April 19th, two hundred and thirty eight years ago today, there was a confrontation on Lexington Green.
Paul Revere had been up all night riding the countryside letting communities know that the "Regulars are coming!" We were all British then, the Regulars were the soldiers, so he wouldn’t have said “the British were coming!” Paul had no guarantee he would succeed. People could have been arrested. Arms could have been confiscated. Ammunition could have been taken away. They had no right to gather together, no right to say whatever they wanted, no right to do as they pleased. Paul’s news was an alert, that the soldiers were coming and they could do whatever they wished in the name of the King.
As I think back to what that must have been like for the folks who lived in Massachusetts Colony, I can't help but wonder, how would I have felt? What was this like for my ancestors? What kind of upheaval did it mean to them? Where was my family? How did they hear the news? What did they do? Did they realize how big the effects would be of this small confrontation on the green? Were they there?
I know I had ancestors who served in the American War for Independence. But instead of looking after the fact, Is there any way to find out what brought them to that decision? To leave home, family, the farm, and actually engage in battle with the strongest army in the world at the time? What kind of belief they must have had in liberty to turn their back on the only system of law they had ever seen.
The people who decided 238 years ago that they had had enough, they took the chance that there was something else, something better out there then living under a king, a regime that had no regard for the citizens of the colonies. They choose the uncertainty and were willing to give it all up so that their children, grand children, great grandchildren and descendants would have a better life.
So when you hear about the small ragtag militia that stood their ground on the green that day, the small group of settlers that took on the British Army (their army!) and defied the government (their government!)- realize this isn't some vague group of people who knew what the outcome would be.
Be very aware that someone walked away from everything they knew, and threw it away so you could have a better life. And that act of defiance became clear on April 19th, 1775, the date most people think of as the start of the American Revolution. Today.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
William Nelson Dykman
William was one of three children: his brother Henry Trowbridge Dykman was born in 1856 and his sister Elizabeth was born in 1859.
William went to West Point Academy starting on 1 Sept 1871 and graduated in 1875. He graduated a Second Lietenant in the 22nd Infantry, and served until October of 1876. One of his last posts was at Fort Porter, in Buffalo NY. He is often listed in the Newspapers as Colonel William N Dykman, but that doesn't seem to be reflected in the military Records.
William married Isabelle Annan in June of 1885, daughter to Edward Annan. William and Belle had a son, Jackson Annan Dykman on July 11 1887. Jackson married Susan B Merrick on 3 Feb 1915 in New Orleans.
William Dykman died July 20 in 1937, and his wife Belle died March 31 1941.
Sources include:
New York and Ohio Newspapers
Johannes Dyckman of Fort Orange, Vol 2
The Trowbridge Genealogy
West Point Military Records
Federal Census Records
NY & UK Passenger Lists
US Passport Applications
Union University Record
Cemetery Records
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Newell Augustus King
Newell's mother died in 1876, when Newell was only 2 years old. Emma was 26 when she died of 'Congestion of the lungs' on February 13th. In her obituary it stated the daughter of Seth and Emma had been adopted by someone out-of-town. I believe this refers to Belle Carrie Clark, who must have gone to live with someone in her father's family when her mother passed away. In August of 1876 Seth remarried to Katherine Sophia Robinson, Seth and Katherine have 5 girls together, but Newell remained the only son Seth ever had.
Newell married Nellie Waters Dec 25 1903. She had been married before, to George William Earle. In February of 1904, the have a little girl, Clara Jane King. In August of 1905, they have a little boy, Clescent Henry King. In 1906, they have a bit of a family crisis. Nellie was arrested for bigamy. Newell was arrested for adultery. It seems the lawyer Nellie had hired to do her divorce never actually got around to filing her papers. Therefore, she had never officially been divorced. They did get it all straightened out, and as soon as she was divorced from George Earle, Newell and Nelllie got married again in December of 1906. Nellie died in May of 1916, following surgical removal of her appendix.
In August of 1918, Newell married 15 year old Maxine Carpenter. She was one of 9 daughters born to her parents, Melissa Tyler and George W. Carpenter. She and Newell had 11 babies together.
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| WW1 Draft Card For Newell King |
ROBERT LEWIS KING was born in 1920
Baby KING was born and died in 1922.
FRANCES DORIS KING was born in 1923.
DONALD GILBERT KING was born in 1925.
MARGARET PHYLLIS KING was born in 1927.
BARBARA EVELYN KING was born in 1929.
KENNETH RAYMOND KING was born in 1931.
VIRGINIA ANN KING was born in 1933.
GORDON HENRY KING was born in 1935.
DUANE AUSTIN KING was born in 1937.
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