Daughters of the American Revolution

Listening to all the fireworks going off in my neighborhood until after midnight last night, I wondered how many gave even a passing thought to the great sacrifices that accomplished our nation's independence. I tried to imagine what it was like to actually be in midst of the Revolutionary War (or any war for that matter) and hear live canons and firearms.

It was on this day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were then independent from the British Empire. Yet the American Revolutionary War continued on until 1783.

I watched part of a 2 hour program on PBS last night about the Revolutionary War entitled "Rebels and Redcoats", as told by a British historian. As I watched the re-enactments dramatized on screen I thought of my fifth great-grandfather Darius Webb who fought in the Revolutionary War.

It took a considerable amount of research by my cousin and researcher Jonathan Webb Deiss to verify in fact that Darius was a veteran of that war. Service of his brothers Ebenezer, Jr., Christopher and Jonathan had been clearly established, but no Compiled Service Record could be found on file at the National Archives for Darius. Eventually though Jonathan found Darius' service records associated with three Massachusetts regiments that were raised up in Hampshire County, Massachusetts for very short terms of service.

With tremendous gratitude to Jonathan Webb Deiss, all the official documentation is available that verifies that I am indeed a "daughter" of the American Revolution. However, I have not officially applied to the National Society which has as its objectives, historic preservation, patriotism and education. These are all things that I value greatly yet for now it seems enough to know that I am a descendent of Revolutionary patriot without having to process all the official paperwork.

America
Lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!

Good Soldiers

Looking through the viewfinder of my camera at the soldiers lined up for my hometown Memorial Day services, I imagined that this day of remembrance took them back through the vivid memories of life and survival in a war zone. Though many decades have passed, they can still feel the recoil of the gun, still hear the sound of enemy planes, still see their comrade fall.

Indeed, by the end of the day, Dad said it had been a difficult day of remembering.

In honor of my parents' service in WWII, I bring to you this story written by my father some years ago to include in a book of memories for my mother:

Do you remember when we were still in high school? War was about all there was in the news. Hitler had defeated Poland and then Norway, Denmark, and France and was looking across the channel at England. Japan had all the coastal ports of China and the only way we could get to China was from Burma and over the hump.

The United States had over one hundred war ships in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese made their surprise attack. Somebody must have really been asleep.

It wasn't long until the whole country was producing war material and the draft was taking all the men. I have heard that at one time there was not a man in New London of military age. All production of every factory went to the war effort Gasoline, sugar and many other things were rationed. The speed limit was thirty five miles per hour.

Most of the women then were homemakers and stayed at home with the kids, but with the war going many of them took jobs in factories and did the work of the men. None of us wanted to go into the military but when we were called we went because our country was in a position where we had no choice but to fight for our existence as a nation.

For me military service wasn't all that bad, there was good days and some really bad days but generally we just marked a lot of time. The thing that bothered me the most was the terrible loneliness. From the time I left home until I returned over three years later, I had not seen a person that I had seen before.

I was proud when you went in the service and I carried your picture in a frame that I made from a shipping crate with my pocket knife. We have that picture here on the wall today. We served our country and did what we were told, nothing heroic and nothing to be ashamed of either. We were good soldiers.

Thanks Dad for telling this story. I'm sure glad you came home! Happy Fathers' Day!

More stories to be told....

Orchids (and a magnolia)

The Orchidaceae (or Orchid family) is the largest family of the flowering plants and contains as many as 22,000 species. A great many, perhaps hundreds were on display in the orchid show at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens this past spring. Most were planted in the natural environments provided by the Costa Rican and Madagascar glass houses.

Every Friday a colleague participating on the archivists discussion forum delights us all with his flower photo of the day. Sonny Carter gave me permission to post a link to his web site. Here is what he captured this week-- a magnolia blooming near where he parked his car:
http://www.sonc.com/friday_june_5_2009.htm

Old Glory

A hush fell over the sanctuary where 300 gathered to memorialize Walter Gonska, someone I only briefly knew, a friend's father. Two Navy men in dress whites approached the front of the sanctuary with slow deliberate steps. Then the reverent unfolding with white gloved hands, and finally the display of those glorious stars and stripes, held precisely in place to the mournful sound of taps. In the stillness that followed all that could be heard was the quiet snap of fabric against fabric as it was once again returned to its triangular shape.

It seemed as if time stood still as I watched, captivated by the profound meaning of that solemn moment. And I considered, yet in vain, all that this grand flag signifies for our great nation. And in her honor the thousands upon thousands who fell on battlefields around the world for the sake of our freedom.

From where I sat several rows from the front I had a straight line of vision to see the face of the officer as he kneeled in front of Walter's surviving wife, Carole. Someone next to her had their arm around her shoulder. As I since have learned, what he conveyed to her was this official message: "On behalf of the President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country and a grateful Navy."

