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#ObserveEverything, Citizen Science

September 29, 2014 — 1 Comment

shrimp plant

shrimp plant

fairy duster

fairy duster

desert rose

desert rose

Science Friday is a show on PBS radio that I enjoy. This week I heard a story that has fascinated me. They are sponsoring a nationwide program to encourage people to enter into science experiments. The scientific methods are shared with anyone who cares to discover literally anything.  Citizen science is a booming area of interest.  Anyone can participate and if the results are shared on line with the hashtag #observeeverything  there is a chance of encouragement and coaching from other scientists.  The idea is to observe anything with a question in mind. Random observation can be the place to start.  If you start today to closely watch what happens around you something may catch your fancy that can be the basis of your experiment.  It should truly interest you and make you curious.  There may be something you have been wondering about for a while, or you may stumble upon a phenomena you can’t explain or interpret.  After you narrow down a question or theory to prove you need to take detailed notes and maybe some photos or videos to support your experiment.

I did a lot of science at home with my father when I was a child. I was struck by the way my dad was relatively careless with chemicals.  He brought chemicals home from his job at Gulf Oil research.  I like the dry ice the best. He liked to blow things up and make bombs.  That was okay, but there were some fairly dangerous accidents as a result of my dad’s science lab in the garage, the backyard, and the front sidewalk.  One time we spilled an explosive mix designed to be dropped in small quantities on the sidewalk to pop when it was touched. My father set of the toxic explosive spill with a broom and it flared up and looked like it might set the front porch on fire for a few minutes.    I preferred to put dry ice in the bathtub and blow bubbles that would rest on the top of the CO2.  I was also allowed to play with a large bottle of mercury..that’s right, mercury.  My friends and I rolled it around in our hands…OY!  I had access to a Teslacoil that we used to make our hair stand on end and to zap each other. I guess my childhood was a kind of mad experiment.

I have been making bitters lately and have been  thinking maybe there is an experiment I could do that relates to different kinds of bitters and their effects on the body.  Since it is subtle I don’t know how one might go about such a test, but I am considering that as a possible subject.  I think the thing to do is go start that observation and see if something jumps up at me and wants to be studied.  Is there a question you are itching to answer?  Take a look at the twitter stream or the #observeeverything  streams on any social media to follow the latest and see where the citizen science movement will lead us.

Anne Bringham, 10th Great-grandmother

September 27, 2014 — 3 Comments

Bringham coat of arms

Bringham coat of arms

headstone

headstone

My 10th great-grandmother came to America on the ship Suzan and Ellen in 1635. She was born in Spaulding Moor, Yorkshire, England. Her profession on the ship’s log is listed as vixor (a word for which I find no definition) , her husband’s as a husbandman, and my 9th great-grandfather, Thomas Crosby, was 8 weeks old. He was lucky to survive the crossing at such a tender age. Ann’s husband died young, and she married a minister who went broke and died of melancholia. This was a huge drag for Ann. Lucky for me they survived.

Ann Brigham (1606 – 1675)
is my 10th great grandmother
Thomas Crosby (1635 – 1702)
son of Ann Brigham
Sarah Crosby (1667 – 1706)
daughter of Thomas Crosby
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Sarah Crosby
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
Ernest Howard Crosby, In the portion of the family history taken from the October New York Genealogical and Biograpical Record, Surmises that Simon Crosby ‘may have come to America as one of the company of the Rev. Thomas Shepard, who crossed the ocean in that year (1635) and settled at Newtown, now Cambridge, Massachusetts. This Mr. Shepard was preceeded or accompanied by a large number of his freinds and acquaintances. He had taken orders in the Church of England, and had held livings in Yorkshire and Northumberland, but he enertained conscientious scruples regarding the ceremonies of his church, and was consequently so harassed by those in authority that he left England, and became one of the most eminent clergymen in New England. The Cheif reason for establishing Harvard College at Cambridge is that he lived there.’

