residents, King and Queen County, 1759-1761" are depositions relating to residents of King and Queen County were found in the Goochland County Miscellaneous Court Papers. The gist of this record for Exolheath is that he and Thomas Starke were summoned "to appear before our Justices of our said ("said" crossed out) County Court of Goochland, at the Court-House, on the third Tuesday in this present month of September to testify, and the Truth to say, on Behalf of John Russell a poor Person in a certain Matter of controversy in our said Court‌before our said Justices depending and undetermined, between the said John Russell Pl't and David Mimms Executor &c. of William Drumright dec'd def........" (more) Date: 2 Feb 1759.

The above article was supplied by Mrs. Ann Kyle of Raleigh, NC (formerly of Roanoke, VA).

The date of the message on this subject was 2 Feb 1759, but it appears that the court had requested that the deposition of Exolheath PAGE take place the previous September (1758).

There is no more about Exolheath's deposition in this article. The reference for these depositions is given by Mr. Weisiger as:"Goochland County Miscellaneous Court Papers (Box A2). Archival and Information Services, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA 23219" Exolheath's origins have thus far evaded researchers. However it appears he had English origins as implied in the following email extract. Others on the Page DNA chart have a Y chromosome match that is identical to that of two known Exolheath descendants, Dan Page a descendant of Exolheath's son James, and Don Page of Florida descendant of Exolheath's son Robert.

Subject: No. 38 Added to our Group Denver Page is No. 38, at the end of the chart, and is grouped together with those of you who share a common ancestor with Exolheath (Axelheath) of Goochland Co., VA (1754-1775). His ancestry prior to the 1750's may be the key to solving the English ancestry of Exolheath (Axelheath) Page.

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Denver wrote: "I have limited information on my great-grandfather. From the beginning of what I know, Thomas Page was born in England (county unknown) in 1840. Sometime after that he came to Ontario, Canada. It is unclear if he was married twice or not. One reference was made that he was married first to an Ann Cantwell also born in England. The only sure thing that I know is that he was married to Susan Jane (Haines?). He had 5 children, Betsy, Nathan, Jenna, James and Anna, James being my grandfather. James was born in Canada in 1868 and came to the US in 1869. I have them in the 1870 Flint, Michigan census and then in 1880 they were in Grout, Michigan. Sometime in the 1890's, my grandfather, James Page came to Port Angeles, WA. It is unclear what happened to Thomas and Susan between Michigan and Washington. I have not been able to find any record of death of either. Several of Thomas's children, Jenna and Anna are also a mystery. It is intriguing to note that Ann Cantwell was mentioned in court proceedings to secure the Great Page Estate in the Wembley/Harrow-on-the-Hill area of Middlesex County, owned by Henry Page who d. 1829. In 1905, a James Page alleged that he was the heir-at-law of Henry Page, who had died in 1829 without issue and without valid disposition of the very valuable Page real estate in Wembley. On 18 May 1906, a motion pertaining to the real estate was heard in the Chancery Court before Mr. Justice Swinfen Eady and dismissed.

George W. Page Also, we should remark that there is a place in Warwickshire, England near Coventry called Exhall, "which in the past was supposedly called Exhallheath" on the North side of Coventry. Records there have not yet been searched for possible clues to our Exolheath. Source: Ancestry World Tree

The name John Page is often confused without the use of dates. John Page was the son of Eleltheath Page who’s father and son were both named John. John Page (1699 – 1750) was the father of Elelheath who spent his life in

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Virginia and died in Goochland, Virginia. He married Hannah Mary Harris in 1719.

John Page b. 22 Dec. 1699 - The following written by G.W.Page, excerpt: Joseph Page, Sr. was the son of John Page, b. Dec. 22, 1699,, who with two of his sons (John and William) moved their families from Goochland Co., VA, to an area about eight miles from Tarboro along the Tar River near what is now Conetoe, NC. This is along the border of Edgecombe and Pitt Counties, NC. Joseph Page purchased three hundred acres on the south side of the Tar River in 1782. About 1787 or 1788 Joseph Page, along with his brother John and John's wife Unity Harris Page moved to Jefferson Co., GA.The son John Page married Unity Harris, and had two sons: John Jr. and Joseph. Joseph Page married Elizabeth Bland and died in 1805.

The Joseph Page of Goochland Co., VA was the only child of Exolheath and Christian Page who can be proven by actual records. According to "The Douglas Register" transcribed and edited by W. Mac. Jones, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1973: 263: "Axelheath Page & Christian Page a Son named Joseph born Ap: 22, 1756. Baptized 1756 May 16. p.

48" The latter page no. is the page of the original records kept by the Rev. William Douglas from 1750-1790.

Such birth and baptismal records for none of the other "suspected" "suspected" children (but not proven beyond a doubt) of Exolheath Page have been found in the Goochland Co. or any other VA County records. So far, we can only speculate as to the other children of Exolheath Page by using the county records and by a process of eliminating them from the other PAGE families in the area.

In this time, young males were considered "tithable" at age 16, and this Joseph Page would be first taxed in 1772 or 1773. Although some years of the Tithable Records of Goochland Co., VA (1728-1782) are missing, they show Joseph taxed with Exolheath Page in 1772, 1773, 1775 and in his own household in 1778.

These Tithable Lists are sporadic, and many are missing through 1782, so Joseph may have been there during those years.

After the Rev. War, the former "Tithable Lists" were renamed "Personal Property Tax Lists" and Joseph Page is shown in these. The Goochland Co., VA Pers. Prop. Taxes show this Joseph Page there in the following years.

Personal Property Property Tax Tax Lists Lists - Goochland Co., VA 1782, 1784, 1789-1790 From these tax lists, it is evident that this Joseph Page did not own any land, slaves or horses, mules or mares in this county. No marriage bond or marriage record exists in the Goochland Co. records to show that he was married there. Whether or not he was the same man as the Joseph PAGE of Amherst Co., VA is a mystery, but records hint at the fact "he may have been" the same man. However, more proof must be found to definitely prove it.

The Spivey name is another name that completes branches on both the mothers and father’s side of the family for James Thomas Wallace. Captain Matthew Spivey is eight generations removed from James Thomas Wallace.

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Spivey - Matthew will 1718 1718, Norfolk County, North Carolina, USA Matthew Spivey of Norfolk County …

Book 1a0 f. 64. dated 16 Feb. 1718. proved 15 May 1719, Mrs. Hanah Holliday,, Robert Bowers & John Bowers.. … unto my Said executrices the use of my Watter Mill with the Rents of my lands and use of my bull and old barren cows … Stock of hogs in the hands of Edward Wood Edward Weston and William Ward in the government of North Carolina … the aforesaid. Mill and lands unto my Said executrices &c towards the bringing up and schooling of my four youngest Children and if please god that my mother Should Die … my Daughter Sarah Should live upon the Maner Plantation … until my Son Matthew Spivey Comes of full age at which time … Said Maner plantation with the Water Mill thereon to the Said Mathew Spivey always is provided … he … Shall make a firm bill of sale … for a Certain tract of Land now in tenor of John Stafford unto my young Son George Spivey … and if my Said Son Matthew fails … that then … my Son George Inherit …my land in North Carolina to my Said Son George … … my present loving Mother … … my Six Children (vest)) Sarah Judith Thomas Elizabeth Matthew and George Spivey … … unto William Johnston one Dueroyes Coate trimmed with black one holland Striped Jacket and one ditto britches … … my Said loving Mother Mrs. Judith Nichols jointly together with my Tender Daughter Sarah Spivey … Sole executrices … witnesses: Hanah Holliday.. Robert Bowers by his mark. Thomas Manning by his mark. John Bowers.

Matthew: Spivey & Seale.

John Ballantine (1653 – 1734) most likely came to America from Scotland. John married Lydia Barrett (1657 – 1740), and they had at least two sons and a daughter, John Ballantine 1674, William Ballantine 1679, and Lydia 1676. The Ballantine family settled in Boston, Massachusetts. John Ballantine is eight generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family.

John Ballantine was born March 15, 1674 and died in infancy in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

Lydia Ballantine was born June 2, 1676 and died young in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

William Ballantine was born August 23, 1679 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.

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The following letter from John Ballantine in Scotland, to Col. John Ballantine, of Boston, Mara shows that Mr. William Ballantine of Boston, the ancestor of those of the name in this country was from Scotland, viz." Ayr, Scotland, Feb. 11, 1707.

Captain Samuel Heath by whom this Is conveyed, having given me and my family so satisfying in account of your welfare, and that you are so happily married to a gentle woman of a highly honorable family, I cordially congratulate you happiness, and shall be glad to bear of your prosperity—seeming there is a happy union concluded between us, (Scotland and England)—I hope as long as it will tend to mutual advantage. The circumstances of trade in this place are at present very low, but now I hope it will revive. Be pleased by the first good hand to advise me, what goods of our product may turn to the best account, and what may be returned to profit, from your place, that thereby some here may make a trip to Boston. My sons are yet too young to travel, the eldest being fourteen years and at school. But if it please God to spare you and them, they may be so happy as to see you in Boston. This with my cordial respect to yourself and lady, to your aunts, sisters and their husbands, (if married.) May the blessings of the upper and nether springs be upon you and yours. I remain, Sir, your affectionate grand-uncle and humble servant, John Ballantine " P. S. My spouse, my four (or five sons) and my four daughters, do present their humble service to you and your lady, and to all their relatives with you. J. B." David, b. Feb. 5, 1659; Elizabeth, b. March 8, 1660; Benjamin, b. July 22, 1661; second Hannah, b.

Nov. 15, 1662; Sarah, b. Sept. 18, 1664; third William, b. Nov. 26, 1665; Susanna, b. Feb. 2, 1668; Jonathan, b. Sept. 19, 1669. His will, dated Dec. 6, 1669; his inventory taken same month and year. David, Hannah, last William, Susanna and Jonathan, were provided for in his will. The journal of Rev. John Ballentine, deceased, of Westfield says, that his great-grandfather had issue : John, a daughter who m. Benjamin Webb, of Braintree, and third Sarah, who m. John Barnard. Webb had several children, viz., Rev. Benjamin Webb, of Eastham, and Rev. Nathan Webb, of Uxbridge, and others. Mr. Barnard had two children, viz., Matthew, m.

Deborah Vail, house-wright, and Jonathan, who married and settled in England, and had several children.

CAPTAIN JOHN BALLANTINE, the son of William, Sen., b. 1653, member of the ar. co. in 1682, and captain of it in 1703, d. April 27, 1734. He m. for his first wife, Lydia Barret, of Boston, and had issue: John, Jr., b. 1674 or '5; Sarah; Lydia, b. June 2, 1676; William, b. 1679; second Lydia, b. Oct. 24, 1682; left a large estate. Mary widow of Captain. John, her will dated Sept. 5, 1738. She notices her daughter-in-law Mary, relict of Col. John Ballantine and their children John, William and Mary; she gave to her daughter-in-law, Sarah Wharton, and her grand-daughter, Mary Kneeland, and kinswoman, Mary Harvey, of Taunton, but the larger part of her estate she gave to her daughter-in-law, Lydia, unmarried. (Perhaps the estate of John, Sen.) Col. John, Jr., only son of John, Sen., and grandson of William, Sen., of Boston, graduated at Harvard College, 1694, a member of the ar. co., 1694, Col. of militia, many years Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, and General Sessions of the Peace, a Representative of Boston, at the General Court. He married Mary Winthrop, daughter of Adam Winthrop, Sen., Esq., of Boston, and sister of Adam, formerly one of the Council and Chief 289

Justice of an inferior court. Col. John and Mary had children : John, b. Oct. 1705, d.; Lydia, b. March 31, 1715; second John, b. Oct. 30, 1716; two Marys; William, b. Aug. 3, 1724; perhaps others. Col. John, or John Ballantine Esq., made his will in 1734, and made his wife Mary and her brother, Hon. Adam Winthrop, executors. He names children, John, Mary and William, and his sisters Sarah Wharton and Lydia Ballantine.

He d. Jan. 2, 1735, (O. S.) His widow Mary d. Oct. 18, 1739, aged 56 years.

REV. John Ballantine, son of Col. John, of Boston, whose mother was Mary Winthrop, daughter of Adam, was b. Oct. 30, 1716; graduated at Harvard College, 1735 and settled at Westfield, Mass., in the ministry, 1741: he had previously preached at Providence, at Marlborough, Stoughton, &c. He preached at Westfield thirty-five years, where he died Feb. 12, 1776, aged 59 years. He married Mary Gay, daughter of Lusher Gay, of Dedham, Mass., a sister of Ebenezer Gay, D. D., of Suffield, Conn., and of Richard Gay, of Granby, Conn., Sept. 20,1743, and had children, viz., Mary b. Dec. 10, 1744; Lydia, b. April 20, 1747, d. Aug. 27, 1749; John, b. April 18, 1750, d. single April 17, 1833; Rev. William Gay Ballantine b. July 11, 1751; Winthrop, b. March 16, 1754, d. 1758; Ebenezer, b. July 14, 1756; Lydia, b. March 15, 1759, m. Seth King; second Winthrop, b. June 9, 1762, m. Ruth Chapin, of Salisbury, Conn. Mary daughter of Rev. John Ballantine of Westfield, m. Oct. 17, 1769, Maj. Gen. John Ashley, of Sheffield, Mass. (See Ashley) Mrs. Mary wife of Rev. John, d. Oct. 7, 1794, aged 67. Lusher Gay, of Dedham, in a letter to his daughter Mary wife of Rev. John Ballantine, dated March 4, 1744, speaks of her aunt Fairbanks. Rev. John, son of Rev. John, of Westfield, graduated at Harvard College, July, 1768. (President Holyoke gave Rev. John Ballantine his second degree the first commencement he officiated, and his son John his first degree the last commencement he officiated.) He was licensed to preach April 28, 1773, but was never settled in the ministry or married. He d.

April 17, 1833, aged 83 years. (Second degree July 17, 1771.)

REV. William Gay Ballantine, son of Rev. John, of Westfield, graduated at Harvard College, July 17, 1771, and was licensed to preach in August, 1773; read theology with Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Amherst, Mass.

June 15, 1774, he was ordained pastor of the church in Hartwood; afterwards he settled at Washington, Mass., where he died Nov. 30, 1820. He m. Ann King, and had two children, viz., Ann, m. Rev. Isaiah Watrous, of Albany, and William Gay, who now resides in Suffield, Conn., where he is a wealthy farmer, m. and has a family.

Ebenezer Ballantine, son of Rev. John Ballantine, of Westfield, graduated at Yale College, in 1777; he studied medicine and surgery, and became a surgeon in the army during the war of the revolution, and was for a time a surgeon at West Point, N. Y.; afterwards, he settled in his profession at Schodack Landing, N. Y., and became eminent in his profession as a physician and surgeon. He removed with his family to Marion, Ohio, in 1822, where he d. in the autumn of 1823, aged 67 years. He m. Mary Osborn, b. at Waterbury, Ct., Jan. 22, 1773, m. Dec. 5, 1793, and had issue: John, b. Dec. 17, 1794, d. 1796; Mary b. April 30, 1796, she married Rev. Eldad Barber, of Ohio, and had a son Henry B., she d. at his birth Sept., 1832; second John, b. Jan. 19, 1798; Ebenezer, Jr., b. Aug. 25, 1799, d. single in 1823; Osborn, b. Dec. 15, 1801, d. 1823, single; Anner 290

Thankful, b. Nov. 17, 1805; William Gay, b. Aug. 22, 1807; Elisha, b. Oct. 11, 1809; Henry, b. March 5, 1813. John, son of Dr. Ebenezer, is settled as a farmer in Marion, Ohio; he married his first wife Marietta Bowdish, of Thompson, Conn., and had Ebenezer, John, and other children. His wife d. and he m. a second wife, and has one child living by this marriage.

Ebenezer Ballantine graduated at Yale College, in 1777. Four by the name of Ballantine had graduated at Harvard College, in 1771.

Anner Thankful m. Isaac Morgereidge, of Marion, Ohio, and has children: John, Mary, and other children.

William Gay, son of Dr. Ebenezer, m. Caroline Russell, of Ohio; he was a farmer at Marion, Ohio; he d. and left a widow and one child, William Henry.

REV. Elisha, son of Dr. Ebenezer, graduated at the Ohio University, in 1828; he read theology at the Theological Seminary at Prince Edward, Virginia; after he was licensed to preach he became a Professor in the Theological Seminary at Prince Edward, Virginia, and afterwards a Professor of Languages in the Ohio University; afterwards settled at Prince Edward, Virginia, as Pastor of a church, where he remained about ten years, and in Jan., 1848, he became Pastor of the first Presbyterian Church, at the city of Washington, D. C, where he resided several years until his health failed him. He married Betsey Ann Watkins, daughter of Henry N. Watkins, a distinguished lawyer of Virginia, now deceased and has six children, viz., Mary Osborn, Henry W., Ann, Elizabeth, Fanny and William Gay. Rev. Elisha i3 a brilliant scholar, and an eminent divine.

REV. Henry, son of Dr. Ebenezer, graduated at the Ohio University, 1829, read theology and was licensed at Andover, Mass., to preach in 1834, and was ordained as an Evangelist, at Columbus, Ohio, in 1835; he went as a missionary to India the same year, and resided at Bombay one year, at Ahmednugger thirteen years, and returned from India in 1850, with his family. He was m. in May, 1835, to Elizabeth Darling, daughter of Hon. Joshua Darling, of Henniker, few Hampshire, and has six children, viz., Mary Elizabeth D., Julia Ann, Anna Maria, Henry and William, all b. in India. Rev. Henry is an excellent divine.

Sarah, daughter of John Ballantine, Sen., m. John Wharton, and had children, viz., John, Mary, m.

Joseph Kneeland, a goldsmith, Sarah, m. John Plaisted, Lydia, m. Richard Morton, Anna, Hannah, m. Joshua Hill, periwig maker. Lydia, daughter of John Sen., d. unmarried. After the death of the first wife of John Ballantine, Sen., he married. Mrs. Mary Saxton (maiden name Woodward) had no issue: shed. Nov. 11, 1740, aged 86 years.

Mary Ballantine, b. August 3, 1720, daughter of Col. John and Mary m. Thomas Wade, of Boston, Aug. 16, 1739, and had a son John Wade; her husband d. Feb. 9, 1756; she d. at Westfield, Oct. 6, 1760; her son died at Washington, Mass., unmarried.

William Ballantine, son of Col. John and Mary, of Boston, was a merchant in Boston. Rev. John Ballantine, of Westfield, says, "January, 1756, some time this month died Mrs. Elizabeth Ballantine, relict of my brother William Ballantine, deceased."

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Lydia, daughter of Rev. John, of Westfield, m. Seth King, of Suffield, and had issue: Sally, Seth, John, Lydia, Mary, Ebenezer and Lucy. His wife d. Feb. 14, 1817, and he m. Mrs. Bascom, maiden name Reynolds, grand-daughter of Rev. Mr. Reynolds, of Enfield.

Winthrop Ballantine, son of Rev. John, of Westfield, m. Ruth Chapin, of Salisbury, Ct. He was for a time a druggist at Sheffield, Mass., and finally removed to Westfield, where he died. He had issue: Rhoda, m.

Fowler, of Westfield; Elizabeth, m. Chapman, now of Williamstown, Mass., and Ann Maria, m. Mr. Gates, now of Richmond, Mass. Ruth, wife of Winthrop, d. Sept. 15, 1837.

Simon Whitehurst (1690 – 1804) died at the age of 114 years old in Durham Creek, North Carolina.

Simon is seven generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his father’s side of the family. It is possible that the Whitehurst family traveled to America transporting indentured servants as part of the earlier settlers in the United States. The family was most likely Quakers by religion. Not much background is recorded about the Whitehurst family’s early settlement in America. However, the following is a recorded statement about William Richard Whitehurst the grandfather of Simon Whitehurst.

Whitehurst-Nichols Connection – William Richard Whitehurst 1599-1651 is Simon Whitehurst’s Grandfather. The Nichols were transported to Virginia by William Richard Whitehurst, who received land grants for the transportation. They were probably loosely indentured servants. The Whitehurst, Nichols/Nicholas and Goldsmiths were all Quakers. They intermarraied in the first generation. They were probably puritanical or tending to what became Non Conformists, when the first Quakers made it to Virginia they joined that church. Eastern shore Quakers were persecuted by the then governor and were jailed and killed and socially harassed for their faith. The second generation seems to have become good Anglicans and are much associated with Lynhaven Parish in Princess Anne Norfolk.(after C.A. Critchell...June 18,2000...Whitehurst Family Genealogy Forum...Genealogy.com) James Lawrence (1764 – 1851) is six generations removed from James Thomas Wallace on his mother’s side of the family. James Lawrence was married to Lydia “Martha” Thomas (1790), and they moved to Trigg County, Kentucky from North Carolina.

James and Lydia Lawrence Migrate from North Carolina to Kentucky – James and Lydia migrated from Bertie County, North Carolina to Kentucky in the early 1800's and settled in what is now Trigg County on Beech Fork Creek, 1 1/2 miles south of the present Oak Grove Baptist Church.

Deeding land to Alfred and Matilda: 25 March 1723, Trigg County, Kentucky, USA Trigg Co. Deed Book A, p. 285:March 25, 1823 James Lawrence to Alford [Alfred] Lawrence & Matilda Lawrence I give to my children a gift of 100 acres lying on Beachy Fork of Dollason Creek, also 3 head of horses and 10 head of cattle and 20 head of hogs and all my household and kitchen furniture 292

and all farming utensils of every kind. I also give them a receipt on Hugh McCall for $10.00, receipt on William Rogers and Thomas Rogers for $70.00, receipt on George Armstrong for $90.00, receipt on Joseph Cooper for $55.00, receipt on Joseph Cooper $72.00 S/James Lawrence The Cherry family name resides in the Margaret Francis Melton side of the family on her father’s side of the family. John Cherry (1619 – 1670) is eight generations removed from Margaret Melton and was the first of the Cherry ancestors to reach the shores of America. Avarilla Cherry (1838 – 1921) was Margaret Melton’s grandmother and a direct decendant of John Cherry.

Cherry Ancestors – John Cherry was the first Cherry ancestor in America arriving in Virginia in 1635. Oliver Spry received 300 acres in Upper Norfolk Co. Virginia for transporting James Hicks, John Longworthy, Thomas Bush, John Dawson, George Wilcox and John Cherry in June of 1635.

Mrs. Nell (Sachse) Woodard, a professional genealogist went to England several years ago. She was trying to identify and prove the parents of John Cherry [35] (b. abt 1619 England?). This is the John Cherry who was the first Cherry to set foot on the American Continent. Mrs. Woodard ended up proving that neither John Cherry ("The Younger") nor his father (John Cherry, "The Elder") was the father of the John Cherry [35] who came to Lower Norfolk Co., VA in 1635 with Oliver Sprye.

The Cherry Families of Norfolk County Virginia – Virginia and Carolina In 1585 Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh gave the name Virginia to the New World which consisted of all the eastern part of the future United States which had been explored and was claimed by the Crown. In 1606 “The Virginia Company Of London” established James-town.

In 1619 Dutch traders brought the first Blacks to Jamestown as slaves. In 1624, Virginia became a “Royal Colony” after King James I, revoking the Virginia Company Charter. In 1629 King Charles, I of England granted his attorney general, Sir Robert Heath, the southern portion of the English claim in America. This included a strip of land containing what is now NC, SC, GA, etc and extended westward to infinity. The first permanent white settlers to Carolina came from Virginia around 1650 and settled around the Albemarle Sound region. In 1663, Charles II of England regranted Carolina to eight of his favorite nobles and made them Lord Proprietors of the Colony. These proprietors divided Carolina into three counties: Albermarle, in the northern part, next to VA; Clarendon, in the Cape Fear region; and Craven, that area now South Carolina. Clarendon was later abolished.

In 1700, Virginia had a population of about 58,000. The North Carolina area was 7,000, of which 1/3 were slaves. In 1712, the North Carolina region became a separate colony, and in 1719 South Carolina was bought by the Crown from the Proprietors and became a Royal Colony. In 1729 all but one of the Proprietors 293

sold their land back to England. (Lord Granville held onto the area called the Granville District until 1775. By then the population of NC was 250,000.) In 1730 King Charles, I divided the Carolinas into two Royal Provinces; in 1732, the southern part of SC became the Colony of Georgia.

Upper Norfolk County and Lower Norfolk County were created about 1637 from New Norfolk County. New Norfolk County was created in 1636 from Elizabeth City County. Both Nor-folk Counties are in the southeast corner of Virginia. (PA) John Cherry1 [C1] came from England to VA at the age of 16 in 1635. Patent book 1, part 2, page 487 shows an Oliver Sprye who received 300 acres in Upper Norfolk Co VA on 24 October 1637 for transporting six persons from England, by court order on 6 June 135: “James Hicks, John Longworthy, Tho. Bush, John Dawson, George Wilcock, John Cherry,� by order of the court on 6 June 1635. The above Oliver Sprye was a southeast VA Puritan, was justice of the Nansemond Co court in 1646 and was a tobacco viewer for Nansemond (then Upper Norfolk) Co in 1639. John Cherry was the ancestor of many of the Cherry families of AL, AR, KY, TN, TX, and other states. There is no evidence that he was English,2 although he apparently sailed from England (as did many of the Irish coming to America).

John was born about 1619 (1616 per Source 133). He married Elizabeth Faithful (per Source 57), who was born about 1625. They settled in VA's southeast corner, in Lower Norfolk Co, and were the first Cherry family in Norfolk Co and VA (see Benjamin Cherry. John apparently also married Rebecca Mercer,3 a daughter of William Mercer and Elizabeth _____, and may have married Abigail _____ of Norfolk Co (per Source 133). Abigail was born about 1620. Thigpen gives ten children of John, although no evidence can be found for most of them. In fact, the death years given by Thigpen for most of these children shows many of them died in their seventies and eighties, highly unlikely for 250 years ago. The only child shown by Thigpen who was probably a child of immigrant John and Elizabeth was John Cherry Jr; there is no evidence for the rest of the Thigpen children. In fact, there has been no evidence found to show that any of immigrant John Cherry's grandchildren came from anyone but son John Cherry Jr. Therefore, the children shown by Thigpen who were children of immigrant John Cherry, but who didn't themselves have children or marry (per Thigpen) until they were in their forties or older, may be children of immigrant John's son John Cherry Jr. Exactly when John Sr. died is not known, but if he were born in 1619 and if he had an average life span for a family man in the 17th Century, he would have been dead by 1670 at age 51.

The 1670 inventory of the estate of John Cherry was listed in the Norfolk Co probate index, but the actual inventory has long been lost.4 There is a conflict of dates between the January 1699 will of John Cherry, used as evidence by many Cherry researchers, and the 1670 index of a John Cherry estate.

Could this 1699 will be of immigrant John's son or could there have been two John Cherry immigrants, one who died about 1670 and one who died about 1699? If John died in 1670, then the will was for John Jr. There was an assignment in Norfolk Co from Andrew Etheridge and wife Ann to John Jr. on 294

6 May 1699, so the 12 January 1699 will of a John Cherry, proven on 18 July 1699, could easily be John Jr's, son of John. The 1670 inventory index must have been of John Cherry, and the January 1699 will was of immigrant John's son John Jr. and the May 1699 assignment was for either John III, son of John Jr. or John Jr. himself. By May 1699, with John dead, his son John Jr. would be a "Sr." since he had a son, John III. By 1699, since John Jr. was born about 1641, he could have easily had his son John III by the 1660s, and that John would have been an adult making business deals in May 1699. If this last idea is the correct way of thinking, some of the children shown below by Thigpen would be grandchildren of John, not children. Also, perhaps John Jr. was the husband of Rebecca Mercer, and Thigpen's info that John Jr. married Rebecca Maund is wrong.

John had ten children (according to Thigpen), but other records show some of his children were likely grandchildren. John Cherry's children and grandchildren are briefly shown here, with the sources of information for each child.

Faithful Cherry (1658 – 1727) was the son of John Cherry Jr. who married Patience (Surname unknown; however, it is believed to be Culpepper) in 1680 and settled in Norfolk, Virginia. A brief bio of Faithful Cherry is written below:

Faithful Cherry bio – Faithfull Cherry [C1a5], son of John Cherry Jr and Rebecca Maund, was probably born about 1678 in Lower Norfolk. He married Patience (Culpepper?) His will was written on 28 July 1727, and entered into probate in Norfolk Co on 16 February 1728; therefore Faithfull must have died between mid-January (the previous court session) and mid-February 1728.

In 1722, Faithfull was a witness to a land sale concerning his brother Thomas Cherry (see below). He signed his name as above written with two letter l's, but in his will the name Faithfull was written with one letter l. `Faithfull probably lived along the South Branch of Elizabeth River, and may have been a cooper since this profession was taken up by his son Faithful, and Faithfull Senior left his cooper tools to his son Luke.

Faithfull was an overseer for Thomas Willoughby in 1710.

The will of Faithfull Sr, witnessed by Thomas Culpepper in Lower Norfolk Co, stated that his wife was still living (but didn't name her), and named his son Luke (under age 21), daughter Ruth, son Faithfull Jr (under age 18), son Titus, daughter Patience, and son Job. Because he did not mention an approximate age for Job or Luke doesn’t indicate that they were adults. Rather, they were young boys, and not nearly of an adult age.

His children were- Luke Cherry, b bef 1710, Faithful Cherry Jr, b abt 1710, Ruth Cherry, b abt 1713, Patience Cherry, b abt 1715, Job Cherry, b abt 1720, Titus Cherry, b abt 1723 (69,90,WD,JY,28p)

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William W. Cherry (1778 – 1849) four generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton help establish the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. It is believed that many of the first meeting were held in the home of William and his wife Lydia Minerva (Daniel). William and Lydia lived about a mile from Dover, Tennessee.

Notes for William and Lydia After March 1805 and before 1808; William and Lydia Cherry appear in a list of members present in the Skewarkey Church, Martin Co.., North Carolina.12. Oct. 19, 1816; William and Lydia Cherry were admitted to the Saline Creek Church on a letter from the Big Flat Church in Bedford Co.., Tennessee. In the Saline Creek Baptist Church Minutes on the roots web site for Stewart County, Tennessee it says, "On October 19, 1816, William and Lydia Cherry were admitted from the Big Flat Church in Bedford County, Tennessee."

The Cumberland Presbyterians effected an organization in Stewart County in about 1812 or 1814 yet churches were not built until a later day. Probably the first meetings of any congregations of this denomination in the county were held at the residence of William Cherry which stood one mile south of Dover, some time during the above years. For several years the meetings of this church were held at camp grounds, of which they had three, they being situated on Wells and Lick Creeks and at Duck Springs. The first Cumberland Presbyterian Church was erected about 1816 or 1818 and stood near the Kentucky line. At about the same time, a log church was erected on Cane Creek, where also stood a camp ground, and a congregation also met in the Methodist Church on Bear Creek. The early ministers of this denomination were William Barnett, William Hutchinson, and Huston Bone. There are but three Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in the county, they being the Bethel Church, on Elk Creek; Liberty Church, three miles west of Dover, and Mount Zion Church, in the Ninth District. Info from Stewart Co. Tennessee USGENWEB home page.

Avarilla (Cherry) Melton (1838 – 1921) was the grandmother of Margaret Francis Melton.

Avarilla married William Carrol Melton in 1873.

CherryCherry-Williams Connections in Martin Co, NC and Stewart Co, TN – Daniel B. Cherry, b. 1802 in Martin Co, NC had a daughter, Caroline Cherry, b. 1836, who apparently married Elisha Darden Williams Jr, b. 1836, (who was the son of Elisha Darden Williams Sr, b. 1789 in Martin Co, NC, d. 1846 Dover, Stewart Co TN, and his wife Mary "Polly" Reddick).

Daniel Cherry also had a daughter, Avarilla Cherry, b. 1838, who married Wilson C. Wallace, b. 1829 (son of Evans Wallace, b. 1807 Edgecome, Martin Co, NC, d. 1864 Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN and his wife Sarah Williams, b. 1809). Sarah William’s father was John Martin Luther Williams Sr., b. 1784, Martin Co, NC, who was a contemporary if not direct relation/brother of Elisha Darden Williams Sr.).

So Daniel Cherry's older daughter Caroline married a Williams, and his younger daughter Avarilla married a Wallace, whose mother was also a Williams.

More research is needed to confirm any direct relationship of Elisha Darden Williams Sr. and John Martin Luther Williams Sr. in Martin Co, NC. 296

The Cherry name forms two branches under the Melton name in Wallace family tree. John Cherry (1619 - 1670) had two sons (John Jr. 641 – 1699 and Faithful 1662 - 1727). Faithful Cherry formed a direct line of descendants to Avarilla five generations removed who lived and died in Virginia. Avarilla’s father was Daniel Cherry (1802 – 1857) who was born in North Carolina and died in Stewart County, Tennessee.

Avarilla’s mother was Margaret Rebecca Stancil (1803 – 1865). Margaret’s parents were John Stancil (1775 – 1844), and Lydia “Liddy” Cherry (1777 – 1844) Liddy is three generations removed from John Cherry Jr., the brother of Faithful Cherry. John Jr. was born and lived in Virginia while his bother was born in Virginia but moved to North Carolina. It wasn’t until several generations later that both branches of the family moved to Stewart County, Tennessee and unite under the same roof. Avarilla was Margaret Frances Milton’s grandmother on her father’s side of the family. Samule Maund Cherry II (1663 – 1734) was the son of John Cherry Jr.

Will of Samuel Cherry – Samuel Cherry, b. 1663, d. 1734; m 1684, Frances Ballentine, dau of Geo Ballentine, (son of Geo. Ballentine.)

Will of Sam'l Cherry, Lower Norfolk Co. So. Branch Elizabeth River, Book 12, p. 3 dated 1/19/1733, proved 5/16/1734, names elder and youngest sons: Samuel Cherry, 200 acres lying head of Indian Creek; son Dunson Cherry, 80 acres N. side Deep Creek, to dearly beloved wife 200 acres and all estate to her likewise. At her death or remarriage to be equally divided among all my children. /s/ Sam'l M. (Maund) Cherry.

Witness: George Ballentine, Solomon Cherry.

Lydia “Liddy” Cherry (1777 – 1844) was the great great grandmother of Margaret Frances Melton. Liddy married Jon Stancill in 1800 and died in Bumpus Mills (Stewart County) Tennessee.

How Elisha Darden Williams wife Caroline Maniza Maniza Cherry got her middle name 25 July 2011, 2011, Vero Beach, FL Caroline Maniza (alt spelled Mineza) Cherry, b. 1836, was the daughter of Daniel Cherry, b.

1802 Martin Co, NC and Margaret Rebecca Stancil, b. 1803.

Margaret Rebecca Stancil was the daughter of John Stancil b. 1775 and his wife Lydia Cherry, b. 1777 ( Note: it is likely mother Lydia Cherry Stancil helped arrange marriage of her daughter Margaret Rebecca w/ David Cherry).

John Stancil and Lydia Cherry Stancil also had a younger daughter (besides Margaret Rebecca) named Maniza Stancil, b 1818 Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN who married James H. Morris, b 1818, one of the sons of Asa Morris b 1780. Asa Morris in 1816 bought 68 acres of land on Saline Creek, near Dover, Stewart Co, TN, adjacent to land of John Stancil, Nathan Ross and John 297

Martin Luther SENIOR Williams (brother of Elisha Senior Williams). It is likely that son of Asa Morris, (James H. Morris b 1818) met daughter of John Stancil (Maniza Stancil b 1818) because they lived next door to each other on Saline Creek.

In any event. it is likely that Maniza Stancil's older sister, ---Margaret Rebecca Stancil, --after marriage to Daniel Cherry, named one of her daughters (in this case Caroline Cherry b 1836) w/ middle name Maniza (or Mineza) in honor of her younger sister.

Caroline Maniza Cherry when an adult married Elisha Darden Williams b 1836 Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN, one of the sons of Elisha SENIOR Williams, b 1781 Martin Co, NC. Elisha SENIOR Williams who married Mary Reddick (daughter of Rice Reddick and Nancy Ross) first bought land in Stewart Co, TN in 1813, land purchase witnessed by Godfry Stancil (likely related to John Stancil).

Thomas Daniel (1675 – 1749) was seven generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her father’s side of the family. Thomas died in North Carolina and was a member of military during the American Revolution. He married Elizabeth Lanier in 1716.

The Daniel, Thomas Will - Secretary of State Colony of North Carolina Tyrrell County Dated 11 July 1749.

In the name of God amen. I Thomas Daniel of the County of Terrill in the province of North Carolina planter being of a weak and low condition of body but of a sound mind and memory praised be all mighty God but calling to mind the uncertainty of this life and knowing that is appointed for all men once to die do make ordain constitute and appointed this to be my Last Will and Testament that is to say my Soul I bequeath to God that gave it to me My body I commit to the Earth from whence it was take to be interred in a Christian like manner and now touching my worldly goods I do ordain that first that all my just debts and my funeral charges be fully paid discharged and satisfied the rest remainder and residue of my Estate and worldly goods chattels lands tenements house hold goods cattle horses mares and all other good and chattels to me in any wise belonging or appertaining I do give to my beloved wife Elisabeth clear from any incumbrances whatsoever.

Item - To my son Robert Lanier Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more Item - To my daughter Sarah Willson I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my son Thomas Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my daughter Elisabeth Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my daughter Mary Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my son John Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my son William Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my son Aron Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

Item - To my daughter Ruth Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

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Item - To my daughter Prisilia Daniel I do give one shilling sterling and no more.

Item - To my son Josiah Daniel I do give one shilling sterling money and no more.

I do nominate chuse and appoint my beloved wife Elisabeth to be Executrix and my beloved son John Daniel to be Executor of this my Last Will and Testament, and I further desire that there may be no misinterpretations or wrong constructions put on this my Last Will and Testament but that it may be understood in the manner and form as is intended signed Sealed published and declared this Eleventh day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty nine in the presence of us. Thomas (his -Tmark) Daniel William Willis John (his -I- mark) Wilson John (his -x- mark) Brown North Carolina Tyrrell County at Court of Quarter Sessions. Begun Opened & held for said County at the Court House on Hendricks Creek in sd County On the fifth Day of Sept. Anno Donn 1749 Present his majesty's Justices The Last Will and Testament of Thomas Daniel deceased was Exhibited in Open Court & Proved on the Oath of William Willis subscribing Evidence hereto and on Motion of Mrs. Eliz Daniel who Qualified as Executrix to said Will Praying Letters of Administration ordered that the Secretary have notice Thereof that letters may issue Accordingly.

Test Evan Jones Clerk. Court Robert Lanier (1642 – 1744) was the father of Elizabeth who married Thomas Daniel in 1716.

Thomas Lanier came to America from East Greenwich, England and settled in North Carolina. He married Priscilla Washington (no recorded relations to George Washington).

Robert Lanier, son of Clement Lanier and Hannah Collett of Greenwich, County Kent, England, baptized May 22, 1642 was a younger brother of John Lanier who came to Virginia by 1656. [He was in the Barbados before 1678]. The sons of Robert and Rebecca Lanier, Robert, Lemuel, and Clement were the next Lanier immigrants of this line to Virginia.

Copying is permitted for noncommercial, educational use by individuals and libraries. This message must appear on all copied material. Any commercial use is prohibited. © 1997, 1998, 1999 by Wayne D. Lanier. All rights reserved. http://www.mindspring.com/~wdlanier/robert.html Lanier Family – Robert Lanier, son of Clement Lanier and Hannah Collett of Greenwich, County Kent, England, baptized May 22, 1642, was a younger brother of John Lanier who came to Virginia by 1656. He was in the Barbados before 1678. The sons of Robert and Rebecca Lanier, Robert, Lemuel, and Clement, were the next Lanier immigrants of this line to Virginia.

He was in Charles City County in February of 1688 as his name appears on several recorded deeds. He appears first in the tithes of Surry County in 1694. Robert was residing with with Richard Jordan at this time.

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In 1695 Robert married Sarah Barker, daughter of John and Grace Barker. They moved to Prince George County and in 1711 went to Chowan District, North Carolina.

The Lanier’s were Huguenots living in France but left their country to escape the early Protestant persecutions during the 16th century.

Musicians John Lanyer and Nicholas Lanier arrived in London from Paris in 1561. Both were musicians to the Queen.

Nicholas Lanier, who was in the Court of King Henry II of France, and also the Court of Queen Elizabeth, and King James of England, was the founder of the Lanier family of musicians, and the ancestor of the American Lanier’s.

During the Civil War in England (1642-1649) the fortunes of the Lanier’s were lost. They lost their appointments, suffered deprivation and starvation, and often imprisonment. After petitioning the King, some were restored to their positions, but many migrated to the United States and Canada.

The branch of the Lanier family of particular interest is rooted in Robert (grandson of Nicholas) and Rebecca Lanier who left England. They migrated to Barbados where they lived a number of years and probably died there.

Copying is permitted for noncommercial, educational use by individuals and libraries. This message must appear on all copied material. Any commercial use is prohibited. © 1997, 1998, 1999 by Wayne D. Lanier. All rights reserved. http://www.mindspring.com/~wdlanier/robert.html John Stancill (1662 – 1713) was seven generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her father’s side of the family. There are many spelling of the Stancil, which include Stancill, Stansell, Stansel, Stancel, Stancell, and Stansil; however, Stencil is the more noted recording in recent history.

Stancil’s to America – "The Heritage of Johnston County, North Carolina," 1985, page 362 The first Stancill known to be in early America was John Stancil born in England 1662. Early parishes of England (1831) mention Stancill township, parish Tickhill, W. R. Yorkshire, population 66. This village was located in Doncaster, England.

John Stancill arrived at Henry Neck, Virginia aboard the ship "Mary" 06 November 1683.

The Virginia Magazine of History, Volume 29, page 406 reports that in 1704 John Stancill paid quit rent for 500 acres of land in Nansemond County. (Nansemond County is where Suffolk, Virginia is located.)

John Stancill married Katherine Hardy the daughter of John Hardy. There were three sons, William, Peter, John Jr. 300

John Stancill, Jr. was born prior to 1700. He married Sarah Smithwick daughter of Edward Smithwick, and Sarah Godfrey. They had five children: John III, Godfrey, Rebecca, Mary Bentley, and Elizabeth Barbee.

John Stancill, Jr. on 19 August 1719 was a witness to a deed in Chowan Precinct of John Sessoms located on Kisia Neck on the north side of the Moratuck River (Roanoke River). (Chowan Deed Book F, Number 1, page 479: Chowan Precinct by Hofmann, page 60.)

10 December 1720, John Stancill, Jr. and wife Sarah of Chowan Precinct purchased from Thomas Madkife of Cecil County, Maryland 388 acres on Kisia Neck on the North side of the Moratuck River.

(Chowan Deed Book F, Number 1, page 525: Chowan Precinct by Hofmann, page 66.)

This land was located on the present day Cashie River in southern Bertie County where the Cashie River enters the Roanoke River. This is also where the Hardy family and the Sutton family of Bertie County lived.

John Stancill III was born 1725, and about 1760 he left the Conetoe section of Pitt County and moved to Johnston County, North Carolina. He settled in O'Neals Township. In 1781, he purchased from John Pittman two tracts containing 550 acres each on the north and south sides of the Little River. In 1793, he gave his son Godfrey land on the north side of the Little River and his son John land on the south side of the Little River. Sons Nathan and Jonathan were to receive land in Wake County.

Edward Smithwick (1649 – 1716) was seven generations removed from Margaret Frances Melton on her father’s side of the family. The Smithwick’s were second generation Americans that settled in Upper Norfolk, Virginia. Edward was married to Africa McGregory, Sarah Woodland Gilliam, and Elizabeth Lydia Shearing.

Life of Edward Smithwick Edward was born circa 1647 at Upper Norfolk Co, Virginia.2 He was the son of Hugh Smithwick and Elizabeth Windley. He married Elizabeth Lydia Shearing 1672 at Chowan Precinct, North Carolina.1 He married Africa McGreory 1694 at Chowan Precinct, North Carolina.2 He married Sarah Woodlard 1703 at Chowan Precinct, North Carolina.1 Edward died 16 Oct 1716 at Edenton, Chowan Precinct, North Carolina. Edward's occupation: Planter Biography of Edward Smithwick: Edward Smithwick was a highly prominent man of his time. Gracy, Johnston and Bennett in their books devote several pages to Edward. Bennett's discussion in particular is excellent. Edward was married three times, but records indicating the maiden names of these wives have not been found. Africa is presumed by many researchers to be the mother of all of Edward’s children.

