Tuesday, May 10, 2016

1611-1619 Timeline



Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1616

1616 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was released from the Tower of London so he could go on a second expedition looking for El Dorado. However, he found more trouble when members of his crew ransacked an outpost of Spain. To appease the Spanish, he was arrested and then executed later on October 29, 1618.

1618

October 29, 1618 is when Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh died. He was age 65. He died in London, England, when and where he was beheaded.

Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh


Name: Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh

He is a distant ancestor on my family tree.

January 22, 1552 or 1554, Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was born in Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon, England.

Links for Raleigh's birthplace:

1 http://www.britishexplorers.com/woodbury/hayesba.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Budleigh

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2698

October 29, 1618 is when Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh died. He was age 65. He died in London, England, when and where he was beheaded.

Occupation and title: Explorer, soldier, courtier, spy, poet, and writer.

Schooling: Oriol College, Oxford

Wife: He was married to Elizabeth Throckmorton.

Religion: Protestant

Children: Damerei, Walter "Wat," and Carew

His parents were: Walter Raleigh, Sr. and Catherine Champermowne.

1584 Queen Elizabeth I gave Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh Royal Charter to set up a colony in lands that are not Christian lands.

He gained favor with Queen Elizabeth I and she knighted him in 1585.

What should he be remembered for? He was instrumental in making a permanent English settlement in North America in Virginia.

1591 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh married Elizabeth Throckmorton in secret. She was one of Queen Elizabeth the First's ladies-in-waiting. They did not have the queen's permission and because of this, both Walter and Elizabeth (his wife) were sent to the tower of London.

Links about the Tower of London:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.6Mnef04

http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/#gs.vyiyGNo

http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/events-timeline/#gs.TfSH8YQ

4 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London

5 http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/London/tower-of-london.htm

6 http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-london/tower-of-london

When Walter was released from the Tower, they retired to his estate in Sherbourne, Dorset.

Links about Sherbourne, Dorset:

http://www.sherbornetown.com

2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherborne

3 http://www.sherbornedorset.co.uk

4 http://www.sherbornedorset.co.uk/history-2/american-links/

Raleigh got into a fair amount of mischief or trouble. First, there was she's secret marriage. Then...

1594 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh heard the reports of a city of gold located in South America. He sailed off to find it, but didn't, and he exaggerated his experiences, which led to the myth of El Dorado.

1603 Queen Elizabeth I died.

1603 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was imprisoned in the Tower of London because he was involved in a plot against King James I.

1616 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was released from the Tower of London so he could go on a second expedition looking for El Dorado. However, he found more trouble when members of his crew ransacked an outpost of Spain. To appease the Spanish, he was arrested and then executed later on October 29, 1618.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke


Stay tuned. I will keep adding information here.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke is also known as Roanoke Colony.

The Roanoke Colony was located on Roanoke Island in today's Dare County, North Carolina in the States.

Information about Dare County today :

1 http://www.co.dare.nc.us

2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dare_County,_North_Carolina

This was an attempt by Queen Elizabeth I establish a permanent English colony in America.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert (see) was the one who originally organized and financed this venture. Then, his half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh took over the charter from the queen. Raleigh then assigned Sir Richard Grenville (his distant cousin) and Ralph Lane as his delegates.

The Roanoke Colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh.

MORE TO COME.

1560-1569 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1565

1565 Sir Richard Grenville married Mary St. Leger.

Learn About American History Here


Want to learn more about American history? That is the whole purpose of this blog. Except, this blog has a slightly different slant in that here, we learn about American history through my family tree. Historical facts are shared here, along with some short stories of American historical fiction to help make history come alive.

So, welcome. This blog is for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the USA.

My Story of Starting My Family Tree: Inspiration for beginning genealogists and those who need inspiration


I began researching my family tree out of curiosity, after years of not being interested in it whatsoever. I had no idea whatsoever what I was doing. I was beyond clueless.

I have always been the type that figures things out, mostly accidentally. This family tree and genealogy business has been no exception.

It is rather funny. Professional genealogists have been stumped by portions of my family tree, which I have accidentally stumbled upon the answer. So, I am quite blessed and unfortunate, though is has nothing to do with any skill on my part, but on dumb luck, thanks to the grace of God.

If you want to do your family tree, or are, keep digging. Don't give up. And, make searching online and opening up most every link you find. It's been through looking at the links I didn't think would help me at all that have filled in a missing piece.