This record goes on to state that before the end of 1635 we find Simon Crosby living at Newtown (Cambridge). He was admitted as a freeman on March 3, 1636 and chosen as a selectman in the fall of that year. In September of 1637 he was elected surveyor of highways; was selectman again in 1638, and in October of that year was elected constable.

On Dec. 5, 1636 land was granted to him and six others for pasture. He died in Cambridge in September 1639, at only 31 years of age. The cause of his death is not known, but we can surmise that his death may have been fairly sudden, since he died intestate. An addendum to Ernest Howard Crosby’s record quoted above says that the orginal inventory of the estate of Simon Crosby, signed by his widow Anne, is on file in the archives of Massachuetts at Boston. It places the value of his property at 433 pounds.

Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, in York Co., England is an extensive Parrish located 15 miles SE of the city of York.

Simon and his wife came over in the ship “Susan and Ellen.”

Notes for ANNE BRIGHAM:

It is from Thomas 7, the firstborn, that our line descends, but before proceeding to his generation, it may be of interest to record some of the facts of the later life of the widowed Anne Crosby. In 1646 or l647, she married the Rev. William Tompson, aa distinguished clergyman in Braintree (now Quincy), Mass., who apparentlly pursued his religious duties with zeal but with little regard for financial gain. Ernest Howard Crosby’s record says that in Aug. of 1652 she sold the Crosby house4 with six acres adjoining, and also 147 acres of land in the neighborhood. Mr. Tompson’s health was finally undermined ‘by melancholia’, and he retired from preaching in 1659. He died in 1666, leaving his family in straitened circumstances. In 1668 Anne petitioned the General Court, complaining that moneys due her for his services were witheld. She died in 1675 and was buried in the Quincy churchyard. We have no record of what became of her daughter Ann, her only child by Mr. Tompkins.

At this point, it may be as well to record what is known of two other brothers, both younger than Thomas:

Simon Jr., born 1637, moved early in life to Billerica, Mass. and was the first innkeeper in that town. He was Representative in the General Court in 1691, 1697, and 1698. (Indications are that it is from him that the Alonzo Crosby descent is traced.)

Joseph, the third son, is the ancestor from which Ernest Howard Crosby descends. Born in 1639, he was just 7 months old when his father, Simon the Emigrant, died. When his mother remarried, he was taken by her to live with his stepfather’s family. He passed his life there as a farmer, but was always prominent in town affairs, frequently serving on committees.

Children of SIMON CROSBY and ANNE BRIGHAM are:

  1. i. THOMAS 11 CROSBY, RE V, b. 26 Feb 1634/35, HOLME, YORK, ENGLAND; d. 27 Jun 1702, BOSTON, MA..

ii. SIMON CROSBY, b. Aug 1637, CAMBRIDGE, MA.; d. Unknown.

iii. JOSEPH CROSBY, b. Abt. 1639, CAMBRIDGE, MA.; d. Unknown.

Here are the notes from the ship on which they arrived in Salem:

In the Ship Suzan And Ellen EDWARD PAYNE Mr for New-England Theis pties herevnder

expressed have brought Certificates from the Minister of Justices of their Conformitie and that they

are no Subsidy Men.

Columns represent: name, occupation, and age of each passenger.