During the 1670's and 1680's when Edward was in his twenties and

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thirties, what government there was in the Carolina Colony and the Chowan Precinct area was either illegitimate, corrupt, being rebelled against or suffering under tyrannical rule. As a result, there are few records during this period as most were destroyed. In fact, Edward spent considerable effort in the 1680's to 1700's filing claims with the courts to regain lands that were due him from his father's estate as well as reclaiming headrights and patents for his step-children, nephews and in-laws. For example, Hugh Smithwick died in 1674; however, his will was not probated at that time. Possibly because John Jenkins whose commission as acting Governor had expired in 1675 and Thomas Eastchurch who was elected Speaker, had Jenkins imprisoned because he continued to govern. By 1677, Eastchurch and cohort, Thomas Miller had gone to England were Eastchurch was appointed governor and Miller appointed Secretary. However, Eastchurch was delayed in returning, and Miller illegally assumed the power of the governor in July 1677 before Eastchurch returned. Miller's conduct of government contributed to "Culpeper's Rebellion" where Miller was imprisoned, and John Culpeper and George Durant also illegally took over the government. Eastchurch died before he could return. It wasn't until July, 1679 until a commission appointing John Harvey as Acting Governor that a government was reestablished. Apparently many inhabitants let their legal business wait during this period until these issues were resolved. It was during the rebellion that colonists seized and destroyed government records and papers of officials. [Bennett, Smithwick Genealogy] It is not known what part, Edward Smithwick played in "Culpeper's Rebellion" of 1677-79. Culpeper's Rebellion was one of the first uprisings in the American Colonies. It was caused by an enforcement of the navigation acts which forced the Carolina colonists to market their tobacco only thru New England shippers and the payment of heavy duties. The colonists wanted to ship directly to England or to other markets of their choosing. About 4000 settlers in the Albemarle colony, through their leaders John Culpeper and George Durant rebelled. They took over the government, established courts, appointed judges and convened an assembly.

Culpeper was governor for two years and then went to England to seek settlement of the matter. Culpeper was arrested in England, tried and acquited. The matter ended without bloodshed.

In early 1780, Edward Smithwick came into court to probate his Father's will which had been lost or destroyed years earlier. On 1 April 1680, he received letters of administration of his father’s estate. It was not until 1683 that the estate was settled. However, here again land records were destroyed by Seth Sothel, one of the Lords Proprietors, who took over as governor from 1682 to 1689 when he was banished from the colony.

[Bennett, Smithwick Genealogy] On 30 June 1680 Edward was arrested and imprisoned on charges trumped up by Robert Holden who had assumed control of the colony. On July 2, Holden himself was arrested, and four days later, Edward was afforded bail and went home. However, on 12 September 1680, Edward was again arrested without warrant likely by Holden's direction and held in confinement for about 2 months until he was released because a grand jury could not return a true bill. [Bennett, Smithwick Genealogy] 302

Edward increased his land holdings by inheritance, grant, purchase and transporting individuals into the Carolinas for which he received 50 acres for each. However, due to the lack of records no clear account of his land ownership can be determined. By the time of his death, he ultimately owned in excess of four thousand acres in the Cashie Neck area of present day Bertie County.

He was named surveyor in 1682, served as a juror and as a commissioner in local courts. He was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1703 and again in 1711 and 1712. In fact, he was likely a practicing attorney as he was entitled to be referred to or addressed as Mr. Edward Smithwick or Edward Smithwick, Esquire.

He was present at the organization of St. Paul's Parish, Chowan Precinct in 1701. He served on its vestry for many years and gave the land for the first church building. This is the first church building in North Carolina. His name is inscribed on a marble plaque in the rear wall of the sanctuary of the present-day St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton, North Carolina.

Edward signed his will on 21 January 1715, and it was proved in the 1716 October court.

Transcribed from The The Miller Miller - Mook Mook Family Family History History written written by Larry and Judy Miller - 2005: Edward Smithwick was born in 1647 in Virginia. The exact location has not been verified. He was the son of Hugh Smithwick and Elizabeth Windley. Elizabeth Shearing, born about 1647, became his wife in 1672. Nothing is known of her parentage or where for sure she was born. “Edward was an attorney and a prominent man. He, also, was a large land owner having accumulated over 4,000 acres in Old Albemarle County, North Carolina. This county was later broken up into several smaller counties. Edward had acquired his land through inheritance, grants and purchases. Also, from the transporting of individuals in the Carolinas for which he received 50 acres for each person.

During the 1670s and 1680s many records were destroyed by the corrupt governing bodies in the Carolinas. Edward spent considerable time and effort trying to probate his father's will. Hugh Smithwick had filed his will in 1674 but evidently it was among the documents destroyed. It would take many years before the estate was finally probated and recorded.

Edward served as a juror and member of the House of Burgesses. He was commissioned as Justice of the Peace in the Chowan Precinct, North Carolina on March 29, 1701. He was among those who organized the Parish of St. Paul's in Chowan Precinct in 1701 having given an acre of land from his plantation for the erection of the church. This was the first church building in North Carolina. He served on the vestry of the church for many years. He was a much respected member and his name is inscribed on a marble plaque that was placed in the rear wall of the sanctuary of the present-day St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton, North Carolina.

Edward made his Last Will and Testament on January 21, 1715. It was proved in October of 1716.

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Elizabeth Shearing Smithwick had died prior to 1694 when he married his second wife. Edward is said to have been married at least 4 times. " Margaret Rebecca Stancill (1803 – 1865) was the mother of Avarila Cherry and the daughter of Lydia “Liddy” Cherry. She married Daniel B. Cherry in 1820 and both Margaret and Daniel were four generations removed from the brothers John Jr. and Faithful Cherry. John Stancil (1775 – 1844) was the husband of Lydia “Liddy” Cherry.

John Stancil b 1775, Elisha Sr. Williams b 1789 and Lionel Hargis b 1810 formed 3 different Churches in Bumpas Mills, TN, Per Records of early church’s of Stewart Co, TN, Lionel Desmond Hargis erected/established the Church of Christ, Bumpus Mills, at Saline Creek, prior to 1880.

His son Jackson Washington Hargis, b 1836, likely Smith Co, Tennessee, married Lydia Elizabeth Morris, b 1839, the daughter of James H Morris b 1818 who married Maniza Stancil b 1818. Maniza was daughter of John Stancil, b. 1775 married Lydia Cherry, who was active in the Saline Creek Baptist Church, near Bumpus Mills, TN which John Stancil, b 1775, helped establish w/ a contribution of deeded land about 1810. (Note: early families in this church inc. Ross, Cherry, Stancil, Morris, Wallace, Biggs, Taylor) Another of his sons, Neal Perry Hargis, b 1833, (also likely Smith Co, TN), married Amanda (Elmanda) Ross, b 1839, the daughter of James Ross, b 1814 and wife Martha "Patsy" Williams, b 1818.

Martha Williams father, Elisha Sr. Williams, b 1789 likely founded (in 1845) the Liberty Church (parent of Pleasant Hill Church and of Brandon's Chapel, which split off about 50 yrs later), donating 2 acres of land at Hayes Fork Creek, near Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN. (Note: in the Liberty Church Records of 1859-1877, are many references to following families: Cherry, Wallace, Morgan, Williams, Taylor, Ross, Jackson). It is not yet clear if Amanda Ross Hargis joined husband Neal's father's (ie Lionel Hargis's) newer Church of Christ, or if Neal Hargis joined Amanda's older Liberty Church.

How Elisha Darden Williams Wife Caroline Maniza Cherry Got Her Middle Name – 25 July 2011, 2011, Vero Beach, FL Caroline Maniza (alt spelled Mineza) Cherry, b. 1836, was the daughter of Daniel Cherry, b. 1802 Martin Co, NC and Margaret Rebecca Stancil, b. 1803.

Margaret Rebecca Stancil was the daughter of John Stancil b. 1775 and his wife Lydia Cherry, b.

1777 (Note: it is likely mother Lydia Cherry Stancil helped arrange marriage of her daughter Margaret Rebecca w/ David Cherry).

John Stancil and Lydia Cherry Stancil also had a younger daughter (besides Margaret Rebecca) named Maniza Stancil, b 1818 Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN who married James H. Morris, b 1818, one of the sons of Asa Morris b 1780. Asa Morris in 1816 bought 68 acres of land on Saline Creek, near Dover, Stewart Co, TN, adjacent to land of John Stancil, Nathan Ross and John Martin Luther Sr. Williams (brother of Elisha Sr. Williams). It is likely that son of Asa Morris, (James H. Morris b 1818) met daughter of John Stancil (Maniza Stancil b 1818) because they lived next door to each other on Saline Creek.

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In any event. it is likely that Maniza Stancil's older sister, ---Margaret Rebecca Stancil, ---after marriage to Daniel Cherry, named one of her daughters (in this case Caroline Cherry b 1836) w/ middle name Maniza (or Mineza) in honor of her younger sister.

Caroline Maniza Cherry when an adult married Elisha Darden Williams b 1836 Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN, one of the sons of Elisha Sr. Williams, b 1781 Martin Co, NC. Elisha Sr. Williams who married Mary Reddick (daughter of Rice Reddick and Nancy Ross) first bought land in Stewart Co, TN in 1813, land purchase witnessed by Godfry Stancil (likely related to John Stancil).

StancilStancil-Williams family connections in Pitt Co, NC and Saline Creek, Stewart Co, TN – 10 Aug 2011, 2011, Vero Beach, FL In 1813, John Stancil (alt spelled Stansel, or Stancill) b. 1775, from Pitt Co, NC, witnessed a land purchase of Elisha Williams (likely Elisha Sr. Williams, b 1789 NC, Edgecomb or Pitt Co) in Stewart Co, TN. This same John Stancil, in April 1812, became a member of the Saline Creek Baptist Church, Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN. (Note: this church was founded 19 May 1810, including founding members John Ferrill and Zilpha Morris ---likely sister of below mentioned Asa Morris, b. 1780 and Jessie Morris b abt 1775). Jessie Morris is mentioned as being 'excluded' in church records of Oct 1818, so was a member earlier than 1818. He was re-admitted in 1823, at which time also joined Etherdred Wallace, b 1778 and his wife Amy Taylor Wallace, b 1785.

Per recorded land records of Stewart Co, TN, in 1816 Jessie (alt Jessee) Morris sold to Asa Morris (likely his brother? b. 1780, m. Mary Polly Rogers) 68 acres of land on Saline Creek, adj. John Stancill, part of 300 acres earlier sold to Jessie Morris by John Edmonson. In 1836, this same Jessie Morris sold to Nathan Gilbert Morris (likely his son? b 1809 Martin Co) another 180 acres on Saline Creek, adj John Stancill, Nathan Ross, John Williams (likely John Martin Luther Sr. Williams, b. 1784, the brother of Elisha Sr. Williams). So it appears that John Stancil lived (and worshipped) on Saline Creek, Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN, from abt 1812 when he joined the Saline Creek Baptist Church, until after 1836.

John Stancil was married to Lydia Cherry, b. 1777, and had many children. One daughter, Maniza Stancil, b 1818, Bumpus Mills, married James H or B. Morris, b. 1818, the son of Asa Morris mentioned above. Another daughter, Margaret Rebecca Stancil, b. 1803, married David B. Cherry, and had child (granddaughter of John Stancil) Caroline Maniza (alt Mineza) Cherry who married Elisha Darden Williams (sometimes called Elisha Jr. Williams). This Elisha Darden Williams, b 1836, was one of the youngest sons of Elisha Sr.Williams whose land purchase in 1813 in Stewart Co, TN was witnessed by John Stancil. This marriage of Elisha Sr. Williams' son to John Stancil's granddaughter suggests that there was a long and close relationship of the Williams and Stancil families, ---perhaps even going back to times when both families lived in Pitt Co or Edgecomb Co, NC? Incidentally, a historical report about Stewart Co, TN early communities mentions a "Saline Creek Settlement" near Bumpus Mills, Stewart Co, TN as follows: 305

"This was a exceptionally early settlement, named for a creek which begins in KY, and empties into the Cumberland River west of Bumpus Mills [DWH note: Bumpus Mills is located about 5 miles east of Cumberland River]. The creek is mentioned in early NC records. Saline Creek Settlement was settled due to large tracts of land being granted for service [DWH note: Rev. War Service?] rendered to NC. Early settlers: Biggs, Williams, Ross, Wallace, Walls. By 1813, , a church had been chartered".

This early settlement report matches several facts: for example, Nathan SENIOR Ross was one of the founding members of the Saline Creek Baptist Church in 1810. It is likely that his land in Saline Creek Settlement was deeded for Rev. War. service by William Ross, b 1731. Likewise, Saline Baptist Church member Etheldred Wallace's father, William D. Wallace, b 1756, may have been granted lands in Saline Creek Settlement for his military service in Rev. War. More research is needed on these early land grants, which were usually 640 acres, 1000 acres, or larger.

George Ballentine (1635 – 1702) was eight generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her father’s side of the family. George was a first generation American from England who settled in Norfolk County, Virginia.

George Ballentine's Biography – Before 1652, 1652, Southern Branch of Eliza. River of Norfolk Norfolk Co, Virginia George Ballentine.

Ballentine Born about 1635 in England, by 1652 George was in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, as an indentured servant to Christopher Burrough, deceased, with three years left to serve. Before 16 Jun 1662, George married Frances Yates in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia. She was born before 1641, and had married Richard Markham in 1657, by whom she had one child, John. George and Frances lived in Southern Branch, Elizabeth River, where by 1682 he had 660 acres, including 450 acres which had been granted to John Yates, Frances's father.

George died in Norfolk County, Virginia in 1702; he was about 67. They had the following children: (1) Frances, Born in 1664/1677, Frances died in Norfolk County, Virginia in 1720; she was 56. Before 1687, when Frances was at least 23, she married Henry Deale in Norfolk County, Virginia. Henry died in 1716 in Norfolk County, Virginia. (2) George, Born about 1663 in Norfolk County, Virginia, George died in Norfolk County, Virginia in 1733; he was about 70. (3) Thomas, Born before 1680 in Norfolk County, Virginia, Thomas married Sarah in Norfolk County, Virginia. (4) William, Born before 1680 in Norfolk County, Virginia. Before 1716, he married Elizabeth in Norfolk County, Virginia. (5) John, (before 1684-1734) (6) Alexander, Born after 1684 in Norfolk County, Virginia, Alexander died in Norfolk County, Virginia in 1715. Alexander married Margaret, who died in 1715 in Norfolk County, Virginia. (7) Richard, Born after 1684 in Norfolk County, Virginia, Richard died there after 1734; he was 50. (8) Daniel, Born in 1684/1700 in Norfolk County, Virginia, Daniel died there about 1753; he was at least 69. (9) David, He died about 1753. (10) Mary, Born before 1684 in Norfolk County, Virginia, Mary died there about 1736. Mary married Roger Hodges, who died in 1716 in Norfolk County, Virginia.

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William Lovell (1740 – 1803) was five generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her mother’s side of the family. The Lovell name can be traced back in a direct line to the first Lovell family who settled in America down to Callie Lovell the mother of Margaret Francis Melton. Callie married Wilson Garfield Melton in 1911.

DAR Revolutionary Soldier – Lovell William – Ancestor # A134151 Service: North Carolina Rank: Soldier Birth: 3-9-1740 Death: 1-20-1803 Halifax County, North Carilina Service Source: NC Rev Army Accts, Journal A, P.147 Service Description: 1) Captain Samuel Weldon, Col Nicholas Long

Charles Tyler (1667 – 1722) was eight generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her mother’s side of the family. Charles was related to John Webb Tyler a member of Virginia Supreme Court.

Charles Tyler: Charles Tyler was the apparent founder of the family of Tylers which beginning in Westmoreland county spread through Prince William, Fauquier and Loudoun counties. He had four sons Charles, Benjamin, Joseph and William. He died in 1723, leaving a widow Jane who married (secondly) William Woffendall. He was the ancestor of John Webb Tyler, judge of the Virginia Supreme Court and who died in 1862.

Henry Sorrell (1665 – Unknown) was a first generation American with the Sorrell name. Henry was nine generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her mother’s side of the family. Henry Sorrell came from England and is believed to have settled in Virginia.

The French surname of Sorrell is of two origins. It was a nickname from the Old Norman words SOR (chestnut) apparently referring originally to the color of dry leaves and was a name given to one with reddish hair. The name was brought into England at an early date, and it is a topographic name for someone who lived by the river Soar. The name is found chiefly in Nottingham and in the Norfolk area. Most of the place-names that yield surnames are usually of small communities, villages, hamlets, some so insignificant that they are now lost to the map. A place-name, it is reasonable to suppose, was a useful surname only when a man moved from his place of origin to elsewhere, and his new neighbors bestowed it, or he adopted it. The name appears to have originated in Belgium, in the area of Ponthieu. The earliest French hereditary surnames are found in the 12th century, at more or less the same time as they arose in England, but they are by no means common before the 13th century, and it was not until the 15th century that they stabilized to 307

any great extent; before then a surname might be handed down for two or three generations, but then abandoned in favor of another. In the south, many French surnames have come in from Italy over the centuries, and in Northern France, Germanic influence can often be detected. The name has many variant spellings which include Sor, Saur, Saura, Sorrel, Sorrill, Sorel, Soreau, Saurel, Soret, Sauret, Sorin, Saurin, Soar, and Saury. William Sorell was documented in 1130 in County Suffolk, and Thomas William Sorel appears in 1175 in County Norfolk. Elena la Sore was recorded in County Somerset in 1273, and Matheu le Sore appears in Dorset, during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). Philip le Sor of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Later instances of the name mention John Soare, who registered at Trinity College, Oxford in 1605, and William Sore and Lillies Staig were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1807. Notable members of the name include Agnes Sorel (circa 1422-1450), a French lady, born in Fromenteau, Touraine. She was the mistress from 1444 of Charles VII of France. She exerted considerable influence over him and was given an estate at Beaute-sur-Marne. She may have died of poison. Albert Sorel (1842-1906) was the French historian, born in Honfleur. He wrote 'L'Europe et la Revolution Francaise' (1885-1904).

The Ross family migrated to America from Scotland in the late 1600’s or early 1700’s. Hugh Ross was the first Ross to settle in America in North Carolina. He is a descendant of De Ross the 2nd Earl of Ross, Sheriff of Cromarty (1275 – 1333) and the Lady Margaret DeGraham of Kincardine Countess of Ross (1292 – unknown). There is more recorded history of the Ross family than any other family name within the Wallace or Frederick family tree. Hugh Ross was eight generations removed from Margaret Francis Melton on her mother’s side of the family.

History of Siblings of Hugh Ross, b. 1680, d. 1740 NC – 2011, Vero Beach, FL If family trees are correct in attributing Hugh Ross, b 1680, d. 1740 NC as the son of David Ross, b 1645 and Margaret Stronach, b. 1651 (both in Scotland): Hugh's father, David b. 1645 was the eldest son of Andrew Ross, b 1618. Andrew was the 1st Laird of Balblair. It is likely that as Andrew was a younger son of George, the 5th Lord of Balmachy, he acquired Balblair through an inheritance, or with the help of his father George. ( Note: There are records that Balblair's former owner before Andrew acquired it, included as wife a Gizzel Ross (female) who might have been Andrew's relative?)

In any event, Andrew's eldest son, David (2nd Laird of Balblair) and David's wife Margaret Stronach Ross, had at least three sons: 1) Andrew, b abt 1675, the eldest (and hence 3ed Laird of Balblair). By traditions of naming in Scottish families, the eldest son is usually named after his paternal grandfather. In this case, Andrew b. 1675

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was named after his grandfather Andrew b. 1618, and inherited the title of Laird of Balblair, so we can safely assume he was the eldest son. Historical records suggest he was a lawyer or barrister.

2) George, b. 1679, was a Minister in the Church of England, who studied at Edinburg Univ, Scotland. He became part of the missionary wing of the church, and came to the New World, where he established the first Church of England in Delaware. It was typical for second and third sons go into the military or clergy, and to travel to the New World, since at that time according to Scottish and English laws, all lands were inherited by the eldest son. George Ross came to Boston after graduation, and married (first) his cousin Joanna Williams, by whom he had several children before she died, and (second) Miss Van Gezal of Dutch ancestry.

3) Hugh, b. 1680, came to New World and died in NC in 1740. He was likely a planter. He married Margaret DeBarclay if family trees are correct. (It is interesting to note that another Hugh Ross, the 1st Lord of Balmagown, b. aft 1300, d. 1371 and holder of one of the largest estates in Scotland, also married a Margaret de Barclay?? While it is possible a family relationship continued for 350 yrs between Ross and de Barclay lines, it is more likely family trees just picked up Margarets name from the 1300s and mis-applied it to the Hugh Ross b. 1680?. More research is needed to clarify this).

Early 1900's Pittsburgh, PA newspaper article on Ross family - 1702, Pennsylvania (Just a side note: Some believe that the John Ross mentioned in the last paragraph of this article is a son of Hugh Ross and a brother of William Ross Sr. Much of this is hard to determine because the Ross name was so prevalent during this period. However, many of the family names and dates match to some degree and both families traveled to America from the same area of the world.)

Revolutionary War hero came west 149 years ago - Son sent first load of coal down river. When a Revolutionary War hero rode over land from Philadelphia 149 years ago to take up grant of 300 acres of virgin forestland, deeded by the state in recognition of his bravery, little did he dream it would become a part of a large city. When his son sent the first load of coal down the Allegheny River he didn't realize that business would grow into one of the most important in the country. When he cleared his land for farming, he didn't dream that his work would have much to do with the agricultural development in this section.

Descendants Sell Grant--Gradually descendants of Thomas Ross have sold the land until only a small part of the original grant and old homestead remain on what was once a magnificent estate. Mrs. Charles Ross, widow of the late city councilman Charles Ross is residing in the homestead on the property along Campania

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Avenue, named after Ross farm. Ross Township was named after this pioneer family that came here in 1782 and fought for their rights against overwhelming odds.

The history of the Ross family, like the history of the early days of America, is filled with adventure and danger. When James Ross left his birthplace in Ireland in 1702 for the New World his ship was captured and taken by pirates, and with the rest of the passengers he was stripped of his possessions, so that he landed in America in his shirt sleeves. He settled in Chester County and married. One of his sons, Thomas served in the war of the Revolution, and he was wounded at the battle of Saratoga, where Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans.

Came here in 1782--He later married and set out, with his wife and four children, on horseback, for the wilds of Pennsylvania. He came west in 1782, settled near the Allegheny River and began to clear land. At this time there was a blockhouse on a site now the Homewood Cemetery, where settlers went at night to escape the sudden attacks of Indians. This was during the days when Simon Girty, the renegade white man, incited the Indians to savage attacks on the white settlers.

In 1784, , the Ross family left their home temporarily as many others did, and moved to Washington County to escape massacres by the Indians. They settled in what is now Finleyville, returning to their farm in 1791. They joined the Beulah Presbyterian Church, which with the Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church, were the first two houses of religious worship west of the Allegheny Mountains. Some time later Thomas Ross made a trip back to Chester County, where, with his father and brothers, he had helped to grind grain for Washington's troops at the mill built by his father. The first orchard in this part of the country was planted by Thomas Ross in the neighborhood of Lincoln Avenue and Wilstie Street. He also established a distillery nearby.

Discover Coal--A vein of rich coal was discovered underlying the Ross land, and early in the nineteenth century, James Ross, son of Thomas opened one of the first mines in Western Pennsylvania near the city line on Lincoln Avenue, and sent the first boatload of coal down the Allegheny River. A bullet wound in the leg began troubling Thomas Ross, and on the advice of some neighbors, who believed the river water to have curative powers, he walked up the river every day to Six Mile Island. The cure was effective, but he caught a heavy cold, and died a few weeks later in 1813 of blood poisoning. He would be buried on top of a hill in the center of his farm, between the elm and chestnut tree, a spot selected while he was dying. His wife was buried beside him, and their bodies remained there until 1904, when they were moved to the German Lutheran Cemetery, near the line of the original farm. A monument was later erected by his descendants. Many intriguing stories are told in connection with the early annals of the family.

Day to Pittsburgh--Samuel, a son of Thomas, made his first trip to Pittsburgh with his father at the age of seven. The journey to the city and back required a day. The way led through dark woods and dismal swamp between Highland and Negley Avenues. All Pittsburgh was then located below Grant Street. The descendants of Thomas Ross have always been identified with community and civic life. William B. Ross, a grandson of Thomas was justice of the peace in Manchester, chief of police of the old city of Allegheny and 310

street commissioner of Avalon. Descendants of Thomas Ross are now scattered all over Western Pennsylvania, and some of their ancestors played notable parts in the founding of the country. Thomas Ross was a cousin of George Ross, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and also of John Ross, whose wife was Betsy Ross, famed in history for making the first American flag.

Evidence that Hugh Ross and John Ross may not have been brothers rests in the fact that some history had Thomas Ross coming from Ireland and John Ross from Scotland. Some evidence points to the fact that John Ross was from North Carolina while Thomas Ross was from Pennsylvania, but history indicates that John Ross settled in North Carolina after the Revolutionary War.

John Ross served in the Revolutionary war, making a tour of the south under General Greene, and after the war returned south and made settlement in North Carolina, and his history in this respect was not unlike that of our subject (RD Ross) maternal grandfather, Jacob Yost, he too served under General Greene in the war of Independence, and at its close establishing his home in the Old North State. Grandfather Ross was scotch descent and by occupation was a millwright, while Grandfather Yost was a farmer all his days and traced his origin back to Germany.

William Ross Jr. (1731 – 1801) was six generations removed from Margaret Frances Melton and is the grandson of Hugh Ross who was the first Ross descendant to come to America. Some history indicates that descendants of William Ross Jr. were among the early settlers of the Bumpus Mills areas and there were early connections between the Ross and Wallace family; however, this connection was a result of the Wilson Garfield Melton (1881 – 1967) and Callie Lovell (1888 – 1951) union, parents of Margaret Frances Melton.

Williams, Ross and Wallace: Early Connections in Saline Creek, Stewart TN – 23 Jan 2010 , Vero Beach FL Per various histories of Stewart Co, TN, Saline Creek was identified as "a exceptionally early settlement on a creek which empties into Cumberland River, west of Bumpus Mills. The area was settled due to large tracts of land being granted for service rendered to North Carolina." We should note that all of Tenn. was originally part of NC ---ie in 1788 the "County of TN, in NC" was formed by an act of the NC General Assembly, and eight years later, in 1796, this County of TN became the State of TN. So land grants to Military Veterans by NC were transferred to the new state of TN. Saline Creek was settled primarily by the following families: Williams, Wallace and Ross. (However, William W. Cherry, b. 1777 Martin Co, d 1849 in Stewart Co) and wife Lydia Minerva (Daniel) Cherry, b. 1778, d. 1854 in Stewart County are identified as having been members of the Saline Creek Primitive Baptist Church. The current writer will provide additional details on these early family links, w/ clarifications in brackets, since many names are identical, and are Sr or Jr or a child named after his uncle.

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An early indication of the Williams, Wallace and Ross families living on Saline Creeks is provided from the Book of Deeds of Stewart Co. In Book 12, #192, "Samuel Ross [ b 1789 sells] to Elisha Williams [Sr b. 1789] 281 acres on Hays Fork of Saline Creek, adj. [Elisha Sr's brother] John Williams [John Martin Luther Williams Sr b. 1784]...witnessed: James W. Williams [Elisha Sr's son b 1815]. 3 Feb 1834" In Book E (5), #107"John Williams [John M L Williams Sr sells] to George W. Wallace [this is George W. b. 1785, the son of William Wallace and brother of Etherdred,--not his nephew George W., son of Etherdred], 208 acres on Clarks Creek of the Saline [Creek]....Witness: Elisha Williams [Sr]. 15 Oct 1820" Also in Book E (5), #85"William Lyndsey [sells] to Elisha Williams [Sr] 191 acres at the head of Clarks Creek of Saline Creek...witness: John Williams [John M. L. Williams Sr], J. Stancill [Stancill family were original large landholders in Stewart Co area].

Also in Book E (5), #330"Thomas Ross [likely relative of Samuel Ross, perhaps brother, sells] to John Williams [John M L Williams Sr], 50 acres on Clarks Creek of Saline Creek for $1080...5 Oct 1828" We also know that John Williams was earlier deeded 640 acres of land on Hays Fork of Saline Creek

by Duke Williams and that in 1840, he sold 220 acres of that land to Evan Wallace [likely relation of Etheldred and George W. Wallace?] in Jul 1840, per Book 14, of Stewart County Deeds.

In April 1842, Elisha Williams Sr gave a grant of 2 acres of land where the then standing 'Hays Fork Meeting House' was located, for the establishment of a Free Will Baptist Church, according to Book 14, #393.

The meeting house/church was located aprox. 1/2 mile from Elisha's house.

Some early Ross and Williams marriages in Martin Co NC and Stewart Co TN – 6 Feb 2010 , Vero Beach, FL Samuel Ross, b. 1789 in Edgecomb Co NC, d. 1863 in Stewart Co, TN (m. to Elizabeth Summers, b.

1786 Edgecomb), was the son of John Ross, b. 1757 Tyrrell Co, NC (which became Martin Co in 1774), and grandson of William Ross, b. 1731, d. 1801 married Mary "Polly" Griffin.

Samuel's son, James Ross, b 1815 married Martha Patsy Williams, b. 1817, the daughter of Elisha Williams Sr, b 1789 Martin Co NC, d. 1846 Stewart Co TN and Elisha's wife Mary "Polly" Reddick, b 1789 Martin Co NC, d 1866 Stewart Co TN. Samuel's aunt, Nancy Ross, b 1767, d 1830 (sister of Samuel's father John) married Rice Reddick, b.

1764, who were the parents of Mary "Polly" Reddick --likely named after her grandmother Mary "Polly" Griffin-- who married Elisha Williams Sr. Mary "Polly" Reddick (descended of Nancy Ross and Rice Reddick) and Elisha Williams Sr had an eldest daughter, Martha "Patsy" Williams, b. 1817 who married James Ross, b. 1815.

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So Samuel Ross was related to both his son James (as his father) and Jame's wife, Martha Patsy Williams (via her mother Mary "Polly" Reddick to her grandmother Nancy Ross who was Samuel's first cousin).

Mary 'Polly' Reddick, b. 1798, Martin Co, NC-- who married Elisha SENIOR Williams, b. 1789,-was the daughter of Rice Reddick, b. 1764 and Nancy Ross, b. 1767. Nancy Ross's father was William Ross, b. 1731 and mother was Mary Griffin, b. 1738, so William Ross and Mary Griffin were Mary 'Polly' Reddick's grandparents. The eldest daughter of Mary 'Polly' Reddick and Elisha Senior Williams,-- named Martha 'Patsy' Williams, b. 1817,--- married James Ross, b. 1815, who was the great grandson of William Ross and Mary Griffin. Jam (James Ross's father was Samuel, b. 1789 Edgecome NC m. Eliz. Sommers, grandfather was John b. 1757 married Rachel Hill, ggrandfather William b. 1731).

Gayle Williams McKibben, dtd 1 Feb 2008, in 'Williams Genealogy' suggests that: "Elisha (3) b. abt 1790 in Pitt or Martin Co, NC moved to Stewart TN and purchased land in 1813. John Stancill witnessed (Stancil is documented heavily in Pitt Co, NC). Elisha (3) married Mary (Polly) Reddick, daughter of Rice Reddick and Nancy Ross Reddick, formerly of Martin Co NC but moved to Stewart Co, TN. The Williams/Reddick marriage is documented through settlement of Rice Reddick's will".

However, Ms. McKibben proposed that this Elisha (3)'s father is Elisha (2), DOB unknown, married to Elizabeth Biggs, daughter of James Biggs of Martin Co, Samuel Ross (1789 – 1863) was three generations removed from Margaret Frances Melton on her mother’s side of the family. While Samuel was born in Edgecombe County, North Caroline he died in Stewart County, Tennessee, but there is no record of when he made the move; however, it is believed that he meet and married Elizabeth Summer (1803) while in Tennessee.

Speculation on How Martha "Patsy" Williams met husband James RossRoss- 13 Aug, Aug, 2011, 2011, Vero Beach, FL Matha "Patsy" Williams, b 1818 most likely in Stewart Co, TN, was the daughter of Mary "Polly" Reddick, b. abt 1809, and Elisha Wiliams Sr., b. 1789 (likely Williamston) Martin Co, NC. Mary "Polly" Reddick's father was Rice Reddick, b. 1765 and her mother was Nancy "Nannie" Ross, b 1767. Nancy "Nannie" Ross's father was William Ross Jr., b 1731 married Mary Griffin, b 1730.

William Ross Jr. and wife Mary Griffin had another child, John W. Ross, b 1757 m Rachel Smith.

John and Rachel had a child Samuel, b. 1789 Edgecomb NC m Elizabeth Summers. Samuel Ross was a first cousin of Mary "Polly" Reddick---ie Mary "Polly" Reddick's mother, Nancy Ross, b. 1767 was the younger sister of John W. Ross, b 1757.

Samuel Ross's son, James Ross, b. 1814, married Mary "Polly" Reddick Williams daughter, Martha "Patsy" Williams, b. 1818. So they were second cousins, both children of their parents, who were first cousins.

They likely met and knew each other due to these family relations.

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John Smith (1698 – 1763) is the son of Thomas Smith of (1677 – 1712) of New Jersey. John is seven generations removed from Margaret Frances Melton on her mother’s side of the family. The biography of John Smith listed below may or may not be the John Smith in the Callie Lovell family tree because the name John Smith was so prevalent during this period of time. Even those who have done meticulous research on this name are often in disagreement; however, they agree on the area of the country they came from.

John Smith Biography For more information on the Smith family, see Rosalie Smith's Smith Gentes, the work of Gloria Padach in the Rowan County Register and at several message boards online, and the research of James Mark Valsame at http://www.valsamides-design.com/smith/andrewsmith1.html. These three researchers have some significant disagreements which the reader must note. Probably it is best to consider the early generations to be speculation, rather than proof.

The Smiths are a tangled family because of the common surname and the repetition of Christian names over several generations. We don't know for certain where this John fits in the family, but Valsames suggests it is possible that he was the son of Thomas Smith (1727-1744), grandson of Andrew Smith (1709-1794) and great-grandson of Andrew Smith (1640-?).

On the other hand, Gloria Padach wrote in an email to this writer: "A John Smith who we know was in Hopewell, NJ was likely the husband of Rebecca Anderson. But in no way could have been the son of Thomas. He however, could be the grandson of Andrew Smith Sr. We have accounted for all of Andrew's daughters with the exception of Hannah. Last known record of her was when her father had her and her siblings baptized at St. Mary's in 1702/3. She was not named in his will of 1703/04, in which he names his daughter Elizabeth and her husband John Park, Mary and her husband William Scholey, Elizabeth who later married John Reed and his two sons Andrew and Thomas. I speculate that Hannah likely had a son out of wedlock and died. This child was raised in her brother's household as one of his own. Thus the John Smith who married Rebecca Anderson, ending up in Rowan Co., NC. I know [some] are not happy with me and my speculations but I see no other way that this could have happened."

If you are wondering how someone baptized in 1703 could have been born in 1698, the answer is that the Smiths were dissenters and, because of a complicated land issue, rushed about that time to get everyone baptized in the Anglican church in order to preserve their property rights. If the children had not been previously baptized, they were probably either Quakers or Baptists. Hunterdon, New Jersey was a major Quaker settlement.

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Chapter Eighteen Passing the Torch I have been asked why I wanted to teach and leave the business world at the age of fifty to become a college professor. Surely, it wasn’t for the pay, other jobs pay far more! No, there had to be more behind the decision to make such a drastic change, so late in life. I have often looked at my surroundings, and wondered how things have happened. By my precise nature, I have spent my life searching for answers to the things I have faced in life. Questioning the things that life has presented me with. Maybe it is just my make up to examine my surroundings, or maybe it was the experiences of my early childhood that caused me to view the world with a bit of skepticism. Regardless of the reason, I find it comforting to unlock the secrets that help determine whom we become. I find it strange when questioned about my career path. Yet, if I have learned anything, all questions are good, and if my answer makes someone’s journey a little easier, I hope my answers help. My passion is that everyone finds the answers to life as he or she faces the challenges ahead of themselves.

What created the desire for me to return to an environment that at times in my life has been my savior, an escape from reality, or a cause of great stress? Here I sit, on the other side of the desk, with all my experiences and degrees in hand, ready to pass on all things I have learned to those willing to listen.

While, I have spent most of my life in a classroom, I still don’t have all the answers. Even in my everyday life, I find myself seeking answers to the events of my life that have turned me into whom I am today.

Maybe it has taken me more time than others to learn the things we need in life, or maybe we are always learning. Is it possible to reach a point of diminishing return in this regard, where learning one more thing has little if no reward? I hope not, because knowledge is one of the things that have sustained me in life and forced me to press on.

I spent the first thirty years of my life an anger young man looking for some form of acceptance on my terms, an excuse or a reason for the things that had caused me pain. I somehow felt if I could point a finger at someone, everything in my life would somehow have meaning. However, each question I have answered only leads to more questions, and a deeper understanding of what I had become. I now look back at the first seven years of my life with a little more insight. Still, this period may have set the tone for the inner battles; I fought with myself as a child and a young man. I so desperately wanted to be accepted by anyone, that at times, I denied anyone trying to help me. Somehow I often failed to notice the good in many of those who had passed through my life.

Outwardly, I am sure I looked like any other child, but internally I struggled to find the one person who could erase the past and say, “You are a shining jewel, you are important.” The rejections I faced so early in life by my mother and various foster parents hardened my ability to trust anyone without questioning their motives. So many people had used the words, “I love you,” yet they were so willing to abandon me at their earliest convenience that I learned to consider those words more as a warning sign of what was to come than any meaning of affection. I still find myself on guard today each time I hear the

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three words that so many others have looked at as terms of endearment. Even when one of my daughters says, “I love you,” I look for the hidden meaning. What do you really want?

Even when my father remarried and came back to get us, he offered only a period of stability in my life and not a real father-son-relationship. I am not sure that we ever reached that level of understanding until after I was married which came shortly before his death. It was easier for me to remember my dad as a hard man, which may have had to do with my early childhood experiences or our differences in opinions of his military style of parenting during my teenage years. Regardless, sometimes I hated the way he seemed to push me. Everything had to done in an orderly fashion, according to his rules, which left little room for interpretation. My hair had to meet military standards, every meal had to be eaten within a time limit, my room was inspected from time to time, and he often talked to me more as his commanding officer than a father.

Once after bringing home a poor report card in the fourth grade he made me spend the whole summer in my room reading. I wasn’t allowed to go outside and play with my friends at any time during that summer. The only reason I could leave my room was to go to the library to check out a book or to return it to the library. I was never sure what that taught me other than to hate reading. It didn’t improve my grades the following year. He may have felt his effort led to my success in school later in life, but I doubt it. The reality of the matter is that I turned to learning to escape. I wanted to find answers so that I could take control of my own life which made learning easier. Today I am more of a storyteller and a writer, willing to leave the reading to others.

Maybe my father was hard on me because he wanted the best for me. Once my oldest daughter asked why I pushed her so hard while she was practicing golf. The only answer I could give was because I cared; however, I am not sure she understood anymore than I did at her age. I have never expected my daughters to be the best at anything; I just want them to be the best they could be at anything they try in life. As I spoke those words to her, I found that I had become more like my father than I ever believed I would have become. Maybe my father and I both made mistakes in raising our children, but when I look at what my daughters and I have done with our lives, maybe my father and I were both right in some ways.

My only real escape seemed to come in the form of football. On the football field, I was the master of my own fate and could impose my will on others. When it came to football, I didn’t care if anyone liked me; in fact, I almost relished the idea that no one did. As a football player my job was easy, to run over you, through you, or around you while letting you know there was nothing you could do to stop me. For once in my life, if I did something well I could see it in the face of my coach and fellow players. I wish I could say I played football with passion, but here too, it may have been more out of a need to prove myself to others.

On the football field I was no long the dumb kid in class that no one wanted, there I didn’t have to wait for anyone’s acceptance, there I could prove my own worth.

My father’s first real opportunity to develop a bond between us came when he watched me play football for the first and only time that I remember him watching me. The team we were playing that day was a much weaker opponent, which became all too evident. The first two times I touched the ball, I scored.

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Knowing that my father was watching only made me want to do even more. At the end of the game, I was proud of how easily we had handled the team we played. However, when my dad came up to me at the end of the game, he told me how disappointed he was how we unmercifully ran over a smaller opponent.

I was crushed! I stood there in total disbelief not fully understanding anything I had just heard.

What had I done that was so wrong? I had now played football for three coaches, and each one taught me to play at the highest level until the end of the game, regardless of who we were playing. To me this was just another form of rejection that I had become so familiar with during my life. Today, I am sure that my father’s intention were far from any form of rejection, but I spent much of that night in my room staring at the wall trying to figure out what my dad expected from me. I am not sure my father knew how to bond with his children. Maybe it was because those things were missing from his life or because he was forced to grow up so fast during his childhood. Regardless we never genuinely seemed to form any real connection other than he was my father.

Another opportunity developed when he sold me my first car, a 1956 Chevy. He had purchased the car to restore it, but after he lost interest in the project, he sold me the car. Yet, we never worked on the car together, and he never took the time to teach me how to drive. After wearing out a figure eight path in the back yard, he made me move the car down to the parking lot behind the store where I worked. I taught myself to drive by going out with friends late at night on the old country roads just outside of town.

My biggest disappointment came after I had spent four years in the Navy. After going almost a year without a letter from home, I wrote home asking my parents not to send me a letter so that I wouldn’t have to expect any letters during mail call. The response I got wasn’t totally unexpected, but it wasn’t what I wanted. For the remainder of my time in the military, I didn’t receive or send a letter from home. Once, later in life my mother seemed somewhat surprised when she learned that I had gone to Vietnam, but I never discussed the military with my dad. When I returned home, my father meet me in the front yard, and told me that I was sissy for getting out of the military and I wasn’t man enough to take it. The subject never actually came up, and my father and I didn’t discuss our military experiences.

What he didn’t understand was that I had no interest in the military or that kind of life. I have always questioned the things around me, but the military lives by the motto “Yours is not to question why.

Yours is but to do or die.” Today I am better able to understand the reasoning behind such logic, but I would still be the one questioning the orders to charge the hill. The real reason I joined the military was to get away from home, but what I discovered was the military was home. Many of my early experiences in the military were just another form of rejection. Acceptance is something that the military cares little about during your initial training. Where most of us seek individual recognition, the military seeks unit objectives. Boot camp is a place to break individuals of the things that made them into whom they where.

The military doesn’t want you to question your surroundings; they want you to follow orders. Where I wanted to question everything and understand why, they just wanted me to charge.

My dad was military to the core. He had been indoctrinated into a way of life that I didn’t understand. Regardless of my impression of him as a young man, our clash as a parent and child was all

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too apparent. As a young man, I took the view that many young men do. It was my dad’s fault because he wanted to stay in control. As a parent, I am able to see things from the other side. When we are young, we look at life in terms of now. I may never fully understand the why my father chose to do the things he did the way he did. He died far too early in my life for us to sit, and talk about what life meant to both of us. At times in my life, it seemed we were miles apart, yet in reality it may have been that we were much more alike than either of us was willing to admit.

My saving grace during those turbulent years with my father was the woman I have grown to accept as my mother. She became the balance I needed in my life between the old bull, my dad, and the young bull (headed). While my father and I often battled over minor things, she stood between us as a kind of demilitarized zone. It was as if she knew that in some way we needed to find each other. If my father was the storm, my mother was the reasoning that is needed in life. Still at a young age it was hard for me to accept anyone.

