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Double Down to Feed Our Neighbors

December 27, 2012

In Tucson we host a lot of transients, create crime/residual poverty, and our economy has depended on boom and bust construction. The present condition of our social safety net to protect our weakest is critical. Our Community Food Bank is now $400,000 underfunded for the year. The shelves are bare and the need increases daily. Last night on PBS Newshour I listed to philanthropy experts discuss the fiscal cliff fiasco and non profit businesses. Small donors are fewer this year because of both uncertainty and lack of extra funds for giving. The uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that non profits also receive 30% of all funding from government programs. They know that falling off the cliff will eliminate many non profit agencies by simply removing the government support. I take a very dim view of congress in the steam room while non profits fold.

A glimmer of hope in Tucson: “Hi e’rybody, I’m Jim Click.” A well known cowboy car dealer hero has stepped up with Sandy Peebles to double all the contributions made to the Community Food Bank from now until the end of the year. I usually take mine to a local lawyer’s office for doubling, but she was not offering the matching funds this year, so I am late. I am thrilled to see our wealthy business owners ride up on the white horses in the white hats to do the right thing. I always ask friends and neighbors to support the Food Bank of Southern AZ because they get the most bang for the buck. When you give a dollar to the Food Bank they use their leverage to buy $9 worth of food for those in need in Tucson. Some non profits have heavy staff and administrative costs, but the Food Bank is lean and clean. They recently won a grant to put gardens in the schools. Please follow me to the website and donate now while the need is great and your donation will be doubled. Let’s all help Jim dig a little deeper into his car bucks.

I also ask everyone to help me end fraudulent philanthropy. Criminals take advantage of the public by seeking donations for bogus entities. Please have some scrutiny and some consideration when you donate. The experts on PBS taught me that small donors usually do not write off their gifting on Federal income tax. That was surprising to me. Wealthy people strategically use giving to pay less in taxes. If you do not have an extra million to give, please make sure your donation is going to a legitimate non profit with an ethical goal. The gifts are needed by the legitimate non profits more than ever, and it is important to know what happens to your hard earned donation.

Quadequina Wampanoag, 11th Great Grandfather

December 26, 2012 — 79 Comments

Natives of New England

Natives of New England

It is with great excitement that I have found an ancestor from my mother’s side in Plymouth Colony.  Most of her forefathers sailed to Virginia or below, but this particular Taylor branch had some distinctions. Margaret Diguina Weeks is said to be the Wampanoag daughter of Quadequina. There is  dispute about this, but I do hope I can confirm these facts. My 11th great-grandfather, Quadequina, introduced popcorn to the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving.

It becomes complicated because there were two Richard Taylors, both married to women named Ruth. I have not traced them back in England to know if they match up in the old country  with the other Taylors.  Ruth Wheldon’s father officially objected to her marriage to my Mr. Taylor, helping us narrow down some of the facts.  If Ruth Wheldon had a full-blooded Wampanoag mother,  Ruth was a kind of Pocahontas of the north.  I need to do some research on this to see what I can learn.  The story is amazing.

Quadequina Wampanoag (1576 – 1623)
is my 11th great-grandfather
Margaret Diguina Weeks (1613 – 1651)
Daughter of Quadequina
Ruth Whelden (1625 – 1673)
Daughter of Margaret Diguina
John TAYLOR (1651 – 1690)
Son of Ruth
Abigail Taylor (1663 – 1730)
Daughter of John
Martha Goodwin (1693 – 1769)
Daughter of Abigail
Grace Raiford (1725 – 1778)
Daughter of Martha
Sarah Hirons (1751 – 1817)
Daughter of Grace
John Nimrod Taylor (1770 – 1816)
Son of Sarah
John Samuel Taylor (1798 – 1873)
Son of John Nimrod
William Ellison Taylor (1839 – 1918)
Son of John Samuel
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
Son of William Ellison
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
Daughter of George Harvey
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee

Here is one account of the story of Margaret Diguina and her tribe:

“Gordon B. Hinckley, Shoulder for the Lord” by George M. McCune page 35- ” Two of the early immigrants to Plymouth colony were Gabriel Wheldon, of Arnold, Nottingham, England, and his brother (name unknown). Gabriel had been married in England before sailing to America but his first wife named Margaret evidently was deceased at the time of his migration.

