Society Saturday- The Witch of Pungo

The annual meeting of the National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Plants was held jointly with the Sons and Daughters of Colonial and Antebellum Bench and Bar.  

Our Speaker this year was Hon. Richard Bender Abell, former Assistant Attorney General.  He spoke about the trial of Grace Sherwood, also known as the Witch of Pungo.  During his talk, he compared the attitudes of the Virginia colonists with thos of the Massachusetts colonists.  For example, there were 20 executions during the Salem witch panic of 1692 compared with a total of 20 accusations in Virginia between 1607-1730.  The harshest punishment meted out in Virginia was a lashing.  Part of this was because in Virginia, the accuser bore the burden of proof.  If the accused witch was convicted, they could then sue their accuser of slander (this also happened in Massachusetts, but much less frequently).

Grace White Sherwood was known as a midwife and herbalist.  In fact, she was known as the person who introduced the herb rosemary to the colony of Virginia.   

Her travails first began in 1697, when she was accused of casting spells on a neighbor's bull.  She brought a defamation suit and won.

The following year,  another neighbor accused her of enchanting his hogs.  She lost the defamation suit against him.

She continued to function as a member of the community until 1706 when her neighbors the Hills accused her of witchcraft through causing a miscarriage of Elizabeth Hill.  This accusation was taken more seriously and a trial ensued.  First, she was examined for "witch's marks" which were apparently found.  Next, she underwent a trial by ducking.  The magistrate and sheriff we easy to pull her back up by a rope but she popped up anyway.  Despite the outcome of these two tests which "proved" she was a witch, no further punishment ensued.  She remained on her farm in Virginia until her death in 1740.

She was pardoned by the Virginia legislature on July 10, 2006, exactly 300 years after her trial by ducking.

www.antebellumplanters.com

Society Saturday - Honoring Thomas Jefferson

Every year, on Thomas Jefferson's birthday, there is a wreath laying at the Jefferson Memorial.  This is organized by the DC Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and several lineage and other organizations are invited to participate.

This year, on the 273rd Anniversary of his birth, we attended on a beautiful day.  The ceremony started with the U.S. Army Brass Quintet and the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard.  After being welcomed by the National Park Service, all of the lineage societies began to present their wreaths.

Following the wreath presentations, taps was played and the ceremony was over.

I was proud to represent the National Society Children of the American Colonists and present our wreath.

www.nsdac.org/nscac

Society Saturday- Colonial New Hampshire Stories Your GrandmotherDidn't Tell You

The Order of the First Families of Maine and the Order of the First Families of New Hampshire held a joint tea for their business meetings.

Member Sumner Hunnewell regaled us with interesting tales from Colonial New Hampshire.

- He told us of the Great Carbuncle, a legendary precious stone hidden somewhere in Mount Washington.  It is guarded by an Indian curse, and has not been found to this day.

- He spoke of the Dover massacre during King William's War.  The female Indians would shelter inside the fort at night.  One night, they acted like the Trojan horse and let the warriors in, who massacred many of the colonists.

- one colonist, Samuel Stone, was shot 9 times, and hatchetted twice, but lived to tell about it.

- there was a naval battle between a New York colonial ship and a Massachusetts colonial ship.

- and of course, the story of Lithobolia, or the stone throwing devil of Great Island.  This is a famous story of witchcraft, a land dispute, a disliked government official, and family strife.

www.homestead.com/offme 

www.homestead.com/offnh 

Society Saturday- on the Trail of Connecticut's Witches

The speaker at the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches breakfast was Cindy Wolfe Boynton.  She is the author of "Connecticut Witch Trials".

Her current project is creating an app to find all the locations that are significant to the accused "witches" in Connecticut.  Some of the sites include the gallows where Alse Young was hanged  (first executed witch in the colonies), and court sites.  Most of the actual buildings are gone, and some locations are now part of strip malls.  There are nearly completely buried tombstones.  

I am looking forward to the launch of her app in the next few months.  Of course, that will mean a trip to Connecticut to find all of the sites.

www.adeaw.us

Society Saturday- The Quaker Experience

The National Society Descendants of Early Quakers met at a tea during Lineage Week.  The is a nice congenial society that always agrees in unity when they conduct business.

The speaker was member David Grinnell, who descends from several Quaker ancestors.  He spoke on the early history of the Quaker movement.  George Fox started the Quaker movement in England in 1645.  He believed that religion was more than reading the bible, but that individuals should listen to the still small inner voice of God.  He also did not believe in required tithing.

