Saluting Our Veterans ~ Saluting the Fallen

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery,

with the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41) in the background.

(Where Jim's grandparents are buried.)

If you Google a timeline of war, you will clearly see that human beings are warlike creatures, who are constantly in conflict with each other somewhere in the world. Peace is a rare and treasured state that is all too easily cast aside if we feel wronged or threatened. I’m sure you’ll agree that although this is the case, the constant striving to learn, to change, to break that violent cycle and move into a state of balance and peace, where differences can be worked out by non-violent means, is the ideal.

Looking back, though, we are trailed by death and destruction in every era. Even our generations of peace-loving and conscientious objecting Quakers couldn’t avoid getting caught up in the American Revolution and Civil War as the fighting swirled around them. Not willing to take up arms against their fellow man they provided food, supplies, shelter, abolitionist zeal, and medical aid to those who did. Like our Quaker ancestors our most recent generations have chosen not to join the military.  They are peaceful and more interested in the arts than the art of war ‘and I say’ (to quote the Beatles) ‘give peace a chance’ – Good For Them! – It is with these younger generations that we as a human race can begin to break that terrible cycle of war.

Still, humans are aggressive, war-like creatures and no peace is kept without vigilance and for that we are forever grateful for a strong, well-equipped defense.  Looking back on American conflicts we had brave men in most of them from King Phillip’s War to Vietnam.  And, along with them countless women and children were left behind to run the farm and keep the home-fires burning. I’ve drawn up a sampling of veterans from our family history to salute.

Family, I hope you will take a moment on this Veterans Day to thank each of them for the time they served – the men and their wives and children. . .

Vietnam         
Ron, Capt. USAF

WW II
Lyle B Shaffer Jr, 1 Lt US Army
Lloyd E Disney, Radioman RM3

WW I
Lyle B Shaffer Sr – Wagoneer, Hospital Corp (Grandfather)

Civil War
David Shaffer - Union – E.I. Ohio (2^nd GG)
William C Cullins – Union, Hospital Corp. (2 GG)
Lorenzo Archer – Union, McKeag’s Battalion, PA, Infantry (2 GG)

William Beer – Union, I 1 PA Cavalry & H & I 2 PA Cavalry (Ron – Great Grandfather)
Charles T Neuhard – Union, D 177 PA Infantry (Ron – 2^nd Great Grandfather)

James Hoyt DeLoach – Confederate, D Georgia 61^st Infantry, 2^nd Lt. (Mike – Great Grandfather)
David Daniel DeLoach – Confederate, Company K, Georgia 47th Infantry Regiment, Private (Mike – Great Grandfather)
Moses J. McElveen – Confederate, Co. D, 5^th Reg. Georgia Cavalry, Private (Mike – 2^nd GG)

War of 1812
John Cullins – Russell’s Battalion, Ohio Militia, Private (4^th GG)
Job Meredith – 2^nd Regiment (Evans) Virginia Militia, Private (5^th GG)

Post-Revolutionary Volunteers
Matthew Wing – 1^st Claiborne’s Regiment, Militia, Mississippi Territory (6^th GG)

Revolutionary War
James Draper – 3^rd Regiment, South Carolina, Private (6^th GG)
George Beatty -  Pennsylvania, Adjutant (5^th GG)
Ebenezer Wheeler – 1^st Regiment, Massachusetts, Private (5 GG)
William Jay – Pennsylvania, (7^th GG)

French and Indian War
Joseph Rogers – 1^st Regiment 8^th Company Connecticut Volunteers (6^th GG)

King Phillip’s War
John Jay and Mercy Bartlett Jay - Civilians

King Phillip’s War  [Just in case you thought New England tribes were peaceful (ala Thanksgiving).]  Our ancestor’s paid for their land with their blood in New England, New York, Georgia, the Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The natives didn’t go peacefully. Atrocities were committed on both sides. This bloody history was scrubbed from our history books and a much milder version presented to us as elementary school children.