Once when I was mad at my brother, and we were fighting she came in and told me to stop hitting my brother. In anger, I turned to her and said that he wasn’t my brother and then in a cold and uncaring tone, I turned to her and said that she wasn’t my mother. She didn’t say a word just turned and walked away. Others may have taken that as a sign to do battle, but she allowed my own words to condemn me. In my own unknowing way, I had rejected one of the few people in my life that had accepted me with no conditions. I couldn’t bring back the words that had so easily slipped off my tongue. I wanted to say I was sorry, but my pride wouldn’t let me. While I have long since apologized to my mother for those words, it was that single event in my life that still haunts me each time I lose my temper. It was also the one event that taught me that I could always count on this woman that has become my mother.

I have always been impressed with the love she was able to show all her children even the three that weren’t her own. Her wisdom has always been a source of comfort to me during troubling times. She may not have been the most educated person in life, but she always seems to be able to say the right thing at the right time. World War II may have robbed her of an education, but it didn’t rob her of common sense or logic.

I often laugh when I think of the time I tried to explain algebra to my mother. I tried to explain to her a simple algebraic theory with states that if A=B and B=C then A must equal C. That turned out to be a mistake! I don’t think I ever convinced her that A could equal B …. or C for that matter! She couldn’t get past the fact that A, B, and C were just simple place holders. However, her wisdom in matters of life always seemed to help me make better decisions. Also, there was an intellectual side to her that not many fully understood. German by birth she learned English on her own and during her fifties she received her GED high school diploma.

My anger as a young man wasn’t limited to mere mortals as I even battled God during this period of my life. I didn’t like the way members of his church treated my sister after she had gone forward confessing she was pregnant while she was still in high school and unmarried. I didn’t see their actions as the things I had grown to expect as Christ like. Outwardly they expressed acceptance but inwardly they

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demonstrated a much different opinion as they distanced themselves from her. However, instead of being the example of what I expected from others, I attacked God and members of his church.

In so many ways, I am glad that we don’t live under the old law. If we did, I wonder what would have become of me. There has been too many times in my life that I refused to look to God for the answers, while I found it easier to blame him for my troubles. If God had the patience that I have so often demonstrated in my life, he would have certainly given up on me. Yet, I know there is a God and he watches over me because of the people he has placed in my life to guide me during each problem I have faced. During the darkest periods of my life, God has provided me with some of the greatest examples of men and women who always seem to point me in the right direction. For all the times I have battled God on so many fronts, he has never left me and has always patiently waited and watched over me.

Life would be so much easier if each of us had no weaknesses and made no mistakes. However, what I have found is that we each stand on the shoulders of those who have successfully masked or corrected our faults. Early in life I was unable to find the support I needed from those around me, and I found it easier to become self reliant. If I have learned anything over the last thirty years of my life, it is just how dependent I am on those around me. My wife is the balance in my life that we each need in order

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to be successful. My only hope is that I have been able to provide her with the balance she needs in her life.

She has spent most of her life baby sitting the oldest child I have ever known, me. While I have done so many things wrong, meeting her wasn’t one of them.

There have been times she could have left me, and it would have been hard to blame her. She provided me with the strength I needed and has been a faithful companion over the last 36 years of my life.

However, like I have done with so many others, I gave her every reason to reject me. Somehow she managed to soften my edges while accepting my faults and stuck by me. She stood by me during both the good and bad times, which is a true example of how we should each honor our wedding vows. I am not sure whether it was my infatuation with her, or if love was the true emotion that caused me to marry her, but I have a strong feeling it was more infatuation. However, today I can truly say that our relationship is based on love, and it is easier to tell her the three words that have been so difficult for me to use in my life, I love you. I know there is a God because he led me to those who have helped me find the answers I have so desperately sought in my life.

It is easy to for me to point to my wife as one of the key people who has provided me with the direction I needed when I lost my way. However, it would be wrong not to mention two other women that have played a role in my development as a person. Most of us know who the real adults are in any family.

Each of us would hope that it is the parents. Yet, if I have learned anything as I have stumbled about my way through life, it would be wrong not to mention what my daughters have meant to me. Children don’t come with an instruction manual, and I am sure that if we were all honest, we could all find mistakes we made with our children. Still, one of the greatest joys I have experienced in my life is the fact that God blessed me with two incredible daughters. Many of the memories I cherish the most in life are centered around the time I spent with them on their journey from childhood to adulthood.

One long day in November in 1979, God provided me with the one thing that could melt my heart while showing me the truest from of unconditional acceptance. She was one small bundle of joy that could touch my heart with a single hug and bring a smile to my face when everything else seemed to go wrong.

My first daughter arrived much like she has lived her life, late. She managed to keep me waiting while viewing her self much like the princes she was in her first baby contest at the age of one. However, when it comes to patients she is too much like me, what she wants, she wants now.

I found myself in a college algebra class working towards my first degree when a student entered the class and ask the professor if he had a student named Richard Frederick in his class. I indicated that he was looking for me. With that he told me that my wife had requested my presence at the hospital because she was about to deliver our first child. I am not sure how I got to the hospital that day, I don’t remember leaving class, or if I stopped at any red lights, I just arrived at the hospital. It was noon, and that little girl kept me waiting for over ten hours until she was ready to make her grand entrance into this world.

Shortly after, she was born, I found myself standing in front of the nursery window at the hospital with my dad. We stood there together peering through the window when all of a sudden he started laughing and placed his arm around my shoulder. The laughter was somewhat confusing, so I asked him

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what was so funny. With that, he turned in my direction and said in a soft tone, “Now it’s your turn.” I didn’t know what he meant at the time, but 32 years later, I totally understand the hidden meaning in his laughter. For the next five years of my life, she has managed to dominate all my time in ways that no one has ever done before, and remarkably few since.

Candace Lynn Frederick, November 26, 1979

Finally, when I felt my life was complete, God gave me my second bundle of joy, Lisa Marie born August 20, 1985. While my oldest daughter was able to melt my heart, Lisa showed me a determination that anyone that knew her had to admire. She was born facing challenges because of a birth defect but never allowed anything to keep her down. She sees the glass as half full and measures life in an easy going manner. When I am at my worst, she is at her best and comes to my aid. Candace was what I needed to complete my life, Lisa was who I needed to show me life. Lisa is me, and there is no way I could ever deny she was my daughter, we are too much alike. She looks like me, has my personality, thinks like me, and likes the things I like. Yet, she has the kindest soul and is more comfortable helping those around her than worrying about what she might have missed. Two girls that are as different as night and day and yet each found their way into my heart, and are capable of making me do things I would have never considered earlier in my life.

Lisa Marie Frederick, August 20, 1985

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I have marked my passage through life as a success, not because of what I have accomplished but because of what those around me have allowed me to accomplish. In the end, I have found the answer to life best stated by Thomas Merton who wrote, “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.” While love may have been missing from the earliest years of my life, it has never left me since, and for that I truly grateful. Many of those who have played some part in my life have failed because they had no understanding of the true meaning of life. One must first love themselves and be willing to accept the love and support of those around them. Far too often we look for love in all the wrong places: a one night stand, a bottle, or in the things that bring us temporary satisfaction. I found love in the church, my family, and some truly great friends. All my degrees and success in life have come because other people cared, and for that I will always be grateful. In the end, I may have found the answer to one of the greatest questions in my life.

The classroom has managed to keep me young and has provided me with a source of comfort. Yet, in the search for the answers to life, I found that the only real success I have found in my life comes through what others have given me. While I have spent so much of my life in search of answers, any success afforded me is the result of gravitating towards exceptional people. When I examine whom I have become, I realize I am the sum parts of what so many people who where willing to give of themselves.

The years before me are now far less than those behind me; however, I find comfort in knowing that even if the only thing I leave my children is the small pieces of greatness I found in others, than my life has been a success. I spent so much of my life pushing others away in search of what I could do to improve life that I almost let life pass me by. Life isn’t about what you are capable of controlling; it is knowing what you can control and the willingness to accept help with the things you can’t control.

Finding the answers to life is like conducting research, if you want find the best solution you must use the most reliable resources. There were far too many times in my life I felt I didn’t need help, or I failed to see what resources were available to me. Also, much like in research, the answers to life required that we use the best resources. Properly collected data is needed to confirm or reject you theory and scholarly journals are more reliable than other forms of secondary data. In life we must also learn to prioritize the information we use to determine the answers. The best answers can be attributed to God, family, and the ethical principles and examples of great friends who have overcome similar situations in life. Each time I have failed in life, it has been when I lost sight of these priorities, or I relied on my own ability.

Somewhere in a song by Garth Brooks I found the truest path through life:

The River You know a dream is like a river Ever changin' changin' as it flows And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes Trying to learn from what's behind you And never knowing what's in store 322

Makes each day a constant battle Just to stay between between the shores...and shores...and I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Like a bird upon the wind These waters are my sky I'll never reach my destination If I never try So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Too many times we stand aside And let the waters waters slip away 'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow Has now become today So don't you sit upon the shoreline And say you're satisfied Choose to chance the rapids And dare to dance the tide...yes tide...yes I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Like a bird upon upon the wind These waters are my sky I'll never reach my destination If I never try So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry There's bound to be rough waters And I know I'll take some falls But with the good Lord as my captain I can make it through them all...yes all...yes I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Like a bird upon the wind These waters are my sky I'll never reach my destination If I never try So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Yes, I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry 'Til the river runs dry To each person who has touched my life in some small way, all I can say is thank you, and I LOVE YOU!

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In loving memory of those who laid the foundation for who I am, those who are living, and those no longer with us. Thank you. you Key to Frederick – Wallace Family Tree by Generation: First Generation, Second Generation, Third Generation, Fourth Generation, Fifth Generation, Sixth Generation, Seventh Generation, Eighth Generation, Ninth Generation Tenth Generation A Branch is Broken The Branch has Been Stopped but Additional information is available on Ancestry.com under the Frederick Family Tree The Frederick and Wallace Family Tree was developed form research that at times displayed conflicting dates (plus or minus a few years) and at times recorded one or two different siblings born to the same parents. However, there were no differences in the parents or their direct descendants within either family line. Also, you may note from time to time several siblings siblings seem to have been born on the same date. Often birth dates were recorded as the same in older records were no noted birth dates or deaths was recorded due to ineffective record keeping.

No Federuk Family information can be located beyond this point Onnis Federuk: not much is known about Onnis who was Russian by birth and lived in Poland when he took his two sons and one of his daughters to American. Upon returning to Poland to bring his wife Anna (Cebula) and youngest daughter to American with his oldest son Alex the family was killed for their ties to the United States during the Russian Revolution. Children were Alex D of B unknown, Poland Russia, John 7 Jan 1985 Poland Russia, Tanka D of B unknown Poland Russia, and one daughter name and D of B unknown.

• John (serving in the American army) along with his sister Tanka (who remained in America) where the only family member to survive John (Federuk) Frederick, born 7 Jan 1895, Poland Russia – died Apr 1985 Picagune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Onnis Federuk – Mother Anna Cebula, Married Vera Lee in Massachusetts date unknown, Children: Ernest 6 Nov 1924 Bristol Rhode Island, Richard Dix 22 Apr 1927 Bristol Rhode Island, Charlotte 23 Nov 1928 Bristol Rhode Island.

• John Federuk became a Naturalized Naturalized citizen of the United States 21 Mar 1926 • John was not the father of Charlotte (real father unknown) • John and Vera divorced and never remarried Anna Cebula: not much is known about Cebula who was Russian by birth and lived in Poland and died her husband, husband, Onnis Federuk, returned from America with his oldest son to pick her up along with his youngest daughter to take back to America. The family was killed during the Russian Revolution due to the ties Onnis had with America.. Children were Alex D of B unknown, unknown, Poland Russia, John 7 Jan 1985 Poland Russia, Tanka D of B unknown Poland Russia, and one daughter name and D of B unknown.

• John (serving in the American army) along with his sister Tanka (who remained in America) where the only family member to survive survive Richard Dix Frederick, born 22 Apr 1927, Massachusetts – died 2 Apr 1986 Picaqune, Mississippi, Parent: Father John (Federuk) Frederick – Mother Vera Lee, Married Dorothy Bernice (Gunther) Rhode Island date unknown, Children: Karen 7 Feb 1949 Bristol Rhode Island, Richard John 11 Jan 1950 Bristol Rhode Island, Jacqueline (Jackie) 3 Aug 1951.

• • •

Richard Dix and Dorothy Bernice divorced in 1953 R ichard Dix remarried Emma (Kretschmer) born 24 Apr 1931, Czechoslovakia, they were married in Germany date unk unknown, nown, Children: Irene 24 Jan 1957, Ernest 8 Feb 1958, Annie 30 Sept 1960, Germany Richard Dix Frederick born Federuk name changed by his father John to Frederick Father of James B. Lee unknown James B. Lee, born 1820, Kentucky – date of death unknown, Kentucky, Parents: Father James M. Lee – Mother Susan A Blair (Lee), Married Arrinda L. (Young) in 1843 Kentucky, Children: John Jack 1842 – 1937, Tabitha Frances 1845 – 1884, James M. 1848 – 1923, Nancy F. 1849 – unknown, Martha 1853 – unknown.

Mother Mother of James B. Lee Unknown James M. Lee, born 23 Jun 1848 Edmonson County, Kentucky – died 29 May 1923 Jefferson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James B. Lee – Mother Arrinda Lee Young, Married Alice Lee 1855, Children: Eddie 1874 – unknown, Rosie 1877 – unknown, Jennie 1879 – unknown, • Married Susan A Blair 1875, Children: Sarah Jane 1875 – 1948, Parrish Benjamin 1877 -1935, Louis 1879 – 1917 • Laura Coates (1851(1851-1927) Married 1889, Children: Elisha Olonzo Elsie 1890 – 1949, Asa Forrest 1894 – 1943, Bettie Bettie A. 1896 – 1975 James Young, born 1709 Antrim, Ireland – died 20 Nov 1755 Augusta, Virginia, Parents: Father John L. Young 16701670-1747 – Mother Annie Houston 16701670-1770, Married Sarah McMurtrey, Children: Hugh unknown – 1756, Mathew 1727 – 1780, Patrick 1728 – 1761, William 1735 – unknown • Married Sarah Todd 1751, Children Mathew Young, born 2 Sept 1727 Ireland – 1798 Long, Abbeville, South Carolina, Parents: Father James Young – Mother Sarah McMurtrey (1722(1722-unknown), Married Agnes Lusk 1747, Children: Margaret, Matthew 1750 – 1818, Andrew 1747 – unknown, James 1747 – 1787, Nathan 1749 – 1804, Elizabeth 1755 – 1833, John 1755 – 1815, William 1757 - unknown Sarah McMurtrey, Born 1722 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania – died unknown, Parents: Parents: Father Joseph McMurtrey 16851685-1761 – Mother Ann Boone 169216921781, Married James Young 1751, Children: Hugh unknown – 1756, Mathew 1727 – 1780, Patrick 1728 – 1761, William 1735 – unknown

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Matthew Young Sr., born 1750 South Carolina – died 1818 Warren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Matthew Young – Mother Agnes Lusk, Married Janet McCurdy, Children: Elizabeth 1755 -1833, Matthew 1771 – 1852, John 1775 – 1845, Polly McBride 1778 – 1843, Jane A. 1781 – unknown, Nathan 1785 – 1858, Elizabeth Betsy 1833 – unknown Nathan Lusk, 1675 Ulster, Ireland – died 14 Sept 1748, Parents: Father John Joseph Lusk 16811681-1730 – Mother Elizabeth Hayes 16721672-1745, Married Elizabeth Nevitt 1701, Children: William 1690 – 1746, James 1700 – 1770, John 1705 – 1751, Hugh 1706 – 1761, 1761, Agnes 1707 – 1749, Elizabeth 1713 – 1796, James 1719 -1786 Agnes Lusk, born 1707 Augusta, Virginia – 16 Feb 1749 Long Canes, Abbeville, South Carolina, Parents: Father Nathan Lusk (1675(1675-1748) – Mother Elizabeth Nevitt (1675 (167575-1765), Married Mathew Young, Children: Margaret, Matthew 1750 – 1818, Andrew 1747 – unknown, James 1747 – 1787, Nathan 1749 – 1804, Elizabeth 1755 – 1833, John 1755 – 1815, William 1757 – unknown Elizabeth Nevitt 1675 Ireland – 21 Feb 1765 Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Nathan Lusk 1718, Children: William 1690 – 1746, James 1700 – 1770, John 1705 – 1751, Hugh 1706 – 1761, Agnes 1707 – 1749, Elizabeth 1713 – 1796, James 1719 -1786 Matthew Young Jr., Jr., born 1771 Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina – died 18 Mar 1859 Warren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Matthew Young Sr. – Mother Jannet McCurdy, Married Peggy Young 1825 Kentucky, Children: Nathan Cunningham 1801 – 1892, Jane 1801 – unknown, Vicy Ann 1805 – unknown, James 1807 – unknown, Matthew Covington 1809 – unknown, Nancy 1811 – unknown, Temperence Tempy 1812 – 1837, John Bluford 1815 – unknown, William A. 1818 – unknown, Arrinda 1820 – unknown, Harrison D. 1825 – 1913, Kate 1826 – 1918, Nathan 1851 – unknown, Alexander Chapman 1852 – 1893 Patrick McCurdy, born 1700 Rathlin, Antrim, Ireland – died 1798 Antrim, Ireland, Parents: Father Daniel McCurdy 16771677-1747 Mother Margaret Laughlin 16801680-unknown, Married Mary Laughlin, Children: Lucretia 1717 – 1800, John 1721 – 1783, Archibald 1722 – 1805, daniel 1732 - unknown John McCurdy, born 1721 Antrim – died 12 Aug 1783 Long Canes, Abbeville, South Carolina, Parents: Father Patrick McCurdy – Mother Mary Laughlin, Married Married 327

Margaret Black 1742, Children: Mary 1742 – unknown, John 1743 – 1789, Agness 1745 – 1810, Janet 1752 – 1783, Sarah 1754 – 1800, Charles 1773 - 1876 Mary Laughlin, Born 17021702-unknonwn, unable to trace family Jannet McCurdy, born 1752 Antrim, Ireland – died 1785 South Carolina, Parents: Father John McCurdy – Mother Margaret Black, Married Matthew Young 1770, Children: Elizabeth 1755 -1833, Matthew 1771 – 1852, John 1775 – 1845, Polly Margaret Black, born 1725 Rathlin Island, Antrim, Ireland – died 1783 South Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John McCurdy 1742, Children: Mary 1742 – unknown, John 1743 – 1789, Agness 1745 – 1810, Janet 1752 – 1783, Sarah 1754 – 1800, Charles 1773 – 1876, Dennis 1780 – 1873 Arrinda L. Young (Lee) born 1822 Kentucky – date of death unknown, Parents: Father Matthew Young Jr. – Mother Peggy Young, Married James M. Lee in 1843 Kentucky, Children: John Jack 1842 – 1937, Tabitha Frances 1845 – 1884, James M. 1848 – 1923, Nancy Nancy F. 1849 – unknown, Martha 1853 – unknown.

Father of Margaret Peggy Young unknown Margaret Peggy Young (Young), born 1775 South Carolina – date of death unknown Kentucky, Parents: unknown, Children: Nathan Cunningham 1801 – 1892, Jane 1801 – unknown, Vicy Vicy Ann 1805 – unknown, James 1807 – unknown, Matthew Covington 1809 – unknown, Nancy 1811 – unknown, Temperence Tempy 1812 – 1837, John Bluford 1815 – unknown, William A. 1818 – unknown, Arrinda 1820 – unknown, Harrison D. 1825 – 1913, Kate 1826 – 1918, Nathan Nathan 1851 – unknown, Mother of Margaret Peggy Young Unknown Parish Benjamin Lee, born 8 Jan 1877 Barren County, Kentucky – died 8 Jul 1935 Jefferson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James M. Lee – Mother Susan A Blair, Married Mary Bell (Buckingham) 28 Jun 1881, Married Mary Bell (Buckingham) 1898 Barren County, Kentucky, Children: Myrtle May 1900 – 1981, Harry Willie 1902 – 1903, Elwood 1905 – 1966, Vera 1909 – 2001, Art 1911 – 1997, Helen Elaine 1917 – 1992 James Blair, born 1709 Ireland – died Nov Nov 1803 Guilford, North Carolina, Parents: Father Samuel James Blair 16671667-1754 – Mother Martha Campbell Lyle 16951695-1729, Married Mary Houston, Children: Thomas 1725 – 1796, 328

William 1737 – 1803, James 1745 – 1789, Jane 1747 – unknown, Bricas Price 1750 – unknown, unknown, George 1750 – unknown, Martha 1773 - 1844 William Blair 1737 Londonderry, England – died Nov 1803 Augusta, Virginia, Parents: Father James Blair – Mother Mary Houston, Married Margaret Bown 1761, Children: John 1760 – 1832, James 1762 – unknown, Henry Henry 1767 – unknown, Mary 1769 – 1792, Nancy 1770 – unknown, William 1774 – unknown, Margaret 1778 unknown Mary Houston, born 1727 Rockbridge, Virginia – died 1769 Picardie France, Parents: Father John Houston 16901690-1755 – Mother Margaret Cunningham 1690 169090-1755, Married James Blair, Children: Thomas 1725 – 1796, William 1737 – 1803, James 1745 – 1789, Jane 1747 – unknown, Bricas Price 1750 – unknown, George 1750 – unknown, Martha 1773 – 1844 Henry Blair, born 1765 Kentucky – 1813 1813 Hardin County, Kentucky, Parents: Father William Blair – Mother Margaret Brown, Married Elizabeth Bailey 1785, Children: Martha Patsy unknown, Betsy 1785 – unknown, James Henry 1785 – 1849, John Bailey 1787 – 1849, Mary Polly 1789 – 1821, Henry Brown 1801 1801 – 1864, Elizabeth 1804 – unknown, Isaac 1804 – 1870, William 1805 – unknown, David H. 1809 – unknown Margaret Brown, born 1737 – unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Blair, Children: John 1760 – 1832, James 1762 – unknown, unknown, Henry 1767 – unknown, Mary 1769 – 1792, Nancy 1770 – unknown, William 1774 – unknown, Margaret 1778 – unknown John Bailey Blair, born 1787 Evansville, Indiana – died 1 Oct 1849 Brownsville, Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Henry Blair – Mother Elizabeth Bailey, Married Margaret Strange Dec 17, 1794, Children: Susannah 1813 – unknown, Benjamin J. 1820 – 1884, Elizabeth Betsy 1820 – 1880, Silburn J. 1821 – 1877, John Bailey Jr. 1823 – 1898, Anderson B. 1829 – unknown, Margaret R. 1830 – unknown, Benjamin Doley 1848 – 1934 Father of Elizabeth Bailey unknown Elizabeth Bailey, born 1795 Richmond, Virginia – 1827 Jefferson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henry Blair, Children: Martha Patsy unknown, Betsy 1785 – unknown, James Henry 1785 – 1849, John Bailey 1787 – 1849, Mary Polly 1789 329

– 1821, Henry Brown 1801 – 1864, Elizabeth 1804 – unknown, Isaac 1804 – 1870, William 1805 – unknown, David H. 1809 – unknown Mother of Elizabeth Bailey unknown Lilburn J. Blair, 1821 Brownville, Edmonson County, Kentucky – 15 Dec 1877 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father John Bailey Blair – Mother Margaret Strange, Married Elizabeth Jane Pace 1848, Children: Elizabeth A 1849 – 1919, Susan C. 1852 – 1937, Susan A. 1854 1854 – 1937, Benjamin Jahue 1855 – 1934, Sarah Jane 1858 – unknown, Coon 1868 – unknown, Catherine 1870 – 1860 Joseph Pace, born 1698 Middlesex, Virginia – died 18 Dec 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Pace 16671667-1720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 1673673-1716, Married Ann Basford 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 John Pace, born 14 Mar 1722 Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1790 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Pace – Mother Ann Basford, Married Susannah Houchens 1742, Children: Children: Mary 1744 – 1815, William 1745 – 1815, George 1747 – 1810, Susanna 1749 – 1814, Murray 1751 – 1832, Elizabeth 1759 – 1810, Edward 1761 – 1820, Francis 1764 – 1785, Rachel 1766 – 1809, Charles 1768 – 1808, Stephen 1770 – 1809, James 1772 - 1830 Ann Basford, 1698 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1768 St James, 1675--1703 – Mother Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Basford 1675 Unknown 1673, Married Joseph Pace 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 -1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Edward M. Pace 1st, born 27 May 1761 Goochland, Virginia – died 6 Nov 1820 Warren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father John Pace – Mother Susannah Houchens, Married Susannah Johnson 1784, Children: Benjamin 1782 – 1803, Margaret 1785 -1870, Hannah 1791 – 1854, Benjamin Johnson 1794 – unknown, Edward Edward 17941794-1833, Mary 1795 – 1850, 330

Elizabeth 1783 – 1828, Nancy 1803 – unknown, Nancy 17831783-1829, Edward Pace 1800 – unknown, Nancy 1800 - 1880 Edward Houchin, born 1692 New Kent, Virginia – died 19 Feb 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Edward Houchins Houchins 16651665-1695 – Mother Rebecca unknown 16601660-1700, Married Hannah Aner 1721, Children: Charles unknown, James unknown – 1833, Elizabeth 1722 – 1808, Mary 1723 – 1766, Susannah 1723 – 1809, John 1725 – 1809, Rachel 1725 – 1809, Mary 1726 – 1766, Charles 1727 1727 – 1782. Agnes 1734 – 1769, Elizabeth 1735 – 1815, Francis 1735 – 1805, Rachael 1738 – 1791, John 1742 – 1785 Susannah Houchins, born 14 March 1722 Goochland, Virginia – died 1808 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Edward Houchin – Mother Hannah Aner, Aner, Married John Pace 1743, Children: Mary 1744 – 1815, William 1745 – 1815, George 1747 – 1810, Susanna 1749 – 1814, Murray 1751 – 1832, Elizabeth 1759 – 1810, Edward 1761 – 1820, Francis 1764 – 1785, Rachel 1766 – 1809, Charles 1768 – 1808, Stephen 1770 – 1809, James 1772 – 1830 Hannah Aner, born 1703 Goochland, Virginia – died 1729 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Edward Houchin1721, Children: Children: Charles unknown, James unknown – 1833, Elizabeth 1722 – 1808, Mary Mary 1723 – 1766, Susannah 1723 – 1809, John 1725 – 1809, Rachel 1725 – 1809, Mary 1726 – 1766, Charles 1727 – 1782.

Agnes 1734 – 1769, Elizabeth 1735 – 1815, Francis 1735 – 1805, Rachael 1738 – 1791, John 1742 – 1785 Margaret Strange, born 1785 Evansville, Evansville, Indiana – died 1870 Durant, Bryan, Oklahoma, Parents: Father Edward M. Pace 1st – Mother Susannah Johnson, Married John Bailey Blair Dec 17, 1794, Children: Susannah 1813 – unknown, Benjamin J. 1820 – 1884, Elizabeth Betsy 1820 – 1880, Silburn J. 1821 – 1877, John Bailey Jr. 1823 – 1898, Anderson B. 1829 – unknown, Margaret R. 1830 – unknown, Benjamin Doley 1848 – 1934 William Johnson, born 1700 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia – 10 Mar 1745 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia, Parents: Father Daniel Johnson Johnson 16741674-1758 – Mother Agnes 16781678-unknonw, Married Margaret Pace 1721, Children: William 1722 – 1796, Elizabeth 1726 – 1744, Henry 1727 – 1729, Daniel 1729 – unknown, Samuel 1731 – 1735, Avarilla 1735 – 1749, Jane 331

1737 – 1737, Benjamin 1739 – 1785, Stephen Stephen 1740 – 1805, Samuel 1742 – 1744 Benjamin Johnson, born 3 May 1739 St James Parrish, Goochland, Virginia – died 16 May 1785, Parents: Father William Johnson – Mother Margaret Pace, Married Susannah Pace 1759, Children: Margaret 1760 – 1783, Joseph 1761 – 1762, Benjamin 1763 – 1812, Susannah 1765 – 1795, Benjamin 1765 – 1850, William 1768 -1829, Curtis 1770 – 1850, Elizabeth 1776 – 1777 Margaret Pace, born 5 Mar 1702 Middlesex, Virginia – died 7 Nov 1760 Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father John Pace 166716671720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 16731673-1716, Married William Johnson 1721, Children: William 1722 – 1796, Elizabeth 1726 – 1744, Henry 1727 – 1729, Daniel 1729 – unknown, Samuel 1731 – 1735, Avarilla 1735 – 1749, Jane 1737 – 1737, Benjamin Benjamin 1739 – 1785, Stephen 1740 – 1805, Samuel 1742 - 1744 Susannah Johnson, born 17 Oct 1765 Goochland, Virginia – 1797, Parents Father Benjamin Johnson Mother Susannah Pace, Married Edward M. Pace 1784, Children: Benjamin 1782 – 1803, Margaret 1785 -1870, Hannah 1791 – 1854, Benjamin Johnson 1794 – unknown, Edward 17941794-1833, Mary 1795 – 1850, Elizabeth 1783 – 1828, Nancy 1803 – unknown, Nancy 17831783-1829, Edward Pace 1800 – unknown, Nancy 1800 – 1880 Joseph Pace, born born 1698 Middlesex, Virginia – died 18 Dec 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Pace 16671667-1720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 16731673-1716, Married Ann Basford 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, 1803, Daniel 1729 1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Susannah Pace, born 2 May 1741 St James Parish, Goochland, Virginia – died 1785 Goochland, and, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Pace – Mother Ann Basford, Married Goochl Benjamin Johnson 1759, Children: Margaret 1760 – 1783, Joseph 1761 – 1762, Benjamin 1763 – 1812, Susannah 1765 – 1797, William 1768 – 1829, Curtis 1770 – 1850, Elizabeth 1776 - 1777

332

Ann Basford, born 1698 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1768 St James, Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Basford 16751675-1703 – Mother Unknown 1673, Married Joseph Pace 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 -1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Susan A. Blair (Lee) born 1854 Edmonson County, Kentucky – died 1879 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Lilburn J. Blair – Mother Elizabeth Jane Pace, Married James M. Lee 1876, Children: Sarah Jane 1875 – 1948, Parrish Benjamin Benjamin 1877 -1935, Louis 1879 – 1917 Joseph Pace, born 1698 Middlesex, Virginia – died 18 Dec 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Pace 16671667-1720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 16731673-1716, Married Ann Basford 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 John Pace, born 14 Mar 1722 Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1790 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Pace – Mother Ann Basford, Married Susannah Houchens 1742, Children: Mary 1744 – 1815, William 1745 – 1815, George 1747 – 1810, Susanna Susanna 1749 – 1814, Murray 1751 – 1832, Elizabeth 1759 – 1810, Edward 1761 – 1820, Francis 1764 – 1785, Rachel 1766 – 1809, Charles 1768 – 1808, Stephen 1770 – 1809, James 1772 - 1830 Ann Basford, 1698 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1768 St James, James, 1675--1703 – Mother Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Basford 1675 Unknown 1673, Married Joseph Pace 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 -1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Edward M. Pace, born 27 May 1761 Goochland, Virginia – died 6 Nov 1820 Warren County, Kentucky, Parents: John H. Pace 17221722-1790 – Mother Susannah Houchin 17231723-1809, Married 333

Susannah Johnson, Children: Benjamin 1782 – 1803, Margaret 1785 -1870, Hannah 1791 – 1854, Benjamin Johnson 1794 – unknown, Edward 17941794-1833, Mary 1795 – 1850, Elizabeth 1783 – 1828, Nancy 1803 – unknown, Nancy 17831783-1829, 1829, Edward Pace 1800 – unknown, Nancy 1800 - 1880 Edward Houchin, born 1692 New Kent, Virginia – died 19 Feb 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Edward Houchins 16651665-1695 – Mother Rebecca unknown 16601660-1700, Married Hannah Aner 1721, Children: Charles Charles unknown, James unknown – 1833, Elizabeth 1722 – 1808, Mary 1723 – 1766, Susannah 1723 – 1809, John 1725 – 1809, Rachel 1725 – 1809, Mary 1726 – 1766, Charles 1727 – 1782. Agnes 1734 – 1769, Elizabeth 1735 – 1815, Francis 1735 – 1805, Rachael 1738 – 1791, John 1742 – 1785 Susannah Houchins, born 14 March 1722 Goochland, Virginia – died 1808 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Edward Houchin – Mother Hannah Aner, Married John Pace 1743, Children: Mary 1744 – 1815, William 1745 – 1815, George 1747 – 1810, 1810, Susanna 1749 – 1814, Murray 1751 – 1832, Elizabeth 1759 – 1810, Edward 1761 – 1820, Francis 1764 – 1785, Rachel 1766 – 1809, Charles 1768 – 1808, Stephen 1770 – 1809, James 1772 – 1830 Hannah Aner, born 1703 Goochland, Virginia – died 1729 Goochland, Virginia, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Edward Houchin1721, Children: Children: Charles unknown, James unknown – 1833, Elizabeth 1722 – 1808, Mary 1723 – 1766, Susannah 1723 – 1809, John 1725 – 1809, Rachel 1725 – 1809, Mary 1726 – 1766, Charles 1727 – 1782.

Agnes 1734 – 1769, Elizabeth 1735 – 1815, Francis 1735 – 1805, Rachael 1738 – 1791, John 1742 – 1785 Benjamin Pace, born 1801 Virginia – 7 Oct 1859 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Edward M. Pace – Mother Susannah Johnson, Married Catherine B Hawkins 1803, Children: Elizabeth Jane 1831 – unknown, Tyre 1829 – 1906, Jehu John D 1832 – 1914, Edward 1834 – 1850, Susanna 1835 – 1909, Presley 1837 – 1865, William W. 1839 – 1850, Mary Ann 1841 – 1916, Sarah E. 1843 – 1912, John Wesley Wesley 1845 – 1922, Letitia 1847 – 1877, Rachael 1849 – unknown, James McClung 1851 – 1926, Felissa Frances 1857 – 1912, William Johnson, born 1700 kChrist Church, Middlesex, Virginia – 10 Mar 1745 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia, Parents: Father Daniel Johnson 16741674-1758 – Mother Agnes 16781678-unknonw, Married Margaret Pace 1721, 334

Children: William 1722 – 1796, Elizabeth 1726 – 1744, Henry 1727 – 1729, Daniel 1729 – unknown, Samuel 1731 – 1735, Avarilla 1735 – 1749, Jane 1737 – 1737, Benjamin 1739 – 1785, Stephen Stephen 1740 – 1805, Samuel 1742 – 1744 Benjamin Johnson, born 3 May 1739 St James Parrish, Goochland, Virginia – died 16 May 1785, Parents: Father William Johnson – Mother Margaret Pace, Married Susannah Pace 1759, Children: Margaret 1760 – 1783, Joseph 1761 1761 – 1762, Benjamin 1763 – 1812, Susannah 1765 – 1795, Benjamin 1765 – 1850, William 1768 -1829, Curtis 1770 – 1850, Elizabeth 1776 – 1777 Margaret Pace, born 5 Mar 1702 Middlesex, Virginia – died 7 Nov 1760 Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father John Pace 166716671720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 16731673-1716, Married William Johnson 1721, Children: William 1722 – 1796, Elizabeth 1726 – 1744, Henry 1727 – 1729, Daniel 1729 – unknown, Samuel 1731 – 1735, Avarilla 1735 – 1749, Jane 1737 – 1737, Benjamin Benjamin 1739 – 1785, Stephen 1740 – 1805, Samuel 1742 - 1744 Susannah Johnson, born 17 Oct 1765 Goochland, Virginia – 1797, Parents Father Benjamin Johnson Mother Susannah Pace, Married Edward M. Pace 1784, 1784, Children: Benjamin 1782 – 1803, Margaret 1785 -1870, Hannah 1791 – 1854, Benjamin Johnson 1794 – unknown, Edward 17941794-1833, Mary 1795 – 1850, Elizabeth 1783 – 1828, Nancy 1803 – unknown, Nancy 17831783-1829, Edward Pace 1800 – unknown, Nancy 1800 - 1880 Joseph Pace, born 1698 Middlesex, Virginia – died 18 Dec 1765 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Pace 16671667-1720 – Mother Elizabeth Newsome 16731673-1716, Married Ann Basford 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Susannah Pace, born 2 May 1741 St James Parish, Goochland, Virginia – died 1785 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Pace – Mother Ann Basford, Married Benjamin Johnson 1759, Children: Margaret 1760 – 1783, Joseph 1761 – 1762, Benjamin 1763 – 1812, Susannah 1765 – 1797, William 1768 – 1829, Curtis 1770 – 1850, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1776 - 1777 335

Ann Basford, born 1698 Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia – died 1768 St James, Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Basford 16751675-1703 – Mother Unknown 1673, Married Joseph Pace 1721, Children: Rachel 1721 – unknown, John 1722 – 1790, George 1725 – 1725, Josiah 1727 – 1803, Daniel 1729 -1730, Lettice 1731 – 1731, Rachel 1735 – 1820, Elizabeth 1740 – 1814, Susanna 1741 – 1785, Joseph 1741 – 1815, William 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1743 - 1765 Elizabeth Jane Pace, born 1828 Edmonson County, County, Kentucky – date of death unknown, Parents: `Father Benjamine Pace Mother Catherine Hawkins, Married Lilburn J. Blair 1848, Children: Elizabeth A 1849 – 1919, Susan C. 1852 – 1937, Susan A. 1854 – 1937, Benjamin Jahue 1855 – 1934, Sarah Jane 1858 – unknown, unknown, Coon 1868 – unknown, Catherine 1870 - 1860 William Hawkins, born 1720 Orange County, Virginia – 1799 St Thomas 1699--1776 – Parish, Orange County, Virginia, Parents: William Hawkins 1699 Mother Mary Smith 1700 – 1760, Married Elizabeth Wall 1749, Children: Children: William 1740 – 1818, Elisha 1752 – 1822, Archelous 1754 – unknown, Jehu Dyer 1756 -1840, John 1756 – 1838, Reuben 1756 – 1812, Jehu Dyer Hawkins Jr, born 25 Aug 1756 Culpepper, Virginia – died 26 Jan 1840 Woodford, Kentucky, Parents Father William Hawkins Mother Elizabeth Wall, Married Mary George Gains 1780, Children: Elizabeth M. 1780 – 1855, Mary B. 1784 – 1860, Jehu Dyer 1785 – 1883, William Wall 1787 – 1862, Henry George 1790 – 1862, Sally Gains 1800 – unknown Elizabeth Wall, born 1728 Orange County, Virginia – died 2 Jun 1800 Orange County, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Hawkins 1749, Children: William 1740 – 1818, Elisha 1752 – 1822, Archelous 1754 – unknown, Jehu Dyer 1756 -1840, John 1756 – 1838, Reuben 1756 – 1812, Jehu Dyer Hawkins Jr., born 25 Apr 1785 Orange, Virginia – died 5 Mar 1883 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents Father Jehu Dyer Hawkins Mother Mary George Gains, Married Elizabeth Ann OBannion 1808, Children: Henry George 1809 – 1890, Catharine Catharine B. 1811 – 1896, Jehu D. 1814 – unknown, John G. 1814 – 1870, William L. 1818 – unknown, Emily J. 1820 – 1863, Elias B. 1822 – 1896, Simon T. 1824 – unknown, Elizabeth Ann 1827 – unknown, Mary B. 1829 – 1883 336

Mary George Gains, born 1756 Virginia – 1856 Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Jehu Dyer Hawkins 1780, Children: Elizabeth M. 1780 – 1855, Mary B. 1784 – 1860, Jehu Dyer 1785 – 1883, William Wall 1787 – 1862, Henry George 1790 – 1862, Sally Gains 1800 – unknown Catherine B Hawkins, born 25 Nov 1811 Edmonson County, Kentucky – died 8 Jan 1896 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Jehu Dyer Hawkins Mother Elizabeth Ann OBannion, Married Benjamin J Pace 1828, Children: Elizabeth Jane 1831 – unknown, unknown, Tyre 1829 – 1906, Jehu John D 1832 – 1914, Edward 1834 – 1850, Susanna 1835 – 1909, Presley 1837 – 1865, William W. 1839 – 1850, Mary Ann 1841 – 1916, Sarah E. 1843 – 1912, John Wesley 1845 – 1922, Letitia 1847 – 1877, Rachael 1849 – unknown, James McClung McClung 1851 – 1926, Felissa Frances 1857 – 1912 John Obannon, born 1710 Salem, Fauquier, Virginia – died 28 March 1774, Parents: Father Bryan Boru OBannon 16801680-1762 - Mother Sarah Zena Isham 16801680-1760, Married Sarah Barbee 1730, Children: Willaim 1730 – 1807, John 1735 – 1797, Thomas 1739 – 1801, James 1743 – 1809, Sarah 1745 – 1785, Samuel 1747 – 1830, Catherine 1748 – 1788, Bryant 1749 – 1784, Andrew 1753 – 1813, George 1755 – 1777, Joseph 1758 – 1824, Benjamin 1759 - 1839 Joseph O Bannon, born 12 Jan 1758 Fauquier, Virginia – died 23 Feb 1824 Greenville, South Carolina, Parents: Father John Obannon – Mother Sarah Barbee, Married Elizabeth Bullitt, Children: Joseph 1784 – 1820, Elizabeth Ann 1788 -1880, H James 1789 – 1820, Elias 1806 – 1884, Catherine 1810 – 1830 Sarah Barbee, born 1714 Overwharton Parish, Stafford, Virginia – died 1806 1690--1752 – Salem, Fauquier, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Barbee 1690 Mother Margaret Williams 16941694-1752, Married John OBannon 1730, Children: Willaim 1730 – 1807, John John 1735 – 1797, Thomas 1739 – 1801, James 1743 – 1809, Sarah 1745 – 1785, Samuel 1747 – 1830, Catherine 1748 – 1788, Bryant 1749 – 1784, Andrew 1753 – 1813, George 1755 – 1777, Joseph 1758 – 1824, Benjamin 1759 - 1839 Elizabeth Ann O Bannon, born 16 Dec 1788 South Carolina – died 1880 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Joseph O Bannon – Mother Abigail Giles, Married Jehu Dyer Hawkins 1808, Children: Henry George 1809 – 1890, Catharine B. 1811 – 1896, Jehu D. 1814 – unknown, John G. 1814 – 1870, William L. 1818 – unknown, Emily J. 1820 – 1863, Elias 337

B. 1822 – 1896, Simon T. 1824 – unknown, Elizabeth Ann 1827 – unknown, Mary B. 1829 – 1883 Benjamin Bullitt, born 28 Apr 1693 Port Tobacco, Charles, Charles, Maryland – died 3 May 1766 Fauquier, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Bullitt 16471647-1692 – Mother Elizabeth Brandt 16651665-1694, Married Sarah Elizabeth Harrison 1727, Children: Joseph 1728 – 1793, Seth Harrison 1728 – 1810, Benjamin 1733 – 1753, Thomas 1740 – 1778 • Married Sarah Burdette 1757, Children: William 1838 - 1877 Abigail Giles, born 17701770-1820, Parents: Father Benjamin Bullitt – Mother Elizabeth Harrison, Married Joseph OBannon 1782, Children: Joseph 1784 – 1820, Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann 1788 -1880, H James 1789 – 1820, Elias 1806 – 1884, Catherine 1810 – 1830 Elizabeth Harrison 1740 Stafford, Virginia – 1823 Prince William, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Harrison 16651665-1746 – Mother Sithia Elizabeth Short 16741674-unknown, Married Benjamin Benjamin Bullitt, Children: Joseph 1728 – 1793, Seth Harrison 1728 – 1810, Benjamin 1733 – 1753, Thomas 1740 – 1778 Vera Lee (Frederick) 2 Jul 1908, Glasgow, Kentucky, Parents: Father Parish Benjamin Lee – Mother Mary Bell Buckingham, Married John (Federuk) (Federuk) Frederick in Massachusetts. Children: Ernest 6 Nov 1924 Bristol Rhode Island, Richard Dix 22 Apr 1927 Bristol Rhode Island, Charlotte 23 Nov 1928 Bristol Rhode Island. John was not the father of Charlotte (real father unknown). John and Vera divorced and never remarried. John died April 1985 Picaqune, Mississippi, Vera died 10 Jun 2001 Bristol Rhode Island.

