Patriot Pride for the 4th of July?

I’m not one of the 165,000 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  I could be, since I satisfy the requirement of being a descendant of someone (a Patriot) who fought in the Revolutionary War.  I envision members of the DAR as stuffy old ladies in hats, but in fact I’ve never met someone who was a member, so my assessment is quite unfair.  Certainly this organization must be commended as history preservers, and I’m all for that.  These days they don’t seem to be the elitist group that they were back in the 1930’s when they refused to allow the African American vocalist Marian Anderson to be booked at the DAR built Constitution Hall in D.C.  Today they donate over a million dollars each year to school programs, sponsor American History essay contests, provide scholarships, support literacy programs, and house one of our country’s most extensive genealogical libraries. 

We are filled with pride for our Revolutionary War Patriot fore bearers.   But what if, like me, you also hide a disgraceful Tory in the branches of your family tree?  It has been estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the American colonist were Loyalist.  So, I suppose that many of us have a few Tories that we would rather not mention of the 4th of July.  Like our slave-holding ancestors, we consider them as unrepresentative of our true and honorable origins. 

My Tory was named Gideon Wright and in 1780, along with his brother Hezekiah, he raised up a group of “Tories” in North Carolina, which might have numbered as high as 900.  Gideon had the support of the Royal Governor of North Carolina, Josiah Martin, who authorized Gideon to erect the King’s standard, enlist fellow loyalist, and “oppose all rebels and traitors.”  The group attacked Richmond, the little county seat of Surry County.  The County Sheriff was killed and property was destroyed.  In response, Patriot forces gathered and assembled across the area and on Oct. 14, 1780 a combined force of about 350 Patriots came together on the west side of a stream near the Shallow Ford crossing of the Yadkin River.  The Tory group approached and a battled began, lasting only about 45 minutes.  Despite being greatly outnumbered the Patriots were victorious, and the Tories ran away in retreat.  Several days later the officers of the Patriots offered a conditional pardon to those who had supported the Tory cause.  Many of the Tories agreed to this offer, which included a promise that they would serve in the local militia.  Co- leader, Col. Hezekiah Wright supposedly intended to agree to the pardon also, but was shot and killed at his home before having a chance to accept.  My ancestor, Col. Gideon Wright, took off for Charleston, South Carolina with his tail between his legs.  He stayed in exile there until his death a few years later. The British had held Charleston until the end of the War, vacating in December of 1782. 

In the desperate, and perhaps weak, defense of my ancestor I must mention that there is evidence that the Wright brothers and their followers were less concerned about supporting the British King than settling ongoing conflicts between themselves and another local power group.  There had been clashes between these two groups concerning the location of the county seat when Surry County was formed from part of Rowan County in 1771.  At the time of the county formation Gideon Wright used his political power and influence to make sure the first county courthouse was built on his land.  Rivals of the Wrights, Martin Armstrong and William Shepard immediately began advocating a bill in the state Assembly for permission to move the county seat to Richmond and onto land that they both owned.  Meanwhile a few court buildings were erected and court was held on the Wright property until suspiciously, the buildings were burned to the ground.  Before they could be rebuilt, Armstrong and Shepard had been successful in their bid to move the county seat two miles from Gideon Wright’s farm to what is now Old Richmond.  

Things weren’t settled and the tit for tat conflict continued with Armstrong once accusing the Wright brothers as being “bandits of plunders, whose ignorance is to be dreaded.”  One account says that during this time Hezekiah Wright was attacked and beaten by some of the Armstrong/Shepard supporters.  So, it is no surprise that when the Wright brothers and their followers (the Tories) charged into Richmond in October of 1780, they made sure that the raid included the burning of William Shepard’s home.  You might wonder how the Wright brothers were able to gain so much support.  Apparently, in the years leading up to the Battle of Shallow Ford, the local Patriots had been on a bit of a vigilante crusade; burning property, stealing cattle, and beating those they suspected of having Royalist sentiments.  Rather than being subjected to such treatment, many settlers began to ally themselves with the Wright brothers for protection.  I can imagine that it was a situation in which, regardless of your political leanings, you were forced to take a position and align yourself with the side that offered your family the best protection. 

Historians view the Patriot Victory at Shallow Ford as an important psychological turning point for the Southern colonists.  It fueled the confidence of the Patriot militias in North Carolina at a time when their moral and success was faltering.