Read every link online all the way through. You may think most of what is written junk. But, I guarantee there is at least one nugget of good information in most blog posts.

Think of yourself as a private investigator and an explorer. Grab your spyglass and hat. Then, grab your hiking gear and go wandering. Look at other family trees. Look everything up online through an online search. Keep digging. Act like an archaeologist.

Keep the excitement of adventure.

And, then you will grow your family tree.

And, not only that, history will become alive to you and will be a quite exciting and thrilling adventure.

This is what I have done and keeps off the pressure. It makes it enjoyable, not the type of hitting your head against the wall activity.


Online Research


As I research my family tree, and as I research and write this blog, I do extensive online research.

Every name

Every place

Every date

Every event

I look up all of those online and I try to learn as much information as possible as I go. And, I always ask myself the question as I do online research for genealogy and my family tree is:

Who are they, what happened, when, why, and what was their life like?

Then, I follow up with: What does that mean for me, and for us, today?

I will try to include links as I go for now to help you to do your own research as well.

Oh! I forgot to mention. With every place, when online I enter the place name and hit search. Then, I look at the map and at images, as well as at the websites and blogs about the place. I like to picture it as much as possible. It helps me picture it and remember it. It also makes history come alive for me.

It does require enormous amounts of time, though, doing as thorough of research lone as possible. But, it is quite worthwhile.

This is how I do things. I hope it helps.

To all Genealogists, Professional or Dabbler: Let's form a community


For anyone else working on a family tree, I hope this blog might inspire you.

I also hope we can get to know one another and share hints, tips, and resources on how to do make our family trees. We can also ask questions as well, which is probably the most helpful, and we can all share our responses and help one another. I could sure use any tip you have. And, I figure, we are all in this together. Let's inspire one another and help each other.

Please add a comment to the comment form on this blog, on the right hand side of the page, email me, and/or add a comment at the end of any blog page.

I would love for us to start a community here, where we can ask questions and offer tips and resources.

Cannot wait to hear from you.

My Family


I also write this blog, and share all of this, with the hope it will help my family (anyone on my family tree, direct relation or indirect) to get to know our history and American history.

I hope my family will find these stories, fact and short stories based on fact, helpful to imagine what our family went through in the day.

Therefore, if anyone knows any true stories, I hope you'll share them so I can in turn share them here. Use the contact form on this blog, email me, or add a comment at the end of any blog post.

I also help we can help each learn as much about our family as possible.

Every person lived and should be remembered, along with their stories. This is the goal of this blog and my writing.

What Am I Doing and Who Am I to Do It?


As I sit here this morning, after everything I did yesterday, and after starting this blog five days ago, and I have developed butterflies and nervousness.

What am I doing? And who am I to do it anyway?

I am not a historian. Not in the least. History was my worse subject in school. Then again, twelve years of leaning about the explorers could do that to anyone. Never kind all of the false history I was taught. For instance, I was taught that Plymouth was the first English colony and that Thanksgiving began there. Both are lies. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement and the first Thanksgiving was at Berkeley Plantation. Both were in Virginia, let me add. Never mind how I was never taught that Virginia was the birthplace of the United States of America. But, the only reason why I know these things is because I lived in Virginia for four years (and visited the historic sits at least once a month) and because of my family tree.

But, no. I am no historian. My degrees are in psychology and chaplaincy, for goodness sake.

So, what am I doing? I am so far out of my league it isn't funny. Who am I to do it? Probably most everyone is far more qualified than I am to write this blog.

Nonetheless, I realize not everyone has a traceable family tree that goes back as far as mine does and they don't have the same ancestry I do. My family tree makes me uniquely qualified to write about my family tree.

But, the historical part... I am scared of erring and of not learning enough, never mind sharing enough. Then, I also am fearful of sharing too much. I sure don't want to bore anyone to pieces.

Then, to complicate things even more, I am attending a writing conference this week and will present this idea and learn more how to write these stories. No pressure. It's all self-imposed pressure, I realize. Am I on track? Am I doing what God really wants me to be doing?

I find sharing the facts a little on the dull side. But, that is what I need to do first. Then, when I write the short stories, there is a background to the story, so it makes even more sense. This is the ultimate goal. I will use short stories of historical fiction to help us go there and see it for ourselves in our minds and imagination. I hope to make history come alive and help us remember the facts, not opinions, of American history.

Yesterday, though, felt great with everything I accomplished. Learning and sharing the facts can be a slight bore, but it wasn't yesterday. In fact, it pumped me up and got me excited for what is to come and my writing short stories of historical fiction based off of my family tree.