1 Procter, John Husbandman 40

2 Proctor, Martha 28

3 Proctor, John 3

4 Proctor, Marie 1

5 Street, Alice 28

6 Thorton, Walter Husbandman 36

7 Thorton , Johanna 44

8 North, John 20

9 Pynder, Mary 53

10 Pynder, Francis 20

11 Pynder, Marie 17

12* Pinder, Katherine 10

13 Pynder, Jo: 8

14 Skofield, Richard 22

15 Weeden, Edward 22

16 Wilby, George 16

17 Hawkins, Richard 15

18 Parker, Tho: 30

19 Burd, Symon 20

20 Mansfield, Jo: 34

21 Cole, Clement 30

22 Jones, Jo: 20

23 Burrow, Wm 19

24 Atwood, Phillip 13

25 Snowe, Wm 18

26 Lumus, Edward 24

27 Saltonstall, Richard Husbandman 23

28 Saltonstall, Merriall 22

29 Saltonstall, Merriall 9 mos.

30 Wells, Tho: 30

31* Coop, Peter 28

32 Lambart, Wm 26

33 Podd, Samvel 25

34 Belcher, Jeremy 22

35 Clifford, Marie 25

36 Coe, Jane 30

37 Riddlesden, Marie 17

38 Pellam, Jo: 20

39 Hitchcock, Matthew 25

40 Nicholls, Elizabeth 25

41 Carpenter, Tomazin 35

42 Fowle, Ann 25

43 Gordon, Edmond 18

44 Sydlie, Tho: 22

45 Leach, Margaret 22

46 Smith, Marie 21

47 Swayne, Elizabeth 16

48 Wells, Ann 20

49 Bewile, Grace 30

50 Taylor, Dvonis 48

51 Smith, Hanna 30

52 Backley, Jo: 15

53 Battrick, Wm 18

Theis vnder written names are to be transported to New-England imbarqued in the

Suzen And Ellen

EDWARD PAYNE Mr:

the pties have brought Certificates from ye Ministers of Justices of the peace

yt they are no Subsidy Men: and are conformable to ye orders and discipline of

the Church of England.

54 Hudson, Ralph A Drap 42

55 Hudson, Marie vixor 42

56 Hudson, Hanna children 14

57 Hudson, Eliz: children 5

58 Briggham, Tho: 32

59 Thwing, Ben: servant 16

60 Gibson, Ann servant 34

61 Kirk, Judith servant 18

62 Moore, Jo: servant 41

63 Knowles, Henry servant 25

64 Richardson, Geo 30

65 Thomlins, Ben: 18

66 Thomlins, Edward 30

67 Ford, Barbara 16

68 Broomer, Joan 13

69 Brooke, Richard 24

70 Brooke, Tho: 18

71 Crosby, Symon husbandman 26

72 Crosby, Ann vixor 25

73 Crosby, Tho: child 8 weeks

74 Rowton, Ric: husbandman 36

75 Roswton, Ann vixor 36

76 Rowton, Edmond child 6

77 Greene, Percivall husbandman 32

78 Greene, Ellin vixor 32

79 Trane, Jo: servant 25

80 Dix, Margaret servant 18

81 Atherson, Jo: 24

82 Blason, Ann 27

83 Buckley, Ben: 11

84 Buckley, Daniell 9

85 Corrington, Jo: 33

86 Corrington, Mary 33

  • The transcriber notes that the port of arrival in New England was Salem, Massachusetts.

Durga Days

September 25, 2014 — 5 Comments

Durga is the mother goddess capable of killing demons.  She was born from the anger of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and outfitted with every weapon of the gods.  She was brilliant, and extremely bad assed.  She is the very angry mother who drives demons from the earth and puts the fear of retribution in all her children.  She has nine different forms she may assume in her motherly duties. During the festival of Navaratri she is worshiped in three of her forms. First Durga the destroyer purifies for three days as only wrathful mother can.  Then Lakshmi takes over for three days of bestowing spiritual wealth.  The final three days are ruled by Saraswati, the mother of wisdom. To skip any one of the three mothers is to fail to grasp the whole meaning of the creative essence.  The feminine spark, or Shakti, does all the work and holds all the energy.  In 2014 Navaratri lasts from 25 September until the 3 October.  The Durga puja is an affirmation of good over evil, a classic version of mother knows best. She will remove the miseries of life and chase the demons out of the building.  Respect her in all her forms…..you want to stay on her good side.

Whistle Blowing 101

September 22, 2014 — 4 Comments

IRS

IRS

The first and the only rule in whistle blowing is: Never stop!!!! The second rule that I have learned is: Contact the Department of the Treasury.   I have had to blow the same whistle about the same crimes being committed by the same people in the same place for over a  decade. Finally, I think I have reached an organization interested in enforcing the law. The United States Department of the Treasury has seen it all, and knows from experience how corrupt government can be. The Royal Canadian Mounties may always get their man, but the IRS always gets their (our) money. I have been frustrated that none of our public officials or law enforcement agencies is interested in stopping obvious crime, but I now have a more realistic view of what to expect from the people I pay to enforce the law. It is naive to think that intense corruption that obstructs justice and fails the public trust does not exist at every level of our government.