The local DAR chapter down in those parts of North Carolina is named “The Battle of Shallow Ford Chapter.”  Maybe, as a Wright ancestor, I wouldn’t be real welcome there.    Does that even up my Patriot scorecard for this branch of the family tree?  Or, should I fade into the background of the 4th of July celebrations and hope none of you tell that I’m a descendant of a redcoat, lobsterback, traitor, Tory?

-Mary

*Additional details for the family historians who want more than the interesting story:

My Connection:  Col, Gideon WRIGHT- Sarah (Wright) HIGGINS- Gideon Wright HIGGINS – Lucy (Higgins) BURTON- Hannah (Burton) MITCHELL- Florence (Mitchell) GEIGER- Thomas M. GEIGER- Elizabeth F. GEIGER- Me

OK- here lies a problem and one that might at some later date require me to kick old Gideon Wright off my family tree branches and declare myself Tory free.  It is pretty clear that Col. Robert Higgins married someone with the last name of Wright, and although almost all the research I’ve seen posted on the Internet and various family histories declares that she was indeed the daughter of the Tory Gideon Wright, I can’t seem to find absolute proof.  This “Wright” wife of Higgins supposedly died while he was imprisoned during the War.  When Higgins returned to his home in what is now W.Virginia he remarried and moved the family west to Kentucky and then to Ohio, founding the town of Higginsport, OH.  Col. Robert Higgins parents moved also and ended up staying in Mercer county, KY.    A son from Col. Higgins first marriage (to Miss Wright) is supposedly Gideon Wright Higgins and we have records for him in Mercer County, KY.  The name itself shows some connection to Gideon Wright or his extended family because Gideon seems to be a common name in that line.  The other clue is that the Higgins and Wright families seem to both have connections in New York.  Perhaps, even though the Higgins were in W. Virginia and the Wrights were in N. Carolina, they had ties that brought them together in marriage.  My best opinion at this point is that Col. Gideon Wright (from N. Carolina) is my ancestor.

**The county of Surry was later divided and its’ original county seats on Gideon Wright’s property and the town of Richmond are now located in Forsyth County.  Today they are merely blips on the map.  

Beallsville Cemetery

One of my ongoing research projects is putting together the story of my paternal great grandmother, Maude Lillian Sargent.  Over the years I have gradually added to her story but the progress has been slow.  Years ago my great aunt, Maude’s daughter, gave me a few basic facts.  So, I began with the knowledge of Maude’s parent’s names, and the knowledge that Maude’s mother had died when Maude was an infant.  My great aunt also told me that an Aunt and Uncle, “Avery and Bonar Blaker” had raised Maude.  

A number of years ago another descendant of Johnson Sargent, Maude’s father, responded to a inquiry post I had on line and from him I was able to piece together more of the story.  Johnson Sargent was married multiple times and spent some time in the U. S. Calvary.  I’ve discovered quite a bit about Johnson and his story will be the topic of a future blog.

The thing I wanted to share with you today is actually an incredible website that I have come across while researching Maude’s family.  This website is entirely devoted to a small cemetery in the community of Beallsville, Pennsylvania.  It was in this town, just south of Pittsburgh, that my Maude was born, and this cemetery, where her young mother was likely buried.

The web site creator, Debbie Day, was initially drawn to the cemetery as she began to research her family tree.  According to a newspaper article about the her, Debbie found that of the approximately 10,000 people buried in the Beallsville Cemetery, about 600 were somehow associated with her family tree. 

Debbie began a project to research, scan and document all records related to the cemetery and to photograph many of the tombstones.  She used this information to create an online project as part of her studies to earn her master’s degree in library science.  What she developed is one of the best genealogical websites, devoted to a single topic that I have come across.  There are two things that make this site unique, the first is that all the documentation is cross-referenced, including tombstone photos, plot maps, payment records, etc.  For many persons, she has also included death records, personal photographs and obituaries.  The second thing is that Debbie’s goal seems to have been to document the entire cemetery and reveal as much about the lives of all the interred, not just her own family.  It isn’t just a cemetery internment list but instead a multimedia record that takes in all the advantages of a web based format.

