thursday thirteen #5 . . .
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1. In 1533, one of my ancestors, John Leland (or Layland, Leyland), served King Henry VIII as his antiquarian. It is believed that this post may have come to him as a promotion from that of royal librarian after Leland wrote poems celebrating Anne Boleyn's coronation, which were read at the coronation ceremony. 2. Amusingly, in his travels in 1542, John Leland made a reference to Cadbury, England, as being the site of Camelot from Arthurian legend. Whether based on research or speculation, Leland's statement persists to this day. 3. This same John Leland was a very respected scholar and researcher, producing several written works and earning him the distinguished reputation as "the father of local English history." Much of his notes and publications are kept at the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford. 4. John Leland spent his later years working on an extensively researched book to be called History and Antiquities however, despite voluminous notes still referenced today, he never finished the book because he was certified insane in 1550, was committed, and died in 1552. So, when I say I'm crazy on deadline, I'm probably not kidding. :-/ 5. A descendant of John Leland above, Henry Leland came to America from England in the mid-1600s and eventually settled in Sherborn, Massachusetts. In the center of town, there is a monument dedicated to him as one of the founders. I have a photo of it somewhere. Additionally, all the Lelands in the U.S. trace their roots back to "our" Henry. There are, according to various sources, eleven generations of the Leland family in this country. 6. Branching off the Leland tree in Sherborn was Alvan Pratt, who was a 19th century gunsmith of some renown. Two of his pieces--a boy's rifle and a Massachusetts militia musket--are on permanent display at the Concord Museum. 7. Also in Sherborn, at the war memorial downtown, one of my ancestors, Theodore Pratt, is listed as a Civil War casualty. I have a photo of this, too, somewhere . . . . 8. As I understand it, my family has a perpetual care plot at Sherborn's historic Pine Hill cemetery, where I could be interred if I want to be. You know, eventually. 9. On another branch of my New England family tree you'll find a fellow named William Bradford. In 1620, Bradford and a group of courageous travelers boarded a ship called the Mayflower and sailed to America. In 1621, after the death of the first Plymouth Colony Governor, William Bradford was elected and held that post for more than 30 years. 10. William Bradford was also something of a writer, chronicling the journey of the Mayflower and the establishment of the Massachusetts Colony in his journal, Of Plimoth (or Plymouth) Plantation and also putting together The Mayflower Compact. 11. Moving way forward in time, and more along the lines of trivial family history, rumor has it that my grandfather's aunt owned one of the famous Inverted Jenny postage stamps. No idea what may have happened to the stamp, if in fact it was ever in Great-great-great Aunt Emma's possession. But it's fun to think she might have had one! 12. More trivia: When I was a kid, my grandfather used to own a small cabin at Point Judith, Rhode Island. He sold it for a song in the late 1970s because he couldn't afford the taxes, but he made a gentleman's agreement (verbal) with the man who bought the property that the small shed abutting the fishermen's right-of-way would remain intact in case any of us wanted to use it. More than 20 years later, my husband and I drove past the area while on vacation and discovered a huge multi-million dollar home standing on Grandpa's lot. But right next to the big house, on the right-of-way, was a small shed. I rather doubt it was *the* shed, and while we did take pictures from the road, we didn't pop in to inquire if we could bunk down there for a night or two. Looking back, I rather wish we had asked . . . :-P 13. This same grandfather, the only one I knew, and knew too little since he was in Massachusetts and I grew up in Michigan, was very supportive of my dream of becoming a novelist. He died before I got published, from a massive heart attack suffered in his kitchen while he was making coffee, and it's a great regret of mine that he never got to see one of my books in print. I guess that's not technically family history, but there you go. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Melani Blazer; 2. Angela/SciFiChick; 3. Jaci Burton; 4. Darla; 5. May; 6. Shiloh Walker; 7. Michelle; 8. Elisa Adams; 9. Annie; 10. Christine d'Abo; 11. Edie Ramer; 12. You're next! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Found you via Jaci's TT. Had to comment. WOW. So cool to know so much about your family--and have it BE interesting, such as yours.
(almost) makes me want to do some geneology...someday.
Posted by
Melani Blazer |
8:22 AM
Very neat history!
My father loves geneology. But I have no idea how far back he's been able to track.
Posted by
Angela/SciFiChick |
8:26 AM
This is awesome, Lara! I wish I had traced my family's ancestry. And now my mom, at 85, is the only one left on her side. I really need to sit down with her while she still has some of her mental faculties left and see what she remembers and get it written down. Ack!
What great history you have here!
Posted by
Jaci Burton |
8:36 AM
Thanks! Glad you like it, you guys. I think family histories are fascinating, regardless of how famous or infamous the ancestors may be. Incidentally, I didn't know any of my "literary" roots until well after I began writing. I've just always had a love of the written word. Not by chance, methinks.
