Dante's Spirit

Still here, insanely busy but still around.

A cousin in law died last week. I don't recall having met him. Funereal is today.



My favorite uncle died yesterday morning. Funereal is Tuesday. Unfortunately with Mark's work, we are unable to attend.


Garden is growing well. Green Beans have sprouted. Zucchini is getting there. Harvested a few cherry tomatoes and a dozen delicious Cherry Globe Radishes so far. Sugar Snap Peas are finally setting pods.

Planted some saved pumpkin seeds under the Peach tree. Hoping they grow, but we'll see.

Working on clearing out other spaces, to divide plants and rework beds. My brother told me to bring whatever I wanted when we come up in Oct- he might regret that.

Mom is mom. The signs of age related dementia are getting worse. Uncle Joe apparently had it too, along with diabetes and pancreatitis. Not surprised as Grandpa had Alzheimer's. (They are not blood related, so I have to worry about heart issues (none so far, knock on wood) and diabetes- under control thankfully, never got above pre-diabetic and staying in the low range, knock on wood).

Otherwise, busy, busy busy.

Crunched some numbers, did some research and got myself a Newspapers.com sub.

Then, on a whim, I looked up Algernon.

Filed under things that make you go 'oooooooo' and 'not entirely surprised'.



I guess, if you bleed out, then, yes, that can indeed cause heart failure (what the family was told he died from.)

Didn't find anything more that day, but did some more looking today and found a second article-



Not the least bit surprised by this either, given what I know of Algernon's relationship with LaVanchia, and the fact, his own daughter knew nothing of him because her mother- his 2nd wife- never talked about him. So, good on Pauline.

Took a while to come up with a title for this post. 'Seriously?!?', "WTF, over', '*sigh*', 'You have got to be kidding.'... you get the idea.


CR-V is back in the shop. Check engine light and VSA (Vehicle Stabilization Assist) light came back on, 4 times since last night. Came on, on Mark's way home, he pulled over, checked fluids, VSA light went out, check engine stayed on.

I told him to call them today. So naturally, check engine light went out even before he left this morning (it was on when we went to vote at 630am). But! It happened *3 times* on his way to work (car shudders, check engine and VSA lights come on).

So I woke up to him texting that he called, they said bring it in, they'll run a free diagnostic to see if it's related to the work they did or not and go from there. He went ahead and rented a vehicle. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's related to previous work, because if it is, it more than likely will be free or at the very least, inexpensive.


Got a message via Ancestry last night, from a half 1st cousin 1x removed (she's a Millennial, I'm a Gen X), they are in the same spot I was, in regards to my dad's birth father- their great grandmother never spoke of him, their grandmother, my dad's half sister, didn't remember him, as he'd died when she was 9. (Which can't be right, if she was born in '42 as they says she was, he died in '53, she'd have been 11.) They know nothin of a son, the grandmother says she was an only child.

But if she was born in 1942, she'd have been listed in the military records, and she's not, the son is.

She is *definitely* my dad's sister- dna proved that, as well as they look similar. At any rate, they'd never even seen photos of Algernon, or his dad, Carl, and had a lot of questions I was able to mostly answer.

Turns out their grandmother's older half brother via her mother, had 4 kids, at least one of which lives here in Virginia. The half brother died in Viet Nam and is listed on the Wall.



Warm today, so I have a few windows open. Nice, light breeze. Still very dry. Hoping for rain this weekend, and not the leaves kind. Thankfully the underground spring that fills the well is still going strong, so no worries there.


Got some sewing stuff I need to do, so off to do that.

Mark's mom is dying.


Now, she's been in End Stage Alzheimer's for at least a year now, so she's *been* dying, but this time, it's the end.

His dad called a couple weeks ago, said she was fading, we needed to come say good bye. BiL & SiL dropped everything and went up immediately, as he has a job that allows him to work from nearly anywhere, so no big deal to do so for them. We on the other hand, cannot do that. So we made plans to go up in July.

Well, last week, Mark's dad called, saying she had mere days, when were we coming up and when Mark told him we weren't coming up until July, he wasn't happy. Said things he shouldn't have, about me and my work in particular. Mark blew up at him and finally told him, if she passes before we get up there, then so be it. That he didn't want to remember his mom like this (beridden, unable to communicate, unable to move or eat, on low dose morphine to help her breathe), that he preferred to remember her as she once was. That he said goodbye every time we'd been up there since the diagnosis almost a decade ago. He was so upset at his dad.

