Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

  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...

2020's Got Nothing on Genealogists: The Journey Into Joining the D.A.R.! AUGUST 20, 2020 While there are a plethora of options of lineage societies to join, for me, it wasn’t even a choice! I’ve known since high school that I would one day apply for membership into DAR, because I learned at an early age that my paternal great grandmother, Ethel E. (Hinman) Eggenberger, and my great aunt, Vera Madine (Eggenberger) Wicke, had both been members of a DAR chapter in Kansas. In fact, Vera’s DAR application form has been the only record I have found in existence, as of yet, that has indicated what her mother’s middle initial of “E” stood for – Eulala! Not even Ethel’s own DAR application form had spelled out her middle name, and maybe for good reason…because where the heck did Eulala come from?? Unfortunately, my path to membership did hit a few bumps in the road, when I submitted my short form application and learned that the documentation proving lineage from my great grandmother to our...