TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY BOOK REVIEW

Nathaniel Philbrick*** is adept at writing about the early inhabitants of the colonies and key figures in the foundation of the United States. This book is about George Washington, who took office in 1789 and was our first President after a successful Revolutionary War campaign. It's about his family, his wife Martha, and slavery, as well as other aspects of the man's personality and character. 

What Philbrick did was travel the route that Washington himself did: New England to South Carolina and a small area of Georgia. He went to some of the places where Washington's presence was well known enough to enjoy tours and reenactments today. He talked to people.  As he says on page 6, "But this wasn't going to be the same kind of carefree ramble enjoyed by Harry and Bess (Truman)  in the 1950's. We were, after all, following the travels of a slaveholder at a time when Confederate monuments were being removed across the South.  The country's political divide seemed to be widening by the day.  And yet I didn't want this trip to be about what separates us.  I wanted to find out how Washington attempted to bind us together into a lasting union of states.  Acknowledging and even delving into his weaknesses and failings, especially when it came to slavery, I wanted to know what Washington got right - what tools he and his generation had left us to begin to build a better nation.

Oh, and a little independent research on my part; our first three presidents, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison all spoke with English accents. They didn't just speak with that accent, they had that accent because they were British, and their thoughts had to be influenced by a certain mentality of that ethnic heritage, that political system - the King - even as they wanted different for a new nation.

(I try to think of my own ancestors who were in Europe in 1800.  I often wonder what they heard of the American Revolution and what they thought of it.)

There are a few passages in this book that I thought were especially telling or valuable which I will be excerpting. In particular the way Washington dealt with his slaves and those who were brought into the marriage by his wife Martha, called "dower slaves," was especially telling. Laws of inheritance at the time prevented him from decisions on Martha's.

As I have been, rather than do one extremely long session of excerpts, I will play it forward and readers who are interested in more can bring up all posts by clicking on the label or using the search feature...  Try the words George Washington.  This book is a recommended read for those of you who like to learn more about American History, especially as it might pertain to your own genealogy research.

Oh, and as a P.S.  The author and his wife took their dog with them on their travels.  Washington loved his dogs.  Page 23:  "Not only had he almost single-handedly developed what we call today the American fox-hound, but he had a great affection for his dogs, giving them names like Sweet Lips, Drunkard, and True Love.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

*** In the past I reviewed his book about the Mayflower.

 

CIVIL WAR HISTORY in CALIFORNIA : DRUM BARRACKS IN WILMINGTON and THE BANNING MUSEUM

1862 : Civil War action in California?  Well, not exactly.  In Wilmington California, which is not far from Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, there exists a historical site called The Drum Barracks where there was a military presence. If you're a Civil War buff or had ancestors in that conflict, this could be interesting. This historical site has reopened for tours with a reservation and proof of Covid vaccine.

DRUM BARRACKS ORG - WILMINGTON CALIFORNIA

At this site you'll get a good report on why there soldiers and officers on the Union site.  Basically California had become a state  a little more than a decade earlier but only 25% of the population voted for the Union side.  Texans captured Southern Arizona (half the territory) for the Confederacy.  Also a man named Phineas Banning, who was instrumental in the early foundation of a port which would expand greatly in the future, was a Unionist. So he and his peers wanted to keep the state for the Union. Thousands of soldiers were stationed in the area prepared to fight to keep the Confederates out of California and possibly battle in other territories such as Arizona.

If you're coming from a distance, you'll probably want to tour the Banning House at the same time as they are close to each other.

THE BANNING MUSEUM Link includes Virtual tour

Long before Covid shut downs I did manage to tour this house.  The visitor's center has the genealogy of the family on the wall.  The house dates to 1864 and has 19 rooms open to the public.  There is also a barn and other dwellings in the park that are part of the estate.

HO HO HO and a BOTTLE OF RUM

Isn't it funny that we associate the term HO HO HO with Santa Claus, a gifter, and pirates - thieves?

I was thinking about this irony today, as I prepare for an iffy Holiday Season.  

