Washington Receiving a Salute after the Victory at Trenton, NJ on 26 Dec. 1776. William Holl engraving c1860 after a painting by John Faed. Library of Congress. (Click to enlarge.)

➡ McMurray Family, Horn Family

Those of us ‘of an age’ to remember the days when our two greatest presidents were born, and those births celebrated separately, so that one could reflect on the accomplishments of each, know that today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington.

Back in those days, on February 12th, schoolchildren learned about the horrors of the Civil War and how a lanky farm boy from Illinois held our country together and freed the slaves, and was so eloquent that he could sum up the deep emotions of our citizens in the 10 short sentences of the Gettysburg Address. On February 22nd, schoolchildren listened to the myth of the cherry tree and learned lessons about honesty. That lesson modeled how such a solid, moral foundation could make a middle-born person great enough to help a small group of citizens fight and earn the rights of a democracy, even against the greatest power in the world at the time, Great Britain. Of course, all that learning, reflecting, and honoring individuals ended with the federal government’s “Uniform Monday Holiday Act” that took effect on 1 Jan 1971, and the commemoration of these two great men became a 3-day holiday for bank and federal workers on the third Monday in February. (And don’t forget the commercial President’s Day sales.)

Technically, today is the date George Washington may have celebrated his birth once he was 20 years old, when England changed to the Gregorian calendar. Contemporary records (those created at the time) had dated his birth as 11 February 1731 using the Julian or Old Style (O.S.) calendar. In 1752, England finally came around to the calendar the rest of the world was using, the New Style (N.S.) or Gregorian calendar. This calendar changed the first day of the year to 1 January, instead of 25 March, so any events between those dates had a number of days added- it depended on which year as to how many- plus the year was corrected to the next. So George Washington’s birthday then became 22 February 1732.

I do ramble about our heritage (hence the most appropriate blog name), but there is a reason to mention George Washington when one discusses our family history. We have no proof that a family member met George Washington, but there certainly was opportunity. At least three ancestors may have been in the same place as George Washington at the same time, and, of course, a number had their lives permanently altered because of his actions. These men are Jonathan Benjamin, Henry Horn, and Wiley Anderson Murrell; Washington surely influenced many other ancestors from that time and since. These next few weeks we will be learning more about these men and their families, so stay tuned.

[Is this just name dropping? Hopefully dear reader, you are not thinking that. We are merely interested in putting our ancestors in the context of the times, and knowing ‘famous’ persons would have been a part of that history. It is just as important as a young man fighting a Civil War battle,  a couple taking their friends to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis as newlyweds (Anna May Beerbower and William Gerard Helbling), a woman casting her first vote in 1921, our generation watching men walk on the moon for the first time, or any relative participating in any big event, or even the mundane ones- all context.]

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington’s_Birthday

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

➡ McMurray Family

“The definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship between his Britannick Majesty, the Most Christian King, and the King of Spain. Concluded at Paris the 10th day of February, 1763. To which the King of Portugal acceded on the same day.”

So begins the Treaty of France, signed 252 years ago today, which ended the French and Indian War. Great Britain and her British American colonists could exist peacefully after this treaty was signed, or so it was thought.

The first real ‘global’ war, it was called the French and Indian War in America but known as the Seven Years War by Europeans because  hostilities there lasted from 1756 to 1763. The Canadians, who were affected greatly by this war, call it the Seven Years War if they are English, and La guerre de la Conquête (War of Conquest) or the 4th Intercolonial War, if they are French.

This was just the last of a series of conflicts beginning about 1688. King William’s War (1688-1697), Queen Ann’s War (1702-1713), and King George’s War (1744-1748, which included the “War of Jenkin’s Ear”) began in Europe and spread to the British American colonies. The French and Indian War, however, began in the colonies about 1754 and quickly spread among European nations. These four wars are often combined as “The French and Indian Wars.” (Note plural.)

The native peoples of North America were in conflict as well. The Five Nations of the Iroquois (AKA the Iroquois Confederation) were very active in this war against the British and colonists, yet the Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee tribes were trying to gain their independence from the Confederation during this time too, increasing conflict. Add in local hostilities between colonists moving onto Indian land throughout our westward expansion, and America was in an almost constant state of conflict with native peoples until the 1890s.

As it had been for centuries, England and France were frequently at war, and that war drew in their colonists throughout their empire. In the Americas, France had allied with many Indian tribes, and paid bounties to Indians who brought in British scalps. (There were some Indian tribes who sided with the British, but not as many, and some who sided with whichever country was winning or paying the most at the moment.) Much of the fighting occurred in areas of the ‘Ohio Territory,’ or ‘Ohio Country’- basically the Ohio River Valley- land that was then the American frontier.

The Treaty of 1763 provisions required that France lose her territories in the Americas, and Britain  was given control of Quebec and The Ohio Valley, plus numerous other territories; this made England the greatest naval power in the world. New Orleans would remain in French hands and all of the Louisiana Territory that was west of the Mississippi was a Spanish possession, as Spain had allied with England.

So why this history lesson, other than to explain why people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and West Virginia speak English instead of French? (Portions of these states were part of “The Ohio Country,” and owned by France.) The American frontier of course had frontiersmen, and our McMurray ancestor, Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841), was one of them, along with his family. Jonathan and his kin were subject to Indian and French depredations, and he fought back. Although reading the story of his family in the county library back in the late 60s was my first genealogy AHA! moment and hooked me forever, only recently did I learn that he is considered to be the last surviving US Veteran from the French and Indian War. So learning a bit more about Jonathan Benjamin can help us understand how our family helped to make history.