Now, back to my G Grandmother Maude.  There is no tombstone for Maude’s mother, Allie Hawkins Sargent, in the Beallsville Cemetery.  Allie died sometime in 1875, when Maude was about 9 months old, according to my great aunt.  Maude’s father, Johnson Sargent, did own a plot there and according to the plot records there are 3 adults buried in that plot that have no stone or names listed in the records.  Allie’s brother, Sherman Hawkins, 14 at the time of his death, is buried in that plot.   There is this notation on the interment listing for 1875, “Child of J. Sargent.”  Maybe that is a mistake and it is actually Allie’s internment, or perhaps, Allie was with child, gave birth early, and both mother and child died in 1875. I know that Maude was born on November 15, 1874.  It seem unlikely, but certainly possible, that her mother became pregnant again some months after Maude’s birth and perhaps late in 1875 was experiencing a premature birth that resulted in the death of both mother and child.

Debbie Day tells me that she has quite a few Hawkins and Sargents in her family tree, so we are probably distantly related.  Here is the link to her Beallsville Cemetery website.  Take a look, and maybe you’ll be inspired to do some preservation work at a cemetery near where you live.  

Beallsville Cemetery Web Site

-Mary

Connections where you least expect them

This past weekend we were in Iowa for the wedding of my sister’s daughter.  The wedding was in Des Moines and yes it was  saturated there with all the rain they have had lately.  God held the storms back a bit on Saturday, so the bride and groom didn't have to fight downpours or tornadoes.  What blessed events wedding are!

I was regretting that we were only able to be there for the weekend event, because it would been interesting to have gone up to NE Iowa where Doug’s grandparents were born.  I thought that surely we would meet someone at this wedding that knew of those little towns where the Browns and Whites had lived.  But, no one at the wedding had really heard of Cresco or Volga City. 

With the storms yesterday, I wasn’t sure we would make it back from Iowa last night but fate was kind to us and despite the delayed and cancelled flights aplenty, we arrived home last night only an hour later than expected. 

Now, this is what is interesting about today.  I’ve been having trouble with the sprinkler system and had made an appointment weeks ago for a local repairman to have a look at it today.  It doesn’t rain in Sacramento in the summer, so the sprinkler system is essential.  Anyway Nels, the sprinkler guy who happens to live not far from us stopped by this morning to give his assessment of the problem.  He mentioned something about how the weather was beginning to get hot and how Governor Schwarzenegger had declared that California was in a drought.  I quipped back that I had seen plenty of rain and weather in Iowa over the weekend.  Then, he told me that his family had come from NE Iowa.  So, I asked if he had heard of Cresco and remarkably he had, because his mother and father came from a little town very close to Cresco.  I told him how no one at the Iowa wedding had seemed to have heard of Cresco, and he said, “Nobody’s heard of Cresco or New Hampton” (the town his family was from.)  He was so excited he almost called up one of his relatives right then and there to see if the family knew of the Doug’s grandparents’ families, the Browns, the Whites, and the Whitfords.

This wasn’t the only connection, sprinkler man Nels Borlaug and I discovered.  He had mentioned that a relative from Iowa had won the Nobel Prize; so later I asked him what type of Nobel Prize this cousin had won.  Well, it turns out that his father’s cousin, Norman Borlaug, was a famous agronomist and won the Nobel Peace prize for his work in formulating high yielding crops, saving third world countries like India and Pakistan from deathly famines.  In Pakistan the wheat yield actually doubled from 1965-1970!  This was part of what we refer to today as the Green Revolution.  Doug’s dad, Dorsey, had been an agriculture teacher, and later was involved in teacher education at UC Davis in the 1960’s.  In 1964 Dorsey became a part of the Green Revolution as a trainer and education expert, moving the family to Pakistan when Doug was about 16 years old.

Nels was able to fix the sprinklers and hopefully the rain has let up in Des Moines.  And…. even though I didn’t find a family history connection this weekend in Iowa, I did find one at home.

-Mary

Highlights Of Our Scotland Trip

Oldest Site: Skara Brae (Orkney)= 5,000 year old Neolithic village- a world heritage site.  This cluster of ten houses is famous because of its superb preservation.  Completely covered in sand until 1850, when a storm reveled its presence.  Just to put things in perspective—it’s older than the Great Pyramid of Giza by about a thousand years.

Best B and B: Minard Castle (Loch Fyne) = A mansion castle built in the 1700’s and added to in the mid 1800’s.  Our room here was about a third of the size of our entire house.  The owner spontaneously gave us a tour of many of the private sections after breakfast the first day.   This magical place is situated on the shores of Loch Fyne, and includes a beautiful walled garden and expansive grounds with trails and old roads.  The Campbells built the original structure, perhaps a distant relation of our Mary Campbell (1690-1765).

Best Wildlife Viewing:  Pod of frolicking Killer Whales seen while crossing the Pentland Firth on the ferry from the Orkney Islands back to John O’Groats.

Best Artifacts: The National Museum in Edinburgh was full of fabulous artifacts but unfortunately their organization, presentation, and interpretation could use a major overhaul.  So…. I’ll have to pick the “Honors of Scotland” displayed in Edinburgh Castle.  These include the Crown of Scotland that dates to about 1540, the Scepter of Scotland which was a gift from Pope Alexander VI to King James IV in 1494, the Sword of State which was a gift from Pope Julius II to James IV in 1507, and most importantly the Stone of Destiny.  The Stone of Destiny, essentially just a plain stone block, is the coronation stone for the Scottish monarchs.  In 1296 the Stone was captured by the English and kept in England until it was finally returned to Scotland in 1996.  There is an agreement though that it will be temporarily returned to Westminster Abbey when required for future coronation ceremonies.

Best View:  From the top of Dun I, the highest hill on the island of Iona.  I suspect St. Columba himself meditated from this spot.

Most Dramatic Landscape: Glen Coe, a 12-mile valley through the Highlands, also famous for the massacre of members of the MacDonald clan in 1692.

Best Norse Sites: The Castle of Old Wick that was built in the 12th century when Norway ruled these northern lands of Scotland.  It is only a small ruin now but is dramatically set on above cliffs above the ocean.  Also, St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirwall on Orkney, built in the 1100’s and a great example of Norman architecture.  The residents of Orkney (which is part of Scotland) still have a strong affinity with Norway; just take a look at the flags of Orkney and Norway.

Most Northerly Point: The Ring of Brogar on Orkney’s main island.  It’s about 59 degrees north.  This is north of Churchill (famous for polar bears) Canada and north of Moscow, Russia.  But, in Orkney they get no snow and just occasional frost in the winter.  

Most Frightening Moments: Driving on the narrow roads, 98% of which have absolutely NO shoulder.  I’m not exaggerating, the pavement either drops off abruptly or there is a high curb.   It didn’t help that despite our reserving a small car, we were given a large Chrysler 300 and told that there was nothing else available.  Doug did all the driving and had to not only negotiate the roads, but also put up with me a nervous passenger under even normal conditions.  He’d had some experience driving on the left side so that didn’t bother him too much.

Best Meal: Fish and chips at a little restaurant in the city of Oban.  The fish was fresh haddock.  All the “chips”, or French fries as we call them, served in Scotland were wonderful and not greasy like our American versions.

Best Scone: The Dingwall Train Station Tea Room – the real thing, nothing like what we get at Starbucks

Oddest Food:  I wasn’t brave enough to try the Haggis, but I did try the blood pudding, a sausage type of food, which is made with the blood of cows or sheep.  It was quite tasty actually.

Worst Food:  The coffee.  Mostly instant coffee is served in this tea-drinking nation.

Most Complex Labyrinth: London’s Heathrow Airport.  I suggest that they bulldoze the whole thing and start over with a logical plan.  Coming and going we almost missed our connections. 

Saddest Site:  An elderly woman staying at the Columba Hotel on Iona.  She ordered a whole bottle of wine at dinner and drank every drop as she sat alone at her table in the dining room.  On the other side of the dining room was a young man, also alone, who too consumed a whole bottle of wine.  “All the lonely people, where do they all come from?”

Funniest Moments:  Doug and I trying not to “mention the war,” as we were surrounded by German tour groups several times during the trip.  You’d have to have been a fan of the old British comedy Faulty Towers to understand this one.  One German tour guide was decked out in tartan slacks and tie and yelling at the wait staff of the hotel about their poor service, while those in his group stood firm, holding up the breakfast buffet line, waiting for their bacon.

-Mary

To view our photos click this link: Scotland Photos