“The war [King Phillip’s] was the single greatest calamity to occur in seventeenth century Puritan New England and is considered by many to be the deadliest war in the history of European settlement in North America in proportion to the population. In the space of little more than a year, twelve of the region's towns were destroyed and many more damaged, the colony's economy was all but ruined, and its population was decimated . . . More than half of New England's towns were attacked by Native American warriors. King Philip's War began the development of a greater European-American identity. The colonists' trials, without significant English government support, gave them a group identity separate and distinct from that of subjects of the king.” - Wikipedia

We have many more veterans than those listed above, it is just a sampling. We are left with a deep appreciation for them . . .and the awareness that we are the end result of generations of survivors. These are the men who returned from war to father children and create more generations. And it leaves us with a deep sadness for the thousands upon thousands of bodies left behind, snuffed out, and ended – never to contribute to future generations. To them we owe reverence and respect, sorrow and regret. What would the world be if all the rows of tombstones in all the National Cemeteries were blank? What changes might have been made if Obediah Smith or John Jones had lived? We’ll never know – but we salute you – we survivors. We hope we can do better with our present and our future. Peace.

 Chart with U.S. Casualties of War - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war

Thoughts on Veterans Day



Considering that we have a large number of Quaker ancestors who, because of their religious conviction, did not practice war (although they were often on the front lines with the Red Cross or participated in other ways), we have a large number of veterans who served well and proudly and made sacrifices so that we could live under this government in this land happily and well. America has been good to all of our families who immigrated here between 1600 and 1850. And, through their sacrifices they have made this our land. I believe we have been represented in every war from the French and Indian to Vietnam. So far our younger generations emulate their Quaker forebears in not joining the military or practicing war in Iraq or Afghanistan. Regardless, we owe a great deal to those who keep us safe.



 A word about those who also serve. My first husband  was an Air Force officer. It follows that I was an Air Force wife. Not only did he serve at various domestic stations – he was in Vietnam. The Vietnam War had a huge impact on my life and, as things flow on down, on the children. My mother’s life was turned upside down by WWII. Consider my grandparent’s worry and anguish when Pearl Harbor was bombed – their son was station there. Consider the worry of my widowed grandmother when her only child’s ship was sunk in a typhoon. The cost of war is also carried by the loved ones of military personnel. Simply put, our lives would have been different if they hadn’t been in the military. Military spouses and other family members also serve and we salute you!

My brother attended West Point and served in the Army. During WWII my father was an Army officer who served in the European theater. Uncle Wayne was a Navy pilot. My mother worked at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant – a dangerous job building and packing shells. My step-mother was an Army nurse. My step-father was in the Navy floating in a life raft in the Pacific (as well as other war-time duties). My paternal grandfather held the lowly rank of wagoner in WWI (he was a farm boy who could handle a team of horses.) but his job all over bloody France was as a wagoner/corpsman – he had a wagon and therefore he picked up the dead and wounded as well as trying to help those dying of disease.





My mother’s brother Weldon signed up for the Navy at 17 and made a career of it. He survived Pearl Harbor and was on duty during the Korean War. We have ancestors aplenty who served in the Civil War almost exclusively in the Union Army. We had family in the War of 1812, the Spanish American War, and many who participated in the Revolution mostly on the American side. Some of our German ancestors fought for the British but were welcomed to stay here after the war.



With all those and many more I’m sure there are some fascinating or horrifying tales to tell. Of course we have stories – we are the survivors. All those wasted lives . . . all those who died are not telling stories; and since they were mostly young – have no descendants to carry on. The world was forever altered because they left before their time. So, as we salute those who protect and serve let’s all look to the day when, like the Quakers, we can practice war no more. In the meantime, we are thankful for our military forces.

God Bless our Veterans and their families.

Follow this link for more awesome Veterans Day posters: http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/gallery.asp

Credits:   U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Day Poster Gallery,  http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/gallery.asp

Goodbye to Old Ohio ~ family ties to John Brown

John Brown

In discovering the best of Ohio’s YouTubes I also want to stay close to the purpose of my blog and the way that Ohio relates to our family history; which brings us to a fine performance of a genuine folk song about the abolitionist John Brown and his followers.

