Category: General History
The Puritans and Religious Freedom?
I have within the last week or so discovered some ancestors that immigrated to the Massachusetts Colony in during the Puritan times. My ancestor Eleanor Moulton/Phelps/Trusler, and her second husband Thomas Trusler were members of the first church of Salem Massachusetts by 1639. As an American, I was taught in school the Puritans came to the Colonies for religious freedoms, which is true, but the Puritans did not reciprocate that notion to others with different religious beliefs. On the contrary–in 1658 John Smith had helped the Salem constable arrest Quakers. Nicholas Phelps, Eleanor’s son was arrested, jailed and badly beaten for having a Quaker church meeting in his home. June 1, 1660 a Boston Quaker Mary Dyer was hung for refusing to repent her Quaker believes. About 1661 Samuel Shattuck and Nicholas Phelps sailed to England to petition parliament to help the Quakers. Returning to New England Nicholas, weakened from the voyage died not long after. The letter delivered in 1661 to King Charles I, was what it took to stop much of the Quaker persecutions.
Real pictures of Napoleon’s soldiers
Another Revolutionary War Veteran Photo
J. Dennis Robinson website “The Revolutionary Eyes
of George Fishley. The page focuses on Capt. George Fishley, who was born in 1859. Capt. Fishley entered in to the Continental Army in 1777, there he served three years. He died in 1850 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Again here is the link:The Revolutionary Eyes
of George Fishley
THE LAST MEN OF THE REVOLUTION
My daughter Autumn Rhodes on many occasions has sent me to interesting websites, and once again she comes through with one that I feel inclined to send your way. The site is part of AmericanRevolution.org, the link off this site is called “THE LAST MEN OF THE REVOLUTION“. The pages of this website are from a book of the same name by REV. ELIAS B. HILLARD, which was originally published in 1864. The site features a half a dozen of the last known Revolutionary War servicemen who where still living in 1865. The site gives autobiographies on the men, photos of them, color sketches of their homes, and more. If you would like a copy of the original 1864 publication of the book it can go for well over $7800.00, fortunately it was reprinted in 1968 and that copy sells from about $98 via Amazon.com.
A wonderful Vintage Era Blog
I have discovered a couple of great blogs from an anonymous woman of France. The blogs featuring vintage illustrations and photos, with items dating from the mid-1800’s through the 1930’s, and a few of them a little later. The first site is simply entitled: Vintage Blog. Another blog by the author, that runs along the same time period is called: Vintage Photography, it also has some awesome images. I encourage you to check them out.
Again here are links to them:
Vintage Blog
Vintage Photography
When is the Queen’s English not English? When it was German, , , , ,
Celebrate American Independence day with Canadian cartoonist Kate Beaton
You can see more Kate’s work at:http://harkavagrant.com/
George Washington on a Triceratops commemorates the Battle of Yorktown
Artist Joseph Griffith has struck a second edition of his sold-out lithograph “The Surrender,” which commemorates Washington’s victory at the Battle of Yorktown, Which include Osama bin Laden and Jar-Jar Binks to Mr Kool-Aid, Fonzie, Robocop, and Where’s Waldo (and many others!).
To view the complete article go here.
Coming up on St. Patrick’s day
In many households St. Patrick’s day comes and goes without hardly a nod. In our home it is a different story as our daughter, Autumn Rhodes, is a professional Irish musician in San Fransisco. So the days and weeks leading up to St Paddy’s are hard work for her, the day may start playing music at at a school 8:30am, till early morning the next day at a pub– all to entertain the Irish in us, if only one day a year. With many, the celebration is not complete without having a meal with corned beef, and washing down green beer, or a few pints of Guinness.
Thus when I read of a St. Patrick’s day celebration where Autumn’s and my ancestors were stationed during the American Revolution, I felt inclined to write about it. The ancestors were Richard Breeden and his wife Frances Chiles, (http://carl.rhodesfamily.org/getperson.php?personID=I142&tree=carls), both were veterans of the war, serving in Gen. George Rogers Clark’s Illinois Regiment in what is now Kentucky. From about March 1780, they where stationed at a remote stockade called Fort Jefferson. It was located at the mouth of the Ohio, where it meets the Mississippi River in present day Hardin County, Kentucky. This was the farthest western reach of the American colonies. They were under continual attacks by the Chickasaw Indians during the summer of 1780, led by Indian representatives of the British. Due to the relentless Indian attacks, in July 1781 the fort was evacuated.
Although, life at the fort was dangerous and stressful, like today they took time out to celebrate St. Patrick’s day, as recorded on March 17, 1781: Much drinking to St. Patrick’s health. Then on the following day: Drinking to the health of St. Patrick’s wife.
From the book: The Person of George Rogers Clark’s Fort Jefferson and the Civilian Community of Clarksville [Kentucky], Based on the Lost Vouchers of George Rogers Clark, Edited and Compiled by Kenneth Charles Carstens