But, Yaay!  Not to overshadow John Loveland but yesterday I received my official paperwork from The Society of Mayflower Descendents and I am officially a member.  My lineage was accepted and I am now a card-carrying member.  This was 10 long years of gathering evidence, proving my records and one failed attempt to get in but now it's done!  I am so excited.  There are very few people who can prove this line from Richard More!  And I did it!!  Yaay!!

I knew I was descended - I just had to prove it to the rest of the world and now it is officially on the records!

I will receive my certificate at a luncheon on May 18th.

So last week I was contacted by a man who was asking about my 2^nd great grand uncle, John Loveland.  He wanted to know if I had any information on him.  All I know is that when he was 23 years old, he had been married for about 2 years to Anna M. Tate and he was living in Hartford and was a barber.  The year was 1862.  In August of that year he joined the army and went off to fight in the War between the States. 

On September 17, 1862 he fought at the Battle of Antietam.  He was wounded and later died of his wounds in November.  Pretty cut and dry or so I thought…

Well, he did fight at Antietam and he was wounded but the gentleman who contacted me had a copy of his doctor records and according to his doctor, he was wounded in the left leg and, of course, that was certain amputation.  They amputated his leg and there were complications.  The wound getting infected, losing too much blood, etc.  The doctor at one point was optimistic that he would survive but on October 16^th he succumbed to his wounds leaving behind a very young widow.

I’m not sure if John knew his future brother-in-law, Charles Johnson, who was my great great grandfather.  Charles was fighting the war at the same time as John but Charles was only 15 at the time.  Five years later John’s younger sister, Julia, would marry Charles and raise a family from whom I am descended.

This man who contacted me is writing a book about the battle and is including John Loveland’s story.  John died in the local Church and then was later buried in the cemetery in town.  I plan to visit his grave one day and leave flowers.  It’s sad to think that this brave young man may be forgotten but I will try to help his memory live on…

John Loveland (1839 - 1862)

European Vacation

Tomorrow it will be 6 weeks and counting.  Mick and I leave on our big trip.  My first European tour – not Mick’s.  We fly into Edinburgh, Scotland.  We will stay for a few days and then after seeing the Lockness Monster (Oh!  One can hope!!) and the old city with it’s haunting cemeteries and mysterious underground we will travel by train to London. 

I have my itinerary planned out with all of the sites that I cannot bear to go without seeing.  Buckingham Palace, the Bloody Tower, Tower Bridge, Abbey Road, Big Ben!!!  So many things to see!!  We will also do a tour out to Stonehenge and then one to the White Cliffs of Dover. 

After London comes the pièce de résistance (oh, my sorry – that’s French!).  We travel by train to Birmingham and then onto Telford.  We are renting a car (yikes!) and driving to Shipton, Shropshire, England.  We will actually stay at a B&B in Brockton but our purpose is Shipton.  There is a Church in the middle of town that dates back to the 1500’s (at least).  We will attend Church services there.  My 9^th great grandfather, Richard More, was baptized in this Church in 1614.

 

 Shortly after his younger sister was baptized in 1616, his legal (not biological) father tore him and his siblings away from their mother and in 1620 gave them to passengers on the Mayflower as indentured servants.  Long story short – he ended up in Massachusetts eventually settling in Salem and was witness to the witch hysteria.

I am just thrilled to have the opportunity to visit an area of England where my family lived for many generations.  The Churchwarden will also take us on a tour of the area after the service.  We are having lunch at a local tavern that has been there since my family was in the area and then she will drive us around showing us the sites.

So after Shipton, we will drive back to Telford (yikes again!!) and hop the train which will take us out to Holyhead which is in Wales.  Then it is a 3 hour ferry ride across the Irish Sea to Dublin.

My son, Eric, and his friend, Bill, will meet us there.  They arrive 3 days before us.  So 3 days of touring Dublin, checking out some Irish whiskey, a tour of the countryside, a little Irish music and then we fly back home.

I am so psyched!!

Charles Henry Johnson

1846 - 1914

I have a great many colorful people in my family tree as most families do if you look hard enough but my most notable ones are

Richard More (9^th great grandfather) – crossed on the Mayflower at 5 years old

Charles Johnson (2^nd great grandfather) – Civil War vet; fought at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the siege of Atlanta and Savannah (all before the age of 20)

John Adsit (4^th great grandfather) – Revolutionary Patriot (my DAR connection)

Capt. Joseph Patch (5^th great grandfather) – Fought alongside George Washington in Long Island

Hannah Smith (4^th great grandmother) – Full blooded American Indian

Even Royal connections and a Saint!

I have been researching my family for at least 10 – 12 years.  I find ancestry fascinating as did my father and several of my great aunts.  Every family has a story to tell and this is mine…