Thomas Buckingham 24 Jan 1693 Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut – died 13 Dec 1760 Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, Parents: Father Thomas Buckingham Buckingham 16701670-1739 – Mother Margaret Griswold 16751675-1752, Married Mary Parker 1722, Children: Thomas 1720 – 1754, Jedediah 1726– 1726– 1809, Stephen 1729 -1774, Mary 1732 – unknown, Sarah 1734 – 1742 Thomas Buckingham, born 12 Mar 1720 Anne Arundel, Maryland – died 1754 1754 Pennsylvania, Parents: Father Thomas Buckingham – Mother Mary Parker, Married Avarilla Gosnell 1740, Children: William 1735 – 1816, John 1747 – unknown, Ann Nancy 1750 – unknown, Benjamin 1752 – unknown, Obadiah 1757 - 1839 Mary Parker 24 Jan 1693 Lebanon, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut – 13 Dec 1760 1670--1739 – Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, Parents: Thomas Buckingham 1670 Mother Margaret Griswold 16681668-1751, Married Mary Parker 1722, Children: 338

Thomas 1720 – 1754, Jedediah 1726– 1726– 1809, Stephen 1729 -1774, Mary 1732 1732 – unknown, Sarah 1734 – 1742 William Buckingham, born 1735 Westminster, Carroll, Maryland – died 26 Oct 1816 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father Thomas Buckingham – Mother Avarilla Gosnell, Married Mary Margaret Gladman 1778, Children: Alice 1780 – unknown, Nimrod 1780 – unknown, Peregrine 1780 – unknown, Thomas C. 1780 – 1863, Joshua 1781 – 1862, Richard Nathan 1782 – 1863, Nellie 1783 – 1853, Larkin 1783 – 1865, Airey 1784 – 1880, Ruth 1786 – 1879, 1879, Beale 1787 – 1869, Miranda 1794 – unknown, Ezekiel 1795 - 1849 William Gosnell, born 1694 Anne Arundel, Maryland – died 20 Aug 1762, Parents: Father William Gosnell 16521652-1709 – Mother Sarah Elizabeth Barker 16651665-1715, Married Elizabeth Nash 1752, Children: Children: Rachel 1714 – 1720, Zebediah 1714 – 1807, Vachel 1715 -1762, Sarah 1719 – 1790, Avarilla 1721 – 1826 Avarilla Gosnell, born 1718 Baltimore, Maryland – died 1826 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father William Gosness – Mother Elizabeth Nash, Married Thomas Buckingham, Children: William 1735 – 1816, John 1747 – unknown, Ann Nancy 1750 – unknown, Benjamin 1752 – unknown, Obadiah 1757 - 1839 Elizabeth Nash, born 1694 Maryland – died 1755 Maryland, Parents; Father unknown – Mother Mother unknown, Married William Gosnell, Children: Rachel 1714 – 1720, Zebediah 1714 – 1807, Vachel 1715 -1762, Sarah 1719 – 1790, Avarilla 1721 – 1826 Thomas C. Buckingham, born 1 Sept 1778 Pennsylvania – died 4 Oct 1863 Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, Parents: Parents: William Buckingham – Mother Mary Margaret Gladman, Married Mary Willet Brown 1808, Children: Sarah 1805 – 1850, Elizabeth 1809 – unknown, John B. Jack 1813 – 1885, Zachariah 1815 – 1880, Susannah 1818 – unknown, Jesse Hardyman 1819 – 1879, Thomas T. 1821 1821 – 1880, E 1823 - unknown Michael Gladman, born 1702 Liverpool, Lancashire, England – 19 Sept 1789 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father Thomas Gladman unknown – Mother Rebecca Cross unknownunknown-1763, Married Rachel Baker 1727, Children: Rebecca Cross 1728 1728 – unknown, John 1733 – unknown, Michael 1736 – 1818, Thomas 1738 – 1770, Rachel 1744 – 1846 339

John Gladman, born 3 Aug 1733 Saint Paul Protestant Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland – died unknown, Parents: Father Michael Gladman Gladman – Mother Rachel Baker 1709 – unknown, Married unknown, Children: Rachel unknown, Mary Margaret 17611761-1831, Michael 1769 – unknown Rachel Baker, born 1727 – unknown, Parents: unknown, Married Michael Gladman, Children: Rebecca Cross 1728 – unknown, John John 1733 – unknown, Michael 1736 – 1818, Thomas 1738 – 1770, Rachel 1744 – 1846 Mary Margaret Gladman, 25 Jan 1761 Baltimore, Maryland – 1831 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father John Gladman – Mother unknown, Married: William Buckingham 1778, Children: Alice 1780 – unknown, Nimrod 1780 – unknown, Peregrine 1780 – unknown, Thomas C. 1780 – 1863, Joshua 1781 – 1862, Richard Nathan 1782 – 1863, Nellie 1783 – 1853, Larkin 1783 – 1865, Airey 1784 – 1880, Ruth 1786 – 1879, Beale 1787 – 1869, Miranda 1794 – unknown, unknown, Ezekiel 1795 - 1849 Mother of Mary Margaret Gladman unknown John B. Buckingham, born 19 Dec 1813 Walnut Hill, Barren County, Kentucky – died 1 Jun 1885 Barren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas C. Buckingham – Mother Mary Brown, Married Married Martha Ensor 1834, Children: Caroline M. 1836 – unknown, Jesse H. 1837 – 1884, Nancy E. 1840 – unknown, William Milburn 1842 – unknown, Martha J. 1844 – unknown, Sally J. 1850 – unknown, John Thomas 1853 – 1915, David J. 1862 – unknown, James 1865 – unknown unknown Father of Mary Brown unknown Mary Brown, born 1787 Virginia – died Sept 1870, Parent: unknown, Married Thomas C. Buckingham 1808, Children: Sarah 1805 – 1850, Elizabeth 1809 – unknown, John B. Jack 1813 – 1885, Zachariah 1815 – 1880, Susannah 1818 – unknown, Jesse Hardyman 1819 – 1879, Thomas T. 1821 – 1880, E 1823 - unknown Mother of Mary Brown unknown William Milburn Buckingham, born 26 Aug 1842 Barren County, Kentucky – date of death unknown, Parents: Father John B. Buckingham – Mother Martha Ensor, Married Sarah Jane Beckner (Buckingham) 1868, Children: Martha J. 1871 – unknown, Sallie 1871 – unknown, Charles Ambrose 1875 – 1903, Maggie Ellen 1878 – unknown, Mary Belle 1881 – unknown, Nettie Moore 1883 – 1947, Lou Lettie 1887 – 1963, Ader Ader Valentine 1889 – 1925, Angie Catherine 1893 – 1989 340

John Ensor, born 1695 Baltimore, Maryland – died 1773 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father John Ensor 16651665-1720 – Mother Jane Maynard 16711671-1692, Married Elizabeth Cole, Children: Ann 1700 – 1805, John 1711 – 1764, Anne Marie 1713 – 1767, George 1718 – 1771, Thomas 1718 – unknown, Elizabeth 1721 -1799, Jane 1725 – 1801, Abraham 1727 -1797, Joseph 1730 – 1781, Temperance 1732 – 1811, Mary 1733 – 1817, Naomi 1734 – unknown, Ann 1736 – 1767, Luke 1736 – unknown, unknown, Orpha 1740 1782 Thomas Ensor, born 1718 Baltimore, Maryland – 1815 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father John Ensor – Mother Elizabeth Cole, Married Mary Costly 1737, Children: William 17411741-1801, Thomas 1745 – 1745, James James G. 1746 – unknown, Thomas 1749 – 1815, Elizabeth 1754 - unknown Elizabeth Cole, born 1695 Coles Chance, Baltimore, Maryland – died 1773 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father John Cole 16691669-1746 – Mother Johanna Garrett 1675 – 1715, Married Thomas B. Gorsuch Gorsuch 1694 – unknown, Children: Ann 1700 – 1805, John 1711 – 1764, Anne Marie 1713 – 1767, George 1718 – 1771, Thomas 1718 – unknown, Elizabeth 1721 -1799, Jane 1725 – 1801, Abraham 1727 -1797, Joseph 1730 – 1781, Temperance 1732 – 1811, Mary 1733 – 1817, Naomi 1734 – unknown, Ann 1736 – 1767, Luke 1736 – unknown, Orpha 1740 - 1782 Thomas Ensor, born 19 Nov 1749 Baltimore, Maryland – died 7 Feb 1815 Washington, Tennessee, Parents: Father Thomas Ensor – Mother Mary Costly, Married Married Mary Talbott 1770, Children: William Talbott 1770 -1847, Elinor 1772 – unknown, Mary 1777 – unknown, Joseph R. 1782 – unknown, Ann 1785 – 1815, Joseph R. 1787 – unknown, Thomas P. 1790 1878 William Costly, born 15 Sept 1686 Baltimore, Maryland – died died 12 Dec 1728 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Mary Ellis 1709, Children: William 1714 – unknown, Thomas 1715 – unknown, Mary 1720 – 1754, James 1720 – unknown, John 1723 – unknown, Susanna 1724 – unknown, Margaret 1727 1727 - unknown Mary Costly, born 2 Oct 1720 Baltimore, Maryland – died Nov 1754, Parents: Father William Costly – Mother Mary Ellis, Married Thomas Ensor 1737, Children: William 341

17411741-1801, Thomas 1745 – 1745, James G. 1746 – unknown, unknown, Thomas 1749 – 1815, Elizabeth 1754 - unknown Mary Ellis, born unknownunknown- died 1728, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Costly 1709, Children: William 1714 – unknown, Thomas 1715 – unknown, Mary 1720 – 1754, James 1720 – unknown, John 1723 – unknown, Susanna 1724 – unknown, Margaret 1727 - unknown William Talbott Ensor, born 1771 Baltimore, Maryland – died 1847 Washington County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Thomas Ensor – Mother Mary Talbott, Married Martha Martha Ann Lasley 1797, Children: Jonathan Lasley 1772 – 1855, William Talbott 1808 – 1825, Eli R. 1809 – 1883, Sarah 1810 – unknown, Martha 1812 – 1906, Thomas P. 1814 - unknown Edmund Talbott, born 1678 Baltimore, Maryland – died Jun 1731 Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Mary Margaret Ogg 1705, Children: Edmund 1706 -1794, John 1707 – 1733, Elizabeth Elinor 1721 – 1788, William 1722 - 1752 William Talbott, born 1700 Baltimore, Maryland Maryland – died 1752 Baltimore, Maryland, Parents: Father Edmund Talbott – Mother Mary Ogg, Married Mary Roberts, Children: James 1731 – unknown, Sarah 1733 – 1796, William 1735 – unknown, Matthew 1737 – unknown, Edmund 1738 – 1739, Lucina 1743 – unknown, Ann 1747 1747 – unknown, Mary 1750 - 1855 Mary Ogg, born 1678 Baltimore, Maryland – died 1731 Dorset, England, Parents: Father George Ogg 16671667-1724 – Mother Elizabeth Bagley 167016701723, Married Edmund Talbott 1705, Children: Edmund 1706 -1794, John 1707 – 1733, Elizabeth Elizabeth Elinor 1721 – 1788, William 1722 - 1752 Mary Talbott, born 1750 Baltimore, Maryland – 1855 Washington County, Tennessee, Parents: Father William Talbott – Mother Mary Roberts, Married Thomas Ensor 1770, Children: William William Talbott 1770 -1847, Elinor 1772 – unknown, Mary 1777 – unknown, Joseph R. 1782 – unknown, Ann 1785 – 1815, Joseph R. 1787 – unknown, Thomas P. 1790 1878 Mary Roberts Father unknown

342

Mary Roberts, born 24 Nov 1710 Baltimore, Maryland – died Apr 1752 1752 White Hall Harford, Maryland, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Talbott, Children: James 1731 – unknown, Sarah 1733 – 1796, William 1735 – unknown, Matthew 1737 – unknown, Edmund 1738 – 1739, Lucina 1743 – unknown, Ann 1747 – unknown, unknown, Mary 1750 - 1855 Mary Roberts Mother unknown Martha Ensor, born Jul 1811 Washington, Tennessee – died 13 Feb 1906 Walnut Grove, Barren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father William Talbott Ensor – Mother Martha Ann Lasley, Married John B. Buckingham Buckingham 1834, Children: Caroline M. 1836 – unknown, Jesse H. 1837 – 1884, Nancy E. 1840 – unknown, William Milburn 1842 – unknown, Martha J. 1844 – unknown, Sally J. 1850 – unknown, John Thomas 1853 – 1915, David J. 1862 – unknown, James 1865 – unknown Father of William Lasley unknown William Lasley, born 1745 South Carolina – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – 1772-- 1855, Mother unknown, Married Sarah (last name unknown), Children: Martha Ann 1772 names of other children unknown unknown Mother of William Lasley unknown Martha Ann Lasley, born 1772 South Carolina – 9 May 1855 Barren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father William Lasley – Mother Sarah 1750, Married William Talbott Ensor 1797, Children: Jonathan Lasley 1772 – 1855, 1855, William Talbott 1808 – 1825, Eli R. 1809 – 1883, Sarah 1810 – unknown, Martha 1812 – 1906, Thomas P. 1814 – unknown Father of Sarah (Last name unknown) unknown Sarah (Last name unknown) 1750 – died unknown, Parents: unknown, Married William Lasley, Lasley, Children: none recorded Mother of Sarah (last name unknown) unknown Mary Bell Buckingham (Lee), born 28 Jun 1881, Kentucky – date of death unknown, Parents: Father William Milburn Buckingham – Mother Sarah Jane Beckner (Buckingham), Children: Myrtle May 1900 – 1981, Harry Willie 1902 – 1903, Elwood 1905 – 1966, Vera 1909 – 2001, Art 1911 – 1997, Helen Elaine 1917 – 1992 343

Johan Nicholas Beckner, born 1704 BadenBaden-Wuerttemberg, Germany – died 1779 Pennsylvania, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, unknown, Married Anna Killian 1724, Children: Johan Nicholas 1725 – 1812, Marillis 1730 – unknown, Lawrence 1733 – 1802, Michael 1736 – unknown, Peter 1738 – 1810, Magdalina 1745 – unknown, Abraham Henry 1750 – 1798 Lawrence Beckner, born 1733 BadenBaden-Wuerttemberg, Wuerttemberg, Germany – died 21 May 1802 Botetourt, Virginia, Parents Father Johan Nicholas Beckner – Mother Anna Killian, Married Susannah Lnu 1764, Children: Jacob 1758 – 1819, Jonathan 1762 – 1835, Susanna 1774 – 1828, Elizabeth 1778 – 1809, John 1780 – 1832, Jacob Jacob 1793 – unknown Anna Killian, born 1705 Germany – died 1812 Botetourt, Virginia, Parents: Father Johann Adam Kilian unknownunknown-1713 – Mother Anna Catharina unknown – 1738, Married Johan Nicholas Beckner, Children: Johan Nicholas 1725 – 1812, Marillis 1730 1730 – unknown, Lawrence 1733 – 1802, Michael 1736 – unknown, Peter 1738 – 1810, Magdalina 1745 – unknown, Abraham Henry 1750 – 1798 Jacob Beckner, born 1758 Philadelphia, Pennsylvanina – died 1819 Franklin, Virginia, Parents: Father Lawrence Beckner – Mother Mother Susannah Lnu, Married Elizabeth Simmons 1784, Children: Hannah 1784 – unknown, Barbara 1785 – 1854, Susannah 1787 – 1846, Catherine 1789 – 1820, Jonathan 17901790-1848, Samuel 1791 – 1880, Jacob 1793 – 1864, Ann 1795 – 1823, Catherine Sarah 1797 – 1856, Joseph Joseph 1798 – unknown, Sarah Jane 1800 – 1870, Barbara 1801 – unknown, Polly, 1802 – unknown, Lydia 1804 – unknown, Mary K. 1806 1882 Susannah Lnu Father unknown Susannah Lnu, born 1743 – died 1802, Parents Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Lawrence Lawrence Beckner, Children: Jacob 1758 – 1819, Jonathan 1762 – 1835, Susanna 1774 – 1828, Elizabeth 1778 – 1809, John 1780 – 1832, Jacob 1793 – unknown Susannah Lnu Mother unknown Jacob Beckner, born 1791 Franklin County, Virginia – died Oct 1864 Caldwell County, Kentucky, Parents Father Jacob Beckner – Mother Elizabeth Simmons, Married Elizabeth Rupe 1817, Children: 344

Ellenor Rupe 1818 – 1888, Abner 1820 – 1894, Joel 1821 – 1895, Alfred Loranzo 1823 – 1899, Unknown daughter 1825, Sallahill 1826 – unknown, John John Callahill 1826 – 1864, Martha Anne 1828 – 1833, James Henry 1830 – 1884, Andrew H. 1833 – 1886, James Isaac 1835 – unknown • Married Mary Thrasher, Children: Alfred Loranzo 1823 - 1899 Johann Jacom Simon, born 1700 Bulenbach, Germany – died 1789 Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Parents: Father Johan Nickel Simon 16771677-1739 – Mother Maria Margaretha Rudolph 16841684-1727, Married Barbara Simmons 1718, Children: Johann Adam 1716 – unknown, Jacob Simon 1718 – 1789, Barbara 1719 – unknown, Anna Margaretha 1722 – unknown, Johann Jacob Jacob 1724 – 1814, Johann Philip 1728 - 1799 Jacob Simon Simmons, born 1718 Bollenbach, Birkenfeld, Rheinland, Germany – died Feb 1789 Fincastle, Botetourt, Virginia, Parents: Johann Jacob Simon – Mother Barbara Simmons, Married Margaret Saylor, Children: Barbara 1740 – unknown, Elizabeth 1742 – unknown, Mary – unknown, Jacob 1746 – unknown, Philip 1760 – 1832, Susannah 1760 1810, Adam 1760 – unknown, Christian 1765 – 1822, John 1765 – 1839, Joseph 1767 – unknown • Married Mary Smith Smith Barbara Simmons, born 1700 Switzerland – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Johann Jacom Simon 1718, Children: Johann Adam 1716 – unknown, Jacob Simon 1718 – 1789, Barbara 1719 – unknown, Anna Margaretha 1722 – unknown, Johann Johann Jacob 1724 – 1814, Johann Philip 1728 - 1799 Elizabeth Simmons, born 1764 Botetourt, Virginia – died 1825 Franklin County, Virginia, Parents: Father Jacob Simon Simmons – Mother Mary Smith, Married Jacob Beckner 1784, Children: Hannah 1784 – unknown, Barbara 1785 – 1854, Susannah 1787 – 1846, Catherine 1789 – 1820, Jonathan 17901790-1848, Samuel 1791 – 1880, Jacob 1793 – 1864, Ann 1795 – 1823, Catherine Sarah 1797 – 1856, Joseph 1798 – unknown, Sarah Jane 1800 – 1870, Barbara 1801 – unknown, Polly, Polly, 1802 – unknown, Lydia 1804 – unknown, Mary K. 1806 1882 Mary Smith, born unknown Alfred Loranzo Beckner, born 25 Jun 1823 Franklin, Virginia – 3 Apr 1899 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Jacob Beckner – Mother Mary Thrasher, Married Mary Mary Jane Higginbotham, Children: Mary 345

Ann 1852 – unknown, Sarah Jane 1856 – 1933, James Robert 1858 – 1935, Benjamin O. 1859 – unknown, Angeline 1861 – 1943, William Ross 1863 - 1947 Father of Mary Thrasher unknown Mary Thrasher, born unknown Virginia Virginia – died unknown, Parents: unknown, Married Jacob Beckner, Children: Alfred Loranzo 1823 - 1899 Mother of Mary Thrasher unknown Sarah Jane Beckner (Buckingham) , 27 Jun 1856 Edmonson County, Kentucky – died 17 Dec 1933 Jefferson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Alfred Loranzo Beckner – Mother Mary Jane Higginbotham, Married William Milburn Buckingham 1868, Children: Martha J. 1871 – unknown, Sallie 1871 – unknown, Charles Ambrose 1875 – 1903, Maggie Ellen 1878 – unknown, unknown, Mary Belle 1881 – unknown, Nettie Moore 1883 – 1947, Lou Lettie 1887 – 1963, Ader Valentine 1889 – 1925, Angie Catherine 1893 – 1989 Captain John Higginbotham, born 10 Jun 1695 St Philip, Barbados, West Indies – died 17 Apr 1742, Amherst, Virginia, Parents: Father Charles Higginbotham 16641664-1732 – Mother Ann Rawlings 16661666-1740, Married Susannah Walker, Married Frances Riley 1713, Children: Moses 1714 – 1790, Rachel 1719 – 1809, Aaron 1720 – 1785, Joseph 1720 – 1805, Capt. John 1726 – 1814, Benjamin 1728 1728 – 1791, Major Colonel James 1729 – 1813, Anne 1731 – 1751, Thomas Jefferson 1735 – 1784 Benjamin Higginbotham, born 1728 Goochland County, Virginia – died 1791 Elbert, Georgia, Parents: Father Captain John Higginbotham – Mother Frances Riley, Married Elizabeth Graves 1753, Children: Jacob 1752 – 1836, Caleb 1752 -1823, Higginbotham 1752 – unknown, Ann 1753 – 1809, Caleb 1755 – 1787, Francis 1759 – 1828, William 1761 – 1843, Joseph 1763 – 1817, Benjamin Jr. 1765 – 1810, Peter 1769 – unknown, Mary 1771 – unknown, Larkin 1773 – unknown, Elizabeth 1775 – unknown, Mary 1807 – 1875 • Married Elizabeth Reid 1758 Frances Rachael Riley, born 1696 Whitestown, Ireland – died 1751 Amherst, Virginia, Parents: Father John Riley 16801680-1723 – Mother Mary Ford 16761676unknown, unknown, Married Capt. John J. Higginbotham 1713, Children: Moses 1714 – 1790, Rachel 1719 – 1809, Aaron 1720 – 1785, Joseph 1720 – 1805, Capt.

346

John 1726 – 1814, Benjamin 1728 – 1791, Major Colonel James 1729 – 1813, Anne 1731 – 1751, Thomas Jefferson 1735 – 1784 1784 Benjamin Higginbotham, born 1765 Amherst, Virginia – died 3 Sept 1810 Wilkes, Georgia, Parents: Father Benjamin Higginbotham – Mother Elizabeth Graves, Married Mary Gatewood 1782, Children: Sarah 1783 – 1835, Mary 1785 – 1833, Anny 1785 – 1908, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1787 – unknown, Benjamin Graves 1788 – 1862, William 1790 – 1850, Peter 1791 – 1879, Larkin 1796 – 1870 Francis Graves Jr, born 1679 Rappahannock, Virginia – died 18 Oct 1748, Parents: Father Francis Graves 16301630-1691 – Mother Jane Daveport Maguffey Maguffey 16501650-1694, Married Ann Reynods 1699, Children: Jane 1716 – unknown, Ann 1718 – 1791, William 1724 – 1809, Clara 1728 – 1786, Elizabeth 1733 – 1791, Mary 1738 – 1826 Elizabeth Graves, born 1733 Essex County, Virginia – died 1791 1791 Elbert, Georgia, Parents: Father Francis Graves – Mother Ann Reynolds, Married Benjamin Higgenbotham 1751, Children: Jacob 1752 – 1836, Caleb 1752 -1823, Higginbotham 1752 – unknown, Ann 1753 – 1809, Caleb 1755 – 1787, Francis 1759 – 1828, William 1761 – 1843, Joseph 1763 – 1817, Benjamin Jr. 1765 – 1810, Peter 1769 – unknown, Mary 1771 – unknown, Larkin 1773 – unknown, Elizabeth 1775 – unknown, Mary 1807 – 1875 Revolutionary Revolutionary Way Memorial for Elbert, Georgia

Ann Reynolds, born 1680 Richmond, Wise, Virginia – died 21 Oct 1765 Essex, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father John Reynolds 16501650-1680 – Mother Sarah Grimes 16541654- 1680, Married Francis Graves Jr. 1699, Children: Jane 1716 – unknown, Ann 1718 – 1791, William 1724 – 1809, Clara 1728 – 1786, Elizabeth 1733 – 1791, Mary 1738 – 1826 Larkin Higginbotham, Born Born 1795 Elbert, Georgia – died 1870 Edmondson, Kentucky, Parents: Father Benjamin Higginbotham – Mother Mary Gatewood, Married Mary Polly Howard 1815, Children: Larkin 1814 – 1899, Ann 1815 – 1910, Madison 1815 – 1899, Elizabeth 1817 – unknown,

Martha J. 1817 1817 – 1899, Mahala 1818 – 1899, Tersey 1818 – 1899, Melinda 1820 – unknown, Benjamin R. 1822, 1880, Nancy 1822 – unknown, Mildred L. 1825 – 1905, Nicholas D. 1826 – unknown, Levice 1828 – 1899, James F. 1830 – 1880, Susan F. 1831 – 1922, William 1834 – unknown, unknown, Jane 1836 – 1910 347

Henry Gatewood, born 1690 Essex, Virginia – died 28 Jan 1777, Parents: Father John Gatewood 16351635-1706 – Mother Amy Magrah 16601660-1745, Married Dorothy Dudley 1714, Children: Dudley 1718 – 1787, Henry 1720 – 1799, William 1720 – 1785, 1785, Dorothy 1727 – 1784, Keziah 1728 – 1796, Peter 1729 – 1820, James 1732 – 1805, Larkin 1736 – 1805, Richard 1740 – 1794 • Married Tabitha Collins 1757, Children: Elizabeth 1744 – 1807, Sarah 1775 - unknown Larkin Gatewood, born 1736 Amherst, Virginia – died 22 Apr 1805 Elbert, Georgia, Parents: Father Henry Gatewood – Mother Dorothy Dudley, Married Catherine Penn 1763, Children: Willaim 1734 – 1789, Amy 1757 – 1826, Mary Ann 1757 – 1830, Mary 1760 – 1809, Dolly 1763 – 1830, James James 1765 - 1802 Dorothy Dudley, born 1695 Essex, Virginia – 1751 Spotsylvania, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Dudley 16651665-1716 – Mother Elizabeth Saxe 166516651716, Married Henry Gatewood 1716, Children: Dudley 1718 – 1787, Henry 1720 – 1799, William 1720 – 1785, Dorothy 1727 – 1784, Keziah 1728 – 1796, Peter 1729 – 1820, James 1732 – 1805, Larkin 1736 – 1805, Richard 1740 – 1794 Mary Gatewood, born 1760 Amherst, Virginia – died 1809 Elbert, Georgia, Parents: Larkin Gatewood – Mother Mother Catherine Penn, Married Benjamin Higginbotham 1782, Children: Sarah 1783 – 1835, Mary 1785 – 1833, Anny 1785 – 1908, Elizabeth 1787 – unknown, Benjamin Graves 1788 – 1862, William 1790 – 1850, Peter 1791 – 1879, Larkin 1796 – 1870 Joseph Penn, born born 17 Nov 1717 Caroline, Virginia – died 26 Jul 1774, Parents: Father George Penn 16901690-1749 – Mother Elizabeth Ann Madison 16971697-1730, Married Mary Taylor 1735, Children: Gabriel 1735 – unknown, John 1736 – 1820, Joseph 1738 – 1763, Phillip 1739 – 1761, Catherine Catherine 1741 – 1806, Phillip 1742 – 1802, Moses 1744 – 1795, Elizabeth 1746 – 1818, James 1748 – 1763, Thomas 1749 – 1810, Mildred 1753 – unknown, Frances 1756 – 1841, Sally 1756 – unknown, Mary Ann 1757 - 1830 Catherine Penn, born 11 Mar 1741 St Georges Parish, Spotsylvania, Virginia – died 1806 Elbert, Georgia, Parents: Father Joseph Penn – Mary Taylor, Married Larkin Gatewood 1763, Children: Willaim 1734 – 1789, Amy 1757 – 1826, Mary Ann 1757 – 1830, Mary 1760 – 1809, Dolly 1763 1763 – 1830, James 1765 - 1802 348

Mary Taylor, born 30 May 1718 Rapidan, Orange County, Virginia –died 13 1696--1780 – Sept 1757 Spotsylvania, Virginia, Parents: Father John Taylor 1696 Mother Catherine Pendleton 16991699-1774, Married Joseph Penn 1735, Children: Gabriel Gabriel 1735 – unknown, John 1736 – 1820, Joseph 1738 – 1763, Phillip 1739 – 1761, Catherine 1741 – 1806, Phillip 1742 – 1802, Moses 1744 – 1795, Elizabeth 1746 – 1818, James 1748 – 1763, Thomas 1749 – 1810, Mildred 1753 – unknown, Frances 1756 – 1841, Sally 1756 1756 – unknown, Mary Ann 1757 - 1830 Mary Jane Higginbotham, born Nov 1828 Edmonson Country, Kentucky – 1910 unknown, Parents: Father Larkin Higginbotham – Mother Mary Polly Howard, Howard, Married Alfred Loranzo Beckner, Children: Mary Ann 1852 – unknown, Sarah Jane 1856 – 1933, James Robert 1858 – 1935, Benjamin O. 1859 – unknown, Angeline 1861 – 1943, William Ross 1863 - 1947 James Howard (Hord), born 1713 Shady Grove, Virginia – died 1785 1664--1747 – Farnham, Richmond, Virginia, Parents: John Howard (Hord) 1664 Mother Jane unknown 16611661-1711, Married Mary Scurlock 1729, Children: Spencer 1739 – unknown, James M. 1743 – unknown, Martha Patty 1747 – 1821 • Married Margaret Howard Miller (1713 (1713713-1745) 1733, Children: John 1721 – unknown, Mordecai Miller 1730 – 1789, James Amos 1738 – unknown, Thomas 1739 – unknown, Jane 1740 – 1812, Mildred 1742 – unknown, Sarah 1742 – 1854, Isabella 1746 - unknown Spencer Howard, born 13 May 1739 North Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia – died unknown, Parents: Father James Hord – Mother Mary Scurlock, Married Sarah unknown, Children: Elizabeth unknown, Katharine unknown, Presley unknown, William W. 1763 – 1844 Mary Scurlock, born 1714 Farnham, Richmond Virginia – died Sept 1755, Parents: Father Thomas Scurlock 16751675-1757 – Mother Anne Linkhorn unknownunknown-1751, Married James Howard (Hord) 1729, Children: Spencer 1739 – unknown, James M. 1743 – unknown, Martha Patty 1747 – 1821 William W. Howard, born 23 Jul 1763 N. Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia – died 5 Feb 1844 Fredericksburg, Virginia, Parents: Spencer Howard – Mother Sarah (Last Name unknown), Married Elizabeth Marshall 1789 Albemarle County, Virginia, Virginia, Children: Mary 349

1790 – 1854, Mary 1794 – 1870, John 1797 – 1846, Frances 1799 – 1847, Richard Earl 1801 – 1872, William W. 1803 – unknown, Eli 1805 – 1844, David 1814 - 1893 Sarah (Last Name unknown) 1743 Mary Polly Howard, Howard, born 1794 Georgia – died Jun 1870 Edmonson County, Kentucky, Parents: Father William W. Howard – Mother Mildred Marshall, Married Larkin Higginbotham 1815, Children: Larkin 1814 – 1899, Ann 1815 – 1910, Madison 1815 – 1899, Elizabeth 1817 – unknown, Martha Martha J. 1817 – 1899, Mahala 1818 – 1899, Tersey 1818 – 1899, Melinda 1820 – unknown, Benjamin R. 1822, 1880, Nancy 1822 – unknown, Mildred L. 1825 – 1905, Nicholas D. 1826 – unknown, Levice 1828 – 1899, James F. 1830 – 1880, Susan F. 1831 – 1922, William 1834 1834 – unknown, Jane 1836 - 1910 Thomas Marshall, born 1728 Calvert, Maryland – died 1774 Maryland, Parents: Father William Marshall 16981698-1734 – Mother Mary Griffith 170017001765, Married Margaret Wells 1747, Children: Martin Wells 1749 – 1824, William 1750 1750 – 1822, Henry 1752 – 1778, Thomas 1758 – 1819, Benjamin 1760 – 1840, Richard 1760 – 1798, Joseph 1762 - 1781 William Marshall, born 1750 Lyons Creek, Calvert, Maryland – died 1822 Albemarle, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Marshall – Mother Margaret Wells, Married Eleanor Austin 1766, Children: Elizabeth 1767 – 1848, Thomas 1769 – 1849, Richard 1771 – 1837, Margaret 1773 – 1850, Mary 1775 – 1835, Samuel 1777 – 1822, Henry 1783 – 1870, Charlotte 1787 – 1810, Nancy 1792 – 1861, 1861, Rebecca 1794 – 1850, Frances 1796 - 1822 Margaret Wells, born 1730 Calvert, Maryland – 1765, Parents: Father Martin Wells 16861686-1740 – Mother Sarah Jane Wells unknown, Married Thomas Marshall 1747, Children: Martin Wells 1749 – 1824, William 1750 – 1822, 1822, Henry 1752 – 1778, Thomas 1758 – 1819, Benjamin 1760 – 1840, Richard 1760 – 1798, Joseph 1762 - 1781 Elizabeth Marshall, born 1767 Calvert, Maryland – died 1848 Albemarle, Virginia, Parents: Father William Marshall – Mother Eleanor Austin, Married Married William H. Howard 14 Dec 1789 Albemarle County, Virginia, Children: Mary 1790 – 1854, Mary 1794 – 1870, John 1797 – 1846, Frances 1799 – 1847, Richard Earl 1801 – 1872, William W. 1803 – unknown, Eli 1805 – 1844, David 1814 - 1893

350

Samuel Austin, born 1710 Calvert County, Maryland – died Dec 1763 Calvert County, Maryland, Parents: Father Henry Austin 16681668-1745 – Mother Elizabeth Hilleary 1686 – 1727, Married Elizabeth Jane Marshall 1730, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – 1752, Verlinda 1733 – 1765, Mary 1735 – 1765, Henry 1736 – 1822, Rebecca 1737 – unknown, Samuel 1739 – 1824, Thomas 1744 – 1778, Eleanor 1745 – 1830, James 1746 – 1786, Margaret 1748 – 1786, William 1749 - 1777 Eleanor Austin, born 1745 Calvert, Maryland – died 1830 1830 Albemarle, Virginia, Parents: Father Samuel Austin – Mother Elizabeth Jane Marshall, Married William Marshall 1766, Children: Elizabeth 1767 – 1848, Thomas 1769 – 1849, Richard 1771 – 1837, Margaret 1773 – 1850, Mary 1775 – 1835, Samuel 1777 – 1822, Henry Henry 1783 – 1870, Charlotte 1787 – 1810, Nancy 1792 – 1861, Rebecca 1794 – 1850, Frances 1796 - 1822 Elizabeth Jane Marshall, born 1709 Lyons Creek, Calvert, Maryland –died 9 Feb 1768 Calvert, Maryland, Parents: Father Thomas Marshall 16871687-1763 – Mother Margaret Wells 16901690-1719, Married Samuel Austin 1730, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – 1752, Verlinda 1733 – 1765, Mary 1735 – 1765, Henry 1736 – 1822, Rebecca 1737 – unknown, Samuel 1739 – 1824, Thomas 1744 – 1778, Eleanor 1745 – 1830, James 1746 – 1786, Margaret Margaret 1748 – 1786, William 1749 - 1777 Richard John Frederick, born 11 Jan 1950, Lowell Massachusetts – Living, Parent: Father Richard Dix Frederick – Dorothy Bernice Gunther, Married Children: ren: Candace Lynn, 26 Nov 1979, Hopkinsville, KY, Lisa Marie, 20 Aug 1985, Phyllis Kay Wallace Trigg Country, Kentucky 2 Jul 1976, Child Hopkinsville, KY Parents of Dorothy Bernice Gunther are unknown as she was adopted Dorothy Bernice Gunther, born D of B unknown Canada – died 2011 Washington, Parents: unknown, Married Richard Dix Frederick, Bristol Rhode Island, Children: Karen 7 Feb 1949 Bristol Rhode Island, Richard John 11 Jan 1950 Bristol Rhode Island, Jacqueline (Jackie) D of B unknown. Richard Dix Frederick born Federuk name changed by his father John to Frederick.

• Dorothy Bernice and Richard Dix divorced in 1953 • Dorothy Bernice remarried Harry Redfern date unknown in Bristol Rhode Island. Children: Sue 7 Jul 1954, Bristol Rhode Island, Kathleen 16 Aug 1956, Bristol Rhode Island Parents of Dorothy Bernice Bernice Gunther are unknown as she was adopted 351

Thomas Wallace, born 1690 Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Scotland – died 28 Oct 1630--1693 – 1750 Chowan, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Wallace 1630 Mother Matha DeCou 16301630-1685, Married Elizabeth Roundtree, Children: William D. 1730 – 1774, Caleb 1732 – 1750, Jonathan 1732 – 1773, John 1734 – 1771, Judith 1736 – 1816, Susannah 1738 – 1816, Elizabeth 1740 – 1760, Mary 1742 - 1750 William D Wallace, born 1730 Chowan, North Carolina – 19 Sept 1774 Martin, North Carolina, Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Wallace – Mother Elizabeth Rountree, Married Martha Andrews 1745, Children: Sarah unknown, Agnes 17371737-1795, Abby 17501750-1827, Keziah 1752 - unknown, William D. 1756 – 1825, Quotina 1756 – unknown, Dinah 1757 - 1795 Elizabeth Rountree, Rountree, born 1691 Chowan, North Carolina –died 1750 Chowan, 1691--1748 – Mother North Carolina, Parents: Father Francis Rountree 1691 Elizabeth unknown 16621662-1746, Married Thomas Wallace, Children: William D. 1730 – 1774, Caleb 1732 – 1750, Jonathan 1732 – 1773, John John 1734 – 1771, Judith 1736 – 1816, Susannah 1738 – 1816, Elizabeth 1740 – 1760, Mary 1742 - 1750 William D. Wallace, born 1756 Martin, North Carolina – died 1825 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father William D. Wallace – Mother Martha Andrews, Married Married Susannah Exum 1774, Children: Maniah unknown, John 17821782-1845, Willaim 1776 – 1828, Etheldred Exum 1775 – 1856, George Washington 1780 – 1831, John 1782 – 1845, Reuben 1790 -1875, Abithal 1792 – unknown, Edmond 1804 – unknown, Agnes 1800 – unknown, Axium Axium Green 1800 – 1846, Charlotte 1801 – unknown, Josiah 1801 – unknown, Maniah 1801 – unknown, William Eaton 1802 – unknown Thomas Andrews, born 1692 Henrico, Virginia – 1754 Chesterfield, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Andrews 16631663-1731 – Mother Jane Andrews Andrews 166516651756, Married Jane Bott 1719, Children: Donna 1690 – unknown, Amey 1691 – unknown, Willaim 1693 – 1771, Richard 1697 – 1752, Benjamin 1699 – 1778, Thomas 1718 – 1779, Frances 1722 – 1723, Margaret 1722 – 1754, Mary 1723 – 1724, Jane 1724 – 1725, 1725, Elizabeth 1726 – 1754, Martha 1731 -1756 Martha Andrews, born 1728 Norfolk, Virginia – 13 Feb 1775 Chowan County, North Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Andrews – Mother Jane Bott, Married William D. 352

Wallace 1745, Children: Sarah unknown, Agnes 17371737-1795, 1795, Abby 17501750-1827, Keziah 1752 - unknown, William D. 1756 – 1825, Quotina 1756 – unknown, Dinah 1757 1795 Jane Bott, born 1694 Henrico, Virginia – died 2 Sept 1757 Chesterfield, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Thomas Andrews, Children: Donna 1690 – unknown, Amey 1691 – unknown, Willaim 1693 – 1771, Richard 1697 – 1752, Benjamin 1699 – 1778, Thomas 1718 – 1779, Frances 1722 – 1723, Margaret 1722 – 1754, Mary 1723 – 1724, Jane 1724 – 1725, Elizabeth 1726 – 1754, Martha 1731 -1756 Etheldred Exum Wallace, born 1775 Martin, North Carolina – died 1862 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: William D Wallace – Mother Susannah Exum, Married Amy Temperance Taylor 1799, Children: Abithal unknown, Agnes 17591759-1806, Harriett 1795 1795 – 1817, Joe 1795 – 1820, Manizia 1795 – 1844, Martha Agnes 1800 – unknown, Josiah 1806 – 1880, Agnes Naomi 1808 – 1840, Abithal 1810 -1902, Axium Green 1813 -1904, Manizia 1820 – 1907, Harriet Wallace 1822 – 1879, George Washington 1824 – 1862 John Exum, Exum, born 1695 Edgecombe, North Carolina – died 23 Jan 1775 1660--1720 – Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Exum 1660 Mother Susannah Purcell 16801680-1720, Married Elizabeth T. 17041704-1764, Children: Benjamin 1725 – 1786, Sarah 1729 – 1800, Elizabeth 1733 1733 – 1775, Sarah 1762 – unknown • Married Elizabeth Kinchen 1726, Children: Ethelred 1721 – 1779, Sarah Jane 1718 – 1804, Thomas 1720 – 1770, Benjamin 1725 – 1786, John 1728 – 1751, Elizabeth 1733 – 1775, Martha 1735 1775 Etheldred Exum, born 1721 Edgecombe, Edgecombe, North Carolina – died Jul 1779 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Exum – Mother Elizabeth Kinchen, Married Rachael Bellamy 1734, Children: Susannah 17551755- 1826, Etheldred 1764 – 1830, Olive 1764 - 1828 Elizabeth Kinchen, born 1 Jun 1709 1709 Isle of Wright County, Virginia – died 19 Apr 1764 Isle of Wright County, Virginia, Parents: Father William Kinchen 16791679-1735 – Mother Elizabeth Ruffin 16851685-1761, Married John Exum 1726, Children: Ethelred 1721 – 1779, Sarah Jane 353

1718 – 1804, Thomas 1720 1720 – 1770, Benjamin 1725 – 1786, John 1728 – 1751, Elizabeth 1733 – 1775, Martha 1735 – 1775 • Married Joseph Jones (1706(1706-1726) 1724, Children: William 1725 – 1796, Mary 1726 - 1803 Susannah Exum, born 5 May 1755 Scotland Neck, North Carolina – died 6 Nov 1826 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Etheldred Exum – Mother Rachael Bellamy, Married William D. Walllace 1774, Children: Maniah unknown, John 17821782-1845, Willaim 1776 – 1828, Etheldred Exum 1775 – 1856, 1856, George Washington 1780 – 1831, John 1782 – 1845, Reuben 1790 -1875, Abithal 1792 – unknown, Edmond 1804 – unknown, Agnes 1800 – unknown, Axium Green 1800 – 1846, Charlotte 1801 – unknown, Josiah 1801 – unknown, Maniah 1801 – unknown, William Eaton 1802 1802 – unknown William Bellamy, born 1 Jun 1694 Isle, Virginia – died 17 Jun 1789 1654--1702 – Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Bellamy 1654 Mother Mary Ashton 1664 – 1689, Married Rebecca Furler 1713, Children: Rachel 1722 – 1779, William 1723 – 1800, Elizabeth 1728 – unknown, Bridget 1621 - 1690 Rachael Bellamy, born 1722 Edgecombe, North Carolina -1779 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Bellamy – Rebecca Furler, Married Ethelred Exum 1734, Children: Susannah 17551755- 1826, Etheldred Etheldred 1764 – 1830, Olive 1764 - 1828 Rebecca Furler, born 1 Jun 1696 Crediton, Devon, England – died 1 Jun 1793 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Furler 16701670-unknown – Mother Judith Packman 16701670-unknown, Married William Bellamy 1713, Children: Bridget 1621 -1690, Elizabeth 1728 – unknown, Rachel 1722 – 1779, William 1723 - 1800 Axium Green Wallace, born 11 Mar 1813 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee – died 24 Apr 1904 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Father Etheldred Exum Wallace – Mother Amy Temmperance Taylor, Married Sally Elizabeth Clark 1839, Children: Elizabeth 1836 – 1921, Littleberry 1838 – 1920 • Married Minerva Cherry 1846, Children: Daniel Newton 1847 – 1920, Augustus Henry 1853 – 1929, Rebecca Rebecca D 1855 – 1907, Agnes Naomi 1857 – 1928, Minerva Green 1863 – 1894, Adeline Amy 1842 – unknown, Ethreal Dawson 1844 – unknown

