Sunday Search: Getting Involved

I have always been a firm proponent of getting involved. I don’t simply join something to be a member. At the same time, I also believe that if you want to learn you have to be active and pursue that knowledge to the best of your ability. This is the mentality that I had when I joined Rotary, when I submitted my petition to my Masonic lodge, and when I first submitted my application to join the Sons of the American Revolution. This past week I continued to live up to those personal expectations when I left the office a little early so that I could make it to my chapter’s executive committee meeting.

I simply don’t understand how many people can join an organization and not have any understanding of how it works. This was the best opportunity for me to get involved right away and try to educate myself regarding the process that are in place, how the chapter works, and what the plans are for the future. By the end of the evening, the meeting had well exceeded my expectations and I now feel confident that I will have a fairly broad base of knowledge regarding the organization in the very near future… more than what I learned from the fire hose on Monday night.  

Additionally, my fellow compatriots were eager to educate me and help me to get involved right away. With so many positions open in the coming year, and now with a better understanding of the requirements for each, I volunteered to step in where needed (and so long as they are comfortable with me in that particular office). After all, we all have an understanding of the importance of our heritage and family history and by putting ourselves out there and being a part of something greater than ourselves, we add our own intricacies to that history.

Of course, given the nature of this organization in particular, it is even more important for me to be involved. We served to honor the memories of our ancestors and we must continue to be involved in uncovering as much as we can about their lives and do our best to discover other patriots in our family tree so that we can honor them in the same way. I guess you could say that I am already involved and this is only the most recent means by which I can continue to unravel some of the mysteries in our genealogical story.

Sunday Search: Who’s Next?

With the first supplemental application nearly done it is time to start looking through the family tree to see which line I will be submitting next. Now that the “easy” ones have been documented, all of the other options are going to require some more work. That being said, now that I have traced one ancestor on my father’s side and one on my mother’s side, I can at least look at all possibilities without having to limit my options. With that in mind, I have to look and see what information I do have and how likely it will be to find the supporting documentation I need for the additional lines.

Looking back at the list I compiled in March, there are certain things that still need to be worked on for each of the ancestors listed. While we have already submitted documentation for the Redcross and Noblit lines, there are still twenty eight (28) other names on that list. However, from that list, I have at least narrowed the selection down to a few ancestors where the mysteries are minimal and acquiring the documentation is realistic pursuit given my limited time at the moment.  

Jacob Duffordt, Virginia Patriotic Service, Provided supplies to the Continental Army. We have the documentation of him paying the supply tax as well as, what I believe to be his service in one of the Flying Camps. Additionally, I have all marriage certificates and other documentation going back to his grandson, my 4^th great grandfather Jacob Teaford, whom I wrote about in May regarding his service at Norfolk during the War of 1812. The issue with this line is that we aren’t 100% certain as to the identity of this Jacob’s mother. It is a mystery that the family has been working on for decades but I believe that I am making some headway.

This is likely the next supplemental application that I will be completing but there are other patriots in the family that I will be researching at the same time including:

• Johann David Von Nida, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• Frederick Boyer, Philadelphia County Militia
• John Snider/Snyder, Corporal, Flying Camp Maryland Militia; Wounded at White Plains.
• George Michael Wilfong / Wildtfang, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Cook, Private, Logan County Virginia Militia
• William Terry, 3rd and 5th Virginia regiments
• John Philip Mumbauer, Private, Bucks County Pennsylvania Infantry
• John Norbeck, 1st Battalion, Berks County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Phillip Young, 6th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• Rufus Cone, 7th and 17th Connecticut Regiments; Taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island; Died aboard the prison ship off the coast
• Matthias Kerlin, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax

Again, all have their small gaps in the documentation but I am confident in tracing these names and we will eventually be able to verify them. The real question for me is whether we will be able to trace back through the Muhlenberg line as this requires my research on one generation to be supported through documentation as the maiden name is the one that I have traced. This will require a considerable amount of effort which is why it will be worked on in the future, after a number of other patriots have been proven. That being said, I welcome any information on the Muhlenberg family tree to get things started.

Sunday Search: SAR Update

During the latter part of this past January, I finally sat down and pulled together my application and supplementary material to submit to the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Since that time there have been many rounds of updates, revisions, and completing additional applications (and securing the appropriate documentation) for other family members. In all, five applications have now been submitted with more on the way once these initial memberships are approved. All of this work has been done while in direct contact with the state registrar who has been a tremendous asset throughout the process.

While it will still be approximately another two months before we hear back from the National Headquarters regarding our applications, I have remained quite busy during the wait pulling together the list of supplementary applications that I will be completing once my membership is approved. While this initial lineage is a line that is found on my father’s side, the next set of documents will be those from my mother’s side of the family. The hope is that I will have the information available to those family members who are interested in joining regardless of which side with whom I am speaking.