Both brothers had a free spirit much like Stephen Hopkins and found their way to the camps of the Wampanoags. There they both fell in love with two of the daughters of Chief Quadequina, younger brother of the Great Chief. They each married and Gabriel gave his second wife the English name ‘Margaret’ after his first spouse. The two counseled with their father-in-law and his older brother Massasoit regarding what to do. The Plymouth Colony would probably punish them for their intermarriage. Massasoit advised them to return to the colony and all would be well.

The Plymouth Colony tribunals saved face by banishing the couples from Plymouth for life but did not send them back to England. Gabriel and Margaret established their home in Barnstable where the Hinckleys came in late 1630’s and here Gabriel and Margaret raised a large family of girls.

One of those girls was Ruth Wheldon.  This is a score!!

Christmas Dog Party

December 26, 2012 — 3 Comments

When we arrived for our Christmas party for two at the Lodge on the Desert we were greeted by a festive group of dogs and their owners who clearly came to be of good cheer. These jolly folks gather to eat outside at the Lodge on the Desert because the canine companions are welcome to join in the fun. The Retriever in the fancy dress was given an order of scrambled eggs, which we were able to observe from our seats just inside the doggie patio. A rip-roaring good time was had by all. We are more than pleased to have chosen Lodge on the Desert as our restaurant of the year for 2013. We don’t go out to eat very often, and look for a superior quality that sets a place apart from the rest. Tucson’s reigning Iron Chef is on the job there, and was willing to adapt for my vegetarian requests. He was personally riding the range on Christmas, and waved to us at our table as he walked across the patio. Our food was superb, as was the service. I will detail the gourmet delights for you at another time. For now, if you love your dog and want to party, this is my highest recommendation. My coon hound Artemisia was none the wiser that her parents celebrated Christmas dinner at a dog restaurant without her. I will appreciate it, gentle readers, if you keep this as our little secret. She howls at other dogs, and at food, therefore would be too loud and rowdy at a food centered event. We do love to see quiet well-behaved dogs enjoy the restaurant privileges the Euro dogs take for granted. I believe this hotel, with a recent remodel that has brought back the charm, will build a reputation for hospitality and gourmet dining among the human and the canine connoisseurs of elegance and good taste.

Hermes and the Underworld

December 24, 2012 — 3 Comments

Hermes guides souls to the Underworld

Hermes guides souls to the Underworld

Zues has a son able to enter and leave underworld unharmed. His name is Hermes. He carries a staff with two snakes signifying his role in commerce and negotiation. The Caduceus with two snakes and wings is used by the AMA today as a symbol of medicine. It is a very apt symbol for the medical professionals tied to drug company profits. They used to get into the Hippocratic oath by swearing to Aesclepius that they would would first do no harm. Now they borrow the winged staff of Mercury and make a deal with pharmaceutical companies to produce as many ills as there are pills.

What harm could this little mix up do? If they forgot the meaning of the the symbol for medicine and both the healing and the negotiating staffs have snakes, what is the big deal? A snake is a snake, right? When they lurk in the tall grass of Medicare and Medicaid those snakes can and do major damage putting profit before wellness. Maybe we don’t have to be concerned that they no longer understand Latin. We are probably better off seeing only an assistant rather than the Wizard of Oz himself when we go to a doctor’s office. It costs significantly more to be harmed by a real doc, whose harm comes at a premium price. The intent from the get go is warped, so we are diagnosed at warp speed and matched with one or more drugs, faster than you can say Jack’s you’re uncle. They thought “Primum non nocerum. (First do no harm)” meant first push drugs. Hippocrates would plotz. They are an insult to Hermes as well. He protects shepherds, smugglers and thieves with cunning.

Hermes and Appollo's staff

Hermes negotiates for staff

What Would My Ancestors Do?