Jonathan Benjamin’s biography in The History of Licking County, Ohio continues:

“There is no doubt among his friends that he entered the military service at the age of fourteen years, and served through the war, but they cannot tell what war. It must have been some Indian campaign, as the French war did not commence for some two years later…

“In a conversation a short time before his death, he recapitulated his Indian history and sufferings. They were driven from their homes and their property burned three times, but the places where they suffered are forgotten.”

Part of his tales no doubt included the day he and his family escaped an Indian attack on a fort on the Susquehanna because they were across the river, but his brother and family were “…carried into captivity.”

Jonathan Benjamin and his family moved west, ‘civilizing’ what would become the United States. The end of the French and Indian War would have helped make their moves easier and less dangerous, though they probably still were required to protect their land and family.

More to come on Jonathan Benjamin and family.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Text of the Treaty of Paris (interesting reading): http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/paris763.asp

2) Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 by Fred Anderson. Vintage reprint, 2001. THE best book available on the years of the French and Indian Wars, and how the animosities between British Americans and British troops, among other things, led to the American Revolution. (It wasn’t really just about tea and taxes.) This is a scholarly account though thoroughly enjoyable in my opinion, and, rather than being Anglocentric, presents the complex webs of economics, military, diplomatic, and societal relationships between the native peoples themselves, and then their interactions with the French and the English; it also has a global perspective, because even without internet and cellular communication, the world then was much more connected than many of us realize. Fred Anderson has written a shorter version (320 pp. vs 912, with 150 pages in the latter being notes and references ) called, The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War. Fred Anderson. Penguin Books, 2006. This is geared toward the general reader as an introduction to this conflict. While based on his incredible, scholarly research, it does not read like a journal article but more like a novel. It actually is the companion book for the PBS 4-part series of the same name, which is available on DVD, but not as good as the books, in my opinion. The 1992 movie, “The Last of the Mohicans” is an excellent fictional account based on the book, but very historically accurate. and will only take a couple of hours of your time.

3) See also Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1763)

French and Indian Wars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_Wars

French and Indian War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

War of Jenkin’s Ear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins%27_Ear

4) Jonathan Benjamin- last surviving veteran of the French and Indian Wars, on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_surviving_United_States_war_veterans

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

It was July 2, 1776 in hot Philadelphia, and a group of delegates to the Second Continental Congress had just committed a treasonous act- they had declared their thirteen American colonies as sovereign states, independent of Great Britain. That treasonous act included a unanimous vote for independence, using a document that had been drafted by a group of five, including Thomas Jefferson, the primary author.

Most of the delegates to the Continental Congress signed the document that same day, but it was not until July 4th that the remaining delegates approved the document that we now know as the Declaration of Independence. (Some historians believe it was not signed by all until August 2, 1776.)

The Declaration was read to the public on July 8th, 1776, accompanied by a parade of the battalions participating in the Revolutionary War, which had already been going on for over a year. Gun salutes were punctuated by cheers from the crowds who believed in the revolution. (I assume Loyalists were not in attendance… at least, not for long.)

John Adams, one of the instigators of revolution, wanted us to celebrate our independence on July 2nd. In a letter to his wife Abigail Adams, on July 3, 1776, he wrote:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

A large celebration did not occur until the first anniversary of the signing. In Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, fireworks, bonfires, 13-gun salutes from harbor ships, patriotic music, candles in the windows of houses, and church bells sang of our new country,  and its promise that:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.“

There are many Revolutionary War heroes in our family, and probably many more than we know. Wartime is particularly difficult when it takes place in ALL the areas that people live, as it did during the Revolution- few areas were spared from battles or troop movements. It was a brother vs. brother war as well, because so many of the colonists, including many of our ancestors, were native to England. Following are brief bits of info about three of our Revolutionary War heroes. More details about their lives will be found in upcoming posts.

Daniel-Hemphill (George A. Roberts) Family:

Capt. Audley Paul (1728-1802)- Born in Ireland, he served from 1754 in the French-Indian War through the close of the American Revolution. He was an Ensign in the Virginia Colonial Militia in 1758.

McMurray-Benjamin-Horn Family:

Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841)- Private, received pension for his service from Licking County, Ohio.

Heinrich Horn (1758-1845)- Born in Germany, Heinrich has a very interesting story that will take a bit to tell in a future post. He did receive a Revolutionary War pension.

I do not know of any portraits of our own Revolutionary War ancestors- any who survived into the 1840s may have had their picture taken.

Time Magazine has a wonderful webpage, Faces of the American Revolution,  that includes some portraits of Revolutionary War soldiers. Additionally, Maureen Taylor, “The Photo Detective,” has written two books that include similar portraits and the stories of these heroes: “The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation” (Vol. 1) and “The Last Muster. Vol. 2  Faces of the American Revolution.” Her article “Ghosts of the Revolution”  about these 80+ year old soldiers was published in the DAR’s American Spirit magazine. She also had a Kickstarter campaign that raised money to make these books into a film, “Revolutionary Voices”: A Last Muster Film.

It is really amazing to see the faces of those who fought and endured so that the United States of America could be a free and democratic country. Two hundred and thirty-eight years later, today is a good day to celebrate, and remember that freedom is never free.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Declaration_of_Independence. Accessed 7/4/14.

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States). Accessed 7/4/14.

3) See details of the painting “Pulling Down the Statue of King George” at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Adam_Simon_Oertel_Pulling_Down_the_Statue_of_King_George_III,_N.Y.C._ca._1859.jpg. There is a fair amount of ‘artistic license’ in this painting. Accessed 7/4/14.

4) Time Magazine: Faces of the American Revolution at http://lightbox.time.com/2013/07/03/faces-of-the-american-revolution/#1. Accessed 7/4/14.

5) Maureen Taylor’s website: http://www.maureentaylor.com. Her books are available in bookstores as well.

6) “Ghosts of the Revolution”: http://www.maureentaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ghosts_of_the_revolution.pdf

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.