Author: Dan

07 Oct

Posted at 17:45h in Newsletter

    SITTING IN A TRAFFIC JAM ON PRESTON ROAD IN DALLAS, AND THOUGHT ABOUT MY FAMILY TREE AND MY GG GRANDFATHER'S BEING ON THE ROAD 152 YEARS EARLIER From his diary, that I referenced in the last newsletter: January 19, 1871- Leave the Brazos opposite Kimball for Kansas, camp on Nolin 9 miles. January 20, 1871- Camp on Buffalo one mile east of Cleburne, 11 miles from our old camp. January 21, 1871- Pass through the cross timbers & camp on the black land one mile from Alvarado on Cedar Mill Road, a distance of 12 miles. January 22, 1871- Pass over a gently rolling prairie;...

21 Sep

Posted at 16:27h in Newsletter

ANCESTORS- THE DOLLHOUSE FROM THE MANSION We recently visited the National Toy and Miniatures Museum in Kansas City. When we came across the “Coleman Dollhouse” (see picture above), a sign explained that the Dollhouse was built for the Coleman family, whose patriarch was a coal mine owner. They lived in a mansion called the Homestead in Lebanon. The museum knew nothing more about the Colemans. I wondered if this unnamed Coleman was related to Robert Coleman (see picture below left), to whom my son-in-law’s ancestors, the Grubbs, eventually sold their coal interests over time. See the attached article for more information- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grubb_Family_Iron_Dynasty I...

08 Sep

Posted at 13:01h in Newsletter

GENEALOGY- WAS DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ANOTHER SWEENEY TODD? We visited Ben Franklin's house in London, as I am working on a Franklin genealogy. The only residence of his that is still remaining. It is worth the visit. When the Friends of Ben Franklin House, started the restoration, the workmen discovered the bones of ten people buried onsite. After wondering about what Old Ben might have been up to we found about another tenant in the house. William Hewson (pictured above) was elected to the American Philosophical Society, awarded the Copley Medal in 1769, and was elected to the Royal Society in 1770. His significant contribution...

27 Aug

Posted at 14:08h in Newsletter

GENEALOGIST- HENRY ALEXANDER CLIMBED THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE U.K IN A CAR They commemorated a statue in Fort William in 2018. Here's the article from 1911 ascent.       GENEALOGIST- FLORA MACDONALD'S HEADSTONE ON THE ISLE OF SKYE Flora MacDonald (1722 - 5 March 1790) was a member of Clan Macdonald of Sleat. MacDonald was visiting Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides when Prince Charles and a small group of aides took refuge there after the Battle of Culloden in June 1746. One of his companions, Captain Conn O'Neill from County Antrim, was distantly related to MacDonald and asked for her help. MacDonald of Sleat...

13 Aug

Posted at 13:08h in Newsletter

    CONTINUING WITH THE HERITAGE OF THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION AND THE CONSTITUTION Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American statesman, lawyer, and Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. He also signed the 1774 Petition to the King. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Sherman established a legal career in Litchfield County, Connecticut, despite a lack of formal education. After a period in the Connecticut House of Representatives,...

29 Jul

Posted at 10:21h in Newsletter

GENEALOGY- SEVEN GENERATIONS OF OF A PREHISTORIC FAMILY MAPPED WITH ANCIENT DNA An adult man buried some 6,000 years ago in what is now France was the son of the man from whom dozens of people also buried at the site are descended. In the mid-2000s, archaeologists excavating a burial site in France uncovered a 6,500-year-old mystery. Among the remains of more than 120 individuals, one grave stood out. It contained a nearly complete female skeleton alongside a few assorted bones that looked like they had been dug up and moved from another grave. Ancient DNA from the enigmatic relocated remains shows that...

08 Jul

Posted at 14:01h in Newsletter

LEGACY- JEWISH REFUGEES IN SHANGHAI One of our clients shared a story about her husband’s ancestors fleeing Nazi Germany by going to Shanghai. She had a small book listing all of the refugees. I had to look up that story. An estimated 17,000 German and Austrian Jews first trickled into Shanghai after the beginning of Nazi persecution of Jews in 1933, and then, following the 1938 violence of Kristallnacht streamed in like a flood. These early refugees usually immigrated to Shanghai as families. Stripped of most of their assets before fleeing the Reich, these thousands of refugees swarmed into Hongkew because they...

29 Jun

Posted at 18:10h in Newsletter

ANCESTRY- ALEXANDER HAMILTON'S FATHER-IN-LAW GOT TAKEN FOR A RIDE A statue of the Revolutionary War general, newly prominent thanks to the musical “Hamilton,” has been removed from its place outside Albany City Hall because he enslaved people. Lin-Manuel Miranda said that the portrayal of Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other white historical figures by black, Latino and Asian actors should not require any substantial suspension of disbelief by audience members. "Our cast looks like America looks now, and that's certainly intentional", he said. "It's a way of pulling you into the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you...

15 Jun

Posted at 11:16h in Newsletter

GENEALOGIST- BLACKSTONE BEATS GENETIC PRIVACY LAWSUIT Some folks were upset about or did not know that Blackstone had purchased Ancestry.com back in 2020, and sued, but the suit was dismissed, see the link: https://www.kirkland.com/news/in-the-news/2023/05/calling-lawsuit-bare-bones-7th-circuit-rejects-genetic-privacy-claims-over-ancestry-com-acquisition However, it's not like Blackstone bought it from a bunch of genealogists. It was previously owned by at least four other private equity firms (see below), Were they good stewards of all of those DNA tests? New York, December 4, 2020 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have completed their previously announced acquisition of Ancestry® from Silver Lake, GIC, Spectrum Equity, Permira,...

02 Jun

Posted at 10:28h in Newsletter

GENEALOGY- MORE ABOUT DARIEN- GEORGIA THAT IS, AND THE SCOTSMEN'S ATTEMPTS TO PROHIBIT SLAVERY, AND LETTING DAUGHTERS INHERIT LAND The British built Fort King George in 1721 (see picture), near what would become Darien. At the time, it was the southernmost outpost of the British Empire in North America. The fort was abandoned in 1727 following attacks from the Spanish. Its remains constitute the oldest fort on the Georgia coast. The town of Darien (originally known as "New Inverness") was founded in January 1736 by Scottish Highlanders (some found in your genealogy) recruited by James Oglethorpe to act as settler-soldiers protecting the...

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