December 23, 2012 — 1 Comment

Sears Cemetery

Sears Cemetery, Barnstable

You do not need to hold a seance to contact the spirits of the dead. You can use a few facts, or many facts if you have them, to query your ancestors. These are not fictional characters of history, but your DNA connection to the past. The novels you have read in your life can not possibly match the drama of the story of your particular historical survival.  Your ancestors handed down to you an ethical will.  Those who left no written document have nonetheless passed values to the future, with less precision. You are now actively creating the history and the ethics you want to survive in the world.

I started to study my ancestry to learn about the ethical will of my people, whoever they were.  My mother had never described her family in any racial terms.  I was taught that the Taylors were, in no uncertain terms, Confederate Rebels.  My mother, Ruby Taylor’s very large family all lived in Texas.  They were involved in religion to a much greater degree than our family living in Pittsburgh. The went to church at least three times a week, including Wednesday.  They did a bit of holy rolling and other practices foreign to me. Indeed, my great grandfather Taylor fought in the civil war and received a Confederate pension in Texas in his old age.  He was a farmer and preacher in the Church of Christ.  This story was the known history of the  Taylor tribe, and even this information was never retold to the Taylors of the 1960’s.

What nobody knew at the Taylor family reunion in Houston on the 4th of July each year in the 1960’s was that our Taylor forefather and his wife’s uncle had been burned at the stake as Protestant martyrs in England.  Now that is what I call a Rebel.  The roots of each family feed the ethical expression (also known as fruit) of the family spirit.  The tongue speaking, chicken frying Taylors of Humble/Houston all shared a particular extreme view of the Bible that freaked me out when I was young. The Pentecostal experience, when I was exposed to it, frightened me.   Now that I know about the stake burning it all makes perfect sense.

My forefathers and mothers in the grave yard pictured above lived in Holland, then sailed to Plymouth to build a shining city on a hill, creating a strong, complex ethical will.  They  had a lot to say about the way they thought all cosmology worked in harmony with government.  They had strong convictions by which they lived and died.  Now that I know more about the lives of these elders in my tribe I have a greater responsibility.  I can no longer look at Thanksgiving as a bunch of stuffing.  I need to discover the meaning of  the Puritan Ethic they created. The values they held are more significant than the physical goods they once owned in old Cape Cod.

On the surface they all seem to use the Bible as an excuse for their own human folly.  Just under the surface is the fact that humans have always indulged in folly to learn the folly of our ways.  What did they learn?  How can we acquire wisdom from their knowledge?

Much Ado About Satan

December 21, 2012

I believe that the South Park gay Satan may be the strongest projection of our collective image of evil outside of ourselves. While Rocky’s Fearless Leader worked for the cold war, gay Satan breaking up with Saddam Hussein is the right farce for now (ridiculous).  Of course the U S Marines were grateful to have the footage to force  gay Saddam to watch his South Park episodes. (Semper Fi).  If somehow you were captured by Marines in your dreams, which episode of South Park would they force you to watch?

I admire the ability to use irony as torture.  John McCain has data that proves torture by old fashioned methods did not yield useful information.  John McCain is my own state’s expert on torture, as he ably demonstrated with his own ironic choice of running mates. Our intelligence community, as they are known, often think outside the intelligence.  If you meet them please have some courtesy, have some sympathy, have some taste.

Richard Sears, Holland to Plymouth

December 20, 2012 — 1 Comment

Richard Sears

Richard Sears

Richard Sears was born in Holland because his father was exiled from England.  We know a lot about the life of Richard Sears because of the fine record keeping of  Plymouth Colony and the Massechusetts Bay Company.  There are many facts recorded:

MIGRATION: 1633FIRST RESIDENCE: PlymouthREMOVES: Marblehead by 1637, Yarmouth by 1639OCCUPATION: Husbandman.FREEMAN: Oath of fidelity at Yarmouth, 1639 [PCR 8:185]. Propounded for freemanship, 3 June 1652 [PCR 3:7]. Admitted a freeman, 7 June 1653 [PCR 3:31]. On the 1658 and 29 May 1670 lists of freemen from Yarmouth [PCR 5:274, 8:200].EDUCATION: His inventory included “1 Great Bible and other books” valued at £1 3s.OFFICES: Deputy (from Yarmouth), 3 June 1662 [PCR 4:14]. Grand jury, 7 June 1652 [PCR 3:9]. Tax collector, 1 March 1658/9 [PCR3:155]. Yarmouth constable, 6 June 1660 [PCR 3:188].   In Yarmouth section of 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms [8:194].ESTATE: Assessed 9s. in Plymouth tax list of 25 March 1633 [PCR 1:11]; omitted from list of 27 March 1634.   On 1 January 1637/8 “Richard Seeres” was included in a Salem rate list for the “inhabitants of Marblehead” [STR 1:63]. On 14 November 1638 “Rich[ard] Sears” was granted four acres at Marblehead “where he had planted formerly” [STR 1:74].   On 23 November 1664 “Allis Bradford the widow of William Bradford” sold to “Richard Sares” of Yarmouth, husbandman, two tracts of twenty acres each “at a place commonly called … Sasuet,” one of which had been the lot of William Bradford deceased and the other of which had been the lot of Experience Mitchell [MD 34: 23, citing PCLR 3:18].   In his will, dated 10 May 1667, with a codicil dated 3 February 1675/6, and proved 5 March 1675/6, “Richard Sares of Yarmouth” bequeathed to “Sylas Sares my younger son … all my land, that is all the upland upon the Neck where his house stands in which he now dwells … after mine and my wife’s decease,” provided that “my son-in-law Zachery Paddock” shall have the house where he dwells and two acres within the above tract “during the life of Deborah his now wife”; also to “the said Sylas Sares” a tract of meadow and half of “my land called Robins as is undivided”; to “my elder son Paule Sares all the rest and remains of my lands whatsoever”; to “Dorothy my wife” all lands and goods during her natural life, she to be sole executrix, and “do entreat my brother Thacher with his two sons as friends in trust” as overseers; to “my son-in-law Zachery Paddock” two acres from land called Robins before it is divided between Silas and Paul Sears, and this two acres, along with the two acres mentioned above, to go to Ichabod Paddock, son of Zachary, at the death of Zachary’s wife; witnessed by Anthony Thacher and Anthony Frey; in the codicil, dated 3 February 1675/6, Richard Sears bequeathed to “my eldest son Paul Sares … the house which I now live in” and various moveables; witnessed by John Thacher and Judah Thacher; on 5 March 1675/6 deposed that he and his brother witnessed the codicil, and that when “my uncle signed this appendix,” he asked him [John Thacher] to redraw the will and “to leave out of the new draft the legacy of land that is given to Ichabod Paddock, for saith he I have answered it in another way,” but Thacher never did produce this new draft [PCPR 3:2:53-54].   The inventory of the estate of “Richard Sares,” taken 8 October 1676 and presented at court on 15 November 1676 by “Dorethy Sares the relict of Richard Sares and Paul Sares his eldest son,” was untotalled and included “his house and lands,” valued at £220 [PCPR 3:2:55; PCR 5:213].BIRTH: About 1595 based on age at death.DEATH: Yarmouth 5 September [1676] “age 81y 4m” [YarVR 126].MARRIAGE: By 1637 Dorothy Jones. She was born about 1603, daughter of George and Agnes (_____) Jones of Dinder, Somerset [TAG 58:244-46]. “Cady [i.e., Goody] Seares was buried the 19th of March [16]78[/9]” at Yarmouth [YarVR 125].CHILDREN:

   i   PAUL, b. about 1637 (d. Yarmouth 20 February 1707/8 in 70th year [gravestone]); m. by 1659 Deborah (eldest child aged thirteen on 3 July 1672 [YarVR 1], said to be daughter of George Willard.
   ii   DEBORAH, b. about 1639 (d. Yarmouth 17 August 1732 “within about one month of 93 years of age” [YarVR 155]); m. by 1661 Zachariah Paddock (eldest child aged seventeen on 2 February 1678 [YarVR 6]).
   iii   SILAS, b. say 1641; m. by about 1665 Anna, probably daughter of James Bursell of Yarmouth [PCR 5:212].