So, over the next year or two, I will be delving into the other lines that I have discovered thus far in my research. While there are many that I will be able to prove I am certain that there are some that are either incorrect or for which there is insufficient supporting documentation. However, I won’t find out until I am able to focus on each of the patriots below. While I am only confident about the first three I am sure that there will be endeavors that prove to be fruitful. So, here you go, this is the list of the patriots to whom I will be tracing my lineage:

• John Noblit, Private, 7^th Battalion, Chester County Militia; Suffered depredation.
• Thomas Noblit, Private, Chester County Militia, survived Battles of Chadds Ford and Brandywine.
• Jacob Duffordt, Virginia Patriotic Service, Provided supplies to the Continental Army
• Peter Rough/Rauch, 2^nd Battalion, Northampton County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Snider/Snyder, Corporal, Flying Camp Maryland Militia; Wounded at White Plains.
• George Michael Wilfong / Wildtfang, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Cook, Private, Logan County Virginia Militia
• David Riggin, 2^nd Delaware Regiment
• Richard Payton Bailey, 15^th Virginia Regiment
• Robert Stinson, Massachusetts Patriotic Service, Committee to Produce Soldiers
• George Clapsaddle, Franklin County Pennsylvania Militia
• Johann David Von Nida, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• Frederick Boyer, Philadelphia County Militia
• Thomas Brown, Private in Virginia Militia
• John Beverly, North Carolina Patriotic Service, Paid For Services
• William Terry, 3^rd and 5^th Virginia regiments
• Jacob Gery, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• John Philip Mumbauer, Private, Bucks County Pennsylvania Infantry
• Johann Andreas Dressler (Andrew Tressler), 2^nd Battalion, Berks County Militia
• Johan Heinrich (Henry) Myers, 5^th Battalion, Lancaster County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Philip Negley, Private in Gray’s Pennsylvania Regiment
• John Norbeck, 1^st Battalion, Berks County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Phillip Young, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• Rufus Cone, 7^th and 17^th Connecticut Regiments; Taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island; Died aboard the prison ship off the coast.  
• George Philip Royer, 4^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• George Walker, Cumberland County Pennsylvania Militia
• Matthias Kerlin, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Sheaff, Private, 6^th Battalion, Chester County Pennsylvania Militia
• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Representative to Continental Congress
• Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Patriot Minister

If you add in the application already submitted tracing back to John Redcross that makes for 31 ancestors that I will be researching. In addition to the history interest and family history that will certainly be uncovered during this endeavor, there is also a much more practical reason for not settling and submitting as many supplementary applications as I possibly can… verification. Many of the aforementioned names are recent discoveries and while there are many lines which I am confident that they are correct, there are some where the generational connections are tenuous at best.

However, overall, by submitting each of these lines and the supporting documents, I am able to have the research certified by and independent third party, the Sons of the American Revolution. In those instances where they are able to verify my findings, the family history just got that much stronger. All of the sudden, those branches which have been withering for decades, are once again vibrant and proving to be some of the more colorful contributors to the family foliage. And, just think, we will be able to pass this down to future generations and nearly ensure that our family history is not forgotten.

The Super Bowl Waiting Game

It seems as though the topic of the Super Bowl has come up in just about every conversation I have had in the last few days. Most of the time it has been about the game itself while the commercials and halftime show have also been topics thrown into the mix. No matter the specifics within the general topic I had basically the same reaction… doubt that I’ll watch it just let me know who wins.

However, tonight I found myself turning the channel to check on the progress of the game. The little that I saw it seemed to be an interesting contest and based on the social media streams and post-game coverage, it was one of the better matchups that has happened in some time. But I wasn’t watching occasionally to see if Seattle or New England would win another title, I tuned in to watch a few commercials (which continue to go downhill) and to see when The Blacklist would be starting.

Of course, there was also the one time that I flipped the channel and the halftime show was running rampant across the field. They seem to be getting more and more extravagant every year and playing into the fact that the primary purpose of the NFL is entertainment. It was also amusing, which was also pointed out on Facebook by a friend of mine, that Katy Perry was riding the “more you know” star. Definitely no deflated balls found in the halftime show (also courtesy of the observant comments found on Facebook).  

In the end, George Carlin was wrong. Football seems to go on forever. It is not rigidly timed both for the on the field play or on the field antics. The games get longer and longer every year with the halftime show providing viewers with a loner and longer bathroom break. You could almost hear the entire country flush at the same time about five minutes after the first half ended.  

Thankfully the postgame ruckus seemed to pass relatively quickly and the regularly scheduled programming resumed leaving the football game in the past. It seems as though no matter how good of a game it was there is always an anticlimactic feel at the end of the night when the Lombardi Trophy is raised the same speech is repeated by the owner and 90% of the time the winning quarterback is brought up to the podium to receive the MVP. It is almost formulaic once the clock winds down. Of course, what do I know, I am a lifelong Eagles fan.