I have lived next door to a charity scam operated by our HOA board for more than 10 years. My first request for help was to the local city Council member, Karin Uhlich. She never responded to dozens of requests over more than 5 years. Her assistant, who lives around the corner from me and is a “neighborhood outreach” employee has never been able to respond to the many requests I made for her to look at the evidence. I contacted John McCain two or three times with no response. I called and e mailed Ron Barber to try to get some help for the crime situation in our neighborhood. His office had the nerve to ask me how I liked the customer service from his office when I contacted it. I said I gave them an F since they never responded at all. They never responded to that either.  The Tucson Police Department has willfully denied these crimes by creating a fake neighborhood watch comprised of only the criminals involved in the HOA board.  They then go ahead and ask for a grant from the Feds to willfully ignore federal crimes and call that neighborhood policing. Dozens of requests to the TPD have been willfully ignored until last spring when Lt Frank Hand begrudgingly admitted that charity scamming is criminal and gave me the correct form to contact the IRS to claim a reward and stop the crimes.  I had made attempts to tell the IRS many times, but Lt. Frank gave me the secret key to success…they only respond to the correct form.  I filed the form and within about 3 months I had a response.  This was heavenly after so many years.  If I had it to do again I would physically camp at the IRS until I had a chance to submit evidence.  I completely understand why Edward Snowden chose to tattle outside the country.  Doing so to the agency invested in the corruption can only end in heartache.

The neighbors here petitioned the mayor of Tucson, who is a lawyer and should be able to discern crime from charity, for two years before officer Frank called me.  The cops are not lawyers, so we think the mayor has responsibility to end obstruction of justice rather than participate in it.  The sad news is that our government is not open to hearing evidence that will show how unethical it is.  It will go to great lengths to deny reality if that reality includes crimes committed in broad daylight by our public officials.  It is a shared deluded consciousness that endangers our society.  Who knew you could be made so happy by a letter from the Internal Revenue Service???

Warriors and Wellbeing

September 18, 2014 — 4 Comments

In our dreams characters, including ourselves, play grand archetypes. Last night as I dreamed military factions were fighting it out in a prolonged battle. The warrior rarely appears in my dream life so I have considered it as a signal of some kind of change. The dream did not really upset or frighten me. In fact, after a while awake I fell back into sleep and dreamed about the same theme for a while again, which is very rare in my life. I normally do not go back to sleep, but I felt there was a story I needed to finish. Nobody won the war and I believe there were more than two fighting factions, sort of like Syria today. The warrior is an important archetype without which we would all be too vulnerable. Protection is something everyone needs, from within as well as from others.

In yoga the warrior pose is a wonderful strengthening posture. When one masters it one truly does feel like a warrior and a hero. To be a warrior archetype does not always mean to be a soldier or professional in the business of protection. The best attributes of this archetype are skill, strength, discipline and self sacrifice in the conquest over ego. The best warrior is stoic and possesses a tough will to conquer. The worst warrior is indifferent to the suffering of others. The shadow practice of this soldier in the dark is trading ethics for victory at any cost. The hero as well as the heel are contained within the warrior archetype. Loyalty and invincibility are identified with this character. Mercenaries and gunslingers are also part of the tribe.

