It’s
that time again! Time for my annual Thanksgiving post! I know everyone looks
forward to this post as much as they look forward to waking up and seeing the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and sitting at their TVs waiting for Santa to
arrive at Herald Square in front of Macy’s department Store in New York City!
I want to talk about something that has been weighing on my mind. My
previous post about racism I spoke about a young woman who went on a racist
rant about how Thanksgiving was a white holiday celebrated solely on the
account that “white
people came here and stole land from Native American Indians and were still
abusing them today.” In
that light, I decided to write about some of my ancestors that I am thankful
for and share some of their stories; I am thankful for the men and women who
make up my rich tapestry known as my ancestry.
However,
let me get my cliché thanksgiving post over with. I am also thankful for my family, my friends, and my haters.
I am thankful for people who choose to bless me, to be a part of my life, I am
thankful for people who are willing to join me in speaking up against social
injustice and those who are terrified to do so because they think they will be
unfairly judged! I am thankful to live in the land that my family helped found
along with other families that left the “old world” for a “new world” of religious
and eventually, political freedom.
Now,
let me tell you about some of the ancestors that I am thankful for; whose contributions
would not only be seen today, in history books, but in the faces of their
descendants. I have several ancestors whose stories are my favorites; and I am
going to share some of them with you; and maybe then you will see why I am so
1) thankful for my ancestors and 2) really upset by racism and bigotry.
The first ancestor I am thankful for is William Anders, the first Anders recorded in the Colonies. I am pretty sure he came to the colonies as an Ulster Scot seeking a better life to worship
God. It's possible, but not 100% that he could have been a Quaker.
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| William Penn |
My
first favorite story is about Joseph Haines. Joseph’s family was coming to the
new colony of Pennsylvania. King
Charles II of England specified in the charter given to William Penn that the
name should be Pennsylvania. This is a combination of the Latin word ' Sylvania
' meaning woodland together with Penn. Joseph was born the same day his
father died on William Penn’s ship The
Amity. Joseph’s family had to forge a new life in a strange land. They
couldn’t just hop back on a boat and return to England, they had left England
to live in a completely unknown land, just so they could worship God the way
they saw fit!
Next
we have the story of Benjamin Harrison, my 11th great grandfather,
maybe this name doesn’t mean anything to you and that is completely fine.
However, he’s also an immigrant, and his story states: Benjamin Harrision, the Immigrant. Born in England and came early
to VA. He would endure the Indian Attack
of 1622. That he was a man of exceptional education is shown by his appointment
as a clerk of the Virginia council before 1633. He was a member of the House of
Burgesse in 1642. By his wife Mary, he had two sons: Benjamin II and Peter who
died in middle life without issue. Mary, widow of Benjamin Harrison, married
(second) Benjamin Sidway. Her will, dated March 1, 1687-88, bequeaths to
granddaughter, Hannah Harrison; to sons Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Sidway, and
John Kersey. His
descendants include President William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison V,
signer of the Declaration of Independence.
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| Huguenot Cross |
The next family member that I really enjoy their story is
that of my French 9th great grandfather, the Marquis De La Calmes. Marquis
was born about 1675. Marquis Calmes ... He passed away about 1741. The son of
Guillaume William de Calmes “Seigneur de Barbeiran” and his wife Francoise de
St. Cernin, Marquis Guillaume De Calmes was born in 1675 in Trebs Dioc de
Carcassone Languedoc France. While the family was titled, Marquis was probably
not a rank. The family was Huguenot, and Marquis fled with his parents from
France to England in about 1685 to avoid the religious persecution in France,
as the Edict of Nantes, promulgated in 1598 by Henry IV, was revoked by Louis
XIV in 1685. Marquis De Calmes was granted English citizenship by King James II
on 5 January 1687. He is listed as a member of Huguenot Church on Threadneedle
St., London in 1687 and 1688, and while there in England, he married Isabella
Elliche. Marquis De Calmes and his wife Isabella arrived in Virginia between
1696 and 1700. They first lived in a Huguenot settlement on the James River,
and then were granted 711 acres on the North Run of Acquia Creek, in Stafford
County, Virginia on 11 May 1706. He was granted another 744 acres on the South
Run of Acquia creek adjoining his other acreage on 01 Sep 1709. He died prior
to 1741 (although this cannot be confirmed due to the destruction of records
during the Civil War), and his wife died in 1742.
One
of the best stories I know about the Broyhill
(yes, the furniture makers) family is that of my 5th great-grandfather
John Norman Broyhill. His son Nathan was a Cherokee Indian. John Norman
apparently married this Indian woman around 1803. Her maiden name is
unknown, but Paul wrote that he is also connected with the Dawes family of
North Carolina. The Wilkes County, NC marriage records show that he married
Polly Davis in 1810. Either he abandoned his Indian wife or she had died.
His parents obviously knew of this marriage became both Norman's father, James
Broyhill, and his son, Nathan Broyhill, provided testimony in an 1828 Wilkes
County hunting accident. Broyhill family
records show that his son Thomas was born October 17, 1816 at Moravian Falls,
NC and that his son, John, was born in Tennessee in 1820. John
Norman Broyhill appears on the 1820 Census of Tennessee as John N.
Brawhill. The family was back in Wilkes in 1821. The following year,
his younger brother William left for Tennessee, perhaps inspired by John's
stories of new land. His other brother, James Jr., later moved to
Tennessee. Family oral tradition maintains that his wife and children came home
from Church one Sunday to find John's new shoes sitting on the kitchen
table. In them was a note stating, "Norman is gone." And
indeed he was because he completely disappears from Wilkes County
records.
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Black and White by Leslie Dula McKesson
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I
am going now to tell you about my ancestor, 2nd Cousin-6x removed, James Alfred Dula. His first wife died after giving birth to
6 children. She had been given a slave, Harriet,
when she married, her [Harriet] picture indicates she was probably part white,
Cherokee and black. James never remarried but had 8 children by Harriet. He
gave her land and money to protect her and his children. If anyone tried to
take what he had given her his will states they would receive nothing. Dulatown
in Lenoir, N.C. consists of the land given to Harriet and her children.
Today, I am truly thankful for my family; my
ancestors for forging life in a land that was completely unforgiving and not
welcoming to them. I am thankful for a God who supplied their every need; to
the point that truly they could sing out “I know the plans I have for you, not
to harm you, but to give you a hope and future!” Jeremiah 29:11
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