By 1651, his beliefs had spread across England and into the colonies.  Quaker meetings were essentially unplanned worship led by God and the Holy Spirit.  This, of course, was offensive to the Puritan ministers who believed in long sermons and tithing.  Ultimately, the Quakers were persecuted for their beliefs.

www.earlyquakers.org 

Society Saturday- President Madison and our first global conflict

Two speakers at the USD1812 Associate Council gave interesting historic perspectives on the War of 1812.

First was David O. Stewart, author of "Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships that built America".  He claims that James Madison is the second most important founding father after Washington.  He was the first wartime President. He inherited a smoldering conflict, and despite his short stature and quiet demeanor, managed to weather all criticisms.  He was very tolerant of his opposition.    He was the last President to personally appear on the battlefield when he rallied the troops at the Battle of Bladensburg.

The next evening, we heard from Dr. John Voll, a Professor at Georgetown.  He spoke about the first global conflict.  What we know as our Second War for Independence was only a small portion of the worldwide conflict.  Of course there were the Napoleonic Wars in Europe; in fact, Napoleon's army was twice the population of our state of Maryland.  There were several other struggles for independence at the same time.  Beginning in the 1790's, revolts were occurring as far away as China and Senegal.  Closer to home, as a result of Napoleon overthrowing the Spanish monarchy in 1810, Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia, and Argentina were all fighting for their independence.

www.usdaughters1812.org

Society Saturday - Fulfilling our nation's promise

The speaker for the US Daughter of 1812 was Rear Admiral Donna Crisp.  She is retired from the US Navy and now works on recovering remains of servicemen lost overseas.

There are 83000 servicemen whose remains are still overseas and unidentified since world war 1.  Admiral Crisp told us about several stages of recovery, removal and repatriation.

First, teams work with local residents and archeologists to find unidentified grave sites.  Often this location is based on local legend of hidden mass graves.  It can be dangerous work since there may be unexplored ordinates in the area.  Only a small portion of remains may be in existence.

Once remains are recovered, they are examined at laboratories in Hawaii and Maryland.  Identification is done by dental records,skeletal records, information on height, gender, previous injuries and DNA.

There are some additional means of identification which include recreating 3D models of skulls, and matching eyeglass prescriptions.

It is tedious but important work, to fulfill our Nation's promise to bring all servicemen and women back home.

Society Saturday - Boundary Stones of DC

Our speaker at the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America banquet was Shari Thorne-Sulima. She is a former DAR State Regent of DC and told us about the boundary stones in the district.  

When the area of the District of Columbia was surveyed, it formed a square.  There was a lot of Masonic symbolism involved n the layout of the district and the design of the stones themselves since George Washington was a prominent mason.

There were a total of 40 stones placed around the perimeter of the district.  The first stone was placed in 1791 by Washington in Alexandria, VA.  

The engraving on each of the four sides was as follows:  

The side facing DC - "Jurisdiction of the United Ststes"

The opposite side - either "Virginia" or "Maryland" as appropriate.

The other two sides gave the year placed (1791 or 1792) and the magnetic compass coordinates.

Photo from Wikipedia.com

The stones are on federal soil and are in the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.  The DCDAR has been active in raising money to preserve both the stones and the iron fences around them.

www.nationalsocietydfpa.org 

www.boundarystones.org

Society Saturday- Lineage Week Begins

It's that time of year, and members of national lineage groups travel to our nation's capital for Lineage Week.  This year, due to scheduling, it's actually more like Lineage Fortnight.   In any case, it's a great opportunity to see old friends and make new ones, all while we are carrying out the historic, patriotic, or educational missions of the various Societies.

My week began with the Daughters of the American Colonists meeting.  At the Fellowship Dinner, we met  "Women Who Wait".  Deborah Franklin told us of her relationship with Ben Franklin.

Next, Rebecca's Boone told us about her life with Daniel Boone.

Both ladies took care ofc hearth and home while their husbands were out. Ben Franklin was gone for 16 years in England and France as a diplomat.  Daniel Boone was gone for months at a time hunting and exploring the frontier.

We learned that these Founding Fathers could not have done what they did without their wives managing the household and raising the children back at home.

National President Phyllis Jones conducted the business meeting where we accomplished a lot.

The DAC Candlelight Supper is always a lovely evening.  This year we were entertained by Matt Briney, director of new media at Mount Vernon.  

He told us about the Agent 711 interactive smartphone app that his team developed for visitors to Mount Vernon.  It provides an interactive method for young and old to learn about George Washington and his spy ring.

I am looking forward to my next visit to Mount Vernon so that I can try out this app.

www.nsdac.org

Society Saturday - Saving the Sarah and Peter Clayes house

The Associated Daughters of Early American Witches held their annual meeting one Saturday morning in April.  This is a group of 540 ladies who can trace their ancestry to someone who was accused, tried, or convicted of witchcraft in 17th century american colonies.