I pause.

Yes. This blog is what I am supposed to be doing, regardless of how intimidating and how insecure I feel. This blog is one big homecoming where I learn about my family and the history of the country I love.

Since I leave tomorrow for the writing conference, I pray I am able to get even more done than I did yesterday.

Bear with me dear and precious readers and friends. I will find my way and my rhythm of writing this blog.

Writing this blog is sure stretching me. I am far outside of my comfort zone. However, while it makes me feel horribly uncomfortable and nervous, not wanting to get it wrong, it is not unbearable and I will not try to avoid it. The best things in life come from times of uneasiness and fear. It's what we do with them that counts. I am going to to keep at this no matter what.

Learning history from my family tree will make history come alive and will help me make sense of my nation today and will help me speak out about it. It will also help me pray for my nation.

Leaning, though, is never a fruitless activity. And, I sure love to learn. I cannot wait to see what all I learn. Even though I still wonder... What am I doing and who am I to do it?

Monday, May 9, 2016

Thomasine Cole


Thomasine Cole is a distant ancestor on my family tree.

Thomasine Cole was the wife of Sir Roger Grenville, who died in 1545. He was the captain of the ship, "Mary Rose," which sank in the Portsmouth Harbour.

Daughter of Thomas Cole of Slade.

Thomasine remarried Thomas Arundell.

1590-1599 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1591

1591 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh married Elizabeth Throckmorton in secret. She was one of Queen Elizabeth the First's ladies-in-waiting. They did not have the queen's permission and because of this, both Walter and Elizabeth (his wife) were sent to the tower of London.

September 10, 1591 Sir Richard Grenville died near the Azore Islands. He died from wounds sustained in a battle at sea with Spain. He was 49 years old.

1594

August 1594 to March 31, 1603 was the Nine Years' War (Gaelic Irish Chieftqins vs. England). It's also known as Tyrone's Rebellion.
1594 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh heard the reports of a city of gold located in South America. He sailed off to find it, but didn't, and he exaggerated his experiences, which led to the myth of El Dorado.

1540-1549 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1542

June 15, 1542 Sir Richard Grenville was born in Bideford, Devon, England.

Sir Richard Grenville



Sir Richard Grenville is a distant ancestor on my family tree.

Also known as Greenfield, Greynvile, Greeneville, tec.

June 15, 1542 Sir Richard Grenville was born in Bideford, Devon, England.

September 10, 1591 Sir Richard Grenville died near the Azore Islands in the Battle of Flores. He died from wounds sustained in a battle at sea with Spain. He was 49 years old.

Sir Richard Grenville was the heir and eldest son of Sir Roger Grenville (died in 1545) and Thomasine Cole. His father died in 1545 when Richard was an infant while he was the captain of the "Mary Rose," which sank in the Portsmouth Harbour.

The Grenville family were lords of the manors of Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall and of Bideford in Devon, England.

His mother remarried to Thomas Arundell. He was of the Clifton Arundell House. This was where Grenville spent a great feel of his childhood.

Grandfather of Sir Bevil  Grenville (1596-1643).

Sir Richard Grenville was the cousin of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh.

He served in parliament from 1562-1563.

When he was 21, he inherited his grandfather's Estates in Buckland Abbey in Devon, Bideford, and Stowe, Cornwall, England.

He married Mary St. Leger in 1565. She was the daughter of Sir John St. Leger and was then an heir to her brother.

Grenville and family lived at Buckland Abbey 1575-1576 (MORE RESEARCH NEEDED ABOUT THESE DATES.). See these links:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/buckland-abbey

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckland_Abbey

3 http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/devon/houses/buckland.htm

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g315961-d584741-Reviews-Buckland_Abbey-Yelverton_Dartmoor_National_Park_Devon_England.html

http://www.cider-house.co.uk/index.php

http://www.indrakeswake.co.uk/Society/Research/buckland.htm

http://www.devonmuseums.net/Buckland-Abbey,-Garden-and-Estate/Devon-Museums/

In 1585, Sir Richard Grenville acted the Admiral of a fleet of seven ships which brought English settlers to form a military colony on the island of Roanoke.