354

Richard Taylor, born 1694 Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia – died 1734 Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Richard Taylor 1672 1672672-1730 – Mother Jenet uknown 16751675-1730, Married Dinah Lnu, Children: Zachary 1707 – unknown, Richard 1724 – 1806, Joseph 1726 – 1808 Zackariah 1735 – 1815, William 1738 – 1767, Richard 1741 – 1821, Charles 1743 – 1813, Hancock 1743 – 1774, Thomas 1748 – 1810, Ezekiel 1752 – unknown, Nancy 1760 unknown Joseph Taylor Sr., born 1726 Orange, Virginia – died1806 Warren, Kentucky, Parents: Father Richard Taylor – Mother Dinah Lnu, Married Nancy Walker 1750, Children: David 1753 -1798, Temperance 1759 – 1865, Joseph 1760 – 1818, Thomas 1761 – 1789, John 1763 – 1823, Amy 1783 – 1865 Dinah Lnu, born 1696 unknown – died 1752 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Richard Taylor, Children: Zachary 1707 – unknown, Richard 1724 – 1806, 1806, Joseph 1726 – 1808 Zackariah 1735 – 1815, William 1738 – 1767, Richard 1741 – 1821, Charles 1743 – 1813, Hancock 1743 – 1774, Thomas 1748 – 1810, Ezekiel 1752 – unknown, Nancy 1760 - unknown Joseph Taylor, born 4 Mar 1751 Edgecombe, Orange County, Virginia – died 1818 Richardsville, Warren County, Kentucy, Parents: Father Joseph Taylor Sr. - Mother Nancy Walker, Married Sarah Elizabeth Best 1780, Children: Amy Temperance 1783 – 1865, Delilah 1786 – 1853, William Warren 1787 – 1839, Allen 1789 1789 – 1879, Mary Ann 1791 – 1852, Frances 1793 – 1852, Sarah Best 1800 – 1837,Joseph 1801 – 1864, Temple 1803 – 1864, Charlotte 1805 – 1867 – Elizabeth Ann 1806 – 1861 Richard Walker, born unknown Nancy Walker, born 1729 Orange County, Virginia – died 1808 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Walker unknown – Mother unknown, Married Joseph Taylor 1750, Children: David 1753 -1798, Temperance 1759 – 1865, Joseph 1760 – 1818, Thomas 1761 – 1789, John 1763 – 1823, Amy 1783 – 1865 Mother of Nancy Walker unknown Amy Temperance Taylor, born 1785 Martin, North Carolina – died 9 Sept 1839 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Joseph Taylor – Mother Sarah Elizabeth Best, Married Etheldred Etheldred Exum 355

Wallace 1799, Children: Abithal unknown, Agnes 17591759-1806, Harriett 1795 – 1817, Joe 1795 – 1820, Manizia 1795 – 1844, Martha Agnes 1800 – unknown, Josiah 1806 – 1880, Agnes Naomi 1808 – 1840, Abithal 1810 -1902, Axium Green 1813 -1904, Manizia 1820 – 1907, Harriet Wallace 1822 – 1879, George Washington 1824 – 1862 Thomas Henry Best, born 1705 Tyrell, North Carolina – died 1789 Tyrrel, Dobbs County, North Carolina, Parents: Anthony Best 16701670-1687 – Mother Mary unknown, 1672 – 1687, Married Sarah jane Alexander 1730, Children: Thomas 1731 – 1791, John 1733 – unknown, Benjamin 1734 – 1753, Hannah 1736 – 1768, James 1738 – 1786, William 1740 – 1820, Sarah 1741 unknown Thomas Best, born 1735 Tyrrel County, North Carolina – died 10 Mar 1791, Martin County, Coun ty, North Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Henry Best – Mother Sarah Jane Alexander, Married Mary Ann Jones 1753, Children: Thomas 1756 – 1820, William 1756 – 1820, Anne 1758, Sarah Elizabeth 1760 – 1834, Henry 1760 – 1820, Katherine 1760 – unknown, Martha 1762 – unknown, Rebecca 1765 – unknown, Mary 1770 - 1839 Sarah Jane Alexander, born 1709 Tyrell, Edgecomb, North Carolina – 28 Aug 1770 Edgecomb, North Carolina, Parents: Father Anthony Alexander 168116811741 – Mother Sarah unknown 16711671-unknown, Married Thomas Henery Best 1730, Children: Thomas 1731 – 1791, John 1733 – unknown, Benjamin 1734 – 1753, Hannah 1736 – 1768, James 1738 – 1786, William 1740 – 1820, Sarah 1741 - unknown Sarah Elizabeth Best, born Feb 1760 Tyrell, Edgecomb, North Carolina -22 Mar Mar 1834 Richardsville, Warren County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas Best – Mother Mary Ann Jones (Grimes), Married Joseph Taylor 1780, Children: Amy Temperance 1783 – 1865, Delilah 1786 – 1853, William Warren 1787 – 1839, Allen 1789 – 1879, Mary Ann 1791 – 1852, Frances 1793 – 1852, Sarah Best 1800 – 1837,Joseph 1801 – 1864, Temple 1803 – 1864, Charlotte 1805 – 1867 – Elizabeth Ann 1806 – 1861 John Jones, born 1710 Edgecombe County, Virginia -1790 Edgecombe County, Virginia, Parents: Samuel Jones 16801680-1790 1790 – Mother Patience Taylor 16841684unknown, Married Rachel Higgins 1726, Children: Mary Ann Grimes 1734 – 1796 356

Mary Ann Jones (Grimes), born 1734 Tyrell, Edgecombe, North Carolina – died 24 Sept 1796 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Jones – Mother Mother Rachel Higgins, Married Thomas Best 1753, Children: Thomas 1756 – 1820, William 1756 – 1820, Anne 1758, Sarah Elizabeth 1760 – 1834, Henry 1760 – 1820, Katherine 1760 – unknown, Martha 1762 – unknown, Rebecca 1765 – unknown, Mary 1770 – 1839 Rachel Rachel Higgins, born 1714 Edgecombe, North Carolina, died unknown Marlin, North Carolina, Parents: Benjamin H. Higgins 16901690-1745 – Rachel Lincoln 16961696-1758, Married John Jones 1726, Children: Mary Ann Grimes 1734 – 1796 • Married Theophilus Mayo (1680(1680-1763), Children: Children: Asa 1706 – 1780, Tsaac 1708 – 1757, Ebenezer 1713 – unknown, Rebecca 1713 – 1776, Experience 1716 – unknown, Theophilus 1718 – unknown, Ruth 1721 – 1766, Mercy 1724 – 1753, Benjamin 1726 - unknown Littleberry Wallace, born 17 Feb 1838 Stewart Stewart County, Tennessee – died 8 Feb 1920 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Axium Green Wallace – Mother Sarah Sallie Elizabeth Clark, Married Rebecca Susan Whitehurst 1859, Children: Martin Vanburen 1860 – 1920, Sarah Elizabeth Floyd 1863 – 1923, Lucy Jane 1858 – 1954, Elizabeth Lizzie 1866 – 1933, Fannie C. 1869 – 1931, Sanford Laney 1872 – 1947, Dudley Monroe 1873 – 1949, Joshua Commander 1875 – 1944, Thomas Yateman 1877 – 1960, Maggie 1879 – 1902, Mattie Bell Dora 1880 – 1961, Mannie Mannie 1882 – 1946, Littleberry 1860 – unknown, Little Berry 1882 – 1974 Micajah Clark, born 1659 Isle, Hampshire, England – died 1709 Virginia, Parents: Father Michael Clark 16201620-1678 – Mother Margaret unknown 16141614-1680, Married Sallie Ann Moorman 1668, Children: Children: Joseph unknown – 1773, Edward 1640 – unknown, Elizabeth 1650 – 1760, Roger 1659 – unknown, Penelope Bowling 1664 – unknown, Edward 1672 – unknown, Francis 1672 – 1770, Thomas 1680 – 1716, Christopher 1681 – 1754, Allison 1682 – 1712, Edward 1682 – 1736, 1736, Micajah 1683 – unknown, Susannah 1730 – 1818, Captain Christopher Clark, born 1681 Christchurch, Middlesex, Virginia – died 28 May 1754 Louisa, Virginia, Parents: Micajah Clark – Mother Sallie Ann Moorman, Married Penelope Johnston 1709, Children: Edward Edward 1701 – 1783, Boiling 1702 – 1783, Agnes 1706 – 1755, John 17061706- unknown, Christopher 1708 – unknown, Sarah 1709 – unknown, Edward 1710 – 1783, Elizabeth 1710 – 1755, Agnes 1712 – 1757, Rachel 1714 1792, Bolling Bowling 1715 – 1783, Micajah 1718 – 1808, 1808, Elizabeth 357

1720 – 1825, Christopher 1726 – 1825, Penelope 1728 – unknown, Robert 1738 1810 Sallie Ann Moorman, born 1640 Isle Wight, England – died 5 Jan 1710 Virginia, Parents: Captain Zachariah Moorman 16201620-1671 – Mother Mary Chandler 16351635-1670, Married Married Micajah 1668, Children: Joseph unknown – 1773, Edward 1640 – unknown, Elizabeth 1650 – 1760, Roger 1659 – unknown, Penelope Bowling 1664 – unknown, Edward 1672 – unknown, Francis 1672 – 1770, Thomas 1680 – 1716, Christopher 1681 – 1754, Allison 1682 – 1712, Edward 1682 – 1736, Micajah 1683 – unknown, Susannah 1730 – 1818, John Clark, born 1734 Sussex Virginia – died 1778 Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father Captain C Clark – Mother Phenelope Johnston, Married Evey Harrison 1759, Children: Edward 1760 – unknown, Thomas 1761 – unknown, Elizabeth 1763 – 1795, Richard 1765 – unknown, Little Berry 1771 – 1834, William 1775 – unknown, Susy 1777 – unknown Edward Johnson, born 21 Apr 1649 Aberdeen, Scotland – died 1704 Virginia, Parents: Arthur Johnson 15871587-1661 – Mother Barbara Gordon 16001600-1650, Married Elizabeth Walker 1677, Children: Michael 1656 – 1731, Robert 1675 – 1755, William 1677 – unknown, Anthony 1678 – 1759, Elizabeth 1682 – 1682, Penelope 1684 – 1760, Rachel 1686 – 1687, Rebecca 1688 – 1698, Arthur Arthur 1690 – 1743, John 1690 -1752, Michael 1692 – 1719, William 1697 – 1714, Barbara 1698 – 1731, Benjamin 1701 – 1739, Daniel 1705 – unknown Phenelope Johnson, born 4 Aug 1684 New Kent, Virginia – died 14 Aug 1760 New Kent, Virginia, Parents: Father Edward Edward Johnston – Mother Elizabeth Walker, Married Captain Christopher Clark 1709, Children: Edward 1701 – 1783, boiling 1702 – 1783, Agnes 1706 – 1755, John 17061706- unknown, Christopher 1708 – unknown, Sarah 1709 – unknown, Edward 1710 – 1783, Elizabeth 1710 – 1755, 1755, Agnes 1712 – 1757, Rachel 1714 1792, Bolling Bowling 1715 – 1783, Micajah 1718 – 1808, Elizabeth 1720 – 1825, Christopher 1726 – 1825, Penelope 1728 – unknown, Robert 1738 - 1810 Elizabeth Walker, born 1680 Virginia – died 1725 Virginia, Parents: Father Father Alexander Walker 16161616-1725 – Mother Ann Keith 16351635-unknown, Married Edward Johnson, Children: Michael 1656 – 1731, Robert 1675 – 1755, William 1677 – unknown, Anthony 1678 – 1759, Elizabeth 1682 – 1682, 358

Penelope 1684 – 1760, Rachel 1686 – 1687, Rebecca Rebecca 1688 – 1698, Arthur 1690 – 1743, John 1690 -1752, Michael 1692 – 1719, William 1697 – 1714, Barbara 1698 – 1731, Benjamin 1701 – 1739, Daniel 1705 – unknown Little Berry Clark, born 1771 Sussex, Virginia – 18 Sept 1834 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Parents: Father John Clark – Mother Evey Clark, Married Sarah Lashley 1796, Children: John 1797 – unknown, Thomas 1799 – unknown, Elizabeth 1809 – unknown, Willaim 1810 – unknown, Patrick 1812 – 1870, Margaret 1814, unknown, Nancy 1816 – unknown, Sallie E. 1818 – 1900, Littleberry 1820 - unknown, Margaret 1821 – unknown, Littleberry 1822 – 1888, Lucy Jane 1822 – 1851 Father of Evey Harrison unknown Evey Harrison, born 1738 Virginia – died 10 Oct 1802 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Clark 1749, Children: Edward 1760 – unknown, Thomas 1761 – unknown, Elizabeth 1763 – 1795, Richard 1765 – unknown, Little Berry 1771 – 1834, William 1775 – unknown, Susy 1777 – unknown Mother of Evey Harrison unknown Sarah “Sallie” “Sallie” Elizabeth Clark, born 18 Aug 1818 Sussex, Virginia – died 30 Oct 1900 Stewart, Tennessee, Parents: Father Little Berry Clark – Mother Sarah Lashley, Married Axium Green Wallace 1836, Children: Elizabeth 1836 – 1921, Littleberry 1838 – 1920 • Married Evan Wallace (1808(1808-1864) 1839, Children: Pinkney C 1840 – 1922, Allen Austin 1841 – 1919, Nicholas 1842 – unknown, Delilia Lilia 1845 – unknown, Johnson 1846 – unknown, James Evans 1848 – 1890, Sarah Francis 1850 – 1933, Narcissa Parazade 1852 – 1917, Andrew Johnson Johnson 1854 – 1919, Delilah Fair 1857 – 1894, Breckenridge 1859 – unknown Walter Lashley, born 1678 Surry, Virginia – died 21 May 1751 Surry, Virginia, Parents: Father Patrick Lashley 16641664-1711 – Mother Anne Jordan 16601660-1720, Married Hannah Barker 1714, Children: Children: Patrick 1654 – 1711, Walter Jr. 1694 -1760, John 1709 – unknown, Patrick 1713 – 1759, William 1713 – 1761, Joel 1715 – 1761, John 1720 – 1767, Thomas 1725 – 1765, Lewis 1740 - 1815 Thomas Lashley, born 1725 Antrim Ireland – died Jul 1765 Blackwater, Blackwater, Surry, Virginia, Parents: Father Walter Lashley – Mother Hannah Barker, Married Jane unknown, Children: Lydia 1751 – unknown, Ann 1752 – unknown, Lucy 1753 – unknown, Patrick 1753 – 1781, Mart 1754 – unknown, William 1757 – unknown, 359

Thomas 1760 – 1839, Howell 1761 – 1837, Jane 1763 – unknown,Thomas 1795 – 1823 Hannah Barker, born 1687 Surry, Virginia – died 5 Sept1754 Surry, Virginia, Parents: Father John Barker 16501650-1713 – Mother Grace Busby 16621662-1724, Married Walter Lashley, Children: Patrick 1654 – 1711, 1711, Walter Jr. 1694 1760, John 1709 – unknown, Patrick 1713 – 1759, William 1713 – 1761, Joel 1715 – 1761, John 1720 – 1767, Thomas 1725 – 1765, Lewis 1740 – 1815 Patrick Lashley, born unknown – died 1781 Sussex, England, Parents: Father Thomas Lashley – Mother Jane unknown, Married Elizabeth Johnson, Children: William Gilbert Johnson 1774 – unknown, Sally 1775 – 1866, Sarah 1775 – 1840 Father of Jane (unknown) Lashley unknown Jane unknown, born 1720 Sussex, Virginia – died 1779 Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Thomas Lashley, Children: Lydia 1751 – unknown, Ann 1752 – unknown, Lucy 1753 – unknown, Patrick 1753 – 1781, Mart 1754 – unknown, William 1757 – unknown, Thomas 1760 – 1839, Howell 1761 – 1837, Jane 1763 – unknown,Thomas unknown,Thomas 1795 – 1823 Mother of Jane (unknown) Lashley unknown Sarah Lashley, born 1775 Sussex, Virginia – died 1840 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Patrick Lashley – Mother Elizabeth Johnson, Married Little Berry Clark 1796, Children: John 1797 – unknown, Thomas 1799 – unknown, Elizabeth 1809 – unknown, Willaim 1810 – unknown, Patrick 1812 – 1870, Margaret 1814, unknown, Nancy 1816 – unknown, Sallie E. 1818 – 1900, Littleberry 1820 - unknown, Margaret 1821 – unknown, Littleberry 1822 – 1888, Lucy Jane 1822 – 1851 William Johnson Sr., born 1682 Surry County, Virginia – died 1752 Surry 1637--1702 – Mother Grace County, Virginia, Parents: Father Martin Johnson 1637 Beckwith 16451645-1720, Married Phoebe 1739, Children: William 1723 – 1782, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1719 - 1775 William Johnson, born 1723 Virginia – died 1782 Virginia, Parents: Father William Johnson Sr. – Phoebe unknown, Married Mary Gilbert 1752, Children: Joanna 175017501821, Sarah 1754 – unknown, Elizabeth 17581758-1776, William 1767 – unknown 360

Phoebe Phoebe unknown, born 1690 unknown – died 1770 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Johnson Sr. Children: William 1723 – 1782, Elizabeth 1719 - 1775 Elizabeth Johnson, born 1758 Virginia – died 1776 Sussex, Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father William Johnson - Mother Mary Gilbert, Married Patrick Lashley 1775, Children: William Gilbert Johnson 1774 – unknown, Sally 1775 – 1866, Sarah 1775 – 1840 Father of Mary Gilbert unknown Mary Gilbert, born 30 Dec 1723 1723 unknown – died 5 Oct 1783 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Johnson 1752, Children: Joanna 17501750-1821, Sarah 1754 – unknown, Elizabeth 17581758-1776, William 1767 unknown Mother of Mary Gilbert unknown Thomas Yateman Yateman Wallace, born 7 Oct 1877 Tennessee – died 18 Jul 1960 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Littleberry Wallace – Mother Susan Rebecca Whitehurst, Married Martha Olean Powers 1895, Children: Florence 1895 – unknown, Sarah R. 1897 – unknown, Thomas Dewey Dewey 1900 – 1959, Irvin T. 1903 – 1957, Maggie Nolie 1904 – 1949, Inez W. 1907 – unknown, Gracie 1908 – unknown, Abithel 1911 – 1936, Horace M. 1913 – 1967, Melissa V. 1915 – 1968 Richard Whitehurst, born 1606 Norfolk, Virginia – 1704 Onslow, North Carolina, Carolina, Parents: Father William Richard Whitehurst 15991599-1651 – Mother Ellen Clements 16101610-1654, Married Margaret Nicholas 1661, Children: Margaret unknown, Mary unknown, William 1656 – 1732, Batson 1658 – 1762, Richard 1665 – 1703, John 1667 – 1772, James 1672 – unknown, Simon 1690 – 1804, Rachel 1733 - 1772 Simon Whitehurst, born 1690 Prince Edward, Virginia – died 11 Sept 1804 Durham Creek, Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Whitehurst – Mother Margaret Nicholas, Married Argent Cox 1750, Children: Children: Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, Nancy Nancy 1759 – unknown,

361

Margaret Nicholas, born 1636 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1683 Onslow, North Carolina, Parents: Father Andrew Nicholas 16001600-1665 – Mother Elizabeth Clements 16241624-1684, Married Richard Whitehurst 1661, Children: Margaret unknown, Mary unknown, unknown, William 1656 – 1732, Batson 1658 – 1762, Richard 1665 – 1703, John 1667 – 1772, James 1672 – unknown, Simon 1690 – 1804, Rachel 1733 - 1772 Batson Whitehurst, born 1739 Beaufort, North Carolina – died 23 Mar 1823 Beaufort, Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Parents: Father Simon Whitehurst – Mother Argent Cox, Married Elizabeth Clemmy Talpin 1750, Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unknown, Joshua 1752 – unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 John Cox, born unknown Argent Cox, born 1681 Prince William, Virginia – died 1716 North Carolina, Parents: Father John Cox – Mother Mary unknown, Married Simon Whitehurst, Children: Batson Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, Nancy 1759 – unknown, Mary unknown, born unknown Arthur Whitehurst, born 1758 Pitt, North Carolina – 6 Dec 1857 North Carolina, Parents: Father Batson Whitehurst – Mother Elizabeth Taplin, Married Lucretia Craven (1795(1795-1860), Children: William 1823 – 1870, 1870, Laura 1825 – unknown, Julia 1838 – unknown • Married Elizabeth Weaver, Children: Arthur 17851785-1835, Joshua Monroe 17851785-1884, William 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1880, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred W. 1814 – 1863 Father of Elizabeth Taplin unknown Elizabeth Taplin, born 1740 Pasquotank, North Carolina – died 29 Aug unknown North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Batson Whitehurst, 362

Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unknown, Joshua Joshua 1752 – unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances 1776 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 Mother of Elizabeth Taplin unknown Joshua Whitehurst, born 1785 1785 Martin, North Carolina – died 5 Jun 1884 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Arthur Whitehurst – Mother Elizabeth Weaver, Married Sarah Cunningham 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah Ann 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 -1911, James Monroe Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856, Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 – 1915, Father of Elizabeth Weaver unknown Elizabeth Weaver, born 1766 North Carolina –died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother 1785--1835, Joshua Monroe 1785unknown, Married Arthur Whitehurst, Children: Arthur 1785 1785-1884, William 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1880, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred Alfred W. 1814 – 1863 Mother of Elizabeth Weaver unknown Susan Rebecca Whitehurst, born 12 Dec 1845 Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee – 12 Dec 1915 Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Joshua Whitehust – Mother Sarah Cunningham, Married Littleberry Littleberry Clark Wallace 1859, Children: Martin Vanburen 1860 – 1920, Sarah Elizabeth Floyd 1863 – 1923, Lucy Jane 1858 – 1954, Elizabeth Lizzie 1866 – 1933, Fannie C. 1869 – 1931, Sanford Laney 1872 – 1947, Dudley Monroe 1873 – 1949, Joshua Commander 1875 – 1944, Thomas Yateman 1877 – 1960, Maggie 1879 – 1902, Mattie Bell Dora 1880 – 1961, Mannie 1882 – 1946, Littleberry 1860 – unknown, Little Berry 1882 – 1974 Father of Sarah Clark Cunningham unknown Sarah Clark Cunningham, born 1791 Tennessee – died Dec 1860 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Unknown – Mother unknown, Married Joshua Monroe Whitehurst 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah Ann 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 -1911, James Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856, Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 – 1915, 363

Mother of Sarah Clark Cunningham unknown Bithel Wesley Wallace, born 16 Jan 1911 Tennessee – died 3 Mar 1936 Trigg Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas Yateman Wallace – Mother Martha Elouise Power, Married Anna Mae Page, Children: James Thomas 4 Jan 1930 – 8 Nov 1999, Omega , Virgie May unknown James R Powers, born 18071807-unknown Willis Powers, born 1844 1844 Tennessee – died around 1900 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father James R Powers – Mother Mary unknown, Married Sarah “Sallie” Page 1866, Children: James Columbus 1869 – 1941, Martha Olean 1874 – 1950, Burrell Berli 1874 – 1940, Mary H. 1879 – 1953, 1953, Charles 1880 – 1955, Connie 1881 – 1966, Elizabeth 1885 1967 Mary unknown, born 18181818-unknown Martha Elouise Powers 4 Nov 1874 Lyon County, Kentucky – died 27 Dec 1950 Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Willis Powers – Mother Sarah Page, Married Thomas Yateman Wallace 1895, Children: Florence 1895 – unknown, Sarah R. 1897 – unknown, Thomas Dewey 1900 – 1959, Irvin T. 1903 – 1957, Maggie Nolie 1904 – 1949, Inez W. 1907 – unknown, Gracie 1908 – unknown, Abithel 1911 – 1936, Horace M. 1913 – 1967, Melissa V. 1915 - 1968 Father of Exolheath Page unknown Alelheath Page, born 1716 Goochland County, Virginia – died Aug 1778 St James, Northam Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Unknown – Mother Unknown, Married Christian unknown unknown 1756, Children: Betsy Elizabeth 1735 – 1771, Betty 1737 – 1797, Christian 1737 – 1797. Joseph 1756 – 1782, John 1738 – 1800, William 1743 – 1815, James 1745 – 1787, Benjamin 1750 – 1827, Robert 1754 – 1862, Mary 1759 – 1821 Mother of Exolheath Page unknown John Page, born 1738 Goochland, Virginia – 30 Oct 1800 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Elelheath Axiheath Page – Mother Christian unknown, Married Unity Harris 1756, Children: William 1758 – unknown, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1758 – 1838, John 1760 – 1841, Vinson 1762 – 1829, Leonard 1762 – 1836, Absalom 1764 – unknown, Betsy Betty 1767 – 1837, James 1769 – 1803, Nancy 1771 – 1828, Sally 1773 – 1803, Lewis 1784 - 1868 364

Father of Christian Page unknown Christian unknown, born born 1720 unknown – died 1787 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Axolheath Page, Children: Betsy Elizabeth 1735 – 1771, Betty 1737 – 1797, Christian 1737 – 1797. Joseph 1756 – 1782, John 1738 – 1800, William 1743 – 1815, James 1745 – 1787, Benjamin 1750 – 1827, Robert 1754 – 1862, Mary 1759 – 1821 Mother of Christian Page unknown Venson Page, born 6 Feb 1762 Goochland, Virginia – died 6 May 1829 Tennessee, Parents: Father John Page – Mother Unity Harris, Married Nancy Manning, Manning, Children: William Venson 1815 – 1855 Father of Unity Harris unknown Unity Harris, born 1741 Goochland, Virginia – died 1798 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Page 1756, Children: William 1758 – unknown, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1758 – 1838, John 1760 – 1841, Vinson 1762 – 1829, Leonard 1762 – 1836, Absalom 1764 – unknown, Betsy Betty 1767 – 1837, James 1769 – 1803, Nancy 1771 – 1828, Sally 1773 – 1803, Lewis 1784 - 1868 Mother of Unity Harris unknown William Venson Venson Page, born 1815 Martin County, North Carolina – died 25 Jun 1855 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Venson Page – Mother Nancy Manning, Married Sarah Ann Whitehurst 1839, Children: Polly 1843 – 1860, Joshua Peircely 1845 – 1920, John Joshua Lancaster Lancaster 1846 – 1924, Rotia Frances 1848 – 1888, Sarah (Sallie) 1851 – 1920, Florida Calista 1854 – 1919 William Manning, born 1685 Pitt, North Carolina – died 1763 Lower, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: John Manning 16501650-1718 – Mother Sarah Wattford 16501650-1694, Married Margaret Markham 1705, Children: Mary 1689 – 1763, Benjamin 1705 – unknown, Mathias 1706 – 1789, Moses 1710 – 1747, Sarah 1712 – unknown, Michael 17141714-1754, Mary 1717 – 1768, John 1718 – 1758, Lette 1719 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – unknown, Margaret 1727 - 1750 John Manning, born 1718 Norfolk Virginia – died 7 Jan 1758 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father William Manning – Mother Margaret Markham, Married Ann Deal, 365

Children: Johann Stephan 1730 – 1777, Mary 1732 – 1750, Marcom Marcom 1737 – 1743, Reuben 1739 – 1767, Elizabeth 1743 – 1770, John 1744 – 1773, Margaret 1745 – 1750 Margaret Markham, born 1698 unknown, - died 1757 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Manning 1705, Children: Children: Mary 1689 – 1763, Benjamin 1705 – unknown, Mathias 1706 – 1789, Moses 1710 – 1747, Sarah 1712 – unknown, Michael 17141714-1754, Mary 1717 – 1768, John 1718 – 1758, Lette 1719 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – unknown, Margaret 1727 - 1750 Marcom Manning, born 1735 Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia – died 1793 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Manning – Mother Ann Deal, Married Keziah Manning, Children: Reuben 1789 – 1831, Sarah 1789 – unknown • Married Keziah Ballentine 1750, Children: Children: Martha 1750 – 1800, John 1758 – 1844, Markham 1766 – unknown, Whitnell 1766 – unknown, Reubin 1773 – 1832, Cornelius 1774 – 1855, Marcom 1775 – 1855, Willaim 1776 – 1812, Nancy 1780 unknown Henry Deal, born 1661 Virginia – 21 Oct 1716 Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Frances Ballentine 1687, Children: Dinah unknown, Thomas Herbert unknown, Frances 1670 – unknown, Henry 1675 – 1734, David 1682 – unknown, Elizabeth 1690 – unknown, John 1690 – unknown, Margaret 1690 – 1749, Richard 1690 – unknown, Adam 1700 – 1790, Ann 1711 - 1759 Ann Deal, born 1711 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1749 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father Henry Deal – Mother Frances Ballentine, Married Peter Jolley (1706 (1706--1730), Children: Children: Jessie A. 1732 – 1817 • Married John IV Manning 1727, Children: Johann Stephan 1730 – 1777, Mary 1732 – 1750, Marcom 1737 – 1743, Reuben 1739 – 1767, Elizabeth 1743 – 1770, John 1744 – 1773, Margaret 1745 – 1750 Frances Ballentine, born 1664 Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia – died 10 Oct 1720 Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henry Deal 1687, Children: Dinah unknown, Thomas Herbert unknown, Frances 1670 – unknown, Henry 1675 – 1734, David 1682 – 366

unknown, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1690 – unknown, John 1690 – unknown, Margaret 1690 – 1749, Richard 1690 – unknown, Adam 1700 – 1790, Ann 1711 - 1759 Nancy Manning, born 1780 North Carolina – died unknown, Parents: Father Marcom Manning – Mother Keziah Ballentine, Married Vincent Venson Page, Children: William Venson 18151815-1855 George Ballentine, born 29 Sept 1653 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts – died 15 May 1702 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Parents: Father William ballentine ballentine 16271627-1670 – Mother Hannah Hollard 16351635-1718, Married Lydia Barnett, Children: None Married Frances Nash 1673 – William 1686 – 1747 Willaim Ballentine, born 1686 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts – died 1747 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father George Ballentine, Married Judy Spivey, Children: Lydia 1725 – 1802, Keziah 1730 – 1787, Abi 1735 - 1830 Frances Nash, born 17 Sept 1657 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts – died 10 Nov 1740 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Parents: Father William Barrett 16381638-1689 – Mother Mary Barnard 16391639-1662, Married George Bellentine 1673, Children William 16861686-1747 Keziah Ballentine, born 1730 Lower, Norfolk, Virginia – died 1787 North Carolina, Parents: Father William Ballentine – Mother Judy Spivey, Married Marcom Manning 1750, Children: Martha 1750 – 1800, John 1758 – 1844, Markham 1766 – unknown, Whitnell 1766 – unknown, Reubin 1773 – 1832, Cornelius 1774 – 1855, Marcom 1775 – 1855, Willaim 1776 1776 – 1812, Nancy 1780 – unknown Capt. Matthew Spivey, born 1670 Nansemond, Virginia – died 15 May 1719 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father George Adolphus Spivey 16611661-1690 – Mother Judith Bowers 16621662-1721, Married Sarah Nichols 1696, Children: Thomas 1662 – 1729, Matthew James 1697 – 1799, Judy 1710 – 1755, Elizabeth 1702 – 1737, George Adolphus 1705 – unknown, Sarah 1707 – unknown, Judith 1709 – unknown Judy Spivey, Born 1710 Virginia – died 1755 Virginia, Parents: Father Capt.

Capt.

Matthew Spivey – Mother Sara Nichols, Married William Balentine, Children: Lydia 1725 – 1802, Keziah 1730 – 1787, Abi 1735 - 1830 367

Sara Nichols, born 1678 Nasemond, Virginia – died 1718 Norfolk, Independent Cites, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother Mother unknown, Married Capt. Matthew Spivey 1696, Children: Thomas 1662 – 1729, Matthew James 1697 – 1799, Judy 1710 – 1755, Elizabeth 1702 – 1737, George Adolphus 1705 – unknown, Sarah 1707 – unknown, Judith 1709 – unknown Sarah (Sallie) Page, born Jan 1851 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 5 Jul 1922, Parents Father Vinson Page – Mother Sarah Ann Whitehurst, Married Willis Powers 1866, Children: James Columbus 1869 – 1941, Martha Olean 1874 – 1950, Burrell Berli 1874 – 1940, Mary H. 1879 – 1953, Charles 1880 – 1955, Connie 1881 – 1966, Elizabeth 1885 1967 Simon Whitehurst, born 1690 Prince Edward, Virginia – died 11 Sept 1804 Durham Creek, Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Whitehurst – Mother Margaret Margaret Nicholas, Married Argent Cox 1750, Children: Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, Nancy 1759 – unknown, Batson Whitehurst, born 1739 Beaufort, North Carolina – died 23 Mar 1823 Beaufort, Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Father Simon Whitehurst – Mother Argent Cox, Married Elizabeth Clemmy Talpin 1750, Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unknown, Joshua 1752 – unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 Argent Cox, born 1681 Prince William, Virginia – died 1716 North Carolina, Parents: Father John Cox – Mother Mary unknown, Married Simon Whitehurst, Children: Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, Nancy 1759 – unknown, 368

Arthur Whitehurst, born 1758 Pitt, North Carolina – died 6 Dec 1857 North Carolina, Parents: Father Batson Whitehurst – Mother Elizabeth Taplin, Married Lucretia Craven (1795(1795-1860), Children: William 1823 – 1870, Laura 1825 – unknown, Julia 1838 – unknown • Married Elizabeth Weaver, Children: Arthur 1785 – 1835, Joshua Monroe 1785 1785 – 1884, Willaim 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1808, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred W 1814 - 1863 Father of Elizabeth Taplin unknown Elizabeth Taplin, born 1740 Pasquotank, North Carolina – died 29 Aug unknown Northh Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Nort Batson Whitehurst, Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unknown, Joshua 1752 – unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 Mother of Elizabeth Taplin unknown Joshua Monroe Whitehurst, born 1785 Pitt, Martin County, North Carolina – died 5 Jun 1884 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Arthur Whitehurst – Mother Mother Elizabeth Weaver, Married Sarah Cunningham 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 – 1911, James Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856 Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 – 1915 Father of Elizabeth Weaver unknown Elizabeth Weaver, born 1766 North Carolina – died unknown, Parents:Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Arthur Whitehurst, Children: Arthur Arthur 1785 – 1835, Joshua Monroe 1785 – 1884, Willaim 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1808, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred W 1814 - 1863 Mother of Elizabeth Weaver unknown

369

Sarah Ann Whitehurst, born 1823 Stewart County, County, Tennessee – died 24 Jul 1897 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Joshua Monroe Whitehurst – Mother Sara Cunningham, Married Vinson Page 1839, Children: Polly 1843 – 1860, Joshua Peircely 1845 – 1920, John Joshua Lancaster 1846 – 1924, Rotia Frances Frances 1848 – 1888, Sarah (Sallie) 1851 – 1920, Florida Calista 1854 - 1919 Father of Sarah Cunningham unknown Sarah Cunningham, born 1791 Tennessee – died 1860, Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Joshua Monroe Whitehurst 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 – 1911, James Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856 Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 - 1915 Mother of Sarah Cunningham unknown James Thomas Wallace, born 4 Jun 1930 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 8 Nov 1999 Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Bethel Wesley Wallace – Mother Anna Mae Page, Married Margret Margret Francis Melton, Children: Joan 6 Aug 1948, Judy Gail 28 Jul 1952, Phyllis Kay 5 Oct 1954, Danny 23 Jan 1958 John Page, born 22 Dec 1699 King Queen, Virginia – died 1750 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Page 16591659-1710 – Mother Elizabeth Elizabeth unknown 16831683-1702, Married Hannah Mary Harris 1719, Children: Exolheath (Axolheath) 1716 – 1778, Robert 1716 – 1787, Lucy 1718 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – 1827, Jacob 1725 – unknown, Hannah 1733 – 1774, John 1736 – 1786, Joseph 1739 – 1789, William 1740 1740 – 1808 Axolheath (Exelheath) Page, born 1716 Goochland County, Virginia – died Aug 1778 St James, Northam Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Page – Mother Hannah Mary, Married Christian unknown 1756, Children: Jesse 1737 – unknown, Betsy Elizabeth Elizabeth 1735 – 1771, Betty 1737 – 1797, Christian 1737 – 1797. Joseph 1756 – 1782, John 1738 – 1800, William 1743 – 1815, James 1745 – 1787, Benjamin 1750 – 1827, Robert 1754 – 1862, Joseph 1756 – 1846, Mary 1759 – 1821 Hannah Mary Maris, born 1700 Virginia Virginia – died 1750 Chester, Pennsylvania, Parents: Father George Maris 16621662-1753 – Mother Jane Maddock 166816681705, Married John Page 1715, Children: Exolheath (Axolheath) 1716 – 1778, Robert 1716 – 1787, Lucy 1718 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – 1827, Jacob 370

1725 – unknown, unknown, Hannah 1733 – 1774, John 1736 – 1786, Joseph 1739 – 1789, William 1740 – 1808 John Page, born 1738 Goochland, Virginia – 30 Oct 1800 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Elelheath Axiheath Page – Mother Christian unknown, Married Unity Harris 1756, Children: William 1758 – unknown, Elizabeth 1758 – 1838, John 1760 – 1841, Vinson 1762 – 1829, Leonard 1762 – 1836, Absalom 1764 – unknown, Betsy Betty 1767 – 1837, James 1769 – 1803, Nancy 1771 – 1828, Sally 1773 – 1803, Lewis 1784 - 1868 Richard Gissage, born 25 Sept 1678 St Pauls Parish, Hanover, Virginia – died 30 Sept 1703 King William, Virginia, Parents: Richard Gorshurch 16421642unknown – Mother Elizabeth Row 16391639-1719, Married Sarah Shelton 1701, Children: Christina 1702 – 1778, Mary 1703 – unknown, Sarah 1703 – unknown, Christian 1718 - 1787 Christian Gissage, born 1720 Goochland, Virginia – died 2 Apr 1787 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Gissage – Mother Sarah Shelton, Married Axolheath Page, Children: Betsy Elizabeth 1735 – 1771, Betty 1737 – 1797, Christian 1737 – 1797. Joseph 1756 – 1782, John 1738 – 1800, William 1743 – 1815, James 1745 – 1787, Benjamin 1750 – 1827, Robert 1754 – 1862, Mary 1759 1759 – 1821 Sarah Shelton, born 1682 Plains, Sussex, New Jersey – died 1778 Louisa, Virginia, Parents: Father John Shelton 16491649-1706 – Mother Jane unknown 16501650-1681, Married Richard Gissage 1701, Children: Christina 1702 – 1778, Mary 1703 – unknown, Sarah 1703 – unknown, Christian 1718 - 1787 Venson Page, born 6 Feb 1762 Goochland, Virginia – died 6 May 1829 Tennessee, Parents: Father John Page – Mother Unity Harris, Married Nancy Manning, Children: William Venson 1815 – 1855 Father of Unity Harris unknown unknown Unity Harris, born 1741 Goochland, Virginia – died 1798 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Page 1756, Children: William 1758 – unknown, Elizabeth 1758 – 1838, John 1760 – 1841, Vinson 1762 – 1829, Leonard 1762 – 1836, Absalom 1764 – unknown, Betsy Betty 1767 – 1837, James 1769 – 1803, Nancy 1771 – 1828, Sally 1773 – 1803, Lewis 1784 - 1868 Mother of Unity Harris unknown 371

William Venson Page, born 1815 Martin County, North Carolina – died 25 Jun 1855 1855 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Venson Page – Mother Nancy Manning, Married Sarah Ann Whitehurst 1839, Children: Polly 1843 – 1860, Joshua Peircely 1845 – 1920, John Joshua Lancaster 1846 – 1924, Rotia Frances 1848 – 1888, Sarah (Sallie) 1851 1851 – 1920, Florida Calista 1854 – 1919 William Manning, born 1685 Pitt, North Carolina – died 1763 Lower, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: John Manning 16501650-1718 – Mother Sarah Wattford 16501650-1694, Married Margaret Markham 1705, Children: Mary 1689 – 1763, Benjamin Benjamin 1705 – unknown, Mathias 1706 – 1789, Moses 1710 – 1747, Sarah 1712 – unknown, Michael 17141714-1754, Mary 1717 – 1768, John 1718 – 1758, Lette 1719 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – unknown, Margaret 1727 - 1750 John Manning, born 1718 1718 Norfolk Virginia – died 7 Jan 1758 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father William Manning – Mother Margaret Markham, Married Ann Deal, Children: Johann Stephan 1730 – 1777, Mary 1732 – 1750, Marcom 1737 – 1743, Reuben 1739 – 1767, Elizabeth 1743 – 1770, John John 1744 – 1773, Margaret 1745 – 1750 Margaret Markham, born 1698 unknown, - died 1757 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Manning 1705, Children: Mary 1689 – 1763, Benjamin 1705 – unknown, Mathias 1706 – 1789, 1789, Moses 1710 – 1747, Sarah 1712 – unknown, Michael 17141714-1754, Mary 1717 – 1768, John 1718 – 1758, Lette 1719 – unknown, Benjamin 1720 – unknown, Margaret 1727 - 1750 Marcom Manning, born 1735 Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia – died 1793 Martin, North Carolina, Carolina, Parents: Father John Manning – Mother Ann Deal, Married Keziah Manning, Children: Reuben 1789 – 1831, Sarah 1789 – unknown • Married Keziah Ballentine 1750, Children: Martha 1750 – 1800, John 1758 – 1844, Markham 1766 – unknown, Whitnell 1766 – unknown, unknown, Reubin 1773 – 1832, Cornelius 1774 – 1855, Marcom 1775 – 1855, Willaim 1776 – 1812, Nancy 1780 – unknown Henry Deal, born 1661 Virginia – 21 Oct 1716 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Frances Ballentine 1687, Children: Dinah unknown, Thomas Herbert unknown, Frances 1670 – 372

unknown, Henry 1675 – 1734, David 1682 – unknown, Elizabeth 1690 – unknown, John 1690 – unknown, Margaret 1690 – 1749, Richard 1690 – unknown, Adam 1700 – 1790, Ann 1711 - 1759 Ann Deal, born 1711 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1749 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father Henry Deal – Mother Frances Ballentine, Married Peter Jolley (1706 (1706--1730), Children: Jessie A. 1732 – 1817 • Married John IV Manning 1727, Children: Johann Stephan 1730 – 1777, Mary 1732 – 1750, Marcom 1737 – 1743, Reuben 1739 – 1767, Elizabeth 1743 – 1770, John 1744 – 1773, Margaret 1745 – 1750 Frances Ballentine, born 1664 Norfolk, Virginia – died 10 Oct 1720 Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henry Deal 1687, Children: Dinah unknown, Thomas Herbert unknown, Frances 1670 – unknown, Henry 1675 – 1734, David 1682 – unknown, Elizabeth 1690 – unknown, John 1690 – unknown, Margaret 1690 – 1749, Richard 1690 – unknown, Adam 1700 – 1790, Ann 1711 - 1759 Nancy Manning, born 1780 North Carolina – died unknown, Parents: Father Marcom Manning – Mother Keziah Ballentine, Married Vincent Venson Page, Children: William Venson 18151815-1855 George Ballentine, born 29 Sept 1653 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts – died 15 May 1702 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Parents: Father William Ballentine 16271627-1670 – Mother Hannah Hollard 16351635-1718, Married Lydia Barnett, Children: None Married Frances Nash 1673 – William 1686 – 1747 Willaim Ballentine, born 1686 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts – died 1747 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father George Ballentine, Married Judy Spivey, Children: Lydia 1725 – 1802, Keziah 1730 – 1787, Abi 1735 - 1830 Frances Nash, born 17 Sept 1657 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts – died 10 Nov 1740 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Parents: Father William Barrett 16381638-1689 – Mother Mary Barnard 16391639-1662, Married George Bellentine 1673, Children William 16861686-1747 Keziah Ballentine, born 1730 Lower, Norfolk, Virginia – died 1787 North Carolina, Parents: Father William Ballentine – Mother Judy Spivey, Married Marcom Manning 1750, Children: 373

Martha 1750 – 1800, John 1758 – 1844, Markham 1766 – unknown, Whitnell 1766 – unknown, Reubin 1773 – 1832, Cornelius 1774 – 1855, Marcom 1775 – 1855, Willaim 1776 – 1812, Nancy 1780 – unknown Capt. Matthew Spivey, born 1670 Nansemond, Virginia – died 15 May 1719 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father George Adolphus Spivey 16611661-1690 – Mother Judith Bowers 16621662-1721, 1721, Married Sarah Nichols 1696, Children: Thomas 1662 – 1729, Matthew James 1697 – 1799, Judy 1710 – 1755, Elizabeth 1702 – 1737, George Adolphus 1705 – unknown, Sarah 1707 – unknown, Judith 1709 – unknown Judy Spivey, Born 1710 Virginia – died 1755 Virginia, Parents: Father Capt.

