Pilgrims, Patriots and Pioneers

11/24/2021

Though many of my/our Mayflower passenger direct ancestors had died in that difficult winter of 1620-21, some did survive and were present at the first Thanksgiving meal: John Alden, William Bradford, Priscilla Mullins, young Samuel Fuller, at least. I found this piece about what was, and was NOT, on the menu at that first Thanksgiving to be rather interesting and informative. I hope you have a wonderful and deeply blessed Thanksgiving!

When the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people shared the first Thanksgiving in 1621, sweet potatoes, pie, and cranberry sauce were missing from the table.

10/30/2021

Welcome to Pilgrims, Patriots and Pioneers. When I started researching the family trees for myself, my wife, and our two daughters-in-law, I almost immediately realized we not only descend from the earliest days of American history, we also descend from people with amazing stories who lived remarkable lives. I'm beginning to share those stores over on my family history blog (link to the left), and I'm also going to be posting many of them here. If you see anything which may be interesting to others please feel free to share it. I also invite you to like or follow the page to receive updates of new posts. Over on the blog site there is more about the family lines I follow, the research I'm doing, photos, and so forth. I hope you enjoy meeting some of these amazing people. If you are part of any of these family lines and know stories which should be told, PLEASE contact me!

10/30/2021

Halloween's here. There will be lots of girls wandering around in witch costumes, pretending.... But this witch story couldn't be more real...and she's our ancestor from over 300 years ago. Meet "The Beautiful Witch of Fairfield"....

Munkers-Munkirs Witches, Witches…Everywhere! by Hartford|Published October 29, 2021          Because so many of the family lines I research stretch far, far back into early Colonial America, it wasn’t surprising to find occasional references to accused witches in my research on our famil...

10/30/2021

Redmond Boneparte Munkirs. Simply "Red" for short. What a cool sounding name! Did he live up to it? Well, he didn't live long...and he quite literally died in a 'hail of bullets.' You decide...

Munkers-Munkirs Red – He Rode with the James Gang by Hartford|Published November 30, 2020 This December our local genealogy society has organized a program on our (in)famous ancestors. One thing I’ve discovered is that some family historians try to hide, apologize for, or otherwise distance them...

10/30/2021

My father and I have the same, unusual first name: Hartford. I had always taken his explanation of where the name came from with a proverbial "grain of salt." I mean, who would have done what he claimed his mother and my grandmother did? I should have known....

Cheney Inlow A Worldwide Pandemic and Three Last Names by Hartford|Published May 24, 2020 Naval Aviator, Ensign Hartford Inlow, with his mother, Mabel Cheney, in Oklahoma City, 1942. Hartford is 23 years old, Mabel is 64 years old My given name is Hartford Cheney Inlow, II (“II” because I’m na...

10/30/2021

My parents went to Selma, Alabama (twice!) to march with Martin Luther King in March, 1965. My grandparents taught us...and actively lived out...the importance of loving and respecting people of all other races. But I'm pretty sure none of them knew about our ancestors, Abraham op den Graeff, one of the American colonies first outspoken protestors against slavery and its evils.

History Inlow Abraham op den Graeff – One of America’s First Slavery Protestors by Hartford|Published October 25, 2019 Abraham op den Graeff (1651 – 1731) One of four signers of the first anti-slavery protest document written on American soil Hartford Inlow’s six times great grandfather, thr...

10/30/2021

I never met my great-grandfather, Albert Cheney. But the more I learn about him, the more I wish I had. Pioneer...settler...Oklahoma 89er...and more...

Cheney Inlow Albert and Eva Cheney — True Pioneers and Settlers by Hartford|Published October 11, 2019   Albert and Eva Hunt Cheney Albert Cheney 1852 – 1936 Born:  Rock Island, Illinois, 26 September 1852; died 10 September 1936. Son of Luke Cheney and Mary Polly Beardsley Cheney ++++++++++++...

10/30/2021

"The Shot Heard Round the World" was the opening salvo of the American Revolution, right? That's what I learned in school. But another very interesting version has the shots fired in a very different place...and my sixth great-grandfather as the first casualty of the War for Independence.

Harp Munkers-Munkirs Samuel Crowley – First Casualty of the Revolutionary War by Hartford|Published October 8, 2019|10 comments SAMUEL CROWLEY Samuel Crowley is believed, by some historians, to be the first casualty of the American Revolution. Samuel is my sixth great-grandfather, through the Munk...

10/30/2021

Grandmother and remarkable lady, Mabel Cheney Inlow, was a special lady. She was also descended for more than eight passengers on the Mayflower, including Governor William Bradford.

Cheney Inlow Mayflower Descendant – Mabel Lora Cheney by Hartford|Published August 20, 2019|2 comments The 400th Anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower is in 2020…and it’s true!  Mabel Lora Cheney is a direct descendant of several Mayflower passenger pilgrims!           William ...