I wondered today if thinking about my ancestors and the Civil War in the United States might be part of this dream’s arrival.  I have been studying and considering how my family moved from Selma, Alabama to East Texas after the war and bought property with gold.  They traveled by oxcart to get there.   Both my 2nd  great grandfather and his father-in-law were in the war, the older man conscripted to make steel in Birmingham Alabama to provide munitions to the Confederacy.  The Confederate money was worthless after the war,  so I wonder how they managed to have enough gold to buy property in Texas.  Many southern cotton farmers had moved to the area, so the majority of the population was black, as a remnant of slavery and cotton.  My people were religious and donated land for a church in the area.  I have been thinking about what it is like to fight in a war like that and be on the loosing side, then move to a new place.  They had to handle a lot of change and hardship during one lifetime, and the period after the war may have been as difficult as the war itself.

My relationship with this dream is asking me to be stronger and more disciplined.  I have done very little self-sacrifice or tough willed commitment during my time on earth.  I know few soldiers in my real life, and have no contact with war and the risk of loosing a loved one.  As war explodes around the globe I stay relatively insulated until someone new invades Tucson. We all depend on cops, soldiers, and sailors to keep us safe from harm, but I normally give them little thought.  War is hell, and most of us defer that hell to warriors and prefer not to know much about the details.  Historical wars seem to me to be linked to spiritual warfare. How do you relate to the warrior archetype?  Do you take the role of protector in your life?  Who protects you?

Heirloom Farmers Markets-Tucson

September 14, 2014 — 2 Comments

In September Arizona agriculture is peaking with abundance. There are crops that grow well in serious heat, like melons and okra, that are finishing the season.  Many more crops enjoy the long slow slide into winter that we have and will be ready soon. The grapes for wine are soon to be harvested, the apples in Wilcox are being picked, and some date varieties are now starting to be ripe and ready to eat.  There are a large variety of squash being grown around Arizona that are never seen in regular grocery stores, and you can even get fresh squash blossoms to prepare.  More vendors come out in the cooler weather as more customers show up to shop and dine at the food trucks.  We like to go for unusual gourmet finds as well as for entertainment.  We see people we know and sometimes take the dog.  It makes a good outing and supports the local farmers in the process.  Today we came home with some very special smoked salsa homemade by smoking all the vegetables on mesquite wood before combining them.  We bought a baby blue Hubbard squash..a mini version of the giant winter squash with the rich flavor.  I got some cayenne, garlic  and some extra hot jalapeño chiles because our own chiles in the garden are ripe and ready to go to become salsa at home.  I will use the little green tomatoes, the garlic  and the chiles to round out the flavor and make different levels of picante for different tastes.  We are drinking fresh apple cider today from Wilcox. The little lemon cucumbers will make a sparkle in salads and the light colored pickling cucumbers are good straight up why themselves as a snack.  We did not get dates because I have a few I need to use from last season before I start on this year’s.  I don’t mind paying extra in order to put the mooney right into the hand of the person who grew or made it.

How is the farmers’ market scene where you live?  Are you able to get to one on a regular basis?  I like both the specialty prepared foods and the fresh produce.  They both serve the local farming community and let us have some extra special meals enhanced by products and produce not to be found at standard grocery shopping outlets.  When I travel I make it a point to attend a local market if at all possible.  I think they are growing in popularity and in variety of available products.  Some have musical entertainment.   It is fun to meet the farmer and know your food is as fresh as it can be.

Fitbit Frenzy

September 13, 2014 — 6 Comments

I am so thrilled with my relationship with my new Fitbit. It arrived two days ago and changed my life. It is everything I hoped it would be and much more. It synchs with your computer (Phone/device) to give you a complete picture of your daily activities. It shows graphs that measure your steps ( and or exertion) in real time, and your calories burned. The food log is simple to use and includes all foods I have eaten so far on a menu with calories counted upon entering.  The activity log is available if you care to detail which you have done when .  Hiking, biking, running, walking and swimming are listed.  You can also create your own categories.  I have made a Floatli category because I can’t wear the Fitbit in the water (separation anxiety does occur), but I can record the time I have spent on my computer log.  It is brilliant!