ASSOCIATIONS: Dorothy (Jones) Sears, wife of Richard, was sister of Richard Jones of Dorchester and of Elizabeth (Jones) Thacher, wife of Anthony Thacher of Yarmouth [TAG 58:244-46].COMMENTS: Although the earliest record of Richard Sears in Marblehead is in 1637, he may have moved there as early as 1634, since he is in the 1633 Plymouth tax list, but not in the list of 1634.   On 2 October 1650, with a large number of other men, “Richard Seares” brought an action against William Nickerson for slander [PCR 7:50].BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: Various publications of the middle of the nineteenth century set forth an English pedigree for Richard Sears, and partly on the basis of this pedigree assigned to Richard Sears a son Knyvett Sears. In 1886 Samuel Pearce May carefully examined and analyzed this pedigree, and found it to have no merit; he further demonstrated that the proposed son Knyvett did not exist [NEHGR 40:261-68]. Four years later May published a genealogy of the family [The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888 (Albany 1890)].   In 1948 Donald Lines Jacobus prepared a brief account of the family of Richard Sears [Brainerd Anc 257-58].

It is possible to see in the above bibliographic note how shaky recorded information can be.  We are relying on both the accuracy of the recording agency/person and the lack of any evidence to the contrary.  I am always happy that the founding of our nation was a business venture, ad therefore created factual records of various kinds.  This is why the ancestry detective has a fun and  never ending game of  fact finding.  The entire study highlights human inaccuracy, and a constant desire to edit/spin  history hiding the dark side and featuring the best of the family history.  The detective notices bogus sources as well as plain old human ignorance and error. Some of my other ancestors are in the above story as well, so I can double check what I know about them.  The jigsaw puzzle of history is so fascinating when it is personal.

Richard Sears (1590 – 1676)  We can find his grave:

Richard Sears, 10th Great Grandfather

Richard Sears, 10th Great Grandfather

is my 10th great grandfather

Silas Sears (1638 – 1697)
Son of Richard
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
Son of Silas
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
Daughter of Silas
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
Daughter of Sarah
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
Daughter of Sarah
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
Daughter of Mercy
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
Son of Martha
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
Son of Abner
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
Son of Daniel Rowland
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
Son of Jason A
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
Son of Ernest Abner
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden

Man in Black, Down Home for Christmas

December 19, 2012 — 1 Comment

For those of you who missed the man in black during his lifetime, he left a legacy of charism.  You can have your Perry Como Christmas Special and the June Taylor Dancers, no offense intended.  Johnny Cash is America’s Prophet.  He married into our most authentic folk music lineage when he and June Carter were hotter than a pepper sprout.  She stood by her man through some very difficult times.  Together they produced a body of work to lift and enlighten everyone who listens. This, gentle readers, is my  curated holiday special gift to you.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog and helping me find my voice.  May the love be with you this solstice season.

Marjorie Bruce, 22nd Great Grandmother

December 18, 2012 — 4 Comments

Marjorie Bruce

Marjorie Bruce

At the end of June 1306 the 9-year-old princess, together with her mother and other women-folk of The Bruce’s family, were sent for safety to Kildrummy Castle (Aberdeenshire), escorted by Nigel Bruce and the Earl of Atholl. It was intended that they would then take refuge in Orkney until times were easier, but the English army was already at Aberdeen and the royal ladies moved on to Tain, north of Inverness, still hoping for a boat. Here they were captured in the sanctuary of St. Duthac and sent to Edward of England, then at Lanercost Priory in Cumberland. They were separated from each other and Marjorie was sent to a convent, where she remained until her release 8 years later.
She was not yet eighteen at the time of the battle of Bannockburn , 24 June 1314. One of the heroes of that great victory over the English was her second cousin once removed, Walter Stewart, 6th Lord High Steward, some four years her senior, whom she married in the following year. It was from that Stewart cousinship that the typically Stewart name of Marjorie first came into the family of Bruce, Robert the Bruce’s mother and maternal grandmother both bearing that name. This last-named Marjorie had been the second of the three daughters of Walter, 3rd High Steward.
Part of the wedding dowry which Marjorie Bruce brought to her husband was the castle and Barony of Bathgate in Midlothian, which it was intended would become their private family residence; but this was not to be.
Whether through rashness, fearlessness or ignorance of the possible consequences, Princess Marjorie went out riding near Paisley while heavily pregnant. Her horse, taking fright at something, reared up, Marjorie was thrown violently to the ground and immediately went into premature labour. Her only child, the future Robert II, was delivered at the roadside by Caesarean section (the first authentic record of such an operation being performed since the birth of the eponymous Julius Caesar). The beautiful Marjorie died within a few hours, aged only about 19 years and 3 months, on 2 March 1316. Her last words are reported to have been ‘He’s a laddie; I ken he’s a laddie; he will be king’. Her improbable dying prophecy eventually came true, but not for another fifty-five years.

