Family History Lesson - The Revolutionary War

The picture is "The Surrender of Burgoyne" that took place after the Battle of Saratoga. Our ancestor Levi Flanders fought in this battle.


Sometime people want to know if any of their ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. Just so you know, three of our ancestors took part in that conflict.

On the Willis side - You've probably seen the picture of Montreville Willis that I have. He was my great grandfather. His father was George Willis.

The father of George's wife, Anna, was "from Ireland and fought in the Revolutionary War".

George's father, Benjamin Williston, also fought in the Revolutionary War.

The source for both of these is an account of Montreville that appeared in a book called "Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas" published in 1889. See T-AH2.

The most complete, and recognized, documentation is on the Flanders side - Levi Flanders. His relation to me is a grandfather with four "greats" on it. Levi > Enos > Charles Clark > Charles Lorenzo > Charles Walmsley > Ida Narcissus > me.

Levi Flanders fought from 1775 to 1778 and he took part in The Battle of Saratoga.

The source for this is a 1914 application to the Daughters of the American Revolution for a person down another line from Enos. I've checked out the data on the application and, with minor corrections, it's valid. It includes information about his pension application that was granted based on his war record.

Hayden at Julie's Graduation Party

Sunset Clouds

Some clouds rolled in last evening just at sunset and they were just in the right place between the trees to make this shot possible. Unless you're actively trying, you only get the chance to photograph something like this every couple years and, when you do, the best shot is only there for 10-15 minutes. I'm glad I got this one.

A Little Restoration Work on One of Frank Knickerbocker's Pictures

Frog on a lily pad (with fish)

It's been about 3-4 days since I thought to myself "Now that I've got lily pads, I need to get a picture of a frog sitting on one". They're usually away in a flash when you walk up but this one just sat there. The goldfish are just a plus!

The Second Lily is Even Prettier

(The reflections in the water are almost surreal.)

Looking for Number 50!

I took this picture of a bird that was sitting on the gate as I came home the other day. He's just a black blob here - but when I lightened the picture I saw this:

Not a very good picture but enough to see the color and the markings on the wing that made him really easy to identify as a Blue Grosbeak. He became bird number 49 on our Wildernest Property Bird List (birds that we have seen on the property). Now we're looking for Number 50!

So that's why they call them bird baths?

If you look at the full screen on this one you'll see water drops filling the air around this guy, highly aggitated water, and a really wet bird!

A Flanders Church in (Fulton) Missouri!

I just got confirmation today that a church I saw a couple weeks ago browsing old post cards online is a Flanders church. This is exciting news because the church is in Missouri and that extends his working area to another state. I knew of two Oklahoma churches and had reason to think there might be works in Missouri but had never found anything. Also - this church is still being used making it the only one in this style that is still around! It's the First Christian Church of Fulton (a bit west of St. Louis).

Our First Water Lily Blossom - Ever!

We've had several water lilys over the years and the best we've done is just OK, certainly no blossoms. But a couple months ago I was in Wal-Mart and they were closing out some packaged water plants - three in a pck for $5. So I got one - I mean that's three plants for 1/2 or 1/3 the normal price of one plant and I love a deal! One of the three never even sprouted, one has three tiny leaves, but the third... (Go ahead and double click to see it full screen.)

Two Books Important to Understanding!

I'm just completing the second of two historical books that have changed what I thought I knew about these events. The first is "The Bloody Shirt, Terror After Appomatax" by Stephen Budiansky.





What happened just after the Civil War that changed the fate of African-Americans for over a hundred years? This book filled a void in my education. It tells the story of several men in Mississippi and South Carolina in their efforts to implement the terms of the South's surrender at Appomatax. Elections had put African-Americans that had recently been slaves into seats of power and whites were not able to accept such a great change so quickly. After reading this, it seems that if sufferage had been delayed or phased in some way, the radical reactions of the whites might not have taken place as it did and racism, to the extent it happened, might have been avoided.

The second book is "The One Percent Doctrine, Deep Inside America's Pursuit of its Enemies Since 9/11" by Ron Suskind, a pulitzer prise winning author.



A really fascinating book about the inner workings of the Bush White House and the "War on Terror". The fact that they were operating on Cheney's "One Percent Doctrine", whether right or wrong, explains a lot of what's taken place. And, considering the consequences of 9/11, it presents a good argument for using that criteria for running the "War on Terror". The doctrine states that if there's a one percent chance of a threat occuring, it should be treated as a certainity in determing what actions to take. Suskind had great access to highly placed individuals in writing this!

New home for the garden fairy

Can you solve my dilemma??

We have goldfish in our pond. Those familar with the layout know there are actually two ponds - the upper - and the lower, connected by a waterfall that's about three feet long.

There are three goldfish about 6-8 inches long (and a whole bunch of babies right now but that's another story) and they have always been in the lower pond.

One of the goldfishes has black markings - and a bunch of the new babies do to. All of the babies are in the lower pond.

However, as of a couple days ago, the bigger fish with the black markings is in the upper pond.

How did it get there? (I'm pretty sure there's no salmon blood involved and that would have required swimming uphill in a half inch of water running in the other direction.)

Theories - logical and otherwise - appreciated!

Coons in the bird feeder

There's only two faces here but there's a third coon on top of the other two and a fourth one in the tree up above. They're all trying to eat the leftovers from the squirrel's earlier visit. (They're babies.)

Notis Agememnous

Sharing a few Photographs - -

Backlit leaves on the sweet gum tree

Backlit fountain grass

The gazebo as seen through the leaded glass window on the deck addition.

Two lost birds - on the hummingbird feeder rather than the otherbird feeder. It's a male and female house finch. (The guy has the red breast.)