This weekend we are planning a pizza party for ourselves and maybe others.  I will need to earn the pizza slices that will greatly effect my graph.  We decided to put it off until tomorrow, and I am pleased because I can burn baby burn today to be on my goal.  The Fitbit is making me think ahead to calculate a plan eat pizza rather than banning it forever and indulging impulsively by jumping off the prohibition of pizza wagon.   I love it.  It makes me feel the need to deposit calories burned before I eat them!!! I have tracked food on a list and divided into food groups before, but this data is so complete and visually compelling that it makes writing it down seem primitive.  The deal in fitness and health is that if you are not having a good time you will not act in your own best interests all the time.  Movement, exercise, whatever you choose to call it, is just using the body you have to enjoy life.  Measuring it gives you a powerful motivation to improve.  Some folks join groups, or compare their performance to the entire population using the Fitbit.  I don’t need that because I am most competitive with myself.  I have become inspired and enthused to keep all my graphs green and my steps increasing daily.

My Fitbit Flex model also measures my sleep.  Last night I had a particularly unsound sleep pattern.  The night before I had a few restless seconds and a three short times awake during the night. Last night I spent a long time awake, during 9 different sessions. I was aware of it at the time, and was thinking this will look bad on my sleep graph.  I think that in itself is pretty funny.  I am even concerned about how my Fitbit scores my performance when I am in bed at night.  I think most of my nights will read like my first one, since I do sleep well.  The other funny thing about night time is that upon awakening I saw that the gin and tonic I poured for watching television  which we do in bed) was almost full.  I instantly thought how sad, I wrote that down in my food log and didn’t even drink it.  All this concern could make a person crazy, but I believe this is a good crazy.  I recommend this kind of crazy to anyone.

No Kid Hungry Dine Out

September 12, 2014 — 7 Comments

No Kid Hungry

No Kid Hungry

This week you can dine lavishly so that others may simply dine. We have a problem feeding hungry children in the United States. This should be an embarrassment to the wealthy.  If you feel that you can help this worthy cause by just taking your restaurant business to a participating local partner this week, please do. Just enter the zip code where you live and you will discover which places are involved in your area.  When you mention the program your partner restaurant will make a donation to No Kid Hungry based on the amount you spend.   In our area the participating businesses are mostly bagels, Denny’s, and pizza.  One of the pizza places making donations is near our home and we have never eaten their famous coal fired pizza.

Grimaldi’s Coal Fired Brick Oven will be whipping out some weekend party food for our house.  They are a chain, but a relatively small one.  Here is a glimpse of the Grimaldi’s in Denver:

I look forward to trying the crispy crust, but even more I will keep them in mind because they are supporting this very worthy cause.  I like to spend my money where my mouth is…in this case many mouths will benefit.  Join me this week to help end childhood hunger, while I deal with our adult hunger in a creative and tasty way.

Philipp l Count of Katzenelnbogen

September 10, 2014 — 5 Comments

My 16th great-grandfather had an extremely lavish wedding when he wed my 16th great-grandmother. They had three children together and then the Pope gave Count Philipp a divorce. This divorce by Pope thing was popular at the time for nobility. His father, Johann IV, the Count of Katzenelnbogen, gave the world riesling grapes and wine. His sons died before he did, so the male line ended with his death.  One of the castles the family owned, Rheinfels, is the largest on the Rhine. Today there is still a ruin that can be visited. 

Rheinfels Castle (German: Burg Rheinfels) is a castle ruin located above the left (West) bank of the Rhein in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was started in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. After expansions, it was the largest fortress in the Middle Rhein Valley between Koblenz and Mainz. It was slighted by French Revolutionary Army troops in 1797. It is the largest castle overlooking the Rhine,and historically covered five times its current area.