I notice that this story mentions her mother, but it must refer to the second wife of her father, since Isabell was already dead.  Still, much of it is probably accurate. Convent for 8 years is pretty harsh, but it was common then.  I think it is interesting that she had the first recorded C section since C himself.  You can go to the place where she supposedly fell off the horse, so it must be a big deal in the history of Scotland.

Marjorie Bruce (1297 – 1316)
is my 22nd great grandmother
Son of Marjorie
Daughter of Scotland Stewart
Daughter of Katherine
Daughter of Margaret
Son of Joanna
Son of Thomas
Daughter of Robert
Son of Annabella
Daughter of Robert Lord
Daughter of CATHERINE
Son of Lady Elizabeth
Son of Capt Roger
Daughter of Gov Thomas
Son of Anne
Daughter of John
Son of Mercy
Daughter of Caleb
Daughter of Mercy
Son of Martha
Son of Abner
Son of Daniel Rowland
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden

Isabell Mar, 23rd Great Grandmother

December 18, 2012 — 1 Comment

Isabell Mar, 23rd great grandmother

Isabell Mar, 23rd great grandmother

My 23rd great grandmother had a short life, as did her daughter Marjorie Bruce.  She was married to Robert the Bruce of Scotland.  We know a lot about her:

Isabella of Mar (c. 1277 – December 1296) was the first wife of Robert Bruce. She was the daughter of Domhnall I, Earl of Mar and a woman named Helen (or Ellen) b. 1246 d. 1295, who had previously been the wife of Maol Choluim II, Earl of Fife. Isabella was a wealthy young woman at the time of her arranged marriage to the Earl of Carrick, Robert Bruce. Her father was one of the seven guardians of Scotland who believed Robert Bruce to be the rightful King of Scotland. Despite the risks, he could see the advantage of the two families joining in marriage and bearing an heir to the throne. Mar was the first to sign over the estates of his family to the Bruce. Isabella was married to Robert at the age of 18 and legend has it that they were much in love. Shortly after their marriage Isabella became pregnant. She had a healthy pregnancy but she died soon after giving birth to a daughter, Marjorie Bruce in 1296. Robert married his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, six years later. Isabella’s daughter Princess Marjorie (d. 1316) married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and their son became Robert II of Scotland. From him descend the monarchs of the House of Stewart and the later royal families of the United Kingdom[edit]SourcesFelix Skene, editor, Book of Pluscarden, 1877John of Fordun

Robert and Isabell rule

Robert and Isabell rule

Scotland is certainly not for the squeamish, but imagine it in 1278.  I want to go someday.

Isabell Mar (1278 – 1296)
is my 23rd great grandmother
Daughter of Isabell
Son of Marjorie
Daughter of Scotland Stewart
Daughter of Katherine
Daughter of Margaret
Son of Joanna
Son of Thomas
Daughter of Robert
Son of Annabella
Daughter of Robert Lord
Daughter of CATHERINE
Son of Lady Elizabeth
Son of Capt Roger
Daughter of Gov Thomas
Son of Anne
Daughter of John
Son of Mercy
Daughter of Caleb
Daughter of Mercy
Son of Martha
Son of Abner
Son of Daniel Rowland
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden