From the Blair Bruidhinn, The Newsletter of The Clan Blair Society A poem by Elizabeth Morse: GENERATIONS My life cycles ever around My Memories grow Entwining the memories of generations. My mind holds the memories of my past, The visions of my childhood, The dreams of my parents and grandparents, The tears of my frustrations and the glow of my joys. My life ticks out my destiny Vitalizing the lives of my children and my children's children, Enriching the streams of my life. All the genes and tracings of my ancestors echo And imprint a mold for the living cycle of my life and theirs As it makes its way toward the sea. The rivers of the generations fuse The contributions of all my ancestral voices in my memory, My loves, my faith, my causes. In the cocoon of my heart, I do not stand alone. Watching the circling of the wheels of my life, For the generations of my ancestors support me. Welcome to My Website This website won a 2008 Vintage Kin 'Yellow Ribbon Web Award' for a "very high standard of aesthetic appeal, quality of navigation and great value to the genealogy community". Those of us who research our family's ancestry have a special bond. We do it for the love of it, although it's a lifetime pursuit that is never finished. Once you catch "the genealogy bug" there is no turning back; there is no cure! What better way to gain a personal relationship to history, or to "discover" ourselves, than by researching and discovering our ancestors? Who needs fiction when the truth is not only 'stranger' but much more fascinating? Another great 'perc' is finding cousins you never knew you had! (Remember, when it comes to genealogy, all success is relative.) I edit this website periodically-so you can check back for new data/photos etc. "Old Genealogists Never Die-They Just Lose Their Census." Stories: Go to 'People'-upper left-then click 'Stories' I have entered stories about our ancestors and recollections about my generation and photos that I hope you enjoy-For more photos: go up to 'Photos' then to 'Index' and the Album: 'The 1940s and 1950s'. Guestbook: Click on Guestbook-upper left. You can leave a message, lines you are researching etc. Your email address will be seen only by me. You can also contact me from the contact me link at the top of this page or through my Facebook page. 'Sources' Click on 'Sources'-upper left where I have entered some of my favorites. CHECK OUT: Useful Links at left. Websites and Sources: Some other good websites for research and sharing are: findagrave.com familysearch.com cyndislist.com geni.com cousintocousin.com linkpendium.com mycinnamontoast.com sharedtree.com I have too many websites, genealogy sources, surname sources etc. to list here but will be glad to share them if you contact me. There are many good sources-including those 'of royal descent', descendants of Charlemagne-websites, books, organizations etc. One good book is Royalty for Commoners" by Roderick W. Stuart. Genealogy Software Programs: There are several good ones on the market but I can definitely recommend the LEGACY program. It (and others) are constantly rated superior to the overrated Family Tree Maker-which I tried. Objective reviewers never rate FTM best overall. Its owned by Ancestry.com-that's why all the 'hype'. DO your homework before you buy! Family Tree Magazine: familytreemagazine.com (NO relation to Family Tree Maker Software!) It is a good source for genealogists- researching, websites, software reviews-every issue has valuable information. "When a nation perishes or a society goes down, one condition may always be found. They forgot where they came from." Carl Sandburg THE PURPOSE OF THIS WEBSITE: "Those only deserve to be remembered by posterity who treasure up a history of their ancestors." Edmund Burke This website is not designed to 'publish my book online'-or to have you plow through oodles of names etc. but to help CONNECT and NETWORK with those researching their surnames. You don't start with earlier lines but trace your family back to them. The problem is to get from HERE to THERE, which is the focus of this website: to help 'cousins' make these crucial connections. I have over 9000 names in my Legacy program-with many other lines of direct descent in biographical and historical notes. Some lines can be traced to Charlemagne and beyond to ROMAN times. Of course, most of our lines can't be traced back that far-but we do the best we can with the data available. There is also much more information on COLLATERAL lines: siblings, cousins, children, marriages, descendants and photos which I will be glad to SHARE if you contact me. What is the point of all these years of research, if not to share with others, as others have shared with us? "Trying to plant the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers." Historian Daniel Boorstin Our family's history is truly the history of the western world. The book I am writing will be titled: PIONEERS AND PRINCES "The cowards never started, the weak died along the way. Only the strong survived. They were the Pioneers." From a plaque at the Pioneer Village in Nebraska The PIXLEY'S came from England and settled in