250 Years of History: My Personal Connections

Happy Independence Day! It’s America’s 250th birthday, and for this monumental occasion, I have written a post unlike any other I have ever posted (and probably will ever post) on this blog. Most of us Americans know the basics about our history, but reading the stories (whether true or legend) of people who actually lived them brings history to life–and that much more when they are physically connected to you.

Today’s post will be a compilation of short stories of my ancestors, from a Mayflower passenger to a son of a German immigrant surviving World-War-One, detailing many years of American greatness from my own personal line.

(If you want a post detailing five random facts about Independence Day, check out my facts post here!)

Mayflower Passenger – Henry Samson (1603-1684)

Henry Samson is my eleventh great grandfather, but more importantly, he was actually a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620 at the age of only seventeen. He was considered one of the “Strangers” so, not a religious Separatist like some of the other passengers, though his aunt and uncle, Edward and Anne Tilley were. It was because of them he boarded the Mayflower, despite his parents still living in England.

Ironically enough, Henry Samson and his infant cousin, Humility Cooper, who also traveled with the Tilleys, survived that first winter, though Edward and Anne both succumbed. Henry went on to receive some land grants in Plymouth, marry Anne Plummer around 1635, and had nine children, all of whom surprisingly lived to adulthood. His occupations varied, from a constable to surveyor, and apparently was on several juries, as well. His wife died in 1668, and Henry lived a good sixteen years afterwards before dying in 1684.

The Creative Rebel – William Markey Sr. (1756-1846)

William Markey Sr., my seventh great-grandfather, has one of my favorite ancestral stories, which is fitting, as he also is the ancestor I’m highlighting who served in the American Revolution.

Family legend states that, at eighteen, William wanted to travel to America with his younger brother, James, but either couldn’t afford the fee for him, or the crew refused to take him on. Either way, William smuggled James on board within a barrel, releasing him from the barrel only when the crew was so far out at sea, they couldn’t afford to return home.

However, a newspaper article in June 1773 reveals that, apparently, the pair of carpenter brothers had been frequenting ale houses and finally broke into a house, stealing forty pounds the owner hid for his retirement fund. William was caught, but James initially escaped with the money. Afterwards, James was caught too, and they were both tried, convicted, and later reprieved, but part of their sentence may have been forced relocation to the American colonies to work on plantations. So apparently the brothers completely made up the before mentioned story, maybe to try to hide the true nature of their immigration.

William later went on to serve in the American Revolution as a part of Maryland’s 5th Regiment of the Continental Army, suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle, and was discharged as a sergeant in 1777. He lived for another whopping sixty-nine years, marrying in 1787, having eight children, surviving two of them and his wife, and finally dying at the age of eighty-nine.

Colorful Civil-War Vet – Fielding Tutt Tonguet (1840-1891)

Another of my favorite ancestral stories surrounds my third great grandfather, Fielding Tutt Tonguet. This man was some character–though he enlisted in 1862 with his cousin and fought in both the 99th and 81st Ohio Volunteer Infantries for the Union army during the American Civil War, there’s really no records of him being injured or doing anything notable during these years. No, it’s actually a local newspaper clipping from 1878 which starts to reveal Tutt’s colorful personality.

According to the newspaper, Tutt was wanted by the deputy marshal for some minor misdemeanor, however, Tutt decided for whatever reason, he wasn’t going to comply. Thus began a chase, wherein Tutt outran the marshal, and hid in the “wild wood”. Then, just over a half a year later, another clipping from the same newspaper notes that Tutt was charged with “furnishing liquor” to “a person with the habit of getting intoxicated”. He apparently paid bond to get out of jail.

Tutt married his first wife, Ruth, right before he enlisted in 1862, and together, they had four children. She died when he was twenty-nine, and he remarried his second wife, Martha, with whom he had seven more children. However, the crazy thing about this, is he married his second wife four days after his first wife died. Four. Days. Kind of wondering what was going on there, honestly.

Someone with Tutt’s personality was bound to attract more trouble until the day they died, and Tutt was no exception. Having testified against a man, sending him to prison, the story goes that, once the man was released, he went in search of him to get revenge. Tutt was with his second wife and two children riding home when the gun-man stopped them. Tutt went to get some tobacco from his pocket, but the man (perhaps thinking he was going for a gun?) shot him, prompting Tutt’s son to leap from the carriage and beat him to a pulp. Tutt lingered for around six months longer, but eventually succumbed to the gunshot wound, dying at age fifty.

German-American Word War One Soldier – Fred Walter Smith (1886-1979)

My last ancestor mentioned today is my second great grandfather, Fred Walter Smith, and this one is from stories my grandfather told me about him. Fred’s father immigrated from Germany, bearing the very German surname Schmidt. According to my grandfather, it was around World War One, when other Americans were discriminating against Germans due to their part in the war, that Fred, despite being naturally born here, decided to change the spelling of his name to the American version of Smith.

The really neat thing about Fred is the fact that I have been able to see his World War One draft card with his own handwriting including facts about him–one of my favorites is that his occupation was actually a blacksmith, fitting well with his surname.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing some of the anecdotes of my ancestors. So many men and women have done so much for this country in the 250 years of its existence, from the pilgrims to the pioneers, from those building the railroads to veterans still alive today, that we should be thankful for and take encouragement from. And I think we can best honor their sacrifices by continuing to defend the freedoms we’ve held for 250 years now and remember the causes for which they dedicated their lives to.

Thank you for reading! If you have any stories of your ancestors in America, feel free to drop them in the comments! And as always, may God bless you, and may God bless the USA! ~ Kay Adelin