And I can't take any of the credit for mining our history. One of my aunts and my cousin did a great deal of digging with the help of really old photographs, daggeurotypes, and cemetery records. No doubt the internet would have been a huge help to them, had it been as data-rich then as it is now.
Posted by
Lara Adrian |
8:49 AM
Wow, that's fascinating! One of my aunts did the family history on my dad's side years ago for her kids, and gave me a thick packet with copies for me. As this was 20 years ago, I wasn't too interested, so I just glanced at it and stuffed it in a drawer. I hope it's survived the intervening moves. I'm really going to have to try to find it when we get back home.
Posted by
Darla |
9:16 AM
Wow.
Trying to do something would require being able to read comfortable in Mandarin, and preferably the complicated, not the simplified version at that, which is something no one in my immediate family can do.
Posted by
May |
9:40 AM
I don't know much at all about my family history, although I know there was somebody on the DH's side that was a rather prominent figure in the Revolutionary War on his dad's side. His mom's side is native alaskan and she's related to several famous native artists
Posted by
Shiloh Walker |
9:46 AM
Wow - so cool Lara! I'm sorry about your grandfather though. Mine died a long time ago but he was always so supportive of everything I did. When I had my bath and body business I named one of them after him. Good TT!
Posted by
Michelle |
9:57 AM
What a great list! Very cool :) My great-grandmother had started working on a family tree, but when she died, no one was able to find the notes she'd been making.
Happy TT!
http://elisaadams.wordpress.com
Posted by
Elisa |
10:00 AM
Darla -- I hope you can find it! Your kids will thank you eventually, too. :)
May -- Oh, that sucks. My husband's family history was mostly oral recollections, and, sadly, all but lost now.
Shiloh -- Very cool on both accounts! Alaska has always been a fascinating place to me; its native people as well.
Michelle -- That's so sweet (and sad)! Now I'm curious about the business name.... :)
Posted by
Lara Adrian |
10:01 AM
What an awesome TT! And I'm so envious of the amount of your history that you know. My sister is trying to recover some of ours, but both sets of grandparents have long passed away, so it's been difficult.
You asked about the picture on my blog header and it's the Atlantic. Ocean City, Maryland to be exact, which is where I live.
Thanks for stopping by my journal. Happy TT!
Posted by
Annie |
10:27 AM
These facts are amazing. I'd love to get in and take a closer look at my family history. I know my family goes back quite a ways, but I've never really looked into it. You've inspired me to look closer.
Thanks for stopping by my TT today!
Posted by
Unknown |
10:32 AM
Lara, loved your list! What a great history your family has. It was fascinating to read.
Here's the link for my Thursday 13:
http://www.edieramer.com/blog/?p=70
I'll be sure to check in here again. :)
Posted by
Edie Ramer |
11:34 AM
Elisa -- Oh, that's too bad! So much anecdotal, really interesting family history is lost because it wasn't written down or kept safe somewhere.
Annie -- Thank you! I hope your sister has good luck piecing your family history together. It's a huge task sometimes!
Christine -- Thanks, and I hope you finds lots of great family history, too! Good luck.
Edie -- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
Posted by
Lara Adrian |
12:51 PM
That's awesome. My paternal ancestors came over pretty early, too---helped found Yarmouth (MA) and the like. Statues and all that.
And my whatever-great-grandmother was the second wife of one of Plymouth's governors. We're also related to the Sears (of "and Roebuck") family way back.
My favorite thing about my family tree---there must have been a shortage of people at some point, because Howes women married Sears men and then Sears descendants married Howes descendants, so I've got this nifty, yet frightening, little rectangles.
There was also an inter-sibling decapitation, but I seem to be the only one in the family who finds that story really funny.
Posted by
Shannon Stacey |
2:12 PM
Very cool! What an interesting family history. How wonderful that your grandfather supported you but sad that he died before you were published.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good day!
Posted by
Caylynn |
1:08 AM
Shannon -- How cool! If you've got relatives linked to Plymouth governors, maybe we're related! :) LOL about the intertwining family branches. I've got a few of those, too. But no sibs chopping off one another's heads! I'd love to hear that story!!
Racy -- Oh, very interesting! How fortunate that you can trace your roots back so far. 900 years is amazing! LOL about law school. Remind me never to get in an argument with you. ;-)
Caylynn -- Hi! Thanks for the nice comments, and for coming by to visit me. :)
Posted by
Lara Adrian |
6:46 AM
This is awesome!! Wow.
Posted by
Sylvia Day |
12:30 PM
Thanks, Sylvia. And thanks for the heads-up on your blog about Showtime's Henry VIII series! It looks fantastic!
Posted by
Lara Adrian |
1:24 PM