colonial New England-first in Massachusetts then to Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut. They came west by way of Wisconsin, Kansas and Nebraska. My Grandmother Pixley's DELLNOW ancestors may have been of Irish descent and came from Ohio and West Virginia. Her LANCET line originated in England; they went to Germany and eventually emigrated to Indiana and Kansas. My Grandmother Blair's FRIDAY and FOREMAN families were of German descent. Her KRICK line emigrated from the Palatinate in Germany and were among the earliest "Pennsylvania Dutch" settlers in Berks and later Lancaster Counties. The BLAIRS were Scots-Irish who came to York Co., Pennsylvania; they connect to the FLEMING family-of Scottish descent. They married into the influential RANDOLPH family of Virginia. Col. William Randolph and Mary Isham Randolph are called "The Adam and Eve of Virginia" and were of 'royal descent'. Thomas Jefferson is a Randolph cousin-he grew up with our Randolph family. Other cousins include: Presidents William Henry and Benjamin Harrison, John Tyler, Chief Justice John Marshall, Patrick Henry, Gen. Robert E. Lee and John Madison's wife Dolley. Pocahontas also connects to this line. Our Family's Ancestors Also Include: Mark Antony, Claudius Caesar, Malcolm Canmore-King of England, Somerled-Lord of the Isles, Frederick Barbarossa, William the Conqueror, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Lady Godiva, Byzantine emperors, Viking warriors, Medieval knights, Crusaders-also Colonial, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers. John of Gaunt-Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III-is our ancestor, connecting our family to Europe's royal lines-back to and beyond Charlemagne. We descend from thirteen signers (Sureties) of the Magna Carta, the so- called 'Magna Carta Barons' and are related to five others by collateral descent. Ironically, we also descend from King John who was forced by them to sign it! Some of our ancestors died fighting each other...Ah Well! There were the noble and ignoble: Alfred the Great was really great; Aethelred the Unready was really unready. And if you like 'soap operas'-there's the one starring our 'grandparents' King Edward II and Queen Isabella: she literally 'did him in'. But (as shown in the movie "Braveheart") she never met William Wallace. And ironically (considering our family's connection to the Order of DeMolay) Isabella was Jacques DeMolay's goddaughter and he was executed by her father Philip IV. You couldn't make up this stuff! So, we are proud of most of them, not so proud of a few of them-but they make up the fabric of history and of OUR history. I wonder what THEY would think of us? And remember: If even one of these names was missing-WE'D be missing! "Genealogy is tracing yourself back to people who are better than you are." John Garland Pollard OF HEROES AND HEROINES Most meaningful for those lucky enough to claim this heritage-it is the story of the courageous men and women who came to this country to make a new life; they were among the earliest colonists, settlers and pioneers. Only a few of our ancestors were landed gentry, "Virginia Cavaliers" or of aristocratic descent. Most of them arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs and faced hardships that we, today, can hardly comprehend. Many had endured much in their native lands; they risked and survived miserable voyages to this new country. They expected nothing more than the opportunity to live in freedom and earn a better life for themselves and their families. With their beliefs in hard work, education and self-sacrifice-they endured, perservered, fought for their new country and left us a priceless legacy: AMERICA! AND HERE'S TO THE LADIES: The unsung heroines were the wives, mistresses, concubines-many without even a name to remember them. Most had little control over their lives-some bartered into marriage-no more than chattel-having child after child. Yet it is amazing how many of them through intellect, ingenuity, self-reliance and sheer force of will-did manage- not only to survive but to wield power and leave their stamp on history! "Remember the ladies." Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband John Adams 1776 TRUE HEROES AND HEROINES AND WE MUST NEVER FORGET THEM! Genealogy is rewarding-but it can also be frustrating! Some of these lines- especially the early ones 'circle back upon themselves'. They can become so convoluted that tracing them is rather like trying 'to navigate a spider-web'. Hopefully we can help each other climb the often confusing branches of the family tree. What a special legacy to leave to those who come after us. From The Eleusis of Chi Omega: "Hold high the torch You did not light its glow It was given to you by other hands you know It's your task to keep it burning bright And pass it on when someone else needs light." From "On Eagle's Wing" by John Anderson A musical celebrating the Scots-Irish 2004 "You gave your future to me, You made me what I became. You have your future through me, I am proud to carry your name."
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