In the year 1435 the Rüsselsheim castle administrator Klaus Kleinfisch began a new wineyard. His annual account shows the purchase of riesling Setzreben for 22 shilling. This kind of wine had a higher quality than the other french wines, was more aromatic but also frost-resistant. His new choice was – wineyards can exist more than onehundred years – the turningpoint in winehistory. Up to this point the old documents only reported red, white or black wine according to their colour. Even in the year 1402 the electoral prince of mainz ordered to grow no other wines than his french wines. After the rüsselsheim vintage Riesling quickly showed up all the way down the river rhine. Up to the year 1600 riesling became top wine. In the castle of Darmstadt count Johann IV united the two most powerful counties of the “holy roman empire of the german nation” in one of the most beautiful medieval marriages of his son Philipp d. Ältere of Katzenelnbogen with countess Anna of Württemberg. Even his son-in-law landgrave Heinrich III of Hessen was enthusiastic about this amount of gold , silver and wine. In 1427 the 10 most important katzenelnbogen castles were consuming about 200 000 liters of wine a year and in 1436 storing 1.5 million l wine in mainz . The counts were remarkably rich supporting arts and could afford rewarding medieval singers like Walther von der Vogelweide with a diamond. They created the most powerful castle, the first undefeatable german “bollwerk” Auerbach, defended themselves on the largest german castle with the largest german wine-cellar the Rheinfels castle. They loved the power but were sophisticated. Thanks to their correct book-keeping we can read about their live, family affaires and trading. One vase of china and one tankard is all they left. But the writings tell us and still want to be searched.

They gave us the riesling wine, one symbol of pride worth to be honoured.

The successors may have formed a modern top wine out of the riesling plant, but the documented first grower of the most important german and one of the most important international wines was Johann IV, the Count of Katzenelnbogen.

Additional the county customs writer noticed the first bratwurst export to cologne in 1410, the records listed bratwurst for 1gulden on a boat loaded with wine. This is the first proof of the traditional german bratwurst. The size is defined by pork casings. The transport itself tells us katzenelnbogen bratwurst must have been widely known.

Philip I of Katzenelnbogen (1402 – 1479), also known “Philip the Elder” was Count of Katzenelnbogen from 1444 to 1479 and was the last male descendant of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen (his two sons died before him). His parents were John IV, Count of Katzenelnbogen (younger line) and Anne of Katzenelnbogen (older line), who merged the two lines of the family back together in 1402.

Marriage and issue
Philip married on 24 February 1422 in Darmstadt with Anna of Württemberg (1408–1471), daughter of Eberhard IV “the Younger” of Württemberg. In 1456, he obtained from the Pope a divorce from bed-and-board. In 1474 Philip married Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg.

Philip had three children with his first wife:

Philip the Younger (* 1427; † 27 February 1453), married in 1450 Ottilie of Nassau. In 1453 they had a daughter Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen.

Eberhard († 1456), canon of Cologne, was stabbed in Bruges (Flanders).

Anna (* 5 September 1443; † 16 February 1494), married in 1458 margrave Henry III of Hesse (15 October 1441 — 13 January 1483). In 1471, they had a son William III, who was the last male descendant of this line of the House of Hesse.

Legacy
In 1444 Philip initiated a major renovation of the collegiate church of Sankt Goar.
In 1449 he bought off the rights on St. Goar held by abbot John of the Abbey at Prüm.
In 1470 he handed Upper Katzenelnbogen and its seat Darmstadt to his son-in-law Henry III of Hesse.

Philip’s sons Eberhard and Philip the younger died before his death, so when Philip died in 1479, the Katzenelnbogen died out in the male line. The County of Katzenelnbogen fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse, which was ruled at the time by Philip’s son-in-law Henry III of Hesse in Marburg.

This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.