Matthew Spivey – Mother Sara Nichols, Married William Balentine, Children: Lydia 1725 – 1802, Keziah 1730 – 1787, Abi 1735 - 1830 Sara Nichols, born 1678 Nasemond, Virginia – died 1718 Norfolk, Independent Independent Cites, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Capt. Matthew Spivey 1696, Children: Thomas 1662 – 1729, Matthew James 1697 – 1799, Judy 1710 – 1755, Elizabeth 1702 – 1737, George Adolphus 1705 – unknown, Sarah 1707 – unknown, Judith Judith 1709 – unknown John Page, born 13 Jun 1845 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 9 Jul 1924 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father William Venson Page – Mother Sarah Ann Whitehurst, Married Alice Hutchinson 1865, Children: Manda Permina 1865 – unknown, Mary Ann Elizabeth 1867 – 1924, Sabena E. 1869 – 1880, John Lancaster 1872 – 1944, Martha 1875 – unknown, Willaim Vinson 1879 – 1966, Edward Duncan 1881 – 1934, James Lee 1886 – 1932, Manson 1889 1912 Simon Whitehurst, born 1690 Prince Prince Edward, Virginia – died 11 Sept 1804 Durham Creek, Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Whitehurst – Mother Margaret Nicholas, Married Argent Cox 1750, Children: Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, Nancy 1759 – unknown, Batson Whitehurst, born 1739 Beaufort, North Carolina – died died 23 Mar 1823 Beaufort, Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Father Simon Whitehurst – Mother Argent 374

Cox, Married Elizabeth Clemmy Talpin 1750, Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unknown, Joshua 1752 – unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 Argent Cox, born 1681 Prince William, Virginia – died 1716 North Carolina, Parents: Father John Cox – Mother Mary unknown, Married Simon Whitehurst, Whitehurst, Children: Batson 1636 – unknown, Daniel 1681 – 1691, Simon 1681 – 1716, Richard 1690 – 1699, Simon 1690 – 1800, John 1725 – unknown, Batson 1735 – 1823, Sarah 1744 – unknown, Simon 1750 – unknown, Henry 1753 – 1808, Hillery 1755 – 1848, Sarah 1756 – unknown, unknown, Nancy 1759 – unknown, Arthur Whitehurst, born 1758 Pitt, North Carolina – died 6 Dec 1857 North Carolina, Parents: Father Batson Whitehurst – Mother Elizabeth Taplin, Married Lucretia Craven (1795(1795-1860), Children: William William 1823 – 1870, Laura 1825 – unknown, Julia 1838 – unknown • Married Elizabeth Weaver, Children: Arthur 1785 – 1835, Joshua Monroe 1785 – 1884, Willaim 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1808, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred W 1814 – 1863 Father of Elizabeth Taplin unknown Elizabeth Taplin, born 1740 Pasquotank, North Carolina – died 29 Aug unknown North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William unknown, own, Joshua 1752 – Batson Whitehurst, Children: Sarah unknown, Simon unkn unknown, Richard 1755 – 1832, Willoughby 1755 – 1808, Malachi 1757 – unknown, Arthur 1758 – 1857, Elizabeth 1759 – unknown, William L. 1763 – 1826, Batson 1769 – 1816, Frederick 1769 – 1843, Samuel 1770 – unknown, Charles 1774 – 1838, Frances Frances 1776 – unknown, Susanna 1780 – unknown, Reuben 1788 – unknown, Thomas Joshua 1789 – 1830, Jesse 1791 – unknown, Mary 1793 – unknown, Willoughby 1797 – 1833,Thomas Jefferson 1819 – 1905 Mother of Elizabeth Taplin unknown

375

Joshua Monroe Whitehurst, Whitehurst, born 1785 Pitt, Martin County, North Carolina – died 5 Jun 1884 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Arthur Whitehurst – Mother Elizabeth Weaver, Married Sarah Cunningham 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 1825 – 1911, James Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856 Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 – 1915 Father of Elizabeth Weaver unknown Elizabeth Weaver, born 1766 North Carolina – died unknown, Parents:Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Arthur Whitehurst, Children: Arthur 1785 – 1835, Joshua Monroe 1785 – 1884, Willaim 1788 – 1870, Esir Hadon 1790 – 1878, Sarah 1796 – 1808, Delaney 1798 – 1880, Benjamin Benjamin 1806 – 1885, Alfred W 1814 - 1863 Mother of Elizabeth Weaver unknown Sarah Ann Whitehurst, born 1823 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 24 Jul 1897 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Joshua Monroe Whitehurst – Mother Sara Cunningham, Married Married Vinson Page 1839, Children: Polly 1843 – 1860, Joshua Peircely 1845 – 1920, John Joshua Lancaster 1846 – 1924, Rotia Frances 1848 – 1888, Sarah (Sallie) 1851 – 1920, Florida Calista 1854 – 1919 Father of Sarah Cunningham unknown Sarah Cunningham, Cunningham, born 1791 Tennessee – died 1860, Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Joshua Monroe Whitehurst 1819, Children: Martha 1820 – 1909, Sarah 1823 – 1897, Tennessee Angeline 1825 – 1911, James Monroe 1829 – unknown, Mary Mary 1830 – 1888, Rolia 1833 – 1876, Mary 1836 – 1856 Melissa 1837 – 1858, Martin Vanburen 1839 – 1856, Pressy Bettie 1843 – unknown, Rebecca Susan 1845 - 1915 Mother of Sarah Cunningham unknown James Lee Page, born 31 Mar 1886 Tennessee – died 02 Apr Apr 1932 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father John Page – Mother Alice Hutchinson, Married Nancy E. Atkins 1907, Children: Albert 1911 – 1973, Manson Ducan 1913 – 2000, Annie Mae 1915 – 1997, Robert L. 1917 – 1986, Sedalia 1919 – 1922, William Vincent 1922 1922 – 2004, James Howard 1925 – 1992, Hobart M. 1927 – 1992, Jewel Catherine 1929 – 1959 Father of (Nancy) Alice Hutchinson unknown 376

(Nancy) Alice Hutchinson, born 1845 Tennessee – died around 1900, Parents Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Page Page 1865, Children: Manda Permina 1865 – unknown, Mary Ann Elizabeth 1867 – 1924, Sabena E. 1869 – 1880, John Lancaster 1872 – 1944, Martha 1875 – unknown, Willaim Vinson 1879 – 1966, Edward Duncan 1881 – 1934, James Lee 1886 – 1932, Manson 1889 - 1912 Mother of (Nancy) Alice Hutchinson unknown Annie Mae Page, born 19 Aug 1915 Trigg County, Kentucky – died 23 Oct 1997 Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: James Lee Page – Mother Lucy Mae Barnes, Married Bithel Wesley Wallace, Children: James Thomas 4 Jan Jan 1930 – 8 Nov 1999, Omega , Virgie May unknown • Married James Henry Hammonds (1900(1900-1942) 1938, Children Rachel 1939 – 2001, Joe 1940 – 1981 • Married Elmo Douglas Atkins (1907(1907-1977) 1960 Father of William Barnes unknown William Barnes, born Oct 1836 Kentucky Kentucky – died around 1910 Trigg County Kentucky, Parent: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Arminta “Mitty” Josephine Lawrence, Children: Lucy Mae 1890 – 1990, Jesse Lee 1886 – 1954, Albert Josephus (Joe) 1900 – 1974 Mother of William Barnes unknown unknown Lucy Mae Barnes, born 2 Sept 1888 Trigg County, Kentucky – died 9 Dec 1990 Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father unknown Futrell – Mother Arminta Josephine Lawrence, Married James Lee Page 1910, Children: Albert 1911 – 1973, Manson Ducan 1913 – 2000, Annie Mae 1915 – 1997, Robert L. 1917 – 1986, Sedalia 1919 – 1922, William Vincent 1922 – 2004, James Howard 1925 – 1992, Hobart M. 1927 – 1992, Jewel Catherine 1929 – 1959 • Married James Hawkins 1960 George Lawrence, born 1699 Shropshire, England – died unknonwn 1679--1756 – Mother Shropshire, England, Parents: Father Thomas Lawrence 1679 Mary Popoe 16831683-1729, Married Margaret Peggy unknown 1730, Children: Elizabeth unknown, Frances unknown, Jane unknown, Richard unknown, Thomas 1720 – 1797, Hannah 1725 – 1800, John 1728 – unknown, Robert 1728 - unknown Thomas Lawrence Sr, born 1728 Rappahannock, Virginia – died 1796 Wilkes, North Carolina, Parents: Father George Lawrence – Mother Margaret Peggy unknown, Married Lucy Womack 1754, 1754, Children: William 1755 – 1826, Jesse 1757 – unknown, 377

Peter 1759 – 1863, John 1760 – 1841, Thomas 1762 – 1832, James 1764 – 1851, Mary Polly 1767 – 1857, George 1769 – 1844, Henry 1771 – 1855, Lucy 1773 – 1859 Margaret Peggy unknown, born 1709 unknown – died 1739 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married George Lawrence 1730, Children: Elizabeth unknown, Frances unknown, Jane unknown, Richard unknown, Thomas 1720 – 1797, Hannah 1725 – 1800, John 1728 – unknown, Robert 1728 - unknown James Lawrence, born 1764 Bertie, North Carolina – died 1851 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas Lawrence – Mother Lucy Womack , Married Lydia “Martha” Thomas 1790, Children: Sarah F 1790 – 1843, Mary 1793 – unknown, Seley 1795 – unknown, Humphrey 1798 – 1881, Elizabeth 1802 – 1856, Alfred 1807 – 1880, Matilda 1812 – 1894 • Married Martha Ricks (1801(1801-1869) 1843 Henry Womack, born 1709 Henrico, Virginia – died Jun 1790 Goochland, Virginia, Parents: Father William William Womack 16791679-1723 – Mother Susanna Trent 16791679-1723, Married Martha Patsy Puckett 1731, Children: Matthew unknown, Henry 1702 – 1790, Anthary 1727 – unknown, Andria 1732 – unknown, Lucy 1733 – 1826, Henry 1734 – 1778, Anthony 1735 – unknown, Mary 1735 - unknown unknown Lucy Womack, born 1733 Henrico, Mecklenburg, Virginia – died 25 Oct 1826 Niota, McMinn, Tennessee, Parents: Father Henry Womack – Mother Martha Patsy Puckett, Married Thomas Lawrence 1754, Children: William 1755 – 1826, Jesse 1757 – unknown, Peter 1759 – 1863, John 1760 – 1841, Thomas 1762 – 1832, James 1764 – 1851, Mary Polly 1767 – 1857, George 1769 – 1844, Henry 1771 – 1855, Lucy 1773 – 1859 Martha Patsy Puckett, born 1715 Henrico, Virginia – died 1783 Henrico, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Puckett 16841684-1720 – Mother Martha unknown 16951695-1719, Married Henry Womack 1731, Children: Matthew unknown, Henry 1702 – 1790, Anthary 1727 – unknown, Andria 1732 – unknown, Lucy 1733 – 1826, Henry 1734 – 1778, Anthony 1735 – unknown, Mary 1735 - unknown Alfred Lawrence, born 27 Nov 1807 Christian County, Kentucky – died 1880, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James Lawrence – Mother Lydia Thomas, Married Nancy Prichard Prichard 1829, Children: 378

Emily 1832 – 1833, Clarissa 1833 – 1860, Sarah Sally Bernetta 1838 – 1917, Thomas L. 1840 1883, Ezekiel Lynn 1841 – unknown, Lewis 1842 – 1843, Rufus 1845 – 1891, Elizabeth 1847 – 1920, James A. 1850 – unknown, Delila 1853 – unknown, Mary Alice 1856 – 1928 Joseph Thomas Sr., born 1680 Nansemond, Virginia – died 10 Dec 1735 1648--1714 – Mother Bertie, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Thomas 1648 Susannah Portis 16581658-1703, Married Elizabeth Spivey, Children: Elizabeth – unknown, Lewis unknown, unknown, William unknown • Married Alice Spivey 1706, Children: Joseph 1708 – 1758, Michael 1710 – 1802, Luke 1712 – 1751, James 1714 – 1780, Jacob 1716 – unknown, Jonas 1718 – unknown, Charity 1720 – unknown, Mary 1722 - unknown James Thomas, born 1714 Nansemond, Virginia – died 22 Oct 1780 Bertie, North Carolina, Parents: Father Joseph Thomas Sr. – Mother Alice Spivey, Married Sarah Barnes 1741, Children: Jacob unknown – 1736, Selah 1740 – 1799, Joseph 1740 – 1815, Laodicea 1742 – 1806, 1806, Ezekiel 1756 – 1809, James 1760 – 1832, Luke 1760 – 1801, Lundill 1764 – unknown, Sarah 1775 – 1851, Lydia 1776 - 1840 Alice Spivey, born 1687 England – died 1758 Bertie, North Carolina, Parents: Father George Spivey 16541654-1697 – Mother unknown, Married Joseph Thomas 1706, Children: Joseph 1708 – 1758, Michael 1710 – 1802, Luke 1712 – 1751, James 1714 – 1780, Jacob 1716 – unknown, Jonas 1718 – unknown, Charity 1720 – unknown, Mary 1722 - unknown Lydia Thomas, born 1775 Bertie, North Carolina – died 1840 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James Thomas – Mother Sarah Barnes, Married James Lawrence 1790, Children: Sarah F 1790 – 1843, Mary 1793 – unknown, Seley 1795 – unknown, Humphrey 1798 – 1881, Elizabeth 1802 – 1856, Alfred Alfred 1807 – 1880, Matilda 1812 – 1894 Henry Barnes, born 1700 Bertie County, North Carolina – died Aug 1813 1700--1773 – Bertie, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Henry Barnes 1700 Mother Katharine C 17001700-1784, Married Mary Dunning, Children: Sarah 1718 – 1790, 1790, Mary Dunning 1740 – unknown, Jemima Sholar 1750 – 1850, Edith 1770 – unknown, Reubin 1700 – 1855, Asa 1780 – 1838, Jemima 1785 – 1851, Henry 1790 – 1816, Martha 1790 - unknown

379

Sarah Barnes, born 1718 Bertie, North Carolina – died 1790 Bertie, North Carolina, Carolina, Parents: Father Henry Barnes – Mary Dunning, Married James Thomas 1741, Children: Jacob unknown – 1736, Selah 1740 – 1799, Joseph 1740 – 1815, Laodicea 1742 – 1806, Ezekiel 1756 – 1809, James 1760 – 1832, Luke 1760 – 1801, Lundill 1764 – unknown, Sarah 1775 – 1851, Lydia 1776 - 1840 Mary Dunning, born 1700 unknown – died 1784 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henry Barnes, Children: Sarah 1718 – 1790, Mary Dunning 1740 – unknown, Jemima Sholar 1750 – 1850, Edith 1770 1770 – unknown, Reubin 1700 – 1855, Asa 1780 – 1838, Jemima 1781 – 1851, Henry 1783– 1783– 1816, Martha 1784 - unknown Rufus Lawrence, born 1844 Kentucky – died 3 Feb 1891 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Alfred Lawrence – Mother Nancy Prichard, Married Sarah Josephine Futrell, Children: Lucinda Jane 1860 – 1947, Mary A 1864 – unknown, Arminta Josephine 1869 – 1939, Theresa C 1870 – unknown, Jacob 1871 – unknown, James C. 1873 – unknown, Ellen 1875 – unknown, Henry J. 1875 – unknown, July 1879 – unknown, Oley H 1879 – unknown Christopher Alfonzo Pritchard, born 17751775-1828 Nancy Prichard, born 1810 Trigg County, Kentucky – died Jul 1880 Meigs, Tennessee, Parents: Father Christopher Alfonzo Pritchard – Mother Wineford unknown, Married Alfred Lawrence 1829, Children: Emily 1832 – 1833, Clarissa 1833 – 1860, Sarah Sally Bernetta 1838 – 1917, Thomas L. 1840 1883, Ezekiel Lynn 1841 – unknown, Lewis 1842 – 1843, Rufus 1845 – 1891, Elizabeth 1847 – 1920, James James A. 1850 – unknown, Delila 1853 – unknown, Mary Alice 1856 – 1928 Wineford unknown, born 17851785-1860 Arminta Josephine Lawrence , born 18 Aug1866 Trigg County, Kentucky – died 23 Feb 1939 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Rufus Lawrence – Mother Sarah Sarah Josephine Futrell, Married William Barnes 1892, Children: Lucy Mae 1890 – 1990, Jesse Lee 1886 – 1954, Albert Josephus (Joe) 1900 – 1974 John Futrell, born 1715 Surry County, Virginia – Dec 1788 Northampton, North Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Futrell Futrell II 16861686-1727 – Ann unknown 16721672-1730, Married Martha Daughtry 1740, Children: Jehew unknown, Daniel L 1743 – 1843, Thomas 1745 – 1797. Joel 1747 – 1799, Charity 1748 – 1804, John Jr. 1754 – 1807, Lawrence 1760 – 1860, Ephraim 1762 – 1820, Martha 1762 – 1800, Pherby 1766 - 1866 380

Thomas Futrell, born 1745 Northampton, North Carolina – died 1797 Northampton, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Futrell 17151715-1788 – Mother Martha Daugherty 17481748-1780, Married Sarah Bittle 1761, Children: Bathsheba 1762 – 1860, Shadrack 1770 – 1818, Martha M 1773 – 1823, Charity 1777 – 1872, Faitha 1780 – 1872, John 1783 – 1873, Amey 1785 – 1853, Rebecca 1787 – 1850, Lemuel 1788 – 1842, Elizabeth 1790 – unknown, Thomas 1794 – 1859, Clarissa 1797 -1850 Martha Daugherty, born 1718 Surry, Virginia – died 1780 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Futrell 1740, Children: Jehew unknown, Daniel L 1743 – 1843, Thomas 1745 – 1797. Joel 1747 – 1799, Charity 1748 – 1804, John John Jr. 1754 – 1807, Lawrence 1760 – 1860, Ephraim 1762 – 1820, Martha 1762 – 1800, Pherby 1766 - 1866 Thomas Futrell, born 1794 North Carolina – died 14 Oct 1859 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas Futrell – Mother Sarah Bittle, Married Martha Patsy Mask 1816, Children: Dallam 1819 – 1896, Wiley 1823 -1904 John Bittle, born 1750 Halifax, Northampton, North Carolina – died 1787 Northampton, North Carolina, Parents: Father Robert Battely unknown – Mother Elizabeth unknown unknown 17521752-1777, Married Elizabeth Bass, Children: Winnifred 1740 – unknown, Margaret 1745 – unknown, John 1770 – unknown, Drury 1777 – unknown, Joshua 1780 - 1840 Sarah Bittle, born 1745 Northampton, North Carolina – died 18 Dec Dec 1817 Christian County, Kentucky, Parents: Father John Bittle 17501750-1787 – Mother Elizabeth Bass 17521752-1777, Married Thomas Futrell 1761, Children: Bathsheba 1762 – 1860, Shadrack 1770 – 1818, Martha M 1773 – 1823, Charity 1777 – 1872, Faitha 1780 – 1872, John 1783 – 1873, Amey 1785 – 1853, Rebecca 1787 – 1850, Lemuel 1788 – 1842, Elizabeth 1790 – unknown, Thomas 1794 – 1859, Clarissa 1797 -1850 Elizabeth Bass, born 1752 Northampton, North Carolina – Sept 1777 North Carolina, Parents: Father John Bass 1664 1664-1703 – Mother Elizabeth unknown 16641664-1703, Married John Bittle, Children: Winnifred 1740 – unknown, Margaret 1745 – unknown, John 1770 – unknown, Drury 1777 – unknown, Joshua 1780 - 1840 381

Dallam Futrell, born 18 Mar 1819 Christian County, Kentucky – died 24 Jul 1896, Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Thomas Futrell – Mother Martha unknown, Married Mary Ann Vinson 1838, Children: James S. 1839 – 1850, Permelia Jane 1840 – 1910, Sarah Josephine 1843 – 1929, William L. 1845 – 1870 1870 • Married Ellen Dylasta Heathcock (1826(1826-1867) 1859, Children: Alfred Cullen 1863 – 1942, J Newton 1865 – 1945, Martha Alice 1868 -1891 • Married Amanda Bronson (1856(1856-1916) 1875, Children: Pauline 1876 – 1976, Richard 1880 – 1980, Richard Monroe 1810 – 1915 John Mask, born 1729 Hanover, Virginia – died 1781 Anson, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Mask 16741674-1731 – Mother Martha Jane Christian 16741674-1700, Married Catherine Dickerson 1748, Children: John 1732 – 1755, Pleasant Moses 1749 – 1813, Dudley 1753 – unknown, William 1769 – 1795 • Married Drusilla Raiford (1730(1730-1781) 1750, Children: Phillip 1764 – unknown, Martha Patty 1768 – 1837, James Pitt 1770 – unknown, Walter Leake 1771 – unknown, Grace 1772 – 1806, Drusilla 1776 – unknown, Mary 1778 – unknown William Mask, born 1769 Goochland, Virginia – died 1795 Anson, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Mask – Mother Catherine Dickerson, Married Martha Ann Rebecca Nance 1789, Children: John unknown, Rachel 1777 – 1850, Silas W 1887 – 1839, Pleasant Moses 1793 – unknown, Miles Washington 1794 – 1871, Thomas 1795 – 1847, Martha Patsy 1799 – 1860 Catherine Dickerson 1729 Hanover, Virginia – died 1781 Richmond, North Carolina, Parents: Thomas Cooper Dickerson 17001700-1734 – Mother Terry unknown 17101710-unknown, Married John Mask 1748, Children: John 1732 – 1755, Pleasant Moses 1749 – 1813, Dudley 1753 – unknown, William 1769 – 1795 Martha Patsy Mask, born 22 Apr 1798 North Carolina – died 13 Aug 1860 Union, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Mask – Mother Martha Ann Nance, Married Thomas Futrell 1816, Children: Dallam 1819 – 1896, Wiley 1823 -1904 • Married James W Benton 1817, Children: Lousia C 1817 – 1818, Pleasant H. 1818 – 1857, Burwell Franklin 1820 – unknown, unknown, Rosanah K 1822 – 1865, Matha Jane 1824 – 1870, Willaim Oliver 1827 – 1871, Thomas Hart 1829 – 1911, Sarah Ann 1830 – 382

1881, Ann Judson 1833 – 1834, Jesse Morris 1837 – 1900, Mary Ann 1841 – 1842, Mary Louise 1841 - 1862 John Nance, born 1718 Prince Prince George, Virginia – died 3 Apr 1782 1695--1762 – Mother Pittsylvania, Virginia, Parents: Father John Nance Jr 1695 Jane Smart 16871687-1761, Married Martha Ann May 1731, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – 1734, Thomas 1734 - unknown, Giles 1735 – 1809, Martha Ann 1736 – unknown, unknown, Patsy 1736 – unknown, Elizabeth 1737 – unknown, Robert 1737 – 1808, Isham 1738 – unknown, Zachariah 1738 – 1772, Thomas 1739 – 1740, David 1740 – 1780, Daniel 1745 – 1802, Martha Ann 1773 - 1783 Martha Ann Nance, born 1773 Mecklenburg, Pittsylvania, Pittsylvania, Virginia – died 1783 Pittsylvania, Virgina, Parents: John Nance 17181718-1782 – Mother Martha Ann Giles 1715 – 1796, Married William Mask Jr. 1789, Children: John unknown, Rachel 1777 – 1850, Silas W 1887 – 1839, Pleasant Moses 1793 – unknown, Miles Washington Washington 1794 – 1871, Thomas 1795 – 1847, Martha Patsy 1799 – 1860 • Married William G Morris (1722(1722-1802) 1795, Children: Martha Ann Patsy 17991799- 1860, William Airley 1800 – 1844 Martha Ann Giles, born 1713 Amelia County, Virginia – died 21 Nov 1796 Pittsylvania Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Nance 1731, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – 1734, Thomas 1734 unknown, Giles 1735 – 1809, Martha Ann 1736 – unknown, Patsy 1736 – unknown, Elizabeth 1737 – unknown, Robert 1737 – 1808, 1808, Isham 1738 – unknown, Zachariah 1738 – 1772, Thomas 1739 – 1740, David 1740 – 1780, Daniel 1745 – 1802, Martha Ann 1773 - 1783 Sarah Josephine Futrell, born 18 Jul 1843 1843 Kentucky –died 19 Nov 1929 Trigg County, Parents: Father Dallam Futrell – Mother Mary Ann Vinson, Married Rufus Lawrence, Children: Lucinda Jane 1860 – 1947, Mary A 1864 – unknown, Arminta Josephine 1869 – 1939, Theresa C 1870 – unknown, Jacob 1871 – unknown, unknown, James C. 1873 – unknown, Ellen 1875 – unknown, Henry J. 1875 – unknown, July 1879 – unknown, Oley H 1879 – unknown Father of Mary Ann Vinson unknown Mary Ann Vinson, born 1816 unknown – died 1852 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, unknown, married Dallam Futrell 1838, Children: James S. 1839 – 1850, Permelia Jane 1840 – 1910, Sarah Josephine 1843 – 1929, William L. 1845 – 1870 383

Mother of Mary Ann Vinson unknown Phyllis Kay Wallace, born 5 Oct 1954 Trigg County Kentucky – Living, Parent: Parent: Father James Thomas Wallace – Mother Margaret Frances Melton, Married Richard John Frederick Trigg Country, Kentucky 2 Jul 1976, Children: Candace Lynn, 26 Nov 1979, Hopkinsville, KY, Lisa Marie, 20 Aug 1985, Hopkinsville, KY Father of William Carrol Melton unknown William Carrol Melton 1825 Kentucky -1900 Bumpus Millis, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Elizabeth Downs, Children: Mary 1855 - unknown, Alice 1858 – unknown, Sarah 1859 – unknown, James 1860 – unknown, Emily 1863 – unknown, John Calvin – 1865 -1948, Walter 1867 – unknown, Amus 1868 – unknown • Married Emily unknown (1823(1823-unknown) 1847, Children: Nathan 1847 – unknown, William 1848 – unknown, George W. 1850 – unknown • Married Averilla Cherry (1838(1838-1921) 1873, Children: Ida 1872 – unknown, Florance 1875 – unknown, Alma 1877 – unknown, Wilson G. 1881 – unknown Mother of William Carrol Melton unknown Wilson Garfield Melton, born 11 Dec 1881 Stewart County, Tennessee – died Jan 1967 Big Rock, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents Father William Carrol Melton – Mother Avarilla Cherry, Married Callie Lee Lovell 1911, Children: Ida Virginia 1912 – 1980, Armon Hershell 1914 – 1975, Hollis Wilson 1917 – 1925, Willie E. 1919 – 1991, Blanche 1923 – 1979 John Cherry, born 1619 Bray, Berkshire, England – died 1670 Lower Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Thomas Cherry II 15961596-1657 – Mother Ellen Pownee 159815981657, Married Elizabeth Faithful 1641, Children: John 1641 – 1699, Martha 1641 – 1647, Edward 1643 – 1644, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1648 – 1681, Solomon 1652 – 1693, Sarah 1654 – 1693, Joseph 1658 – 1735, Matha 16601660-1661, Faithful 1662 – 1727, William 1664 – 1737, Thomas 1670 – 1748, James 1672 – unknown Faithful Cherry, born 1658 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1727 Norfolk ,Virginia, Parent: Father John Cherry – Mother Elizabeth Faithful, Married Patience unknown 1680, Children: Thomas Willoughby unknown, Ruth 1705 – 1789, Faithful 1710 – 1788, Luke 1710 – 1727, Patience 1715 – 1765, Titus 1723 – 1727, Job 1725 – 1811 Elizabeth Elizabeth Faithful, born 1625 England – died 1654 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father Nicholas Faithful – Mother Anne Alice Clarke, Married John 384

Cherry 1641, Children: John 1641 – 1699, Martha 1641 – 1647, Edward 1643 – 1644, Elizabeth 1648 – 1681, Solomon 1652 1652 – 1693, Sarah 1654 – 1693, Joseph 1658 – 1735, Matha 16601660-1661, Faithful 1662 – 1727, William 1664 – 1737, Thomas 1670 – 1748, James 1672 – unknown Faithful Cherry, born 1695 Norfolk, Virginia – died died Dec 1788 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father Faithful Cherry – Mother Patience unknown, Married Susanna unknown 1724, Children: Apsile 1731 – 1736, Harrell 1731 – 1737, Isaac 1731 – 1737, Mary 1731 – 1747, Noah 1731 – 1737, Rachael 1731 – 1738, Rhoda Rhoda Ahada 1731 – 1736, Jonathan 1734 – 1818, Jessee 1749 – 1817, Harrell 1756 – unknown, Joel 1760 – 1816, James 1765 – 1785, Rhoda 1765 – 1798, Noah 1766 - unknown Father of Patience unknown Patience Unknown, born 1658 Virginia – died 1727 Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, Parent: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Faithful Cherry 1680, Children: Thomas Willoughby unknown, Ruth 1705 – 1789, Faithful 1710 – 1788, Luke 1710 – 1727, Patience 1715 – 1765, Titus 1723 – 1727, Job 1725 – 1811 Mother of Patience unknown Jonathan Sr. Cherry, born 20 Jul 1734 Martin, North Carolina – died Dec 1818 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father Faithful Cherry – Mother Susanna unknown, Married Elizabeth Faithful 1748, Children: Jonathon 1754 – 1818, Catey 1755 – 1760, Samuel 1755 – 1761, Sarah 1755 – 1760, Joel 1760 – 1816, Jessee 1763 – 1823, Joseph 1776 – unknown, William W. 1771 - 1849 Susanna unknown, born 16931693-1766 William W Cherry, born 1778 Martin, North Carolina – died 7 May 1849 Stewart Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Jonathan Sr. Cherry – Mother Elizabeth Faithful, Married Lydia Minerva Daniel 1795, Children: Amillissa 1795 – 1813, Humphrey 1795 – 1848, Lovey Carey 1796 – 1879, Merina 1801 – 1825, Daniel B 1803 – 1859, Marianna C 1803 – 1804, Nehemiah 1806 – 1823, Henry E 1809 – 1889, William Henry 1809 – 1859, Lucinda Sinderella F 1810 – 1876, William Henery 1810 – 1860, James Monroe 1815 – 1850, Arreta Armetha 1818 – 1877, Albert 1820 – 1837 Father of Elizabeth Faithful unknown unknown

385

Elizabeth Faithful, born 1736 Cottonham, Cambridgeshire, England – died 1766 Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Jonathan Cherry 1748, Children: Jonathon 1754 – 1818, Catey 1755 – 1760, Samuel 1755 – 1761, Sarah 1755 – 1760, Joel Joel 1760 – 1816, Jessee 1763 – 1823, Joseph 1776 – unknown, William W. 1771 – 1849 Mother of Elizabeth Faithful unknown Daniel B. Cherry, born 1802 Martin, North Carolina – died Apr 1857 Dover, Stewart, Tennessee, Parents: Parents: Father William W Cherry – Mother Lydia Minerva Daniel, Married Margaret Rebecca Stancil 1820, Children: Minerva 1821 1891, Elizabeth 1822 – 1890, Harriett Elvira 1826 – 1866, Daniel B 1827 – 1855, Augustus G 1830 – 1862, Lydia A 1831 – 1904, Amanda Susan Susan 1833 – 1913, Yeatman Whitman 1834 – 1920, Caroline 1836 – 1850, Polly Mary 1840 – 1841, George Washington 1843 – 1913, Avarila 1844 – 1921

Sons of American Revolution

John Daniel, born Mar 1640 Tyrell, North Carolina – died 1675 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father Roger Daniel Daniel 16251625-1680 – Mother Avis Bell 16251625unknown, Married Ann Jones 1669, Children: Thomas 1675 – 1749, Mary Daniel 1677 – unknown, John 1678 – unknown, James 1679 – unknown, John 1681 – 1746, Richard 1683 – unknown Thomas Daniel, born 25 Sept 1675 St James Parish, Parish, Barbados – died 11 Jul 1749 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Daniel – Mother Ann Jones, Married Elizabeth Lanier 1716, Children: Robert Lanier 1718 – 1786, Thomas 1720 – unknown, John 1722 – unknown, Josiah 1726 – 1803, Elizabeth 1730 – 1772, Sarah 1730 – unknown, William 1732 – 1797, Mary 1734 – 1790, Ruth 1735 – unknown, Priscilla 1737 – unknown, Aaron 1739 – 1790 Ann Jones 1653 Tyrell, North Carolina – died 1675 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Married John Daniel 1669, Children: Thomas 1675 – 1749, Mary Daniel 1677 – unknown, John 1678 – unknown, James 1679 – unknown, John 1681 – 1746, Richard 1683 – unknown Robert Lanier Daniel, born 1718 Chowan, North Carolina – died 17 Sept 1786 Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Daniel – Mother Elizabeth Lanier, Married Mary Swain, Children: Elizabeth 1740 – unknown, James D 1740 – 1781, Simon 1740 – 1830, William 1740 –1832, George 1755 – 1840, Rhoda 1755 – unknown • Married Susan Susan Wilson (1720(1720-unknown), Children: Lanier 1765 – 1840, George

386

Robert Lanier, born 22 May 1642 East Greenwich, England – died 20 Sept 1744 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Clement Lanier 15801580-1661 - Mother Hanna Rebecca Collett 16051605-1653, Married Priscilla Priscilla Washington (1699(16991653), Children: Thomas 1730 – 1797, Priscilla 1739 – unknown • Married Rebecca Lnu (1645(1645-1730) 1660, Children: Mary unknown, Clement 1678 – 1715, Robert 1679 – unknown, Lemuel 1680 – 1762 • Sarah Barker 1695, Children: Jean 1696 – 1735, 1735, Elizabeth 1698 – 1752, Sarah 1700 – unknown, Annanazah Christana 1702 – 1703, Grance 1704 – 1744, Samariah 1707 – unknown, John Robert 1723 – 1793, William 1723 – 1789 Elizabeth Lanier, born 1698 Prince George, Surry, Virginia – died 9 Jun 1752 Tyrell, Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father Robert Lanier – Mother Sarah Barker, Married Thomas Daniel 1716, Children: Robert Lanier 1718 – 1786, Thomas 1720 – unknown, John 1722 – unknown, Josiah 1726 – 1803, Elizabeth 1730 – 1772, Sarah 1730 – unknown, William 1732 1732 – 1797, Mary 1734 – 1790, Ruth 1735 – unknown, Priscilla 1737 – unknown, Aaron 1739 – 1790 Sarah Barker, born 1680 Chippokee Creek, Surry, Virginia – 1728 Surry, Virginia, Parents: Father John Barker 16521652-1713 – Mother Grace Busby 16521652-1713, Married Robert Robert Lanier 1695, Children: Jean 1696 – 1735, Elizabeth 1698 – 1752, Sarah 1700 – unknown, Annanazah Christana 1702 – 1703, Grance 1704 – 1744, Samariah 1707 – unknown, John Robert 1723 – 1793, William 1723 – 1789 James Daniel, born 1740 Edgecomb, Duplin, North Carolina – died 1781 unknown, Parents: Father Robert Lanier Daniel – Mother Mary Swain, Married Hannah Robason, Children: Robert Chesley 17651765-1830, Lydia Minerva 1778 – 1856 Stephen Swain, born 21 Nov 1666 Natucket, Massachusetts – died 24 Jan 1713 Chowan, North Carolina, Parents: John Swain 1638 – 1708 – Mother 1636 – 1714, Married Patience Stiball 1688, Children: John 1690 – 1749, Sarah 1690 – 1737, Richard 1694 – unknown, Ann 1695 – unknown, unknown, James 1695 – 1763, Patience 1700 – 1743, Mary 1708 – 1738 James Swain, born 1695 Chowan, North Carolina – died 1763 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father Stephen Swain – Mother Patience Parris, Married Elizabeth Smithwick, Smithwick, Children: Ann 1726 – unknown, Elizabeth 1730 – unknown, James Jr. 387

1747 - unknown, Mary 1742 - 1786, Sarah 1728 – unknown, William 1731 – 1801, Hannah 1742 – 1800, Patience 1743 – 1744, John 1745 – 1779, Susanna 1749 – 1750 Patience Stiball Parris, born 1670 Nantucket, Massachusetts – died 3 Feb 1727, Parents: Father Richard Stiball 16441644-1696 – Mother Hannah unknown, Married Stephen Swain 1688, Children: John 1690 – 1749, Sarah 1690 – 1737, Richard 1694 – unknown, Ann 1695 – unknown, James 1695 – 1763, Patience 1700 – 1743, Mary 1708 – 1738 Mary Swain, born 1720 Martin, North Carolina – died unknown, Parents: Father James Swain – Mother Elizabeth Southwick, Married Robert Lanier Daniel, Children: E Elizabeth lizabeth 1740 – unknown, James D 1740 – 1781, Simon 1740 – 1830, William 1740 –1832, George 1755 – 1840, Rhoda 1755 – unknown John Southwick, born 1685 – died 1761, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Sarah Moore, Children: Elizabeth 1698 - 1777 Elizabeth Southwick, born 1698 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, - died 1777 1685--1761 – Mother Sarah Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Southwick 1685 Moore unknown, Children: Ann 1726 – unknown, Elizabeth 1730 – unknown, James Jr. 1747 - unknown, unknown, Mary 1742 - 1786, Sarah 1728 – unknown, William 1731 – 1801, Hannah 1742 – 1800, Patience 1743 – 1744, John 1745 – 1779, Susanna 1749 – 1750 Sarah Moore, born 1719 – died 1797, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John Smithwick, Childern: Childern: Elizabeth 1698 - 1777 Lydia Minerva Daniel, born 1778 Martin, North Carolina – died Sept 1856 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father James Daniel – Mother Hannah Robason, Married William W. Cherry 1795, Children: Amillissa Amillissa 1795 – 1813, Humphrey 1795 – 1848, Lovey Carey 1796 – 1879, Merina 1801 – 1825, Daniel B 1803 – 1859, Marianna C 1803 – 1804, Nehemiah 1806 – 1823, Henry E 1809 – 1889, William Henry 1809 – 1859, Lucinda Sinderella F 1810 – 1876, William Henery 1810 – 1860, James Monroe 1815 – 1850, Arreta Armetha 1818 – 1877, Albert 1820 – 1837 William Robason, born unknown

388

Hannah Robason, born 1740 unknown – died 1781 unknown, Parents: Father William Robason – Robert rt Chesley 1765Mother unknown, Married James Daniel, Children: Robe 1765-1830, Lydia Minerva 1778 – 1856 Mother of Hannah Robason unknown Avarilla Cherry Mar 1838 Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee – died 12 Jun 1921 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents Father Daniel B. Cherry – Mother Margaret Rebecca Stancil, Stancil, Married William Carrol Melton 1873, Children: Ida 1872 – unknown, Florance 1875 – unknown, Alma 1877 – unknown, Wilson G. 1881 – unknown • Married Wilson C. Wallace 1853, Children: Mary Edward 1856 – 1925, Rebecca Susan 1859 – 1936, Virginia 1863 – unknown, unknown, Walter Lafayette 1865 – 1899, Ida Mae 1871 – 1962 Father of John Stansell unknown John Stansell, born 1662 England – died 1713 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Katherine Hardy 1697, Children: Willaim 1697 – 1767, 1767, John 1700 – 1750, Peter 1700 – 1737 Mother of John Stansell unknown John Stancill II, born 1700 Virginia – died 1750 North Carolina, Parents: John Stancill – 1720, 20, Children: Mary 1725 – Mother Katherine Hardy, Married Sarah Godfrey Smithwick 17 1750, Rebecca 1725 – 1750, Elizabeth 1729 – 1783, John 1730 – 1795, Godfrey 1732 – 1799, Sarah 1735 – 1799 George Hardy, born 1633 Bedford, Bedfordsire, England – died 1693 Isle of Wright, Virginia, Parents: Father John Hardy 16131613-1670 – Mother Oliver Council 16151615-1675, Married Mary Jackson 1660, Children: George 1661 – 1694, Susah 1661 – unknown, Mary 1665 – 1694, Sarah 1666 – 1711, Richard 1669 – 1756, Thomas 1670 – 1711, Margaret 1672 – unknown, Sarah Anne 1674 – 1748, Katherine 1697 – 1719, Thomas 1770 – unknown Katherine Hardy, born 1670 England – died 16 Mar 1719 Chowan, North Carolina, Parents: Father George Hardy 16331633-1693 – Mother Mary Jackson 16401640-1693, Married John Stancill 1697, Children: Willaim Willaim 1697 – 1767, John 1700 – 1750, Peter 1700 – 1737 389

Mary Jackson, born 1640 Isle, Virgninia – died 1693Isle, Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Jackosn 16101610-1666 – Mother Mary Bennett 16271627-1700, Married George Hardy 1660, Children: George 1661 – 1694, Susah Susah 1661 – unknown, Mary 1665 – 1694, Sarah 1666 – 1711, Richard 1669 – 1756, Thomas 1670 – 1711, Margaret 1672 – unknown, Sarah Anne 1674 – 1748, Katherine 1697 – 1719, Thomas 1770 - unknown (Claxton) Godfrey Stancill, Stancill, born 1732 Chowan, Bertie, North Carolina – died 1789 Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Stancill – Mother Sarah Godfrey Smithwick, Married Sarah Nobles 1765, Children: Nathaniel 1759 – 1822, Clara Ann 1761 – 1821, John 1775 – 1844, Godfrey 1776 1776 – 1850, Noble 17781778- 1850, William 1782, Jesse 1785 – 1852 Edward Smithwick, born 1649 Upper, Norfolk, Virginia – 16 Oct 1716 Edenton, Chowan, North Carolina, Parents: Father Hugh Smithwick 162016201708 – Mother Elizabeth Windley 16271627-1694, Married Africa McGregory, McGregory, Children Susannah 1668 – 1710, Edward 1675 – 1719, Samuel 1676 – 1787, John 1685 – 1761, Samuel 1689 – 1787, Elizabeth 1696 – 1751 • Married Sarah Woolard Gilliam (1651(1651-1709) • Married Elizabeth Lydia Shearing (1647(1647-1690) Edward Edmonson Smithwick, Smithwick, born 1675 Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina – died 1716 Edenton, Chowan, North Carolina, Parents: Father Edward Smithwick – Mother Sarah Philpot Woolard Gilliam, Married Sarah Godfrey 1698, Children: Sarah Godfrey 1700 – 1776 Africa McGregory, born 1651 North Carolina – died 1703 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Edward Smithwick, Children: Susannah 1668 – 1710, Edward 1675 – 1719, Samuel 1676 – 1787, John 1685 – 1761, Samuel 1689 – 1787, Elizabeth 1696 – 1751 Sarah Godfrey Smithwick, born 1700 Mattacomack Creek, Chowan, North Carolina – died 1756 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father Edward Edmonson Smithwick – Mother Sarah Godfrey, Married John Stancill II 1720, Children: Mary 1725 – 1750, Rebecca 1725 – 1750, Elizabeth 1729 – 1783, John 1730 – 1795, Godfrey 1732 – 1799, Sarah 1735 – 1799

390

William Godfrey, born 1650 unknown – died 1716 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Sarah unknown, Children: Sarah 1680 - 1709 Sarah Godfrey, born 1680 Martin, North Carolina – died 2 Jul 1709 Albemarle, Tyrrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Godfrey – Mother unknown, 1700 00 – 1776 Married Edward Edmonson Smithwick 1698, Children: Sarah Godfrey 17 Mother of Sarah Godfrey unknown John Stancill, born around 1775 Pitt, North Carolina – died 3 Jun 1844 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Godfrey Stancil – Mother Sarah Nobles, Married Lydia (Liddy) Cherry 1800, Children: Children: Mark R. G. unknown, George Washington 17951795-1801, Tabitha 1795 – 1801, Nathan 1798 – 1799, Rebecca Berthina 1800 – 1817, Godfrey W. 1800 – 1850, John 1800 – 1843, Margaret Rebecca 1803 – 1865, Martin Luther 1807 – 1855, John C. 1810 – 1811, Achziah 1818 – unknown, Maniza 1818 – 1850, George Washington 1821 – unknown Isaac Nobles, born 1640 Somerset, Maryland – died 1723 Somerset, Maryland, Parents: Father Isaac Noble 16151615-unknown – Mother Margaret unknown, Married Mary Robinson 1676, Children: Mary 1676 – 1723, Isaac 1678 – 1680, Isaac 1680 – 1732, John 1681 – 1683, John 1683 – 1725, Mary 1685 – 1686, William 1688 – 1725 William Nobles, born 22 Mar 1688 Wicomico, Somerset, Maryland – die 1764 Wicomico, Somerset, Maryland, Parents: Parents: Father Isaac Nobles – Mother Mary Robinson 16551655-unknown, Married Elizabeth Bentson Genell, Children: John 1715 – 1773 Mary Robinson, born 1655 Maryland – died 1691 Maryland, Parents: Father William Robinson 16041604-1658 – Mother unknown Jones, Married Isaac Isaac Nobles 1676, Children: Mary 1676 – 1723, Isaac 1678 – 1680, Isaac 1680 – 1732, John 1681 – 1683, John 1683 – 1725, Mary 1685 – 1686, William 1688 – 1725 John Nobles, born 1715 North Carolina – died 1773 Pitt, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Nobles Nobles – Mother Elizabeth Bentson Genell, Married Elizabeth Ward 1740, Children: Nathaniel 1740 – 1803, Sarah 1740 – 1810, William 1740 – 1822, Elizabeth 1742 – unknown 391

Father of Elizabeth Bentson Genell unknown Elisabeth Bentson Genell, born 1688 unknown unknown – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Nobles, Children: John 1715 – 1773 Mother of Elizabeth Bentson Genell unknown Sarah Nobles, born 1740 Pitt County, North Carolina -1810 Pitt County, County, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Nobles – Mother Elizabeth Ward, Married Godfrey Stancill 1765, Children: Nathaniel 1759 – 1822, Clara Ann 1761 – 1821, John 1775 – 1844, Godfrey 1776 – 1850, Noble 17781778- 1850, William 1782, Jesse 1785 – 1852 Richard Richard Ward, born 1663 Sheffield, Henrico, Virginia – died 7 Jun 1724 Henrico, Virginia, Parents: Richard Ward 16361636-1682 – Mother Elizabeth Blackman 16401640-1721, Married Martha Branch 1685, Children: Richard 1685 – 1781, Edward 1690 – 1667, John 1690 – 1750, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1691 – 1697, Seth 1693 – unknown • Married Elizabeth Sarah Blackman (1675(1675-1721) 1696, Children: Blackman 1702 – 1786, Lizabeth Liddy Anne 1706 - 1751 John Ward, born 1690 Norfolk, Virginia – died 14 May 1750 Flat Swamp, Tyrell, Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Ward – Mother Martha Branch, Married Elizabeth Murray 1720, Children: Dorcas unknown, William unknown, Michael 1730 – 1764, Elizabeth 1715 - 1749, Phereba 1734 – 1810, David 1735 – unknown, Richard 1737 – 1805.