I got into the holiday spirit a couple weeks ago.  I began to think of holiday songs and ran them in my head as I cooked and cleaned.  "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."  

I watched some Christmas shows meant for children with some wonderful animation but not holy or traditional messages; there was cartoon violence, compilated plots that are hard to accommodate.  I eliminated these as possibilities for a senior friend - her grandchildren.  Instead I chose "A Snowy Day." (Which is multicultural and about inclusion and neighborhood sharing.)

I wrapped some presents bought on an extremely low budget.

And then something went haywire with a bill I've faithfully paid for three years.  If I had sent too small an amount by error or the company had increased rates and a notice hadn't arrived, they had waited a month to tell me I owed more. They called a friend I had on as an emergency contact a couple years ago - who I'd instructed them to take off the account a year ago - a month after this.  I was startled to see her at my door after not hearing from her since before the Covid-shut downs. I'd sent a card and letter wondering if she was well and there had been no response. So, when I saw her at my door, at first I was happy. I had just purchased a Christmas card for her. But she tore into me about the phone calls she was getting from this place. I apologized and activated by putting a business letter in the mail - took it all the way into the post office - asking for an accounting and explanation.  I mentioned she was not to be called.  But they called her AGAIN.  End of friendship for sure.  Still, I feel bad.  

As I attempted to rescue the situation before ruin set in, I felt stressed out beyond reason. I felt fragile and scared. I didn't want to involve anyone or anger anyone. Whatever happened, short staffs and closures had hurt many businesses.  I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. 

I so wanted my life back.  And felt helpless to do that.

So I got up, got my dog, and took a slow three hour walk around streets that were mostly deserted, past businesses that were mostly closed.  I was careful.  Mask, Hand Spray, Doggie Bags, Social Distancing.  I did stop in here and there - standing in a doorway to say Merry Christmas to an old friend - running in to a store to see about catnip and having a key made.

I mentioned this long walk to another friend I went to visit. This morning she said if I did not agree not to talk to anyone (she meant strangers) or go into buildings, she did not want to associate with me anymore!  She is a long time antivaxxer and has regaled me in recent weeks with fears that non-organic food will give me cancer.

I'm reading everything I can about the vaccine. I'm just as likely to catch Covid as she is. It's just that when she and her husband see their children and grandchildren, some of whom are going out into the workplace, and her friends, she thinks they are all safe. She doesn't trust mine as safe.

My contacts are actually fewer. But she trusts the people she knows.

I agreed with her.  I said I would not.

But I was mad.  I knew I was going to have to do some things I don't believe in, if I wanted to maintain that relationship.  I would have to sneak, lie, or not tell her where I go and who I associate with.  Point being, I have a life and business to take care of and think she has become controlling and frankly, paranoid.  I wonder if she needs an evaluation for mental decline.

I have barely seen my friends in months. Covid-19 is stressful and I have to wonder what relationships won't be effected. My friend who got phone calls over a payment error shouldn't have but not for a moment did she consider the error was their fault.

And so it goes, on and on, this whole horrid situation we find ourselves in.

But the statistics are not fully stated.  

There are millions of people in my county.

Five percent of them have tested positive for Covid.

A small percentage of that five percent are sick enough to be hospitalized or die.  Yes the hospitals are overwrought.

I do not want to get sick or die (or make anyone else sick) either.  So I'm considering that by this spring I will take the vaccine and if I get sick (from Covid-19 or the vaccine) I will go to a motel to isolate rather than come in contact with anyone I know.  (I have a stack of unread books to eat through.)

It feels good to complain.

Psychologically, it is good for us to get out of the house and take those walks. Many of those people, who told me at the start of this plague how good they were being alone, how much they had to do alone, are now going a little crazy.  Some, a lot crazy.  

If you feel that way, you are not alone.

Seasons Greetings!

C 2020

Note: January 3, 2021

I've edited this rather miserable post for clarity. I thought maybe I should take it down but then I'm like you- part of this historic plague experience. Polls taken state that most people alive think 2020 was the worst year they've lived through.