The speaker was Janice Thompson, Board President of the Sarah and Peter Clayes House Trust.  She gave an interesting program about their quest to save the home of accused Salem witch Sarah Towne Clayes/Cloyce.  The house is located in Framingham, Massachusetts and was built in 1693.  This is where Sarah and her second husband Peter moved after she was released from prison.

ADEAW helps support causes such as this, as a way to honor the memory of our ancestors.

After the program, new officers were elected and installed, beginning another term for this unique organization.

http://www.sarahclayeshouse.org/
www.adeaw.us

Society Saturday - Anthony Benezet, the father of Atlantic Abolitionism

The Annual meeting of the National Society Descendants of Early Quakers was held as a tea during Lineage Week.  Our guest speaker was Dr. Maurice Jackson who spoke about Anthony Benezet, the father of Atlantic Abolitionism.

Dr. Jackson was an extremely knowledgeable gentleman who is an expert on this interesting man.  Mr. Benezet was a French Huguenot who converted to Quakerism and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731.  While there, he started a school to educate former slaves, and founded the world's first Anti-Slavery society.  It was very interesting to learn about the abolitionist movement that was gaining ground a century before the civil war.

http://www.earlyquakers.org/

Society Saturday - Touring the O Street Museum

The Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America always conclude their General Court meeting with a fun tour of a local site.  This year's tour was particularly novel.  We walked about 1/2 mile to the O Street Mansion.

Some of our ladies waiting to go in the mansion

This mansion is also a museum, bed & breakfast, meeting location and gift shop.  It consists of five row houses which were acquired over the years and combined into one unique building.  Several of the bedrooms have themes, such as the John Lennon bedroom, the Teddy Roosevelt bedroom, the Rosa Parks bedroom, and the Log Cabin bedroom.  The walls are covered with artwork and there are books, and knickknacks throughout the building.  Everything is for sale - if you see a painting on the wall that you want, you can purchase it.

Standing in the entry hall listening to a brief history of the mansion.

The most fun part of the building are the secret doors.  We were told that there were 72 secret doors and that over half were accesssible to the public.  Thus the hunt began.  We were able to spot about 10-15 of them.  Some were small, and simply opened up to storage areas, but some were full size and were the only way in or out of part of the building.

I am standing in the wine cellar, entered only by one of the secret doors

After touring the museum, we had a nice brunch in one of their dining rooms.  This is definitely someplace fun to visit when in DC.

http://www.omansion.com/

Society Saturday - Happy Birthday to the NOC

Just prior to the Annual General Court meeting of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, there is a luncheon of the DFPA National Officers Club.  The Club consists of former and current National Officers of the Society.  This includes Chapter Presidents.  This year marked the 50th Anniversary of the National Officers Club.

Club President Carla Odom did a wonderful job presiding over this special anniversary meeting.  Everything had a "Golden Anniversary" theme, from the table decorations to the candy favors.  Everyone who attended received a special pin for the Club Anniversary.  The Club luncheon is always a nice way to meet with friends before the actual meeting starts, and this was no exception.

Society Saturday - How the Railroad helped win the War

At the Annual Banquet of the National Society Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, we were entertained by Mr. David Shackleford, Chief Curator of the B&O Railway Museum.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Mr. Shackleford during dinner.  He was a very interesting person, telling me of his career in the army, and his attraction to trains.  He seemed genuinely interested in our Society as well.  It was clear that he has a love for history.

His talk was on the history of the B&O Railroad and how it helped the Union win the civil war.  During the talk, he gave us a lot of information about the history of the railroad itself.  For example, each railroad company laid its own track and the gauge (distance between rails) of one railroad often was different from another.  Even if the difference was only an inch or two, a train built for one gauge of track could not run on another company's track.  Most trains only ran between 2 cities.  Thus, the cargo was pulled by horses through the city streets to get from one train to another.

During the Civil War, rail lines were a prime target for Confederate soldiers, who knew that destroying the rail system would weaken the advantage of the North who used their trains to move troops and supplies. The railroad was the target of several raids, including the Great Train Raid of 1861. Although the railroad was considered collateral damage during the war, this did not stop the B&O agents from helping the Union cause.  They often would pass along information about Confederate troop movements.  This intelligence helped the Union forces know when and where to prepare for battle.

http://www.borail.org/

Society Saturday - The National Museum of the U.S. Army

At the Candlelight Dinner of the National Society Daughters of American Colonists, we learned about the building of the National Museum of the U.S. Army.

This museum is being built at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  It will tell the history of the United States Army as well as teach what it is like to be in the army.

There will be an interesting exhibit about Artwork depicting the Army, and a unique experiential learning center where groups of school children will simulate problem solving on a rescue mission.

The museum is still in the construction phase but it sounds like a very interesting place to visit when it is completed.

http://thenmusa.org/index.php

Society Saturday - First Families of Maine and New Hampshire

On Tuesday of Lineage Week, there is a joint meeting and tea for the Order of the First Families of Maine and the Order of the First Families of New Hampshire.  These two organizations have met jointly for four years and it works well.  There is a lot of overlap in membership.

The Order of the First Families of Maine conducted their business first.  Membership is open to men and women who can trace their ancestors to Maine prior to 1652. Their prime objective is to support historical projects in Maine and it was agreed again to support the Maine Historical Society.

The Order of the First Families of New Hamsphire offers membership to men and women who can trace their ancestry to that state prior to 1680.  It was exciting to see the Order's Flag presented.  This was a dream of Founder Shari Worrell, and it took nearly 3 years to raise money and find a company to make a suitable flag.

Historian Margie Knight told of the origin of the Order's seal which is depicted on the flag.

http://offme.homestead.com/

http://offnh.homestead.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Wreath Laying at Arlington Cemetery

One of the duties of the National Chaplain of NSDFPA is to prepare a wreath-laying ceremony at the end of General Court.  The wreath is used during the annual memorial service where one carnation is inserted for each member who died during the preceding year.

This year, the memorial wreath was placed at the grave of one of our Honorary National Presidents, Anne Holle, who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Anne Carter Baldwin was born on 2 May 1907.  She was married to Major General Charles G. Holle.  They lived in Washington DC.  She was a member of several lineage societies in addition to the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America.  She served NSDFPA in several capacities, including National Corresponding Secretary from 1967-70 and National President from 1970-73.  She died on 26 November 2002 and is buried next to her husband and his first wife.

National President Irene Walker knew Mrs. Holle and gave a lovely personal tribute to her.  To add to the ceremony, it was a beautiful day and the Cherry Blossoms were blooming.

Society Saturday - Breakfast with the Children of the American Colonists

Every year during Lineage Week, there is a friendship breakfast hosted by the Children of the American Colonists.  It coincides with the meeting of one of its parent organizations, the Daughters of the American Colonists.

National President Mitchell Clouse talked of his project to help fund the Mountaintop Activity Center at Jefferson's Monticello.  This will be a hands-on area for children to learn about Thomas Jefferson's life and times.  His theme is "Fortifying the Past, Building the Future".

He concluded by inviting everyone to the 2014 General Assembly to be held at Monticello in June.  

This is a nice way to visit before the busy day begins.

http://www.nsdac.org/nscac/

Society Saturday - Hosting the Magna Carta

Lineage Week began for me this year at the Rendezvous of the Women Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.

This group of ladies met for a business meeting during the day, then relaxed at the banquet that evening.  Our banquet speaker was Robert Newlen.  He is the assistant Law Librarian for the Library of Congress.  His topic was about the Magna Carta, which is coming to the LOC this year.  The Magna Carta will celebrate its 800th anniversary in 2015.  The LOC will have an exhibition featuring one of only three original 1215 copies of this document.

Mr. Newlen showing a slide of the Magna Carta

Mr. Newlen spoke a little about the history of the Magna Carta, some facts about the various copies, and told of the preparations surrounding the exhibit.  When asked how the document would travel, he stated that it flies first class with its own escort.

This was an interesting start to this busy week in Washington DC.

The Illinois delegation to A&H Rendezvous

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2014/03/magna-carta-is-coming-to-the-library-of-congress/

Society Saturday - Grandma Mary was a Witch

My stay in Washington for Lineage Week concluded with the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches breakfast on Saturday morning. 

This is one of the most fun groups to belong to.  Partly because of all of the wonderful ladies (over 500) who belong, and partly because it's just fun to tell people that you're a "witch". 

ADEAW has a breakfast every year that is always well attended.  This year, our speaker was Bernice Telian, one of our members.  Bernice had written a book about her ancestor Mary Barnes entitled "My Grandma Mary was a Witch".  She gave an interesting talk about how she learned about her grandmother's brush with witchcraft.

Bernice Telian with President General Kathy Carey

Mary Barnes was the wife of Thomas Barnes.  They had four children: Sarah Barnes (married John Scoville), Benjamin Barnes, Joseph BArnes, and Hannah Barnes.  Mary was tried for witchcraft in January 1662/3 in Connecticut.  She was found guilty and hanged on 25 January 1662/3.  Several of the ADEAW members claim her as their ancestor.

Bernice concluded with a personal request for the Connecticut legislature to exonerate Mary.

Chaplain Kelly Carey conducts the memorial service with the assistance of our page.

www.adeaw.us