1805. John James 1740 – 1797 Martha Branch, born 1663 Henrico, Virginia – died Henrico, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Branch 16231623-1695 – Mother Elizabeht Gough 162716271697, Married Richard Ward 1685 1685, Children: Richard 1685 – 1781, Edward 1690 – 1667, John John 1690 – 1750, Elizabeth 1691 – 1697, Seth 1693 – unknown Elizabeth Ward, born 1715 Tyrell, North Carolina – died 1749 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Ward – Mother Elizabeth Murray, Married John Nobles 1740, Children: Nathaniel 1740 – 1803, Sarah 1740 – 1810, William 1740 – 1822, Elizabeth 1742 – unknown James Murray, born 1690 Suffolf, New Kent, Virginia, died 1768 Duplin, North Carolina, Parents: David Murray 16511651-1691 – Mother, Married Married 392

Elizabeth Edwards 1712, Children: Elizabeth 1714 – 1790, James 1717 – 1797, David 1722 – 1798, Mary 1725 – 1795, Jesse 1728 – 1805, Daniel 1732 – 1809, Jonathan 1735 - 1810 Elizabeth Murray, 1690 Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia – died 1755 Tyrell, North Carolina, Parents: Father James Murray – Mother Elizabeth Edwards, Married John Ward 1720, Children: Dorcas unknown, William unknown, Michael 1730 – 1764, Elizabeth 1715 – 1749, Phereba Phereba 1734 – 1810, David 1735 – Richard 1737 – 1805, John – unknown, James 1740 – 1797 Elizabeth Edwards, born unknown – died 1696 Virginia, Parents: John Edwards 16451645-unknown – Mother Elizabeth unknown 16761676-unknown, Married James Murray 1712, Children: Elizabeth Elizabeth 1714 – 1790, James 1717 – 1797, David 1722 – 1798, Mary 1725 – 1795, Jesse 1728 – 1805, Daniel 1732 – 1809, Jonathan 1735 - 1810 Margaret Rebecca Stancill, born 1803 North Carolina – died Jun 1865 Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father John John Stancill – Mother Lydia “Liddy” Cherry, Married Daniel B Cherry 1820, Children: Minerva 1821 -1891, Elizabeth 1822 – 1890, Harriett Elvira 1826 – 1866, Daniel B 1827 – 1855, Augustus G 1830 – 1862, Lydia A 1831 – 1904, Amanda Susan 1833 – 1913, Yeatman Whitman 1834 – 1920, Caroline 1836 – 1850, Polly Mary 1840 – 1841, George Washington 1843 – 1913, Avarila 1844 – 1921 John Cherry, born 1641 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1699 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: John Cherry 16191619-1699 – Mother Elizabeth Faithful 16251625-1654, Married Rebecca maund 1662, Children: Elizabeth 1663 – 1669, Patience 1663 – 1669, Samuel Maund 1663 – 1734, Rebecca 1666 – 1698, John 1670 – 1748, Faithful 1674 – 1728, Patience 1678 – 1772, William 1678 – 1737, Solomon 1681 – 1750, Elizabeth 1684 – unknown, Faithful 1689 - 1727, Samuel 1691 – 1734, James 1695 – unknown Samule Maund Cherry II, born 1663 Norfolk, Virginia – died 16 May 1734 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father John Cherry – Mother Rebecca Maund 16471647-1687, Married Frances Ballentine 1684, Children: Dunson 1684 – 1690, Samuel II Lemuel 1685 – 1754, Aaron 1687 – 1788, Mary Courtney 1690 -1733, Patience 1690 – unknown, Frances Cherry 1695 – 1754, Dunson 1694 – 1760 Rebecca Maund, born 1647 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1687 Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father Maund 16251625-unknown – Mother Elizabeth unknown 16251625393

unknown, Married John Cherry 1662, Children: Elizabeth 1663 – 1669, Patience 1663 – 1669, Samuel Maund 1663 – 1734, Rebecca 1666 – 1698, John 1670 – 1748, Faithful Faithful 1674 – 1728, Patience 1678 – 1772, William 1678 – 1737, Solomon 1681 – 1750, Elizabeth 1684 – unknown, Faithful 1689 - 1727, Samuel 1691 – 1734, James 1695 – unknown Samuel Maund Cherry II, born 1685 Norfolk, Virginia – Sept Sept 1754 Carolinas, Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Father Samuel Maund Cherry – Mother Frances Ballentine, Married Mary Courtney, Children: William 1709 – unknown, Rebekah 1722 – 1790, Mary 1724 – unknown, John 1724 – 1766 • Married Gatsey Ann Llewellyn (1689(1689-1754) 1736, Children: Charles 1732 – 1850, Elizabeth 1734 – unknown, Samule 1735 – 1815, Lemuel 1736 – 1820, Solomon 1736 – 1808, Abigail 1739 – 1754, Cader 1741 – 1811, George 1743 – unknown, Patience 1747 – 1800, Willis 1748 – 1801 George Ballentine, Ballentine, born 1635 England – died 1702 Norfolk County, Virginia, Parents: Father George Sr Ballentine 16151615-1702 – Mother Frances Nash 16191619-unknown, Married Frances Yates 1662, Children: Dorothy 1662 – 1711, George II 1663 – 1733, Frances 1664 – 1720, Mary 1665 1665 – 1734, David 1668 – 1753, Daniel 1676 – 1753, William 1680 – unknown, Thomas 1680 – unknown, John 1684 – 1734, Alexander 1684 – 1715, Richard 1684 – 1734 Frances Ballentine, born 1665 Norfolk, Virginia – died May 1734 Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father George Ballentine – Mother Frances Yates, Married Samuel Cherry 1684. Children: Dunson 1684 – 1690, Samuel II Lemuel 1685 – 1754, Aaron 1687 – 1788, Mary Courtney 1690 -1733, Patience 1690 – unknown, Frances Cherry 1695 – 1754, Dunson 1694 – 1760 Fances Yates, born 1635 Norfolk, Virginia – died 1702 Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Virginia, Parents: Father John Heath 15901590-1648 – Mother unknownunknown-Yates 16151615-1664, Married George Ballentine 1662, Children: Dorothy 1662 – 1711, George II 1663 1663 – 1733, Frances 1664 – 1720, Mary 1665 – 1734, David 1668 – 1753, Daniel 1676 – 1753, William 1680 – unknown, Thomas 1680 – unknown, John 1684 – 1734, Alexander 1684 – 1715, Richard 1684 – 1734 Solomon Cherry, born 20 Oct 1736 Beaufort, North Carolina – died 29 Oct 1808 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father Samuel Maund Cherry – Mother Gatsey Ann Llewellyn, Married Sophia 394

Stanton 1764, Children: William B 1762 – 1828, Willis T. 1764 – 1820, Martha 1770 – unknown, Lydia 1777 – 1844, Susannah 1770 – unknown, Elizabeth 1780 – unknown, Dorcas 1793 – unknown • Married Clara “Clay” Council (1771(1771-1842) 1800, Children: Sarah 1803 – 1880, Tabitha 1804 – unknown, Samuel 1807 – unknown, David 1809 – 1833 David Llewellyn, born 1604 Chelmsford, Essex, England – died died 1666 Charles City, Charles, Virginia, Parents: Father John Lewellyn 17751775-unknown – Mother Carole Larson 17751775-1630, Married Mary Ann Matthews 1640, Children: Martha 1610 – 1690, Daniel 1616 – 1672, Margaret 1620 – 1718, Thomas 1620 – unknown • Married Ann Price Hallom, Children: George 1635 – 1733, Martha 1643 – 1677, Daniel 1647 – 1712, Margaret 1648 - unknown George Llewellyn, born 1635 unknown – died 1733 Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Daniel Llewellyn – Mother Ann Price Price Hallom 1604 – 1690, Married unknown, Children: Gatsey Ann 1689 – 1754 Ann Price Hallom, born 1604 England – die 1690 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Robert Hallom (1599(1599-1638) 1637 • Married Daniel Llewellyn 1640, Children: Children: George 1635 – 1733, Martha 1643 – 1677, Daniel 1647 – 1712, Margaret 1648 unknown Gatsey Ann Llewellyn, born 1689 North Carolina – died Sept 1754 Beaufort, North Carolina, Parents: Father George Llewellyn – Mother unknown, Married Lemuel Samuel Cherry 1736, Children: Charles 1732 – 1850, Elizabeth 1734 – unknown, Samule 1735 – 1815, Lemuel 1736 – 1820, Solomon 1736 – 1808, Abigail 1739 – 1754, Cader 1741 – 1811, George 1743 – unknown, Patience 1747 – 1800, Willis 1748 – 1801 Mother of Gatsey Ann Llewellyn Llewellyn unknown Lydia “Liddy” Cherry, born 1777 Pitt, North Carolina – died 5 Jun 1844 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents Father Solomon Cherry – Mother Sophia Stanton, Married Jon Stancill 1800, Children: Mark R. G. unknown, George Washington 17951795-1801, Tabitha 1795 – 1801, Nathan 1798 – 1799, Rebecca Berthina 1800 – 1817, Godfrey W. 1800 – 1850, John 1800 – 1843, Margaret Rebecca 1803 – 1865, Martin 395

Luther 1807 – 1855, John C. 1810 – 1811, Achziah 1818 – unknown, Maniza Maniza 1818 – 1850, George Washington 1821 – unknown Father of Sophia Stanton unknown Sophia Stanton, born 1746 North Carolina – died 1818 Edgecombe, North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Solomon Cherry 1779, Children: William B 1762 – 1828, Willis T. 1764 – 1820, Martha 1770 – unknown, Lydia 1777 – 1844, Susannah 1770 – unknown, Elizabeth 1780 – unknown, Dorcas 1793 – unknown Mother of Sophia Stanton unknown Margaret Frances Melton, born 20 May 1926 Trigg County, Kentucky – died 2 Nov 2011 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father Wilson Garfield Melton – Mother Callie Lee Lovell, Married James Thomas Wallace, Children: Joan 6 Aug 1948, Judy Gail 28 Jul 1952, Phyllis Kay 5 Oct 1954, Danny 23 Jan 1958 Robert Lovell, born 2 Jun Jun 1640 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1 Jun 1710 1633--1706 – Mother Westmoreland Virginia, Parents: Father James Lovell 1633 Jane Hatche 16421642-1697, Married Eleanor Pratt (1600(1600-unknown), Children: none listed • Married Elinor Benoit 1660, Children: John 1670 – unknown, unknown, Mary 1670 -1703, Xy 1670 – 1703, Robert 1674 – 1726 Robert Lovell, born Sept 1674 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 15 Jan 1725 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Lovell – Mother Elinor Benoit, Married Elizabeth Pratt Pratt 1699, Children: John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Elizabeth 1701 – 1770, Robert 1701 – 1770, Daniel 1706 – 1735, James 1703 – 1769, Ursula 1708 – 1733 Elinor Benoit, born 1 Jun 1645 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1 Jun 1715 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents:Father Parents:Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Robert Lovell 1660, Children: John 1670 – unknown, Mary 1670 1703, Xy 1670 – 1703, Robert 1674 – 1726 James Lovell, born 1703 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1762 Halifax, North Carolina, Parents: Father Robert Lovell – Mother Ursula Nicholas, Married Jane Tyler 1720, Children: James 1722 – 1793, Elizabeth 1725 – 1800, Jane 1728 – 1803, Malachi 1731 – 1805, Ann 1735 – 1810, William 1741 – 1803, James 1770 1770 – 1835 396

Ursula Nicholas Father unknonw Ursula Nicholas 1 Jun 1676 Westmoreland, Virginia – 1 Jun 1720 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Robert Lovell 1699, Children: John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Elizabeth Elizabeth 1701 – 1770, Robert 1701 – 1770, Daniel 1706 – 1735, James 1703 – 1769, Ursula 1708 – 1733 Ursula Nicholas Mother unknown William Lovell, born 9 Mar 1740 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 20 Jan 1803 Veteran, Chemung, New York, Parents: Father James Lovell – Mother Jane Tyler, Married Mary Harrison 1765, Children: William 1766 – 1840, Hannah Footman Harrison 1770 – 1837, James 1772 – 1847, William 1773 1840, John Monroe 1777 – 1856, Mary Polly 1780 – 1844 Charles Tyler, born 1667 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 26 Feb 1722 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father John Tyler 16631663-1745 – Mother Mary Gradner 16721672-1730, Married Jane Tyler 1700, Children: John 1700 – unknown, Monroe 1700 – unknown, Benjamin 1710 – unknown, William 1714 – 1837, Charles 1715 - 1767 Joseph Tyler, born 1685 Maryland – died 1737 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Charles Tyler – Mother Jane unknown, Married unknown, Children: Jane 17051705-1770 Jane unknown, born 1660 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1732 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Charles Tyler 1700, Children: John 1700 – unknown, Monroe 1700 – unknown, Benjamin 1710 – unknown, William 1714 – 1837, Charles 1715 1767 Jane Tyler, born 1705 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1770 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Tyler – Mother unknown, Married James Lovell 1720, Children: James 1722 – 1793, Elizabeth 1725 – 1800, Jane 1728 – 1803, Malachi 1731 – 1805, Ann 1735 – 1810, William 1741 – 1803, James 1770 - 1835 David C. Lovell, born 23 Feb 1772 Halifax, North Carolina – died 28 Sept 1847 Little River, Horry, South Carolina, Parents: Father William William Lovell – Mother Mary Harrison, Married Catherine Harper 1800, Children: 397

George W. 1812 – unknown, Napolean Bonaparte 1813 – unknown, Eliza Wayne 1814 – 1878, Bethiah 1816 – unknown, Susan L 1820 – unknown, Patsy M. 1825 – unknown, Tennessee 1829 – unknown, unknown, Loch W. 1831 – unknown, David C 1834 – 1912 Andrew Harrison, born 1630 Old, Rappahannock, Virginia – died 1686 Old, Rappahannock, Virginia, Parents: Father James Harrison – Mother unknown, Married Thomasin Raine 16501650-unknown, Children: Eleanor Long unknown, unknown, John 1652 – unknown, Thomas 1660 – unknown • Married Thomasin Whitehead 1671, Children: Robert 1674 – 1720, Anne 1679 – 1739, William 1681 – 1727, John 1683 – 1783, Andrew 1686 – 1727, Ann 1717 – 1748 Andrew Harrison, born 1686 Westmoreland, Westmoreland, Virginia – died 11 Nov 1727 Kings George, Virginia, Parents: Father Andrew Harrison – Thomasine Whitehead, Married Mary Lovell 1718, Children: Ann 1717 – 1748, Joseph 1707 – 1788, Lovell 1719 1760, Alexander 1715 – unknown, Lucy 1720 – unknown, Andrew 1802 – unknown Thomasine Whitehead, born 1650 Old, Rappahannock, Virginia –died 1750 Virginia, Parents: Father Richard Whitehead 16391639-1701 – Mother Thomasine Harrison 1620 -1700, Married Andrew Harrison 1671, Children: Robert 1674 – 1720, Anne 1679 1679 – 1739, William 1681 – 1727, John 1683 – 1783, Andrew 1686 – 1727, Ann 1717 – 1748 Lovell Harrison, born 1719 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1760 Cople, Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Andrew Harrison – Mother Mary Lovell, Married Hannah Hannah Footman 1750, Children: Andrew unknown, Ann unknown, Anthony Alexander 1763 – 1842, Mary 1741 – 1794, Joseph 1755 -1788, George 1762 – 1834, Hannah 1765 – 1808, Lovell 1773 – 1815 • Married Margaret Peggy Richardson (unknown(unknown-1788) 1750 Robert Lovell, born 2 Jun 1674 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 23 Feb 1726 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Lovell 16401640-1710 – Mother Elinor Benoit 16451645-1715, Married Elizabeth Pratt (1676(1676-1692) 1690 • Married Ursula Nicholas 1699, Children:Elizabeth 1692 – 1765, 1765, Mary 1695 – 1769, John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Robert 1701 – 1769, Daniel 1706 – 1735, Ursula 1708 - 1733 398

Mary Lovell, born 1699 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 18 Jul 1741 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Robert Lovell – Mother Ursula Nicholas, Married Andrew Harrison 1718, Children: Ann 1717 – 1748, Joseph 1707 – 1788, Lovell 1719 - 1760, Alexander 1715 – unknown, Lucy 1720 – unknown, Andrew 1802 – unknown Virginiaa – died 1 Jun 1720 Ursula Nicholas, born 1 Jun 1676 Westmoreland, Virgini Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Robert Lovell 1699, Children: Elizabeth 1692 – 1765, Mary 1695 – 1769, John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Robert 1701 – 1769, Daniel 1706 – 1735, Ursula 1708 - 1733 1733 Mary Harrison, born 15 Aug 1741 Westmoreland, Virginia – 20 Jan 1794 Halifax, North Carolina, Parents: Father Lovell Harrison – Mother Hannah Footman, Married William Lovell 1765, Children: William William 1766 – 1840, Hannah Footman Harrison 1770 – 1837, James 1772 – 1847, William 1773 1840, John Monroe 1777 – 1856, Mary Polly 1780 – 1844 John Footman, born 1660 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 2 Jul 1694 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Jane West, Children: John 1685 – 1739 John Footman, born 1685 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 17 Nov 1739 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father John Footman – Mother Jane West, Married Ann Sorrell Sorrell 1703, Children: Hannah 1718 – 1793 • Married Elizabeth Wilder (1691(1691-1744) 1727 Jane West, born 1661 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia – died 1697 Virginia, Parents: Col John West 16321632-1689 – Mother Ursula Unity Croshaw 163616361689, Married John Footman, Children: Children: John 1685 - 1739 Hannah Footman, born 1718 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia – died 1793 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father John Footman – Mother Ann Sorrell, Married Lovell Harrison 1750, Children: Andrew unknown, unknown, Ann unknown, Anthony Alexander 1763 – 1842, Mary 1741 – 1794, Joseph 1755 -1788, George 1762 – 1834, Hannah 1765 – 1808, Lovell 1773 – 1815

399

Henry Henry Sorrell, born 1665 England – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Marred Anne Covell, Covell, Children: Ann 1688 – 1725 Ann Sorrell, born 1688 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia – died 1725 unknown, Parents: Father Henery Sorrell – Mother Anne Covell, Married John Footman 1703, Children: Hannah 1718 – 1793 • Married John Sorrell 1716 Anne Covell, born born 1665 England – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henery Sorrell, Children: Ann 1688 - 1725 David C. Lovell, born 18 Nov 1834 Davidson County, Tennessee – died 14 Apr 1912 1912 Lyon County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James P Lovell – Mother Martha Parson Chamblis, Married Mary Ann Gamble 1855, Children: John E 1860 – unknown. Ann Eliza 1863 – 1923, Ella Travis 1866 – unknown, Ellen 1867 – unknown, Lydia Joanna 1870 – 1946, George George 1872 – unknown, Mary Katherine 1874 – 1945, David 1877 - 1947 Henry Chamblis, born 1660 Prence George, Virgina – died 1719 Prince George, Virginia, Parents: Father John Chambliss 16301630-1670 – Mother Ann unknown 16351635-unknown, Married Mary Tatum 16381638-unknown unknown • Married Mary Moore 1689, Children: John 1690 – 1775, Ann 1692 – 1739, Nathaniel 1694 – unknown, Elizabeth 1698 – 1765, Henry 1704 – 1784, William 1704 – 1759, Mary 1706 – unknown, Jacob 1712 – unknown, Ann 1719 - unknown John Chambliss, born 1689 Charles City, Virginia - died Oct 1775 Brunswick, Virginia, Parents: Father Henry Chambliss – Mother Mary Moore, Married Elizabeth Taylor 1723, Children: Elizabeth 1721 – 1726, John 1728 – 1777, Christopher 1730 – 1775, William Charles 1732 – 1802, Henry 1734 – 1795, Martha 1736 – 1782, James Taylor 1744 – 1809, Christopher 1746 – 1840, John 1746 – 1777, Frances 1748 – 1749, Peter 1755 – 1820, John Edward 1763 – 1831, Mary 1764 – 1784 Mary Moore, born 1664 Prince George, Virginia Virginia – died 1734 Prince George, Virginia, Parents: Father John Moore 16401640-1734 – Mother Catherine 16441644unknown, Married Henery Chambliss 1689, Children: John 1690 – 1775, Ann 1692 – 1739, Nathaniel 1694 – unknown, Elizabeth 1698 – 1765, Henry 400

1704 – 1784, William William 1704 – 1759, Mary 1706 – unknown, Jacob 1712 – unknown, Ann 1719 - unknown Henry Chambliss, born 30 Aug 1734 Prince George, Virginia – died 13 Sept 1795 Greenville, Augusta, Virginia, Parents: Father Father John Chambliss – Mother Elizabeth Taylor, Married Jean Belwig Belling 1758, Children: Thomas Charles 1759 – 1778, William 1761 – 1826, David Allen 1762 – 1793, Mary Polly 1763 – unknown, Bolling 1765 – 1822, Allen 1766 – 1801, Henry 1768 – 1857, Angnes Angnes 1769 -1803, James 1771 – 1841, Jesse 1774 – 1841, Rebecca 1774 – unknown, John 1778 1832, Jean 1780 – 1810, Sarah Elizabeth Sally 1782 – 1850, Frances 1785 – 1810, Elizabeth Martha 1788 – 1845, Patsey 1790 – 1793, Priscilla 1791 – unknown Thomas Taylor, Taylor, born 1670 Wicomico Parish, Northumberland, Virginia – died 17 Feb 1716 Southwark Parish, Surry, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Taylor 16531653-1707 – Mother Ann unknown 16571657-unknown, Married Elizabeth Jones 1704, Children: Elizabeth Betty 1707 – 1747, Thomas 1718 1773 Elizabeth Taylor 11 Nov 1707 Prince George, Virginia -1747 Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father Thomas Taylor – Mother Elizabeth Jones, Married John Chambliss 1723, Children: Elizabeth 1721 – 1726, John 1728 – 1777, Christopher 1730 – 1775, 1775, William Charles 1732 – 1802, Henry 1734 – 1795, Martha 1736 – 1782, James Taylor 1744 – 1809, Christopher 1746 – 1840, John 1746 – 1777, Frances 1748 – 1749, Peter 1755 – 1820, John Edward 1763 – 1831, Mary 1764 – 1784 Elizabeth Jones, born 1670 Charles Charles City, Virginia – died 19 Oct 1736 1640--1719 – Southwark, Surry, North Carolina, Parents: Father James Jones 1640 Mother Rebecca Lewis 16501650-1725, Married Thomas Taylor 1704, Children: Elizabeth Betty 1707 – 1747, Thomas 1718 - 1773 David Allen Chambliss, born 14 Mar 1762 Brunswick, Virginia – died Aug 1794 Davidson, Tennessee, Parents: Father Henry Chambliss – Mother Jean Belwig Belling, Married Catherine Harper 1790, Children: Martha Parson “Patsy” 1791 - 1855 Jean Boling (Belling), born 1738 Prince George, Virginia – died 16 Apr 1773 Greenville, Virginia, Parents: Father George Boling (Belling) 1825 – unknown – Mother Ann unknown 18521852-unknown, Married henry Chambliss 1758, Children: Children: Thomas Charles 1759 – 1778, William 1761 – 1826, David Allen 1762 – 1793, Mary Polly 1763 – unknown, Bolling 1765 – 1822, Allen 1766 – 1801, Henry 1768 – 1857, Angnes 1769 -1803, James 1771 – 1841, Jesse 401

1774 – 1841, Rebecca 1774 – unknown, John 1778 1832, Jean 1780 – 1810, Sarah Elizabeth Sally 1782 – 1850, Frances 1785 – 1810, Elizabeth Martha 1788 – 1845, Patsey 1790 – 1793, Priscilla 1791 – unknown Martha Parson Chambliss, born 1791 Halifax, North Carolina – died 1855 1855 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father David Allen Chambliss – Mother Catherine Harper, Married 1845, Children: George W. 1812 – unknown, Napolean Bonaparte 1813 – unknown, Eliza Wayne 1814 – 1878, Bethiah 1816 – unknown, Susan L 1820 – unknown, Patsy Patsy M. 1825 – unknown, Tennessee 1829 – unknown, Loch W. 1831 – unknown, David C 1834 – 1912 Father of Catherine unknown Catherine Harper, born 14 Mar 1762 Brunswick, Virginia – died 1811 Davidson County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, unknown, Married David Allen Chambliss 1790, Children: Martha Parson “Patsy” 1791 – 1855 • Married James Lovell (1772(1772-1847) 1799, Children: William 1800 – 1840, Polly 1802 – 1831 Mother of Catherine unknown James E. Lovell, born 1860 Tennessee – died 1910, Parents: Father David C. Lovell – Mother Mary Ann Gamble, Married Sarah C. Miles 1887, Children: Callie Lee 1888 – 1951, John F. 1894 – unknown, James Willie 1900 - unknown Father Edmond Gamble unknown Edmond Gamble, born 1798 Virginia – died unknown, unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Jemima unknown, Children: Catherine 1828 – unknown, Malinda 1831 – unknown, Mary Ann 1833 – 1867, James M. 1838 – unknown, Martha J. 1842 – unknown, Susan F. 1849 – unknown Mother Edmond Gamble unknown unknown Mary Ann Gamble, born 1833 Tennessee – died 1867, Parents: Edmond Gamble – Mother Jemima unknown 1806, Married David C Lovell 1855, Children: John E 1860 – unknown. Ann Eliza 1863 – 1923, Ella Travis 1866 – unknown, Ellen 1867 – unknown, Lydia Joanna 1870 – 1946, George 1872 – unknown, Mary Katherine 1874 – 1945, David 1877 – 1947 Jemima unknown, born 18061806-unknown

402

Callie Lee Lovell, born 1888 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 18 Feb 1951 Trigg County, Kentucky, Parents: Father James E Lovell – Mother Sarah C. Miles, Married Wilson Garfield Melton 1911, Children: Ida Virginia 1912 – 1980, Armon Hershell 1914 – 1975, Hollis Wilson 1917 – 1925, Willie E. 1919 – 1991, Blanche 1923 – 1979 John Miles II, born 1662 Oldham, Lancashire, England – died 17 Jan 1704 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Parents: John Mills 16351635-unknown – Mother Mary Kenion 16421642-1662, Married Sarah Harrold 1688, Children John Mills 1687 – 1761, Jonathan 1687 – 1760, Mary 1689 - unknown John Miles III, born born 29 Jan 1687 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – died 24 Nov 1760 New Garden, Guilford, North Carolina, Parents: Father John Miles II – Sarah Harrold, Married Rachel Bates (1690(1690-1740) 1708, Children: Thomas 1709 – 1793, Nasby 1710 – unknown, John 1712 1794, unknown unknown (Hur) 1714 – 1761, Rebecca 1716 – 1744, William 1722 – 1801, Mary 1724 - 1810 • Married Rebeckah Harrold (1720(1720-1761) 1741, Children: William 1742 – 1793, Rebecca 1744 – 1771, Richard 1744 – 1813, Benjamin 1747 – 1826, Alice 1750 – unknown, Tabitha 1753 – 1826, Reuben 1753 – 1807, Mary 1755 – unknown, Jonathan 1757 – 1841, Benoni 1758 – 1804, Martha 1760 – 1784 Sarah Harrold, born 1662 Pennsylvania, Pennsylvinia – died 17 Oct 1759 1680--1730 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Parents: Father Richard Harrold 1680 Mother mary Beals 16921692-1740, Married John Mills 1688, Children John Mills 1687 – 1761, Jonathan 1687 – 1760, Mary 1689 - unknown William Miles, born 17 Aug 1742 Wiltshire, England – died 30 Jul 1793 Union, South Carolina, Parents: Father John Mills – Mother Rebeckah Harrold, Married Janet McKee (1725(1725-unknown), Children: William 1752 – unknown, Adam 1755 – 1823, Matty 1759 – unknown • Catherine unknown, Children: Samuel 1750 – 1807, David 1753 – 1825, Jonathan 1778 – 1868, Elizabeth 1786 – 1872 Father of Rebeckah Harrold unknown Rebeckah Harrold, born 1720 Hopewell, Frederick, Virginia – died 24 Jan 1761 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married John John Miles 1741, Children: William 1742 – 1793, Rebecca 1744 – 1771, Richard 1744 – 1813, Benjamin 1747 – 1826, Alice 1750 – unknown, Tabitha 1753 – 1826, Reuben 1753 – 1807, 403

Mary 1755 – unknown, Jonathan 1757 – 1841, Benoni 1758 – 1804, Martha 1760 – 1784 Mother of Rebeckah Harrold unknown Samuel Miles, born 12 Jun 1750 England – died 16 Feb 1807 Bush River, Newberry District, South Carolina, Parents: Father William Miles – Catherine unknown, Married Mary Taylor 1771, Children: Rhonda 1778 – 1865, Elizabeth 1780 – 1809, Mary Ann 1782 – 1845, Elisha 1800 – 1866, Catherine 1803 – 1845, William 1806 - unknown Father of Catherine unknown Catherine unknown, born unknown – died 1785 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Miles, Children: William 1752 – unknown, Adam 1755 – 1823, Matty 1759 – unknown Mother of Catherine Catherine unknown Elisha Miles, born 16 Jan 1800 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 1866 Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Samuel Miles – Mother Mary Taylor, Married Sarah Lovell 1818, Children: Catherine Cynthia 1820 1820 – 1823, Samuel H. 1822 – 1857, Tazwell C. 1824 – 1900, DeWit C. 1826 – 1916, Elisha Marrion 1826 – 1905, John 1828 – 1889, Elisha Franklin 1829 – 1916, Andrew 1829 – 1879, George Washington 1833 – 1912, Sarah Caroline 1834 – 1898, Felix Grundy 1834 – 1910, 1910, Martha 1840 - 1880 Father of William Taylor unknown William Taylor, born unknown – died 3 Mar 1789 unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Mary unknown, Children: Jonathan 1717 – 1795, Mary unknown Mother of William Taylor unknown Jonathan Taylor, born 8 Mar 1717 Long Island City, Queens, New York – died 1795 Newberry, South Carolina, Parents: Father William Taylor – Mother Mary unknown, Married Marry Elizabeth Marchant 1749, Children: William 1750 – 1781, Ann 1750 – unknown, unknown, Elizabeth 1752 – 1832, Richard 1755 – 1780, Elenor 1757 – unknown, Mary 1759 – 1807.

Jane 1761 – unknown,Rhoda 1764 – unknown, Jonathan 1766 – 1768, Martha 1768 – unknown, Isaac 1772 – unknown 404

Father of Mary unknown Mary unknown, born unknown – died died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Willaim Taylor, Children: Jonathan 1717 – 1795, Mary unknown Mother of Mary unknown Mary Taylor, born 27 Jun 1753 Bush River, Newberry, South Carolina – died 16 Jun 1807 South Carolina, Parents: Parents: Father Jonathan Taylor – Mother Mary Marchant, Married Samuel Miles 1771, Children: Rhonda 1778 – 1865, Elizabeth 1780 – 1809, Mary Ann 1782 – 1845, Elisha 1800 – 1866, Catherine 1803 – 1845, William 1806 – unknown Father of Mary Marchant unknown Mary Marchant, born 1730 Hopewell, Independent Cities, Virginia – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Jonathan Taylor, Children: Children: William 1750 – 1781, Ann 1750 – unknown, Elizabeth 1752 – 1832, Richard 1755 – 1780, Elenor Elenor 1757 – unknown, Mary 1759 – 1807. Jane 1761 – unknown,Rhoda 1764 – unknown, Jonathan 1766 – 1768, Martha 1768 – unknown, Isaac 1772 - unknown Mother of Mary Marchant unknown Felix Grundy Miles, born Oct 1834 Stewart County, County, Tennessee – died 1910, Parents: Father Elisha Miles – Mother Sarah Lovell, Marred Martha A. Ross 1857, Children: Felix Fleming 1857 – 1924, Sarah “Sallie” 1862 – 1910, Missouri Caroline 1865 – unknown, Mollie Mary 1859 -1938 Robert Lovell, born 2 Jun 1674 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 23 Feb 1726 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Lovell 16401640-1710 – Mother Elinor Benoit 16451645-1715, Married Elizabeth Pratt (1676(1676-1692) 1690 • Married Ursula Nicholas 1699, Children:Elizabeth 1692 – 1765, Mary 1695 1695 – 1769, John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Robert 1701 – 1769, Daniel 1706 – 1735, Ursula 1708 - 1733 James Lovell, born 2 Jun 1703 Westmoreland, Virginia – 2 Jun 1762 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Lovell – Mother Ursula Nicholas, Married Married Jane Tyler 1720, Children: James 1722 – 1793, Elizabeth 1725 – 1800, Jane 1728 – 1803, Malachi 1731 – 1805, Ann 1735 – 1810, William 1741 – 1803 405

Ursula Nicholas, born 1 Jun 1676 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1 Jun 1720 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Robert Lovell 1699, Children: Elizabeth 1692 – 1765, Mary 1695 – 1769, John 1697 – 1720, Mary 1699 – 1741, Robert 1701 – 1769, Daniel 1706 – 1735, Ursula 1708 - 1733 William Lovell, born 9 Mar 1741 Westmoreland, Westmoreland, Virginia – died 20 Jan 1803 Halifax, North Carolina, Parents: Father James Lovell – Mother Jane Tyler, Married Mary Harrison, Children: Frances Harrison unknown, William 1766 – 1840, Hannah Footman Harrison 1770 – 1837, James 1772 – 1847, William 1773 – 1840, John Monroe 1777 – 1856, Mary Polly 1780 – 1844 Joseph Tyler, born 1685 Maryland – died 1737 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Charles Tyler 16671667-1722 – Mother Jane unknown 16601660-1737, Married unknown, Children: Jane 1705 - 1770 Jane Tyler, born 1705 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1770 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Joseph Tyler – Mother unknown, Married James Lovell 1720, Children: James 1722 – 1793, Elizabeth 1725 – 1800, Jane 1728 – 1803, Malachi 1731 – 1805, Ann 1735 – 1810, William 1741 - 1803 Mother of Jane Tyler unknown James P Lovell, born 23 Feb 1772 Halifax, North Carolina – died 28 Sept 1847 Davidson, Tennessee, Parents: Father William Lovell – Mother Mary Harrison Harrison unknown, Married Catherine Harper, Children: Sarah 1801 – 1870 • Married Martha Parson Chambliss (1791(1791-1855) 1812, Children: Eliza Wayne 1814 – 1878, David C 1834 – 1912 Andrew Harrison, born 1686 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 11 Nov 1727 King George, Virginia, Virginia, Parents: Father Andrew Harrison 16301630-1686 – Thomasine Whitehead 16501650-unknown, Married Mary Lovell 1718, Children: Joseph 1707 – 1788, Ann 1717 – 1748, Lovell 1719 – 1760, Lucy 1720 – unknown, Ann Mary 1725 - 1738 Lovell Harrison, born 1719 Westmoreland, Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1760 Westmoreland Virginia, Parents: Father Andrew Harrison – Mother Mary Lovell, Married Hannah 406

Footman 1739, Children: Ann unknown, Andrew unknown, Anthony Alexander 1740 – unknown, Mary 1741 – 1794, John Footman 1745 – 1841, Joseph Lovell 1755 – 1788, George 1762 – 1834, Anthony Alexander 1763 – 1813, Joseph 1763 – 1813, Hannah 1765 – 1808, Harriett 1765 – unknown, Mary 1766 – unknown • Married Margaret Peggy Richardson (unknown(unknown-1788) 1750 Mary Lovell, born 1699 Westmoreland, Westmoreland, Virginia – died 18 Jul 1741 Westmoreland, Virginia, Parents: Father Robert Lovell 16741674-1726 – Ursula Nicholas 16761676-1720, Married Andrew Harrison 1718, Children: Joseph 1707 – 1788, Ann 1717 – 1748, Lovell 1719 – 1760, Lucy 1720 – unknown, Ann Mary 1725 – 1738 • Married Christopher Edrington (1708(1708-1740) 1730, Daniel 1731 – 1793, John P 1734 - 1808, Mldred 1736 – unknown, David 1738 – 1771 Mary Harrison, born 15 Aug 1741 Westmoreland, Virginia – died died 20 Jan 1794 Halifax, North Carolina, Parents: Father Lovell Harrison – Mother Hannah Footman, Married William Lovell 1765, Children: Frances Harrison unknown, Willaim 1766 – 1840, Hannah Footman Harrison 1770 – 1837, James P 1772 – 1847, William 1773 – 1840, John Monroe 1777 – 1856, Mary Polly 1780 – 1844 John Footman, born 1685 Westmoreland, Virginia – 27 Nov 1739 1660--1694 – Jane Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia, Parents: John Footman 1660 West 16611661-1697, Married Ann Sorrell 1703, Children: Hannah 1718 – 1793 1793 • Elizabeth Wilder (1691(1691-1744) 1727 Hannah Footman, born 1718 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia – died 1793 Westmoreland, Sussex, Virginia, Parents: Father John Footman – Ann Sorrell, Married Lovell Harrison 1739, Children: Ann unknown, Andrew unknown, Anthony Alexander 1740 – unknown, Mary 1741 – 1794, John Footman 1745 – 1841, Joseph Lovell 1755 – 1788, George 1762 – 1834, Anthony Alexander 1763 – 1813, Joseph 1763 – 1813, Hannah 1765 – 1808, Harriett 1765 – unknown, Mary 1766 – unknown

407

Ann Sorrell 1688 Westmoreland, Virginia – died 1725 unknown, Parents: Father Henery Sorrell 16651665-unknown – Mother Anne Covell 16651665-unknown, Married John Footman 1703, Hannah 1718 – 1793 • Married John Sorrell 1716 Sarah Lovell, born 1801 Davidson County, Tennessee – died 1870 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father James P. Lovell – Mother Catherine Harper, Married Elisha Miles 1818, Children: Children: Catherine Cynthia 1820 – 1823, Samuel H. 1822 – 1857, Tazwell C. 1824 – 1900, DeWit C. 1826 – 1916, Elisha Marrion 1826 – 1905, John 1828 – 1889, Elisha Franklin 1829 – 1916, Andrew 1829 – 1879, George Washington 1833 – 1912, Sarah Caroline 1834 – 1898, Felix Grundy 1834 – 1910, Martha 1840 - 1880 Father of Catherine Harper unknown Catherine Harper, born 14 Mar 1762 Brunswick, Virginia – died 1810 Davison County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married David Allen Chambliss 1790, Children: Martha Parson 1791 – 1855 • James Lovell (1772(1772-1847) 1800, Children: William 18011801-1840, Sally 1802 – unknown, Sarah 1802 – 1870, Mary Polly 1804 – 1831, Caroline H. 1806 – 18 Mother of Catherine Harper unknown Sarah C. Miles, born 1862 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 1910, Parents: Felix Grundy Miles – Mother Martha Ross, Married James E. Lovell 1887, Children: Callie Lee 1888 – 1951, John F. 1894 – unknown, James Willie 1900 - unknown William Ross Sr, born 1706 unknown – 8 Dec 1760 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father Hugh Ross – Mother Margaret DeBarclay, Married Elizabeth Smithwick 1731, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – unknown, William 1731 - 1801, Hugh 1740 – 1809, Patience 1743 – unknown Margaret DeBarclay, born 1685 Scotland – died 1743 North Carolina, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Hugh Ross, Children: Isaac 1708 – 1760, William 1711 – 1760, James P. 1715 – 1788, Jesse 1732 1760 William Ross, born 9 Aug 1731 Williamston, Martin, North Carolina – died 25 Dec 1801 Williamston, Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father William Ross Sr – Mother Elizabeth Smithwick, Married Mary Griffin 1756, Children: John 1757 – 1819, William 1760 – unknown, James 1761 – 1849, Martin 1762 – 1828, Nancy Ann 1763 – 1832, Winifred Winifred 1765 – 1837, Ester Elizabeth 1767 – unknown, James 1769 – 1853, Mary 1771 – 1773, Nathan 1773 – 1834, Rueben 1776 – 1860, Elizabeth 1779 – unknown, Nancy 1788 – 1870 408