Look at these links about Roanoke Island and colony:

http://www.roanokeisland.com

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Island

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony

http://roanokeisland.net

https://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-the-lost-colony/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60755-d108283-Reviews-Roanoke_Island_Festival_Park-Manteo_Roanoke_Island_Outer_Banks_North_Carolina.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60755-d143137-Reviews-Fort_Raleigh_National_Historic_Site-Manteo_Roanoke_Island_Outer_Banks_North_Carolin.html

https://www.nps.gov/fora/index.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Raleigh_National_Historic_Site

10 http://www.outerbanks.com/fort-raleigh.html

See The Lost Colony of Roanoke for more information at this link on this blog:

http://familytreesoftheusa.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lost-colony-of-roanoke.html

He served in the Royal Navy of England. His rank was Admiral and he held command of "Revenge." He served in  these battles and war: Second Desmond Rebellion, Anglo-Spanish War in 1585, Battle of Gravelines, and Battle of Flores in 1591.

Where is his birthplace of Bideford, Devon, England? See these links:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bideford

2 https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g190807-Activities-Bideford_Devon_England.html

http://www.devonguide.com/bideford

http://www.bideford-tc.gov.uk/your-history-and-our-friends/bideford-history/town-history

See



Note:

Any time you see the word "see," set off in parentheses, like this:

(see)

This means that you can look up the previous word, name, or phrase on this blog for more information.

I will try to include links, but if I have not, at least you can look up more information on that in this blog by doing a search or looking in the labels to the right side of this blog.

Queen Elizabeth I


She was the Queen of England and Ireland.

She is also known as: Elizabeth of England, Elizabeth of Tudor, Elizabeth Tudor, The Virginia Queen, Good Queen Bess, and Gloriana.

Lived September 07, 1533 to March 24, 1603. She died when she was 69 years old.

Reigned November 17, 1558 to March 24, 1603.

Coronation date (when she took the throne) was January 15, 1559.

April 28, 1603 is when Queen Elizabeth I  was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Her parents were: King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Her royal lineage: She was from the House of Tudor.

Her religion: She was Anglican.

Her mother, Anne Boleyn,  was executed when Elizabeth was two and a half years old. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled and Elizabeth received a declaration of being illegitimate.

She did not have any children.

1550-1559 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1552

January 22, 1552 or 1554, Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was born in Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon, England.

1554

January 22, 1552 or 1554, Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was born in Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon, England.

1558

November 17, 1558 is when Queen Elizabeth I began her reign.

1559

January 15, 1559 is the coronation date of  Queen Elizabeth I.  This is when she took the throne.

1530-1539 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1533

September 07, 1533 is when Queen Elizabeth I was born.

1538

November 17, 1558 Sir Humphrey Gilbert was born.

1600-1609 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1603

March 24, 1603 is when Queen Elizabeth I died. She died when she was 69 years old.

August 1594 to March 31, 1603 was the Nine Years' War (Gaelic Irish Chieftqins vs. England). It's also known as Tyrone's Rebellion.

April 28, 1603 is when Queen Elizabeth I  was buried at Westminster Abbey.

1603 Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh was imprisoned in the Tower of London because he was involved in a plot against King James I.

1606

1606 Sir Walter Raleigh received the high honor of being one of eight who received Letters Patents by King James I. This particular patent was to establish two colonies: the Plymouth Colony and the London Colony.

December 1606 Captain Christopher Newport of the London colony (aka the London Company) set sail.

1607

May 13, 1607 Captain Christopher Newporthe reached the Chesapeake Bay. Jamestown was founded.

May 31, 1607 Sir Walter Raleigh and George Popham of the Plymouth colony  (aka the Plymouth Company) left from Plymouth, England.

August 01, 1607 Sir Walter Raleigh and George Popham arrived in what we now call Maine. Many colonists died that winter there. MORE INFORMATION NEEDED HERE.

Just the Facts, Then the Stories


I think you will see as I write this blog, and its blog posts, I'm going to first share the historical facts. Then, I will write the biography of each of my ancestors. Then, I will write the short stories of historical fiction of several of my ancestors.

This is the process of how I have decided to write this blog, where I'm learning, and have learned, American history through my research of my family tree and doing the genealogy.

Thank you for your patience as it takes time to set up the historical background.

The good news is I am compiling a who's and what's what informational index, encyclopedia, and dictionary in the process. It's an all you ever wanted to know about American history blog, told through the lens of my family tree and some short stories in historical fiction.

Adrian Gilbert


Distant relation and ancestor on my family tree.

Brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

February 06, 1584  brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, received Letters Patent to continue the search for the Northwest Passage.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert


Another spelling is: Sir Humphrey Gylberte.