Many, if not all, of the counties our families helped settle had a strong and active segment of the population that were lobbying for the end of slavery.  Some of the new Ohioans who came into the Northwest Territory, at the time just prior to or shortly after Ohio became a state, trekked in from Pennsylvania, New York and the New England states.  But many of them moved north from slave-holding states to live on ‘free soil’ and to fight against slavery.  They were in Maryland, Kentucky, and what would become West Virginia poised to move into a free state once the territory was opened.

Barclay Coppock

Edwin Coppock

Our Quaker ancestors came up from the “deep south” state of South Carolina.  Among those was the Coppock family.  We have two related lines of Coppocks who married into our Pemberton, Coate, Jay and Hall families.  These families continued the westward movement from Ohio to Indiana to Iowa. And somewhere in there, not direct-line but 3^rd cousins, were the Coppock brothers, who were recruited in Iowa by John Brown and moved on to Kansas to fight beside him.  They were extreme, you might say rabid, abolitionists.  Whether you believe John Brown to be a criminal or hero there is no denying that he was a larger than life personality who had a profound influence on these Quaker boys who were raised in a pacifist culture.  Edwin was hanged with John Brown in Virginia. Barclay escaped to fight another day and died in the Civil War. Their lives were anything but ordinary. Read more about the Coppock brothers at http://antislavery.eserver.org/legacies/the-coppock-brothers-heroes-of-harpers-ferry.  (This link leads to the introduction of the Debs essay.  The essay must then be downloaded with one of the 3 links on the top left.  There are large gaps in the copy, scroll down for the next portion.)

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 1865

The hopeful tone of the song and my knowledge of what actually happened gave me goose-bumps. 

 


Credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCV2_63M08g   Goodbye to Old Ohio, Blue House Productions.  Video by Magpie, Terry Leonino & Greg Artzner: http://www.magpiemusic.com/  If you look under the comment section on YouTube you will see credits given under the name ‘artzner.’
Photos: John Brown, Barclay and Edwin Coppock, Harpers Ferry - Wikpedia

Miami County - from Quakers to Barn Quilts

Right or wrong I have a certain picture of Miami County in my head. Regardless of whether or not the name originated with a Native American word, or the Miami Tribe, or the Miami River . . . Miami evokes palm trees and beaches, Cuban food and Jewish Delis. Having lived in Florida a very long time it can’t be helped!

George Fox, founder of
The Society of Friends

There is another picture that comes to mind and this starts in another culture in a different time – the culture of the Deep South. Newberry County, South Carolina and Miami County, Ohio will always be linked in my mind. We have Quaker ancestors, a lot of them, back to the earliest beginnings in England. For a time, though, I lost them.  They just didn’t seem to hook-up with the Friends around Philadelphia as I had expected. Imagine my surprise when I found that they were in South Carolina and had come there via Barbados, probably through Charleston.  At first this just didn’t seem possible. I’m a northerner – in my heart rooting for the Union Army, working with the abolitionist, helping people along the Underground Railroad.  I couldn’t imagine that I had ancestors from South Carolina. These are my father's people.

Well, in the late 1700s a fiery minister visited that Newberry meeting where so many of my Quaker ancestors were and he spoke like a prophet of God and he told the Friends of Newberry to go north to Ohio, to leave their slaves and the slave owning states in the dust. He said he could see blood in their meeting house. Not all of the Friends owned slaves but those who did freed them.  Many of those Newberry Friends took his advice and a large portion of that community moved north to Ohio . . . and established a community and homes in Miami County. Did his prophesy come true? When the Civil War inevitably rolled around the old Quaker meeting house was used as a field hospital and there was indeed blood.

Over 100 years beyond the Civil War my husband and I visited Newberry, the cemetery, the courthouse, and chatted with the welcoming citizens of this South Carolina town who still felt financial reverberations of being abandoned by such a large group of prosperous farmers.  I would have to say that Newberry’s loss was Miami’s gain.  I notice that Miami County has a township named ‘Newberry.’  Most of my ancestors lived in Union Township near Ludow Falls.  I was surprised today to find nothing about the Quaker community when I perused websites for Miami information.  Such reference may be there, but I missed it. Of course, many of the Friends moved on to Indiana and then on to Iowa as territory opened up, but they must have had an impact on the county when they arrived from South Carolina.

