Each Time I Cast My Ballot
The War of 1812 is not as well known as the American Revolution. England didn’t want to give up its American colonies, so thirty years after she lost them, she tried to retake them. The English attacked from Canada, from
My Grandmother, the Feminist
She was already quite elderly when I was born, so I only knew my grandmother as the sweet, loving and encouraging Grandma with the houseful of books, magazines and newspapers and my favorite candy always in the candy dish. I
Malachi Francis
On this 4th of July, I’m honoring the service of our Revolutionary War ancestors, including my great-great-great-great-grandfather Malachi Francis. He was born April 21, 1764, in Halifax Co., VA, and enlisted as a private on April 1, 1777, just before
A Lifelong Dedication to Voting
As we inch our way through this election season, one that is particularly tainted with extremism, intolerance and hate, I keep thinking of my father, Lee Ellis Dowell. He served in WWII and stood up against that very kind of extremism,
An Unexpected Diversity
As soon as I pulled the old photo out of the box the other day, I remembered it and the day, decades before, that my aunt first showed it to me. We had been going through old family photos and
Elisha Warden
Elisha Warden, my great-great-great-great-grandfather and one of my Revolutionary War ancestors, in 1776, at the age of 15, served in the Reg. Virginia Militia under Captain Thomas Pollard on an expedition to protect General Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon from destruction by the British.
Peter Borders
This is the story, in his own words, of the military service of my great-great-great-grandfather, Peter Borders, one of my Revolutionary War ancestors. He re-upped several times, even substituting for others, and near the end was taken prisoner of war