Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

When the first shot of the American Revolution rang out in Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19th, 1775, militiamen throughout the New England colonies were summoned to immediately band together to march for the relief of Boston and for the patriot cause.  “The bearer, Israel Bessel, is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to furnish him with fresh horses as they may be needed.” – Massachusetts Committee of Safety at Watertown This was known as the Lexington Alarm. And my 5th great grandfather, Asher Hinman, was one of the 3,700 men from Connecticut dedicated to this struggle. In his early 30s, he set off from the town of New Hartford as a sergeant in Captain Seth Smith’s company to aid in the rebellion, and fend off any further atrocities by the British troops. In just 3 days’ time, when his company had only reached Hartford about 22 miles away, his service came to an end, as the immediate crisis had been extinguished, and their presence ...

  JULY 04, 2022 As the United States annually celebrates the 4th of July as the birth of our nation, what many forget is that the day only marks the ratifying of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, many of the famous signatures laid upon that document were not even etched in until August 2nd of that year. And more importantly, the many famous battles of the Revolutionary War were fought in the years following, not leading up to. My 4th great grandfather, Hezekiah Marshall, testified to participating in one of those well-known engagements, The Battle of Trenton. In October of 1776, Hezekiah and his father’s team in Frederick, Maryland, were pressed into the service to haul baggage for the U.S. army, most of the time under the command of General Nathaniel Greene. At this time, and over the next two months, the Continental Army appeared to be on the losing side, and morale was low. Emanuel Leutze, 1851, oil painting of Continental soldiers unloading military provisions from a Co...

  DECEMBER 11, 2021 In addition to having ancestral lines in my family, I also have ancestral Lynes in my family. The surname Lyne sits on the paternal side of our tree. My 3rd great grandmother, Margaret Ellen, was born a Lyne. Margaret Ellen (Lyne) Scheetz, ca. 1880. Week 50: Lines My Lynes are thought to have originated in Bristol, England around the mid to late 1600s. It’s thought my 6th great grandfather was a Lyne who came to America with his brother. The two allegedly split up when they arrived, with my ancestor settling in Westmoreland County, Virginia and his brother settling in Granville, North Carolina. My Lyne married Miss Mary Edwards and raised a large family. One of their sons, Thomas Lyne, was my 5th great grandfather, born about 1745 in Westmoreland. This was during the colonial era when Virginia was still under British rule. When the Revolutionary War broke out, Thomas joined as a private in the 6th regiment of Virginia. He survived the war and started a family w...

  NOVEMBER 14, 2021 I believe it's a common misconception among the general American population that the Revolutionary War ended with the birth of our nation, 4 July 1776. In fact, the fighting had only just begun the year prior and the battles raged on through 1783, with Great Britain only recognizing the colonies' independence with the signing of The Treaty of Paris. John Trumbull, The Declaration of Independence. 1776, 1817-18; George Washington Bicentennial Commission, ca. 1924-12/31/1934, Records of Commissions of the Legislative Branch, 1928-2007; National Archives, online database with images ( https://catalog.archives.gov : accessed 14 Nov 2021) NARA identifier 532924, local identifier 148-GW-662. Week 46: Birthdays In the midst of this harrowing affair, my 5th great grandfather, James Stark of Dutchess County, New York, had joined the fight. He fought under George Washington in Captain Ranson's 2nd Independent Company of Colonel John Durkee's 4th Connecticut R...