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Many mothers

I've been considering ideas for a Mother's Day blog all week and, out of no where the idea came to me tonight to honor my maternal heritage with these photos and names of grandmothers on my mother's side of the family. (I have photos of 4 grandmothers on my father's side but for the sake of space will save those for another post). I first went about the process of inserting all the photos and accompanying text first then began fishing for the introductory text. It wasn't until just a moment ago that it dawned on me, the idea for this post came to me when I was looking in the mirror. And what I see in the mirror is derived from genetic information passed down through all those generations.

Being able to associate names and even photos with so many of my grandparents (my family roots trace back 14 generations) is incredible enough but I also have more detailed information and stories about each one pictured here. Stories that make them come alive in my imagination. Stories that make me stand up straighter. Stories that compel me to live my life in such as way as to honor them.

I have even taken the time to list names of additional known grandmothers, just names but each name represents flesh and blood, joys, fears, hardships, beliefs, values and hope... hope against hope that their lives would count for something of great value beyond themselves.

My Mother
Elizabeth Ann (Hester) Phillips

Date of birth: September 20, 1923
Mother: Mary (Sullivan) Hester
Father: Webb Hester
Spouse: Vinton Phillips
Date of Marriage: July 15, 1946
Children: John Robert, Deborah Mary and Daniel Lee

Served in the armed forces in World War II. A woman devoted to her family, teaching her children the virtues of honesty, hard work and concern for others, while also finding joy in the simple pleasures of life.

My Mother's Mother

Mary (Sullivan) Hester

Born: September 26, 1891
Married: Webb Hester, December 23, 1915
Children: James, Finlay, Jane, Maybelle, Mary, Elizabeth, Robert
Died: January 27, 1931 at the age of forty years
Parents: Margaret Curtin and James Sullivan

A nurse by profession, a devoted wife and mother who left us too soon.

My Mother's Paternal Grandmother
Mabelle Lorena (Webb) Hester (with son, Webb Hester)

Date of birth: November 27, 1867 in Canton, Connecticut
Mother: Francis Hannah (Holmes) Webb
Father: Reverend Loren Webb
Spouse: Finlay Hester
Married: November 22, 1892
Children: Webb and Loren
Date of death: December 26, 1940 at the age of seventy-three years
Place of death: Huron County, Ohio

My Great-Great Grandmother

Mary (Finlay) Hester
Born: October 2, 1824 in Ireland

Married: Martin Mason Hester, May 21, 1850
Children: William J.., Catharine Eliza, Finlay

Died: July 5, 1906 at the age of eighty-two years
Parents: Margaret Beatty and John Finlay
A “helper indeed” for her husband of fifty-five years, and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for sixty-eight years.

My Great Great Grandmother

Frances Hannah Holmes Webb
Born 1842, Danbury, Connecticut

Married: Loren Webb December 12, 1866
Children: Mabelle Lorena Webb and Clara Laurilla and unnamed son who lived only a few hours
Died: October 21, 1877
Parents: Mary E. Taylor and Steven Holmes





My Great Great Great Grandmother
Mary (Stough) Hester
Date of birth: February 15, 1789 in the Glades of West Virginia
Married: Martin Hester, November 30, 1809
Children: John, Eliza, Samuel, Matthias and Martin Mason Parents: Elizabeth (Hogmire) Stough and Reverend John Stough
Died: June 15, 1863 at the age of seventy four years, in Huron County, Ohio

“A pioneer woman, having commenced life in unbroken forest seven times.”


Additional Grandmothers in the Webb branch

• Mary E. Taylor, wife of Steven Holmes, parents of Frances Hannah Holmes (pictured above)
• Louisa Ellis, wife of Oliver Webb, parents of Loren Webb
• Lydia Parmalee, wife of David Webb, parents of Oliver Webb
• Deborah Palmer, wife of Darius Webb, parents of David Webb
• Ruth Crane, wife of Ebenezer Webb, parents of Darius Webb
• Hannah Ripley, wife of Samuel Webb (II), parents of Ebenezer Webb
• Mary Adams, wife of Samuel Webb (I), parents of Samuel Webb
• Hanna Scott, wife of Christopher Webb (II), parents of Samuel Webb
• Humility Wheaton, wife of Christopher Webb (I), parents of Christopher Webb
• Hannah Bradford, wife of Joshua Ripley, parents of Hannah Ripley
• Alice Richards, wife of William Bradford (II), parents of Hannah Bradford
• Allice Carpenter, wife of William Bradford (I), parents of William Bradford
• Welthian Loring, wife of Thomas Richards, parents of Alice Richards
• Elizabeth Hobart-Hubbard, wife of John Ripley, parents of Joshua Ripley

Additional Grandmothers in the Hester branch

• Mary Finlay, wife of Martin Mason Hester, parents of Finlay Hester
• Margaret Beattty, wife of John Finlay, parents of Mary Finlay (pictured above)
• Elizabeth Hogmire, wife of John Stough, parents of Mary Stough (pictured above)
• Charlotte Kessler, wife of Godfrey Stough, parents of John Stough
• Elizabeth Mason, wife of John Hester, Sr., parents of Martin Hester
• Christina Waite, wife of Martin Mason, parents of Elizabeth Mason
• Mary Margaret, wife of John Lawrence Hester, parents of John Hester, Sr.