He is a distant relation and ancestor of mine.

He lived 1538 to September 09, 1583. Age 44 or so was when he died.

He was born in Greenway, Brixham, Devon, England. 

Parents are: Otho (or Otto or Otes) Gilbert and Catherine Champermowne. Otho was of Compton Castle and was the son of Thomas Gilbert and Isabel Reynward. Otho was born August 05, 1513 to 1518 and died February 18, 1547 to 1547. 

He was the fifth son of his parents, according to one source. He was the second son, according to another source. I will research and answer this. RESEARCH AND WRITE MORE. 

One source says he had six sons and 1 daughter. Another source says he had two sons: John and Raleigh Gilbert. I WILL RESEARCH MORE.

His brothers were: Sir John Gilbert and Adrian Gilbert (see).

His half brothers were: Carew Raleigh and Sir Walter Raleigh. They shared the same mother, Catherine Champermowne.

Cousin of Sir Richard Grenville.

The family seat was Compton Castle. 

Married Anne Aucher in 1570 and they had six sons and one daughter.

His titles were: Explorer, adventurer, soldier, member of parliament, and pioneer.

He is the first colonizer of England.

He was not a sailor, but knew how to circumnavigate.

See 1570-1579 Timeline at:
http://familytreesoftheusa.blogspot.com/2016/05/1570-1579-timeline.html

See Timeline 1580-1589:
http://familytreesoftheusa.blogspot.com/2016/05/1580-1589-timeline.html

1580-1589 Timeline



Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1580

1578-1580 Sir Francis Drake circumnavigate the world.

1583

June 11, 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert made his second attempt to find where to plant an English colony in America. They left Plymouth, England on this day. They arrived in Newfoundland on August 03, 1583.

August 03, 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert and crew arrived in Newfoundland.

August 29, 1583, the "Delight" sunk. One hundred souls were lost, along with many of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's records. The "Delight" was part of the June 11th expedition.

September 09, 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert sank at sea in the "Squirrel." It was on his return home to England from the June 11th expedition.

1584

February 06, 1584 Adrian Gilbert, brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, received Letters Patent to continue the search for the Northwest Passage.

March 25, 1584 Sir Humphrey Gilbert's half brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, received a Royal Patent to explore and setup a colony to the South.

1584 Queen Elizabeth I gave Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh Royal Charter to set up a colony in lands that are not Christian lands.

1584-1587 is a period of time known as Raleigh's Roanoke Voyages.


1570-1579 Timeline


Note: I will keep adding to this, so please make sure to check back here periodically.

1570 Sir Humphrey Gilbert (see) married Anne Aucher and they had six sons and one daughter.

1578

1578-1580 Sir Francis Drake circumnavigate the world.

June 11, 1578 A Letters Patent was issued to Sir Humphrey Gilbert (aka Sir Humfrey Gylberte) by the Queen Elizabeth I for Western discoveries, and to plant an English colony in America, with the provision he would not cause any harm to Spanish subjects.

September 26, 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert assembled a rather large fleet, which sailed from Dartmouth, England. However, storms made them seek refuge in Plymouth, England until November 19, 1578. He gave up this attempt. The plan of the voyage by Sir Humphrey Gilbert was to establish a new English colony between Cape Hatteras and the Hudson River.

1579 April Sir Humphrey Gilbert returned to England after his sailing.

Where to Begin: A Look at History Through My Family Tree


THE PLAN AND STARTING POINT OF THIS BLOG

Where should I begin? The truth is I can start with Adam from the Bible or with several other individuals and several other nations. However, I have decided to start with the history of the United States of America. I live here and my immediate family tree is from here, after all. This is the best point in time in which to begin, needless to say. Never mind how our current events, nationally and globally, have made me all the more curious as to our beginnings as a nation and how the values and principles have sustained us to this point.

I have chosen the year 1585 to begin my pursuit of getting to know American history through my family tree. But, why start here?

People lived in what we now call the USA for many years before 1585, but this is when the King of England, and the explorers, had the vision to have a permanent English settlement in North America. It is where our values and principles had their foundation.  I could start before this point, and will one day, but I have decided this is where I will begin.

I also have decided I will tell the historical facts through the eyes of my ancestors and will do so in story form. I will share a story of what might have been, based off of the historical facts, and will convey what happened in the day and the ramifications of what it meant then and what it means today. Some will be written as though it was a journal and some will be in conversation. I call it historical storytelling. It is much like a historical reenactment, but done on the page and not on the stage or at the historical site.