Leaving the Quakers, what I did find on-line today was Reminiscences of Abraham Thomas from the Troy Times, 16 Jan 1868. This is a frontiersman’s story that begins in Kentucky and ends in Ohio. Look at the date that it was written. There is nothing PC about this – he is telling his truth as it was at the time he was living it. It is an interesting read: http://www.thetroyhistoricalsociety.org/abraham%20thomas%20stories/Pioneer%20History1.htm

Martha Washington Star
Miami County, Ohio

The other thing I’d like to share about Miami County is the wonderful Barn Quilt project. Miami isn’t the only county in Ohio to have this project but they have done it big and done it well.  I sat today and clicked on every barn to see the beautiful quilt squares that have been painted on them by Jose Rafael Santoyo.  The project’s primary sponsor is the Miami County Visitors and Convention Bureau and the barns are a way to connect the small towns and get people out on the road to see them. I’d say this project is a smashing success. There are a couple of links to follow.

At Barn Quilt Tour of Miami County you will find more information of these beautiful quilts.  Don’t miss it!

Vermont Barn Quilt
Miami County, Ohio

Photos: Microsoft Clipart, Palms, Red barn
             Wikipedia: George Fox, Museum
             http://visitmiamicounty.org/attraction/ - Barn Quilts

Darke County, Ohio

Quaker Star

When is a county not a county? Before it’s created. I’m not sure I need to have Darke County on my list. Most states (maybe all) were formed with larger counties and then the area was chopped into

smaller counties when the population grew.  This is my problem with Darke.  My 4^th great grandparents, like many of their Quaker friends (no pun intended) and relatives lived in Miami County.  I’m assuming that John and Susannah Elleman lived in the same house on the same farm, but when Susannah died in in 1810 she died and was buried in Miami County, and when John died in 1818 he died in Wayne Township, Darke County and was buried in Miami County.  So, does Darke County count when he lived there less than a year?  I do believe some of Susannah Coppock relatives lived in Darke County. 

Darke County Courthouse

I have a warm place in my heart for Darke County regardless. There was an email from Brenda of the Garst Museum in Greenville this morning.  She was kind enough to write and recommend the Beers publication History of Darke County Ohio, 1880. This is a very useful resource and the online search function is extremely helpful in quickly finding the information you need.  I know that Beers published a lot of this kind of book back in the day – it was their business, and I’m grateful. I’m also twice tickled. Beers is a family name of ours.  I have no idea if the publisher is related. But, there’s another I’d like to claim.  John Beers was listed as one of the two first teachers in Darke County from 1818-1830.

Darke County has a rich Native American history as well as a pioneer history – and there was an historical coming together of the tribes and Americans in 1795 for the signing of the Green Ville Treaty. The gathering was impressive and I will not repeat the list of attendees here but highly recommend the account found on the Garst Museum website: https://www.garstmuseum.org/historic-events.  I’ve been a huge fan and follower of the adventures of Lewis and Clark . . . and even they were at this meeting in what would become Darke County. This meeting was national in scope and opened up the Northwest Territory to white settlement. Well, you know how American/Indian Treatys ended up. 

Lab Technician

It was a gorgeous day with sunshine and a nice ocean breeze – in the 70s – in other words, perfect. I survived my two day fast surprisingly well and then felt it the perfect time to go get those fasting blood tests the doctor has been nagging me about.  Yay!  I got to eat after that.  Michael Mosley’s book arrived today . . . this is going to work!  Whoa, and when I turned on the TV this evening there he was doing his exercise program. I'm notoriously sedentary and don't like to exercise.  But, he has me convinced that sitting long periods of time in a chair will kill you.  I'm going to get up and move much more every day doing everyday things - and never sit through a commercial on TV!

Photos:  Darke County Courthouse http://antiqueshopsinohio.com/darke_county.htm, Quaker Star Wikipedia,  Dracula Microsoft Clipart