In December of 2011, I did some research on my ancestral beginnings here in the New World. I found a lot of information, but none of it complete. Seems trying to retrace steps made by others 200 plus years ago is not that easy. At least for this dimwit anyway.
I forged ahead and collected quite a bit of history on my great, great, great Grandfather, John Roberts lll, previously of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. On November 4, 1778 he was hanged for high treason by the then provisional government set up by the Colonists in Pennsylvania.
Anyway, I recently attempted another search on the Mill that bore his name. I was rewarded with even more information and images from the archives of the Lower Merion Historical Society.
The letter at the left is one of the finds. It is a letter penned by my forebear sometime before he was hanged. I am having trouble reading it, but from what I can gather he was facing up to his fate with backbone and acceptance.
The quote at the top from this letter pretty much sums up his sad end.
If anyone would care to know more based on my previous posts:
The Traitor
The Traitor or "Republica v. John Roberts - a different perspective
The Haunted House
The site I got the letter from - Lower Merion Historical Society
So I actually posted something not angry and with no mention of ....................
Keep it 'tween the ditches ............
2 comments:
Mike: Really interesting finds. I did not recall the earlier posts (even though I was reading back then too... somehow must have missed them). I have given a brief try or two at looking for more about my ancestors, but for me, it ends up getting me into one of my dark moods about regrets thinking of the many relatives I DID know in face-to-face life. I end up thinking of myself as a schmuck for not having been more careful and attentive as I could have been with them, and now they are gone.
With that typically being my outcome, I guess genealogy is really not good for ME to pursue. But, strangely, the somewhat related DNA tests that highlight our origins.... do somewhat intrigue. Especially if I were to find something exotic (meaning outside of the German and French Heritage I know.). I have not pursued it yet and may never do so but it is intriguing for some reason.
Using 20 years as a generation and starting with two grandfathers and two grandmothers - 200 years ago you had one thousand (1000) 10th great grandfathers and one thousand 10th. great grandmothers: It is likely that some of the people that hung your great, great... grandfather were also your grandfathers.
Our genealogy runs backwards exponentially. Somewhere in the past our line crosses to such a point that we can no longer trace, as a single person will be kin in numerous relations.
If we are of European decent we likely carry two to four percent (2-4%) neanderthal DNA: great grandfather... Flintstone.
the Ol'Buzzard
But history is interesting
the Ol'Buzzard
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