Crowe’s Nest by Elizabeth Powell Crowe

Many of us love genealogy so much because of the puzzles, the mysteries, the chasing of clues to find the truth. So we tend to like to read mysteries and historical novels. Now a mystery with genealogy — that ‘s best way to spend an afternoon on the beach!
Let the Dead Lie is about Anne St. Clair, a young special education teacher, who embarks on a frustrating and shocking journey to discover the truth about her grandmother’s disappearance and her father’s suicide.

I’m going to write something like that someday.

An unprecedented new publication highlighting the contributions of African Americans and American Indians in America’s War for Independence is now available from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The second edition of Forgotten Patriots – African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies, published in May 2008 by the DAR identifies over 6,600 names of African Americans and American Indians who contributed to American Independence and is a nearly five-fold expansion in pages over the 2001 edition. The 9″ x 12″ hardbound book with 872 pages contains details of the documented service of the listed Patriots, historical commentary on happenings of the time, an assortment of illustrations, and an extensive bibliography of research sources related to the topic.
Forgotten Patriots is a unique publication that offers an enormous amount of research and original sources, covers all regions during the years roughly from 1775 to 1783 and is distinctive in the fact that this variety of information is all compiled into one resource book. No other similar guide exists for the history of the participation of African Americans and American Indians in the Revolutionary War. Such an extensive list of names and supported documentation of their service has never before been published. Probably just as important to researchers is the vast array of thousands of sources found in the extensive bibliography that provides a road map for those seeking to discover even more information on the topic.
The book organizes its findings into chapters that include U.S. state-specific historical commentary, sources cited, names of identified Patriots and a bibliography. Seven appendices are included to elaborate on topics not often addressed in other publications such as the challenges of documenting the color of participants in the American Revolution, the often discussed but never authoritatively verified number of minority participants in the Revolution, and information on how to contact the DAR with questions or to offer additional information related to the topic.
While the majority of the content is reporting of fact as opposed to narrative, a number of interesting personal stories emerge as well. These stories provide insight into the individual aspirations, struggles and achievements of many other African American and American Indian Patriots for whom such documentation has been lost to time.
DAR Library Director, Eric G. Grundset, Editor and Project Manager of Forgotten Patriots, describes in the book’s introduction the “rewarding, informative, and captivating” work on the project and intended goals for the publication. He explains that nearly a quarter century of research has gone into the preparation for this book and its predecessor publications, with several DAR employees spending countless hours searching across the country for documents that reveal the names and supplemental information of minority participants in the War for Independence.
The Forgotten Patriots research guide will be an indispensable tool for students, scholars, historians, and genealogists interested in the important contributions of African Americans and American Indians in America’s fight for Independence. On an additional level, Grundset writes, the hope is that “it will also encourage the female descendents of these patriots to join the important volunteer and educational work of the DAR.”
“The subject of this book is essential to the work of the DAR to document the history of the role of all individuals in the Revolutionary War and to preserve it for future generations,” explains Grundset. “While the research to identify and document forgotten patriots will continue as part of the daily activities of the DAR, it is hoped that this work will spur others to undertake an examination of their ancestry and the rich heritage that has come to make up our great nation.”
Forgotten Patriots – African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies is available for $35 (plus $8 S&H) from the DAR Store at www.dar.org/darstore or by calling 1-888-673-2732.
For more information about Forgotten Patriots and to read excerpts from the book, visit www.dar.org/forgottenpatriots.
Source: Daughters of the American Revolution

My good friend DearMYRTLE is asking all genealogists to help honor retiring editor and publisher Halvor Moorshead at the 2008 NGS Conference next week.
1. IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE, MAKE A DINNER RESERVATION NOW
RSVP to MYRT by Sunday May 11 at 5pm. She’s taking reservations for special dinner to be held on Thursday, 15 May 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Peppercorn restaurant. On a budget? No problem, as each will order from the menu. Dress is business casual and there will be a special presentation to Halvor at this dinner.

Dinner Thurs 15 May 2008

My father, J. T. Powell, Jr., was one of the original NASA engineers. In fact, he arrived to work at the Redstone Arsenal in 1952 before the space agency was officially named in 1958. He worked on the earliest space flight missions, winning an award for his instrumentation on Miss Baker’s flight.

So when I saw that NASA has a “Send your name to the Moon” Project, I put in his name. I figure though he died in 1992, in his lifetime people went from horse and mule transportation to the moon, and he was part of getting us there.

The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come. Participants can submit their information at http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.