For the first glimpses of American History, I have several distant ancestors and a few direct relations from this period of time.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Down the Rabbit Hole and Up the Family Tree


Let me begin with the story of how all of this was set into motion. Remember from the last blog post that doing the family tree thing was just... well... not my cup of tea. It wasn't what I was interested in at all.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE AND UP THE FAMILY TREE

Four years ago, my Granny called me and told me how a family member was working on our family tree and how that family member discovered some interesting and unexpected information. Since Granny sounded interested in it, I was. But, that was the only reason.

After all, before my family member's search, here is what we knew: We knew that Granny's side was here in the U.S. for only four or five generations or so and my grandfather was the second generation. Therefore, we were relatively new to the United States.

Well, we have discovered since how what we thought we knew was not entirely true.

Granny brought to my attention, at this point, how we had a family member by the name of Bryan, Brian with a 'y' she said. At any rate, Bryan Penny lived in Elizabeth City, Virginia in 1670. "How close is that to where you live now?" She asked with hopeful anticipation.

Huh? Pardon? That sure caught my attention as I shrugged my shoulders. We were on the phone, so she couldn't see me.

"Do you know where that is?" She asked me before I could respond. Her excitement and curiosity was more than evident at this point. I couldn't let her down.

"I don’t have any idea. But, give me a moment. I can find out." My heart picked up its pace and I had the sense I just fell down a rabbit hole, but wasn't sure why.

Thank the Lord, I was at my desk so it was easy for me to do a quick Internet search and lo and behold, I discovered where I lived was what was once called Elizabeth Cittie, not to be confused with modern day Elizabeth City in North Carolina. "Granny, you won't believe this... It's right where I live."

We both chuckled.

"Well, isn't that something?" Granny asked, but it was more of a praise than a question.

My husband and I lived in the Tidewater area of Virginia, also known as Hampton Roads, near the cities of Hampton and Newport News, just north of Norfolk and across the bridge. We lived on the peninsula and had for about a year at this point.

The history in this part of Virginia is out of this world. It is a history lover's dream and it will make anyone who didn't like history like it. I was the latter, once again.

When we moved to the area, we had no idea about the true history, or the extent of the American history, in this place. Little did we know, but we woke up that first morning of our move in the true birthplace of the United States of America. Therefore, this only added to my intrigue.

Could our family have ties to Jamestown or to the battle of Yorktown in the American Revolutionary War? Just the thought seemed incredible to me. It was also the very thing that made me want to do more research.

"That's quite the surprise. So, no one knew we have been here in the States that long?" I asked as I searched online.

"It is a surprise. We had no idea." Granny sounded as excited about the prospect as I did.

"Huh. It looks like he was in Norfolk, which is about forty-five miles south and across the water and tunnel from here. It's where the Naval Yard is located. From what I can see, he was born there and died there."

"That is close, isn't it?"

It is... It looks like I need time to do some more research. How much has she gotten done with the tree?"

"Some, but not a great deal."

"Well, Granny... give me some time and will let you know what I discover."

That was all it took. I became obsessive over the next two weeks in order to get the most for the free access I had during that time and I bought one month of a subscription thereafter.

Sure enough. We had family members as Yorktown in the American Revolutionary War and at Jamestown a stand at last count, we had sixty-five members of our family executed at the Tower of London. Never mind the U.S. presidents and signers of the Declaration of Independence. There, also, have been numerous kings, queens, and emperors from several countries. All of which are interesting, but it's the lives of the more simple folk I tend to be most interested in. Who were they, what did they do, what was their life like, and what was their faith? It makes me quite curious.

It's the history I can learn from that also makes me even more intrigued. I cannot wait to explore American History through the eyes of my ancestors. It makes history real and come alive for me. And I hope it does the same for you.

WAS THE USA STARTED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION?

This is a question we will address as we learn the history of the USA from the history books and from my family tree.

REMEMBERED

Every person has thousands of stories over their life. I wish I had time to tell several stories of each individual so we could do what should be done. Every person has lived. Hence, they should be remembered. Granted, from some stories we can learn what to do from but from others, we can learn what to do. But, they should be remembered nonetheless. The more stories that are remembered, the more we learn the truth about history and what really happened and why.

Let's look back and see what brought the United States of America into existence, why, and how, and see what we can learn from and apply today.

Let's learn the stories and remember.