Philipp l Count of Katzenelnbogen (1402 – 1479)
is my 16th great grandfather
Philipp VonKatzenelnbogen (1427 – 1453)
son of Philipp l Count of Katzenelnbogen
Ottilie Countess Katzenelnbogen vonKatzenelnbogen (1453 – 1517)
daughter of Philipp VonKatzenelnbogen
Beatrix Zahringen (1492 – 1535)
daughter of Ottilie Countess Katzenelnbogen vonKatzenelnbogen
Sabine Grafin VonSimmern (1528 – 1578)
daughter of Beatrix Zahringen
Marie L Egmond (1564 – 1584)
daughter of Sabine Grafin VonSimmern
Richard Sears (1590 – 1676)
son of Marie L Egmond
Silas Sears (1638 – 1697)
son of Richard Sears
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
son of Silas Sears
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Silas Sears
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
Katzenelnbogen originated as a castle built on a promontory over the river Lahn around 1095. The lords of the castle became important local magnates, acquiring during the centuries some key and highly lucrative customs rights on the Rhine. The Counts of Katzenelnbogen also built Burg Neukatzenelnbogen and Burg Rheinfels on the Rhine. The German family died out in 1479, while the Austrian lineage continued, and the county became disputed between Hesse and Nassau. In 1557, the former finally won, but when Hesse was split due to the testament of Philipp the Magnanimous, Katzenelnbogen was split as well, between Hesse-Darmstadt and the small new secondary principality of Hesse-Rheinfels. When the latter line expired in 1583, its property went to Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), which added the inherited part of Katzenelnbogen to its side-line principality of Hesse-Rotenburg. After the Congress of Vienna, this part of Katzenelnbogen was given to Nassau in exchange for property that had been taken away from it; after the War of 1866, with all Nassau, it became part of Prussia.

In 1945, Hesse-Darmstadt was united with most of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, which included the former Hesse-Kassel along with Nassau and the formerly Free City of Frankfurt, to form the federal state of Hesse. Thus, Hesse now includes the larger part of former county of Katzenelnbogen. A smaller part of Nassau, including the old castle and village bearing the name of Katzenelnbogen, ended up as part of Rhineland-Palatinate (part of the Rhein-Lahn and Westerwaldkreis districts). One of the titles of the Queen of the Netherlands (the House of Orange-Nassau) is that of Countess of Katzenelnbogen.

Etymology
The name Katzenelnbogen derives from the old Cattimelibocus. It consists of the ancient Germanic tribal name of the Chatti and Melibokus, the Roman name of any mountains, like the Harz or the Teutoburg Forest. Over the centuries the name changed to Katzenelnbogen: “cat’s elbow”.

History of wine
In the history of wine, Katzenelnbogen is famous for the first documentation of Riesling grapes in the world: this was in 1435, when the storage inventory of Count John IV of Katzenelnbogen, a member of the Holy Roman high nobility, lists the purchase of vines of “Rieslingen”.

Fitness, Feedback, Fitbit

September 9, 2014 — 2 Comments

In the 1970’s I went to the Elaine Powers Salon to exercise. The regime included a food list sheet divided in to food groups to be filled in daily and reviewed with a staff person once a week. The exercise was self serve, and included those fat rolling machines. Once and hour there was a ten minute session in the middle of the room that anyone could join. This was a primitive, but pretty good model for monitoring diet and encouraging exercise. The consultation with the food list included a bit of physiological counseling because every time the food list was used the emotion felt at the time, the place the food was eaten, and the time of day were also recorded. The chart was divided into food groups and meals, but I don’t think there was mention of calories or fat. The discussion with the counselor was intended to draw attention to habitual patterns and possible ways to improve. The system worked well, and I am not sure why the company folded, but I copied the food lists and used them for years after they were gone.

Today the feedback does not require a sheet of paper or a staff person to review and make suggestions.  Now there is Fitbit.  We can get real time feedback about our diet and exercise habits, as well as sleep patterns from these tiny devices.  I read an article by David Sedaris recently about how the Fitbit encouraged him to move more and be adventurous (and slightly mindless in pursuit of steps).  He also told how addicted he became after his step counting became part of his life.  When his device died he lasted 5 hours before ordering a new one with express delivery.  I love his style of writing and often the stories he tells come alive and go on living and being funny in my head.  This Fitbit story has been like that.  Today I decided to order my own and see what all the fuss is.  I believe that awareness is the best way to make meaningful changes in lifestyle habits.  I know I am less active now than I want to be, but am not sure how grave the issue really is.  I will soon know exactly what is happening with calories in and calories out.  Two days from now I will join the Fitbit generation. Do you use a fitness tracking device? How does it work for you?  I think it will be fun.