Climbing My Family Tree: Part 27

First Encounter Beach

Immigrants Richard Warren and Elizabeth Walker

Pilgrim Richard Warren

While visiting Cape Cod last fall, I made a point of finding my way to First Encounter Beach in the town of Eastham. This was the beach where some of the passengers and crew of the Mayflower first interacted with the indigenous people of the Cape. The encounter wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t peaceful.

My 10x Great Grandfather, Richard Warren, was part of that initial encounter.

First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Massachusetts

Most of us remember the story of the Plymouth Pilgrims from elementary school. After almost ten brutal weeks at sea, the Mayflower, with her 102 passengers and a crew of around 30, arrived in America, dropping anchor near the tip of what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Thursday, November 9, 1620. They had crossed the Atlantic at an average speed of just two miles per hour.

Climbing My Family Tree: Part 26A

Thomas and Dorothy Burgess

Alan deMeurers visiting the gravesite of Thomas and Dorothy Burgess

Last fall I had the pleasure of visiting Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I couldn’t resist doing some genealogy work while I was there, and after some searching, I found the resting place of my 10x Great Grandparents. I first wrote about Thomas and Dorothy Burgess on this site back in 2017 (Climbing my Family Tree Part 26). At that time I mentioned the difficulty I had in researching the family as a result of missing and contradictory documents. Since then I have been able to fill in a few details and make a few corrections.

The couple immigrated to the Plymouth Colony from Truro, England. They were born just after the turn of the 17th Century (during the rule of Queen Elizabeth I). Dorothy’s maiden name continues to be a hot topic of debate among genealogists.

Wisdom from Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks, Sr.

I have had the pleasure of learning from Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks, Sr. on a couple occasions now. Dr. Marks is a minister, researcher, trainer, and award-winning educator. He is a diversity and implicit bias expert.

Do you have implicit biases? Well, if you are human and you live in society, the answer is “Yes,” according to Dr. Marks, who leads what he describes as “guilt-free, shame-free, blame-free” trainings.

Dr. Marks taught me implicit biases are not a character issue, but a result of a disproportionate exposure to singular points of view. We are exposed to both negative and positive stereotypes, which our brain catalogs at a subconscious level.

Spreading Kindness

I came across this gem on the internet not long ago. I am sorry to say I do not know the the origin or the author, but I hope you will take a minute to give it a read. It is a great reminder of our responsibility to be kind to others.

As I was pulling into work, I was following this car. The sign on the back window says, “Learning stick sorry for any delay.”

A Return to 1933 Values

Recently the Salem-Keizer School District discovered a first grade report card from 1933 at Richmond Elementary School. 

Climbing My Family Tree, Part 11F

Immigrant Rev. John McLeish

This is the last of four known letters authored by Rev. John McLeish (my three times great-grandfather) on his journey from Massachusetts to California during the gold rush of 1849. This letter was published in The Boston Olive Branch on Saturday, January 19, 1850.

Climbing My Family Tree, Part 11E

Immigrant Rev. John McLeish

This is the third of four known letters authored by Rev. John McLeish (my three times great-grandfather) on his journey from Massachusetts to California during the gold rush of 1849. This letter was published in The Boston Olive Branch on December 15, 1849.

Climbing My Family Tree, Part 11D

Immigrant Rev. John McLeish

This is the second of four known letters authored by Rev. John McLeish (my three times great-grandfather) on his journey from Massachusetts to California during the gold rush of 1849. This letter was published in The Boston Olive Branch on November 17, 1849.

Climbing My Family Tree, Part 11C

Immigrant Rev. John McLeish

This past week Wartburg College Professor of History, Terrence J. Lindell, contacted me through my WordPress account. While conducting research for a course he teaches on the gold rush of 1849, Professor Lindell discovered four letters my three times great-grandfather Rev. John McLeish wrote while on his trip from Melrose, Massachusetts to the gold mines outside Sacramento, California in 1849. Professor Lindell was kind enough to share the letters with me.

Vicente Fox Quesada on DACA

If Trump doesn’t want DACA, Mexico will take all of them — Vicente Fox Quesada​