May all who come behind us find us faithful.

Preserving the past, investing in the future

This week I have touched down in the world of professional archivists, people who preserve historical documents and artifacts for posterity. They work for museums, libraries and large organizations like universities and the national offices of church denominations. With thanks to my cousin Jon who is doing work for the National Archives I located this group's web site and signed up for their online discussion forum. I was looking for an efficient route towards developing some basic archival policies and procedures for The City Mission where I work.

One of my many roles at the Mission is to assist our contracted historian who is compiling a small book about our 100 years of service to Cleveland. (I locate documents and bits of information she needs to piece the puzzle together). Our organization has sent several boxes of materials to the Western Reserve Historical Society archives which we can rest assured are safely preserved. In the meantime, we continue to amass materials that will need to be archived in the future but we could benefit from having some guidelines in place now that will assure that important materials don't get lost or misplaced or mishandled in the shuffle of daily life in a busy organization. I posted a query on the discussion forum of the archivists late Friday afternoon and by Monday morning I had several helpful responses in my in-box, from archivists at places like Wheaton College, Dallas Theological Seminary and the national offices of the United Church of Christ which happens to be in Cleveland. I have a lunch date with someone who has offered to share some materials and pointers with me.

Meanwhile I have remained on their discussion forum so I get to hear their exchange of queries and answers. Most of them aren't of direct interest to me but this week someone decided to do an informal survey of the most unusual or strange items that had been donated to their institution. One person replied simply, "eye balls, with green irises and blue irises..." and that's all she wrote. Quickly others replied, were they real eye balls? Were they floating in liquid? She kept everyone in suspense awhile and finally replied they were glass eyeballs, marbles, from a collection of an optometrist. One person found in the basement of a university professor who had been at the Nuremberg trials, a brand new German pistol, still in the box with a swastika in it. It makes me curious as to what other interesting items might be tucked away in basements or attics around town. I guess the archivists all enjoyed the discussion as a diversion from their days filled primarily with handling important historical documents.

Thinking about all those folks who spend their days preserving the past, I was disappointed to hear this morning of a dismal future forecasted for Parma schools after having had a levy turned down for the third time in a row and by a very wide margin. The school system already has made significant cuts valued at millions of dollars. Meanwhile many other school levies in northeast Ohio passed. The new levy would have amounted to increased taxes of $168 a year (just $14 a month) for every $100,000 of property value. I wonder what we will sacrifice in the long run by not investing now in our greatest resource for the future, our children. As they say, you pay now or pay later and usually the "pay later" ends up being more costly.

Media hype

I read an article today about the decline in sales tax revenue which nationally fell about 6% in the last quarter of 2008. In Ohio sales tax revenue was down .7% compared to 2007, but adjusted for inflation that figures out to be about 4%.

Newsprint journalists write in the "inverted pyramid" format with the most important information in the first sentence or two with each sentence thereafter of decreasing importance. Presumably that's because most readers don't have the attention span or time to read the whole article. In the first sentence of this article the writer described consumer spending as "screeching to a halt." And in the same sentence the claim is made that governments are watching a major revenue source "dry up."

While there is cause for concern in declining sales tax revenue, the terms are exaggerated and perhaps intended to elicit response that keeps readers coming back for more. Then again, a lot of journalists are losing their jobs these days to the declining market for print media so maybe they themselves are writing out of fear. So much for objective journalism.

I'm thinking of the last few businesses where I shopped and it would be difficult to confirm a recession by the number of cars in the lot. On the upside of declining sales revenue, maybe that means people are saving more of their earnings, and getting better at living within their budget. That's a good thing.

Then there's the issue of swine flu. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reports that every year 36,000 people die from "flu-related causes." When was the last time you heard the annual flu season described as an "epidemic," but that's how this swine flu outbreak is being described. So far I have not heard of one death in the U.S. But just about every news web page has a photo of people wearing masks.

If you know where to look you can find a sane approach to this issue in learning to take better care of ourselves, specifically in supporting the incredible immune system that we come ready-made with. That's a subject for another time.