Samuel Smithwick, born 1689 Chowan, North Carolina – died 1753 Bertie, North Carolina, Carolina, Parent: Father Edward Smithwick 16471647-1716 – Mother Sarah Woolard Gilliam 16511651-1709, Married Mary Warren Elizabeth 1705 – 1745 • Married Mary Swain 1720, Children: Sarah 1720 – 1786, John 1739 – 1779, Edmond 1741 – unknown, David 1743 – unknown, Samuel 1743 1743 – unknown, William 1751 - 1820 Elizabeth Smithwick, born 17051705- Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts – died 21 Dec 1745 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father Samuel Smithwick – Mother Mary Swain, Married James Swain (1695(1695-1763), 1763), Children: John 1720 – 1794, Ann 1726 – 1763, Sarah 1728 - unknown • Married William Ross 1731, Children: Elizabeth 1731 – unknown, William 1731 - 1801, Hugh 1740 – 1809, Patience 1743 – unknown, James 1747 – unknown, Susanna 1749 – unknown, Nathan 1758 – unknown Mary Swain, born 1708 Albemarle, Chowan, North Carolina – 3 Feb 1738 Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, Parents: Father Stephen Swain 16661666-1713 – Mother Patience Stiball 16701670-1738, Married Samuel Smithwick, Children: Sarah 1720 – 1786, John 1739 1739 – 1779, Edmond 1741 – unknown, David 1743 – unknown, Samuel 1743 – unknown, William 1751 - 1820 John W. Ross, born 3 Sept 1757 Martin County, North Carolina – died Feb 1819 Washington, City, District rict of Columbia, Parents: Father William Ross – Mother Mary “Polly” Griffin, Married Rachel Dist Smith 1785, Children: Thomas 1778 – 1848, Jean Jane 1786 – unknown, Ezelphia 1788 – 1860, Zilpha 1788 – 1860, Samuel 1789 – 1863, James 1790 – 1868, John R. 1792 – 1819, Nancy 1799 – 1862, Kenneth 1801 – 1850, Sarah 1811 – 1854 William Griffin, born 1680 Richmond, Virginia – died 1766 Halifax County, Virginia, Parents: Father William Griffin 16651665-1725 – Mother unknown, Married Elizabeht Hinton, Children: Abigail 1700 1700 – unknown, Richard 1700 – 1766, John 1705 – 1743, William 1706 – 1750, Elizabeht 1707 - 1748 Richard Griffin, born 21 Nov 1700 Bristol, Prince George, Virginia -1766 Halifax County, Virginia, Parents: Father William Griffin – Mother Elizabeth Hinton, Married Mary Green, Children: Richard 1723 – 1795, Ralph 1724 – 1771, John 1727 – 1797, James 1733 – unknown, Samuel 1735 – 1799, Owen 1736 – 1765, Francis 409

1738 – 1765, Mary 1738 – 1739, William 1740 – 1800, Mary 1741 – unknown, Griffith 1748 – unknown Elizabeth Griffin (Hinton)? 1683 Virginia – died 14 May 1728 Prince George, Virginia, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married William Griffin 1699, Children: Abigail 1700 – unknown, Richard 1700 – unknown, John 1705 – 1743, 1743, William 1706 – 1750, Elizabeth 1707 – 1748 Mary “Polly” Griffin, born 1738 Bristol, Prince George, Virginia – died 1810 Martin, North Carolina, Parents: Father Richard Griffin – Mary Green, Married William Ross 1756, Children: John 1757 – 1819, William 1760 – unknown, James 1761 – 1849, Martin 1762 – 1828, Nancy Ann 1763 – 1832, Winifred 1765 – 1837, Ester Elizabeth 1767 – unknown, James 1769 – 1853, Mary 1771 – 1773, Nathan 1773 – 1834, Rueben 1776 – 1860, Elizabeth 1779 – unknown, Nancy 1788 – 1870 Henry Green, born 1662 Southampton, Cumberland, Virginia – died 1749 Cole’s Creek, Natchez, Jefferson County, Mississippi, Parents: Thomas Seagull Green 16351635-1714 – Mother Martha Elizabeth Filmer 16401640-1715, Married Mary Walker 1680 • Married Abigail Griffin 1720, Children: Mary Elizabeth 1696 – 1762, Johh 1700 – unknown, Ann 1701 – unknown, Elizabeth 1701 – 1766, Mary 1703 – unknown, Mary 1703 – 1766, Henry Filmer 1703 – 1766, Edmund 1704 – unknown, Susannah Susannah 1710 – unknown Ann 1725 – unknown, Margaret 1727 – unknown, Jermiah 1731 – unknown, Henry 1733 – unknown, John 1734 – unknown, Mary 1737 – unknown, Filmer 1740 – unknown, Hanna 1741 – 1820, Edmund 1743 – unknown, Susannah 1747 – unknown Mary Green, born born 9 Aug 1703 Luneburg, Virginia – died 1766 Halifax, Virginia, Parents: Father Henry Filmer Green – Mother Mary Walker, Married Richard Griffin 1713, Children: Richard 1723 – 1795, Ralph 1724 – 1771, John 1727 – 1797, James 1733 – unknown, Samuel 1735 – 1799, 1799, Owen 1736 – 1765, Francis 1738 – 1765, Mary 1738 – 1739, William 1740 – 1800, Mary 1741 – unknown, Griffith 1748 – unknown Abigail Griffin, born 1700 unknown – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Henry Green 1720, Children: Mary Elizabeth 1696 – 1762, Johh 1700 – unknown, Ann 1701 – unknown, 410

Elizabeth 1701 – 1766, Mary 1703 – unknown, Mary 1703 – 1766, Henry Filmer 1703 – 1766, Edmund 1704 – unknown, Susannah 1710 – unknown Ann 1725 – unknown, Margaret 1727 – unknown, Jermiah Jermiah 1731 – unknown, Henry 1733 – unknown, John 1734 – unknown, Mary 1737 – unknown, Filmer 1740 – unknown, Hanna 1741 – 1820, Edmund 1743 – unknown, Susannah 1747 – unknown Samuel Ross, born 20 Sept 1789 Edgecombe County, North Carolina – died 15 Apr 1863 Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents John W. R. Ross – Mother Rachel Smith, Married Elizabeth Summer 1803, Children: Marmaduke Summer 1814 – 1879, James 1815 – 1880, Temperance 1819 – 1902, Ambrose 1824 – 1882, Samuel 1827 – 1894, Martha 1830 – 1910, William William C. 1832 – 1863, Lucy 1835 – 1872 NewNew-Year'sYear's-Day in New Amsterdam

Thomas Smith, born 20 Nov 1677 Hopewell, Mercer, New Jersey – died 1712 Hopewell, Hunterdon, New Jersey, Parents Father Andrew Smith 16501650-1704 – Mother Olive Pitt 16531653-1689, Married Mary Smith 1695, Children: Sarah 1675 – 1759, John 1698 – 1772, Thomas 1698 – 1745, Mary 1699 – 1741, Ebenezer 1703 – 1804, Hester 1704 – 1804, Samuel 1705 – 1799, Aaron 17061706-1706, Chileab 1708 – 1800, Robert 1708 – 1778, James 1710 – 1799, Andrew 1712 – 1812

John Smith, born 31 Jan 1698 Hopewell Hopewell Township, Hunterdon, New Jersey – died 13 Jan 1763 Rowan, North Carolina, Parents: Father Thomas Smith – Mother Mary unknown, Married Rebeccah Catherine Anderson 1719, Children: William unknown, Thomas 1720 – 1751, Lt. Andrew 1725 – 1773, James 1730 – 1781, John 1732 – unknown, Catherine 17351735- 1790, Samuel 1737 – unknown, Anderson 1743 – 1809, Francina 1746 – 1818, Elijah 1748 – unknown, Mary Smith, born 16 Aug 1681 Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts – died 1746 Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Parents: Parents: Father Chileab Smith 16361636-1731, Mother Hannah Hitchocock 16451645-1733, Married Thomas Smith 1695, Children: Sarah 1675 – 1759, John 1698 – 1772, Thomas 1698 – 1745, Mary 1699 – 1741, Ebenezer 1703 – 1804, Hester 1704 – 1804, Samuel 1705 – 1799, Aaron 1706 1706-1706, Chileab 1708 – 1800, Robert 1708 – 1778, James 1710 – 1799, Andrew 1712 – 1812 • Married Peter Montague (1690(1690-1749) 1721, Children: Peter 1723 – 1745, Moses 1724 – 1792, Josiah 1727 – 1810, Rachel 1728 – 1753, Experience 1730 – 1751, Adonijah 1732 - 1754 Major James Smith, born 1730 Hopewell Twp, Hunterdon County, New Jersey Colony – died 06 May 1781 POW Revolutionary War Camden Dist. Jail British Stockade, South Carolina, 411

Parents: Father John Smith – Mother Rebeccah Catherine Catherine Anderson, Married Clara Anderson 1754, Children: Hannah 1755 – unknown, Rachel 1756 – 1796, Jemima 1760 – 1840, Benjamin 1763 – 1835, Polly 1765 – unknown, Mary 1766 – 1844, Frances 1767 – 1852, James 1770 – 1839, Zilpha 1766 – 1791, Nancy 1779 – 1785 Cornelious Anderson, born 26 Sep 1670 Elizabethtown, New Jersey – died 13 May 1724 Hopewell, Sussex, New Jersey, Parents: Father Joachim Anderson 16401640-1674 – Emmetje Jans 16401640-1674, Married Annah Opdycke 1689, Children: Eliakim 1691 – 1758, John 1694 – 1746, 1746, Cornelius 1696 – 1768, Catherine 1697 – 1727, Rebecca 1698 – 1785, Abraham 1700 – 1710, Annah Hannah 1700 – 1785, Bartholomew 1703 – 1751, Fransinah 1706 – 1796, Andrew 1710 – 1732, Susannah 1720 – 1816 Rebeccah Catherine Anderson, born 6 Jan 1698 Dutch Dutch Hills, New York – died 12 Aug 1785 Rowan County, North Carolina, Parents: Father Cornelious Anderson – Mother Annetie Annah Opdyck, Married John Smith 1718, Children: William unknown, Thomas 1720 – 1751, Lt. Andrew 1725 – 1773, James 1730 – 1781, John 1732 1732 – unknown, Catherine 17351735- 1790, Samuel 1737 – unknown, Anderson 1743 – 1809, Francina 1746 – 1818, Elijah 1748 – unknown, Annetie Annah Opdyck, born 1675 Dutch Kills, Queens, Long Island, New York – died 1746 hopewell, Hunterdon, New Jersey, Parents: Father Johnannes Lawrenson Opdyck 16511651-1729 – Mother Catherine Tryntye 165316531728, Married Cornelius Anderson 1689, Children: Eliakim 1691 – 1758, John 1694 – 1746, Cornelius 1696 – 1768, Catherine 1697 – 1727, Rebecca 1698 – 1785, Abraham 1700 – 1710, Annah Annah Hannah 1700 – 1785, Bartholomew 1703 – 1751, Fransinah 1706 – 1796, Andrew 1710 – 1732, Susannah 1720 – 1816 Rachel Smith, born 1756 Jersey Settlement Rowan County, North Carolina – died 1796 Rowan County, North Carolina, Parents: Major James Smith – Mother Mother Clara Anderson, Married Thomas Hill (1753(17531781) 1799, Children: Thomas Smith 1779 – 1841 • Married John W. Ross 1785, Children: Jean Jane 1786 – unknown, Ezelphia 1788 – 1860, Zilpha 1788 – 1860, Samuel 1789 – 1863, James 1790 – 1868, John R. 1792 – 1819, 1819, Nancy 1799 – 1862, Kenneth 1801 – 1850, Sarah 1811 – 1854 Clara Anderson’s Father unknown 412

Clara Anderson, born 1735 Hopewell Twp, Hunterdon County, New Jersey Colony – died 3 Sept 1802 Jersey Settlement, Rowan County, North Carolina, Parents: unknown unknown – Mother unknown, Married Major James Smith 1754, Children: Hannah 1755 – unknown, Rachel 1756 – 1796, Jemima 1760 – 1840, Benjamin 1763 – 1835, Polly 1765 – unknown, Mary 1766 – 1844, Frances 1767 – 1852, James 1770 – 1839, Zilpha 1766 – 1791, Nancy 1779 – 1785 Clara Anderson’s Mother unknown Martha Ross, born Mar 1830 Stewart County, Tennessee – died 24 Mar 1910 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father Samuel Ross – Mother Elizabeth Summer, Married Felix Grundy Miles 1857, Children Children:: Felix Fleming 1857 – 1924, Sarah “Sallie” 1862 – 1910, Missouri Caroline 1865 – unknown, Mollie Mary 1859 -1938 Father of Elizabeth Summer unknown Elizabeth Summer, born 1786 Edgecombe, North Caroline – died 1870 Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Samuel Ross 1803, Children: Marmaduke Summer 1814 – 1879, James 1815 – 1880, Temperance 1819 – 1902, Ambrose 1824 – 1882, Samuel 1827 – 1894, Martha 1830 – 1910, William C. 1832 – 1863, Lucy 1835 – 1872 Mother of Elizabeth Summer unknown Josef Kretschmer, born unknown – died unknown, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Anna unknown, Children:Josef 29 Nov 1929, Siegfried 13 Jul 1934, Emma 24 Apr 1931 Emma Kretschmer, Kretschmer, born 24 Apr 1931, Czechoslovakia – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parent: Father Josef Kretschmer – Mother Anna unknown, Married Richard D. Frederick, Germany, Children: Irene 24 Jan 1957, Ernest 8 Feb 1958, Annie 30 Sept 1960, Germany Anna unknown, unknown, born 28 Nov 1905 Czechoslovak – Died unknown Germany, Parents: Father unknown – Mother unknown, Married Josef Kretschmer, Children: Josef 29 Nov 1929 Married Sonja (unknown) 2 childred Reinhart son, Angelaka daughter, Siegfried 13 Jul 1934 Married Burgle (nick name) (unknown) 2 daughters Johanna, Annette, Emma 24 Apr 1931 Ernest Frederick, born 6 Nov 1924 Bristol Rhode Island – Died 26 Apr 2010 Seattle, King, Washington, Parents: Father John Frederick – Mother Vera Lee, Married unknown, Children: Daughter unknown • Born Federuk name changed by father to Frederick • Remarried in Turkey wife unknown D of B Unknown, children unknown

413

Fatherr John Frederick , Charlotte Frederick (Morin), born 3 Nov 1928 Bristol, Rhode Island – Died 21 Feb 1996 Bristol, Rhode Island, Parents: Fathe Married Eddie Morin 8 Jan 1923, Rhode Island, 3 children – Becky 15 February 1952, Bristol Rhode Island, Bobby 10 Jun 1954, Bristol Rhode Island, Timothy 20 Jul 1958, died as a young child from cancer. Both Charlotte and Eddie Morin died in Rhode Island.

• John was not Charlotte’s father (father unknown) Bobby Morin, born 10 Jun 1954, Bristol Rhode Island – Living, Parents: Father Eddie Morin – Mother Charlotte Frederick, Married Athena (maiden name unknown), children: Athena, 17 Mar 1977, Cassandra, 4 Dec 1988, Khristian, 18 Aug 1990 Karen Frederick, born 7 Feb 1949 Rhode Island – Living Mississippi, Parents: Father Richard D. Frederick – Mother Dorothy Bernice Gunther, Married Bill Dickinson May 15, 1968, Germany, Children: Jackie, 11 Apr 1970 - Living, Jeff 4 Mar 1969 - Living, Georiana, 11 Jul 1973 – Living • Married Nathan Dillard Jacqueline Frederick, born unknown Rhode Island – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Richard D. Frederick – Mother Dorothy Bernice Gunther, Married JW Dunn 23 Dec 1971, Children: Jennifer 1 Mar 1978, Wendy 17 May 1976 • George Procello 31 Dec 1986 Sue Redfern, born 7 Jul 1954 Bristol, Rhode - Living Memphis, Tennessee, Parents: Father Unknown – Mother Dorothy Bernice Bernice Gunther, Married Manuel Almeida, Seekonk, Massachusetts, Children – Jamie 20 Feb 1976, Jody 20 April 1979 Kathleen Redfern, born Unknown, Living Washington, Parents: Father unknown – Mother Dorothy Bernice Gunther, Children: Daughter Daughter unknown Irene Frederick, born 24 Jan 1957 – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Richard D. Frederick – Mother Emma Kretschmer, Married Ray Held Nov 1974 born 24 Jan 1956, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Divorced, Children: Billy Frederick 4 Apr 1973, David 7 Jan 1976 Billy Frederick born 4 Apr 1973 – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Mother Irene Frederick, Married Carrie Allison (Persick) June 11, 2004 Born Oct Emmaa Lucille 22 Feb 04, Dash 9 Jan 2008, Courtney Marie 7 May 1991 25, 1973, Children Madison Wildflower 13 May 1997, Wylie 7 Dec 1999, Emm David Ray Held 7 Jan 1976 – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Ray Held, Mother Irene Frederick, Married Shelia (unknown), 4 children unknown Ernest Frederick, born 8 Feb Feb 1958 Cumberland, North Carolina – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Richard D. Frederick – Mother Emma Kretschmer, Children: Laura 6 May 1984 Anna Frederick, born 30 Sept 1960 Germany – Living Picaqune, Mississippi, Parents: Father Richard D. Frederick – Mother Emma Kretschmer, Married Larry Huges, Children: Derek 28 Apr 1988 • Married Matt Dobson 414

Judy (Wallace) Fristoe, born 28 Jul 1952 Trigg County, Kentucky – Living Fredericksburg, Virginia, Parents: Father James Thomas Wallace - Mother Margaret Frances Melton, Married John Fristoe 19 Jun 1976 Homestead, Florida, Children: John 19 Sept 1978, Andrew 21 Feb 1984 Joan Melton (Kraft), born 6 Aug 1948 Kentucky – Living Clarksville, Tennessee, Parents: Father James James Thomas Wallace – Mother Margaret Frances Melton, Married Robbie Welch, no children • Married Mike Kraft, Children: Sarah Joan 8 Dec 1979

415

Ancestral Tree James Thomas Wallace Generation One James Thomas Wallace was born on 04 Jun, 1930. He was the son of Bethel Wesley Wallace and Amma M. Wllace. He died on 8 Nov, 1999 in Cadiz, Ky. He married Margret Francis Melton, daughter of Wilson Garfield Melton and Callie Lee Lovell.

Children of James Thomas Wallace and Margret Francis Melton are: 1. Judy Gail Wallace, born 28 July 1952 in Cadiz, Ky, married John Kramer Fristoe, 19 Jun 1976 in Homestead, Fl (AFB) 2. Joan Kraft6 August 1948 3. Phyllis Wallace, born 5 Oct 1954 in Cadiz, Ky, Married Richard John Frederick, 2 July 1976 in Trigg Co., Ky. Candace Lynn 26 Nov 1979, Lisa Marie 20 Aug 1985 4. Danny Wallace 23 Jan 1958 Generation Two Bithel Wesley Wallace was born on 16 Jan 1911 in Tennessee. He was the son of Tom Yateman Walllace and Olawn Powers. He died in 1936. He married Amma M Wallace.

Amma M Wallace, born 1915.

Children of Bethel Wesley Wallace and Amma M Wallace are: 1. James Thomas Wallace, Born 4 Jan 1930, died 8 Nov 1999 2. Omega Wallace 3. Virgie May Wallace Generation Three Tom Yateman Wallace was bon in Tennessee. He was the son of Littleberry Wallace and Susan Rebecca Whitehurst. He died in 1960. He married Martha Olean Powers Martha Olean Powers, 1874 born in Tennessee, died 1950.

Children of Tom Tateman Wallace and Martha Olean Powers are: 1. Bethel Wesley Wallace, born 16 Jan 1911 in Tennessee, died 1936 2. Horace McGarvin Wallace 1913, died 1969 3. Irvin T. Wallace 1903 4. Thomas Dewey Wallace 1900, died 1959 5. Sarah Wallace 1897 416

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Florence 1895 Inel W. 1907 Maggie Nocle 1904, died 1949 Gracie 1908 Melissa V. 1915, died 1968 Generation Four Four

Littleberry Berry Wallace was born on 17 Feb 1838 in Stewart, Tennessee. He was the son of Axium Green Wallace and Sallie Clark. He died on 8 Feb 1920 in Stewart Co, Tennessee. He married Susan Rebecca Whitehurst on 20 Jan 1859 in Stewart Co, Tennessee.

Susan Rebecca Whitehurst born 1 Dec 1842 in Stewart Co, Tennessee and died 1 Dec 1915 married 20 Jan 1859 in Stewart Co, Tennessee.

Children of Littleberry Wallace Sr. and Susan Rebecca Whitehurst are: 1. Thomas Yateman Wallace 1877, Tennessee, died 1960, married Martha Elouise Powers 2. Dudley Monroe Wallace born 1873, Dover, Tennessee, died 1949, married Ollie Wallace 28 Jul 1896 3. Joshua Commander Wallace born 15 Mar 1875, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 16 Jan 1944 4. Fannie C. Wallace Born Mar 1869, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 1931 5. Sarah Elizabeth Floyd Wallace born 28 Feb 1863, Dover, Tennessee, died 13 Aug 1923, married Elisha C Williams 1876 6. Lucy Jane Wallace born Sept 1865, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 25 Mar 1954, married Pinkney Milburn Dennis 1880 7. Littleberry Wallace Jr. born 2 Oct 1888, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 20 Feb 1974 8. Elizabeth Lizzie Wallace born 1866, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 11 Nov 1931, married Henry Morris 28 Jan 1882 9. Sanford Lannie Wallace born in 1877, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 1947 10. Mattie Wallace born in 1865, Stewart Co. Tennessee, deceased 11. Van Wallace born 24 Aug 1860, Dover, Tennessee, died 23 Apr 1920 12. Tom Wallace born in 1879, Stewart Co. Tennessee, deceased (Not in Family Tree) 13. Mannie Wallace born in 1877, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 1964, married Charles Johnson 20 Oct 1897 14. Berry Wallace Jr. Unknown (Not in Family Tree) Generation Five Axium Green Wallace was born on 12 March 1813 in Bumpus Mills, Stewart, Tennessee. He was the son of Etheldred E. Wallace and Amy Taylor. He died on 24 April 1904 in Bumpus Mills, Tn. He married Sallie Clark on 30 Dec 1836 in Stewart, Tennessee.

Sallie Clark born Aug 1798 in Sussex, Virginia and died 30 Oct 1900 in Stewart, Tennessee.

Children of Axium Green Wallace and Sallie Clark are: 1. Littleberry Berry Wallace born 17 Feb 1838, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died 8 Feb 1920, married Rebecca Whitehurst 20 Jan 1859 417

2. Elizabeth Clark Wallace born 14 May 1836, Dover Tennessee, died 1 Jan 1921, married Yeatman Whitman Cherry 5 Jan 1851 Children of Axium Green Wallace and Minerva Cherry are: 1. Agnes Naomi Wallace born 27 May 1857, Dover, Tennessee, died 19 Jan 1928 2. Augustus Henry Wallace born 13 Sept 1853, Shelby Creek, Tennessee, died 6 Nov 1929 3. Minerva Green Wallace born 9 Feb 1863, Shelby Creek, Tennessee, died 16 Feb 1894 4. Rebecca D Wallace born 8 Feb 1855, Dover, Tennessee, died 28 Dec 1907 5. Daniel Newton Wallace born 30 Dec 1847, Stewart Co. Tennessee, died Mar 1920 6. Adeline Amy Wallace born 1842, deceased 7. Ethreal Dawson, born 1844, deceased 8. Elizabeth Eaves Clark, born 14 May 1836, Deceased Generation Six Etheldred E Wallace was born in 1775 in Martin, North Carolina. He was the son of William D Wallace and Susannah Exum. He died in 1856 in Bumpus Mills, Tennessee. He married Amy Taylor in 1799 in Martin, North Carolina.

Amy Taylor born in 1785 in Martin, North Carolina and died 9 Sept 1839 in Stewart, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Joseph Taylor and Sarah Elizabeth Best.

Children of Etheldred E Wallace and Amy Taylor are: 1. Axium Green Wallace born 12 Mar 1813, Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, died 24 Apr 1904, married Minerva Cherry 30 Dec 1846 2. George Washington Wallace Born 17 May 1824, Dover, Tennessee, died 4 Jan 1862 3. Harriet Wallace born 15 Jan 1822, Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, died 28 Dec 1879 4. Maniza Wallace born 16 Mar 1820, Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, died 21 Jun 1907 5. Abithal Wallace born in 1810, Martin, North Carolina, died 1902 6. Agnes Naomi Wallace born 1808, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 1840, married Nathan Ross 1817 7. Lotte Charlotte Wallace born in 1809, Martin, North Carolina, died 1870 Children of Etheldred E Wallace and Amy Taylor are: 1. Josiah Wallace born 3 Dec 1806, Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, died 18 Jan 1894 2. Lotte Charlotte Wallace born in 1809, Martin, North Carolina, died in 1870 3. Joseph Wallace Generation Seven William D Wallace was born in 1756 in Martin, North Carolina. He was the son of William D Wallace and Martha Andrews. He died in 1825 in Stewart, Tennessee. He married Susannah Exum in 1774 in Martin, North Carolina.

Susannah Exum, born in 1755 in Scotland Neck, North Carolina and died 6 Nov 1826 in Stewart, Tennessee.

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Children of William D Wallace and Susannah Exum are: 1. Etheldred E Wallace born in 1775, Martin, North Carolina, died in 1856, Married Amy Taylor 1808 2. Geroge Washington Wallace born in 1780, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1831, married Elizabeth Lewelyn 1811 3. Axium Green Wallace born in 1800, Dover, Tennessee, died in 1846 4. John Wallace born 1782, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died in 1845, married Delilah Taylor in 1805 / married Delilah Wallace 1818 5. Reuben Wallace born in 1790, Martin, North Carolina, died 23 Feb 1875, married Martha Page 26 Jan 1814 6. Edmond Wallace born in 1804, Martin, North Carolina, deceased 7. William Eaton Wallace born in 1802, Martin, North Carolina, deceased 8. William Wallace born 1776, Martin, North Carolina, died in 1828 9. Abithal Wallace born in 1792, Martin, North Carolina, deceased 10. Agnes Wallace, Pitt, North Carolina, deceased 11. Josiah Wallace, Tennessee, deceased 12. Maniah Wallace, Tennessee, deceased 13. Charlotte Wallace, Tennessee, deceased 14. Axiom Green Wallace North Carolina, deceased Joseph Taylor was born on 4 Mar 1760 in Tyrell, Edgecombe, North Carolina. He was the son of Joseph Taylor and Nancy Walker. He died on 22 Mar 1818 in North Richardsville, Warren Kentucky. He married Sarah Elizabeth Best in 1780 in Tyrell Edgecombe, North Carolina.

Sarah Elizabeth Best born Feb 1760 in Tyrell, Edgecombe, North Carolina and died 22 Mar 1834, Children of Joseph Taylor and Sarah Elizabeth Best are: 1. Amy Taylor born in 1785, Martin, North Carolina, died 9 Sept 1839, married John Wallace in 1805 2. Mary Ann Taylor born in 1791, Bowling Green, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 31 Aug 1852 3. Charlotte Taylor born 8 Oct 1805, Coneto Creek, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 5 Jun 1867 4. William Joseph Taylor born 21 Mar 1787 in Martin, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 9 Sept 1839 5. Nancy Taylor born in 1797, Edgecombe, Warren Kentucky, died 2 Feb 1812 Generation Eight William D Wallace was born in 1730 in Chowan, North Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Wallace and Elizabeth Rountree. He died 19 Sept 1774 in Martin, North Carolina. He married matha Andrews in 1745 in North Carolina.

Matha Andrews was born in 1728 in Norfolk, Virginia and died in 1775 in Martin, North Carolina.

Children of William D Wallace and Martha Andrews are: 1. William D Wallace born 1756, Martin, North Carolina, died in 1825, married Susannah Exum 1774 419

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Dinah Wallace born 1737, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1795 Agnes Wallace born 1737, Pitt, North Carolina, died 1795 Abby Wallace born 20 Jun 1750, North Carolina, died 1827 Quotina Wallace born 1756, Martin, North Carolina, deceased Keziah Wallace born 1752, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased Sarah Wallace Unknown, Martin, North Carolina, deceased Seven other Wallace’s born in North Carolina

Joseph Taylor was born in 1731 in Orange, Virginia. He was the son of Richard Taylor and Dinah Lnu. He died in 1808 in Warren Co., Kentucky. He married Nancy Walker in 1750 in Orange, Virginia.

Nancy Walker born 1729 in Orange, Virginia and died in 1808 in Edgecombe, North Carolina.

Children of Joseph Taylor and Nancy Walker are: 1. Joseph Taylor born 4 Mar 1760, Tyrell, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 22 Mar 1818, married Sarah Elizabeth Best 1780 2. David Taylor born 1753, Tyrell, North Carolina, died 24 Dec 1798 3. John Taylor born 1763, Edgebe, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 21 Mar 1823 4. Thomas Taylor born 1761, Edgebe, Edgecombe, North Carolina, deceased 5. Temperance Taylor born 1759, Edgebe, Edgecombe, North Carolina, died 1865 Generation Nine Thomas Wallace was born in 1690 in Scotland, Ayshire, Scottland. He was the son of John Wallace and Martha DeCou. He died on 28 Oct 1750 in Chowan, North Carolina. He married Elizabeth Rountree in 1715 in Nansemond, Virginia.

Elizabeth Rountree born in 1691 in Chowan, North Carolian and died in 1750.

Children of Thomas Wallace and Elizabeth Rountree are: 1. William D Wallace born 1730, Chowan, North Carolina, died 19 Sept 1774, married Martha Andrews in 1745 2. Susannah Wallace born 1738, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1816 3. John Wallace born 1734, Chowan, North Carolina, died 1 Dec 1771 4. Elizabeth Wallace born 1740, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1760 5. Judith Wallace born 1734, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1750 6. Mary Wallace born 1742, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1750 7. Jonathan Wallace born 1733, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1773 8. Caleb Wallace born 1732, North Carolina, died 1750 9. Johathon Wallace born 1732 North Carolina, died 1773 10. Thomas Wallace unknown, died 1750 420

11. John Wallace born 1734, Chowan, North Carolina, died 1 Dec 1771 Child of Thomas Wallace and Ann Shivers was: 1. Maria Wallace born 1805, Westfield Burlington, New Jersey, died 1838 Richard Taylor was born in 1694 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. He was the son of Richard Taylor and Jenet Lnu. He died in 1734 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. He married Dinah Lnu in 1723 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia.

Dinah Lnu born 1696 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia and died in 1752.

Children of Richard Taylor and Dinah Lnu are: 1. Joseph Taylor born 1731, Orange, Virginia, died 1808, married Nancy Walker in 1750 2. Richard Taylor born 28 Feb 1742, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1806 3. William Taylor born 1738, Armaugh, Ulster, Ireland, died 1767 4. Thomas Taylor born 1746, Orange, Virginia, died 1774 5. Ezekiel Taylor born 1752, deceased Generation Ten John Wallace was born in 1630 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. He died in 1693. He married Matha DeCou. Martha DeCou no information Children of John Wallace and Matha DeCou are: 1. Thomas Wallace born 1690, Ayrshire, Scotland, died 28 Oct 1750, married Elizabeth Rountree 1715 2. Robert Wallace born 1692, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, died 1707 3. John Wallace born 1694, Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland 4. Mary Wallace unknown, North Carolina 5. Three others unknown Richard Taylor was born on 6 Oct 1672 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. He was the son of Richard Taylor and Margaret Manning. He died in 1730 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. He married Jenet Lnu in 1693 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia.

Jenet Lnu born in 1675 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased Children of Richard Taylor and Jenet Lnu are: 1. Richard Taylor born 1694, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1734, married Dinah Lnu 1723 2. Rachel Taylor born 1718, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1778 421

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William Taylor born 1702, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1771 Edward Taylor born 1712, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased Margaret Taylor born 1716, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased John Taylor born 1706, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1758 Mary Taylor born 1714, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased Thomas Taylor born 1698, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, deceased Generation Eleven

Richard Taylor was born on 5 Nov 1641 in Norfolk, Virginia. He died in May 1679 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. He married Margaret Manning.

Margaret Manning born 1644 in Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died Aug 1679.

Child of Richard Taylor and Margaret Manning was: 1. Richard Taylor born 6 Oct 1672, Julian Creek, Norfolk, Virginia, died 1730, married Jenet Lnu 1693

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Wallace Frederick Family Tree Documents of Interest Sons of the Revolution Documentation - Thomas Daniel ancestor Margaret Frances Melton

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Sons of the Revolution Documentation – Joseph Hardy

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Sons of the Revolution Revolution Documentation – John John Lovewell ancestor of Margaret Frances Melton’s

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Sons of the Revolution Documentation - Captian (Major) Smith ancestor of Margaret Frances Melton

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Continental soldier uniform Revolutionary War

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Revolutionary soldier

Soldier of the Revolution

Revolutionary War Veteran gravegrave-marker

Known Members of the Frederick / Wallace Family Tree That Fought in the Revolutionary War – War of 1812 – and Civil War Revolutionary War: Frederick Family – John Dryer Hawkins Sr. 1756-1840, Henry Gatewood 1690-1777, James Howard 1713-1785, William W. Howard 1763-1844, Thomas Marshall 1728-1774, Michael Gladman 1702-1789, Thomas Daniel 1675-1749, Benjamin Higginbotham 1728-1791, Spencer Howard 1739-unknown Wallace Family – William Lovell 1740-1803, James Lovell 1703- 1762, John Lovell unknown, William Ross 1731-1801, John Ross 1757-1819, Major James Smith 1730-1781 (died as a POW in a British Stockade), William D. Wallace 1753-1822, Lovell Harrison 1719-1760, Captain John Ballentine, John Page 1738-1800, Joseph Taylor Jr. 1751-1818, Joseph Taylor Sr. 1726-1806, Thomas Best 1735-1791, Marcom Manning 1735-1793, Arthur Whitehurst 1758-1857, War of 1812: Frederick Family - Thomas Buckingham 1778-1863 Wallace Family – Arthur Whitehurst 1758-1857, Joshua Whitehurst 1785-1884. Thomas Futrell 1794-1859 Civil War: Frederick Family – John P. Buckingham 1813-1885, Thomas Buckingham 1778-1863 Wallace Family – David Lovell 1834-1912, Joshua Whitehurst 1785 1884, James R. Powers 1807-1882, Willis Powers 1844-1900, Joshua Whitehurst 1785-1884, William Barns 1836-1910 428

Much of the early Frederick and Wallace ancestry was established in Virginia and North Carolina before their movement to Kentucky (Frederick family tree on Richard D. Frederick’s mother’s side) and Tennessee (Wallace). This may be in part due to land grants given to Revolutionary war soldier from North Carolina in the Tennessee area because Tennessee was originally part of North Carolina before it became the state of Tennessee.

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1920 Census Parish Lee Highlight in Pink Father of Vera Lee Mother of Richard D. Frederick

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1930 Census Bithel Wallace outlined in Pink – Father of James Thomas Wallace

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1850 Census Venson Page Outlined in Red

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Birth Records Ernest FrederickFrederick- Date of Birth 8 Feb 1958 – Birth County – Cumberland, North Carolina – Parents Name: Richard D. Frederick – Roll Number B_C029_66002 Vol 128

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Robert L. Daniel – Colonial Soldiers of the South

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Seventhenth Century Ancestors

John J. Page Death Certificate 13 June 1845 – 9 July 1924

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Wilson G. Melton Obituary 11 Dec 1888 – 30 Jan 1967

Mathew Young Death Certificate ABT 1780 – 18 March 1859

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Death Certificate Susan Rebecca Whitehurst 1842 – 1915 Obituary of Joshua Whitehurst 1785 - 1884 1884

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Death Certificate Certificate Sarah Josephine (Futrell) Lawrence 1843 – 1929

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Richard Dix Frederick Death Certificate Richard Dix Frederick 1927 - 1986

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Last Will &Testament Testament of John McCurdy Sr. who mentions his son John, wife Margaret, daughter Margaret Weed, Mr. Calhoun, grandson John Young, Agnes Cunniningham and son John, daughter Jennet Young and son John, daughter Sarah, Mr. Nathaniel Weed, Matthew Young

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Marriage Certificate – William Talbott Ensor / Martha Ann Lasley – 22 Sept 1797 Washington, Tennessee

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Marriage Certificate Elmo D. Atkins / Annie Mae Hammonds (Wallace) – Tennessee

Marriage Recorded Recorded Joshua Monroe / Sally (Cunningham) – Tennessee

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Richard John Federick Weds Phyllis Kay Wallace

JW Dunn Weds Jacqueline Frederick 444

John Fristoe Weds Judy Wallace

Bill Dickenson Weds Karen Frederick

Richard Dix Frederick Navy Discharge Papers 1952

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Richard Dix Frederick Frederick Army Discharge Papers 1954

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Richard Dix Frederick Army Discharge Papers 1960

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Richard Dix Frederick Army Discharge Papers 1965

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Richard Dix Frederick 1965 Army Reenlistment Papers

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Richard Dix Frederick Parachutist Training Certificate

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Richard Dix Frederick Medical Training Certificate

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Richard Dix Frederick Recognition of Service Bamberg Germany

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Richard Dix Frederick Navy DD214

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Richard Dix Frederick Certificate of Retirement from the Army

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WWI Draft Registration Card Card Thomas Yateman Wallace

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WWI Draft Registration Card Thomas Parish Lee

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WWII Draft Registration Card John Frederick (This card demonstrates the extent of the draft during WWII in that John Frederick was 47 and had already served in WWI) WWI)

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Letter from Senator Edward Kennedy to John Frederick

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Orginial Social Security Application of John Frederick

Emma Frederick Military Dependent ID Card

Emma Frederick’s German Passport Passport 461

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Frederick / Kretschmer / Gunther Family Photos

Painting of Larkin & Mary Higginbotham 18601860-1863 1860 Edmonson Edmonson County, Kentucky

Ernest John Frederick College ID Card

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James Lee (Jim Bug) 1900 Edmonson County, Kenturcky

Ernest John Frederick

Left to Right: Phyllis, Jamie, Candace,Jody, Sue with Manny in the background

Charlotte (Morin) Frederick with Mother Vera (Lee) Frederick

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Rihard and Emma Frederick children and grand children - Left to Right Back Row: Row: Jackie, Irene, Richard J., Annie – Front Row Left to Right: Ernest with Candance on shoulders, Richard D., Emma, Billy, with David kneeling in front.

Back Row Left to Right: Richard Richard D Frederick and wife Emma, Vera Frederick, Charlotte and Eddie Morin, Sitting in Front: Phyllis Frederick, Becky Morin

Vera (Lee) Frederick

Center: Vera (Lee) Frederick with Son Richard D. and Daughter Charlotte Morin

John Frederick

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Center Vera (Lee) Frederick with Son Richard D. and Wife Emma on Left and Duaghter Charlotte and husband Eddie Morin

Anna Kretschmer

Josef Kretschmer

Siegfried Kretschmer wife Burgle (nick name) (maiden (maiden name unknown) 2 daughters Johanna, Annette, Annette, Emma

Siegfried Siegfried Kretschmer wife Burgle daughter Johanna

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Josef Kretschmer wife Sonja (maiden (maiden name unknown) 2 childred Reinhart son, Angelaka daughter

Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick

Sonja, Siegfried, Siegfried, Burgle, Anna Kretschmer, Richard D. Frederick

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Emma with Mother Anna Kretschmer

Sonja, Josef, Siegfried, Burgle, Emma, Anna Kretschmer

The Family of Josef Kretschmer Emma’s Father.

German Cousins of Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick 468

Emma Kretschmer center, Grandparents right and left, her mother Behind her with her bother and his wife standing to the left.

Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick with her 2 broghter Josef & Siegfried

Richard D. Frederick with Sonja & Josef Kretschmer in Germany

Anna Kretschmer and Sister

Eddie and Charollete Morin with children (left to right) Bobby, Timothy, Becky

Richard Dix Frederick Frederick

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Richard Dix & Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick Marry in Germany

Richard D. & Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick

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John and Emma Frederick

John and Richard D. Fredeick

Phyllis (Wallace) Frederick / Richard D. Frederick 471

3 Gernerations John, Richard, & Ernest Frederick

Jackie, Karen, & Richard John Frederick

Vera (Lee) and John Frederick with Emma (Kretschmer) Frederick (center)

John Frederick enjoying fishing

Richard John Frederick through the Years

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Tour of Duty – United States Navy – Aug 1970 – Aug 1974 – Richard John Frederick Frederick

Boot Camp Picture

Off Duty Midway Island

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Promotion in Rank

Duty abord P3 Midway Island USS Preble DLG 15 at Sea

Bill and Karen (Frederick) Dickinson with Children -Left to Right Jackie, Georiana, Jeff

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Bernice Gunther

Wallace / Melton Family Photos

Back Row Left to Right: Manson, Albert, Front Row Left to Right: Lucy Mae Barnes Page Holding Sedalia, Annie Mae, James L. Page holding Robert

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Wilson Melton, Ella, Bernice, and Cecil Mathis

Susan Rebecca Whitehurst & Littleberry Wallace

Susan Rebecca Whithurst Whithurst Wallace & Twins

Stewart County, Tennessee

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Susan Rebecca Whithurst Wallace & Grandchildren

Susan Rebecca Whitehurst Wallace

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Littleberry Littleberry “Berry” Clark Wallace, Sr. born and died in Stewart County, Tennessee, 17 Feb 1838 – 8 Feb 1920, Son of Sarah E. Clark And Axium Green Wallace, he Married Susan Whitehurst 20 Jan 1859 in Stewart County, Tennessee, be was buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee

John Page

James Thomas Wallace on the Farm

James Thomas Wallace with Daught Judy (Fristoe) Wallce

Phyllis (Wallace) Frederick

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James Thomas Wallace and Margaret (Melton) (Melton) Wallace

Phyllis (Wallace) Fredreick standing Judy (Fristoe) Wlallace center Danny Wallace

Standing Back Row Left to Right: Sarah (Krafft) Harrison, Harrison, Danny Wallace, Dave Laney, Candace Frederick, Richard J. Frederick, Lisa Frederick, Drew Fristoe, Phyllis Frederick, Erin (Coe) Fristoe, John (John(John-O) K. Fristoe Jr. holding Cullen Fristoe, Standing Front Row Left to Right: Jakob Harrison, Sitting Joan (Krafft) (Krafft) Melton, Autumn Harrison, Judy (Fristoe) Wallace holding Margaret (Maggie) Fristoe, John K.Fristoe, Sr.

Standing: Danny, Phyllis – Sitting: Joan, Judy – The Wallace Children 479

Marriage of John K. Fristoe and Judy (Wallace)

Sisters: Judy (Fristoe), Phyllis Frederick

Five Generations: Sitting Lucy Page holding Candace Frederick, Standing Anna Mae (Atkins / Wallace) Page, Phyllis (Wallace) Frederick, James Wallace, Margaret (Melton) Wallace

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SittingLeft to Right: Anna Mae (Page / Wallace), Lucy Page, Standing: Paulette Page, James Wallace, Hooks Page, Omega (Hancock) Wallace, Bill Page, Evelyn Page

Left: James and and Margaret (Melton) Wallace Parents of the Bride Phyllis (Wallace) Frederick Right: Richard D. Frederick and Emma (Kretschmer (Kretschmer) Kretschmer) Frederick Parent of the Groom Richard J. Frederick

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Phyllis (Wallace) Frederick

Gave Markers of Family Members Members Dellum Futrell

James & Martha Benton

Sallie & Evins Wallace / Wallace Cemetery Near Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee

John B Buckingham 1812 - 1885

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Joseph Taylor Sr and Sarah Best Taylor Headstone Headstone Lived during the American Revolution

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Grave Site of Batson Whitehurst Whitehurst

Axium Wallace, Wallace Cemetery Stewart County, Tennessee

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Etheldred Wallace / Wallace Cemetery Near Bumpus Mills, Stewart County, Tennessee

Mary Ann Futrell/ Sarah Josaphine (Futell) Lawrence

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John Ross Ross 17571757-1820, Hamilton County, Ohio / Revolutionary War Soldier

Thomas and Martha Wallace Gravesite

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Gravesite of Littleberry (Berry) Wallace

Gravesites of James Thomas Wallace

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Margaret Frances (Melton) Wallace / Trigg County, Kentucky

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Gravesite Containing the Ashes of John Frederick & Richard D. Frederick Picayune, Mississippi

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Possible Frederick / Wallace Family Coat of Arms - Shields

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