He talked about not wanting to go up unless it was for her funeral now. I told him I understood, *I* wouldn't have wanted to see my dad as he was in the hospital either (And my mom told me, she refused to do a video call when the nurses called to say he had mere hours, did she want to say goodbye? She said she did every time she saw him.), so I wasn't going to talk him into it, that I supported him in whatever decision he made.

His dad called last night. He says it's definitely the end, that she's no longer able to eat (she aspirates if he tries to feed her pureed foods & she won't chew if it's solid) and only sleeps most of the day (That's how it was for my dad the last week of his life as well.) He also said he wasn't as depressed about it- which likely colored a lot of his reaction last week, and that he'd keep us updated.

Mark said to me after, that after last week, he wasn't sure he wanted to go up as we planned, after the 4th of July. I told him we could wait until the funeral if he wanted. He wants to spend some extra time up there with his dad, because he thinks he's going to need it, and I agree.

Right now, we are day by day. We know funeral arrangements have already been in place for both of them for years now. There's a will, etc, so really, we just need to show up.

So, yeah, fun times.

Found a 6th cousin, so was looking through their media and photos, and noticed an interesting name.

Thought, 'wait, are they claiming we're related to William Brewster of Mayflower fame?'

20 minutes later, lo, yes, in a round about way, I am.

He is the 8th great grandfather, via his son, Love Brewster, of my 3rd cousin 3x removed,via her husband, their granddaughter is my 6th cousin.

Yeah, it's weird.

William Brewster and Mary, his wife, had 5 kids- Jonathan, Patience, Love, Fear, Wrestling and an unnamed child that died at birth(or was stillborn, sources are uncertain).

Love Brewster married Sarah Collier and had a daughter, Sarah.

Sarah Brewster married Benjamin Bartlett, and had a son, Benjamin, Jr.

Benjamin Bartlett, Jr married Ruth Pabodie and had a daughter, Ruth.

Ruth Bartlett married John Murdock and had a daughter, Janet.

Janet married Stephen Tilson and had a son, William.

William Tilson married Mary Mercy Ransom and had a son, Thomas.

Thomas Tilson married Eunice Hubbell and had a son, Lemuel.

Lemuel Tilson married Sidney Ann Crow and had a son, Stephen.

Stephen Tilson marrried Susan Ballard and had a son, Samuel.

Samuel Ballard Tilson married Edna May Magill <-- My 3rd cousin 3x Removed*. They had a daughter, Doris.

Doris Magill married Arthur Leroy Coffman, and had a daughter, Rebecca Annis.

Rebecca married Rickie J Cunningham and had 2 kids, my 6th Cousins.

*Edna May Magill is descended from my Vaught line, her great grandfather is my 4th great granduncle, his sister having married into my Milburn line, Which married into the Mickolatcher line, which then married into the Pennock line.

Was doing some very interesting research on a 2nd cousin 2x removed line (he died at the Battle of Luzon, Phillipines, Pacific Theater, WWII, 19 April 1945), and came across a famous name that turned out to be the maiden name of his wife, with whom he had 2 sons-

Kellogg.

Yes, that Kellogg.

So I got curious and started tracing her line to see if it connected to John Harvey and W. K. Kellogg, the founders of Kellogg's Company, and lo, it does.

Her 6th great grandfather is the brother of John Harvey and W. K. Kellogg's 3rd great grandfather. Her husband is my 2nd cousin 2x removed.

I literally sat down and wrote it out, even-



Though, technically I am only half related, as that 2nd cousin is only a half cousin- his grandfather was the son of my 5th grandfather from his 2nd marriage, my line comes via his 1st marriage.

But, writing it out, digging into it, was a fun exercise. And I found so many new ancestors who look very interesting to explore now too.

Even better, I mapped out the lineage-



Kellogg line. Eleanor Lucile Kellogg is the half 5th cousin 2x removed of John Harvey and W. K. Kellogg.



Pennock line. Eleanor's husband, Nyal E. Pennock is my half 2nd cousin 2x removed.

In other news-

Warblers are so very loud at 530am.



This guy, or gal, woke me up this morning, a Tennessee Warbler, by singing right outside the window. They are very, very loud.


Then, a little later, while listening (and catching on the app) all sorts of other birds- Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Marsh Wrens, Northern Mockingbirds, Indigo Buntings and Sparrows are apparently very early risers here- I caught a new bird.



A Worm Eating Warbler. I'll have to try to wake up at 530am to see if I catch it again to confirm.

Meanwhile, refilled the suet feeders yesterday, which is probably why they're all so cheerful at the crack of dawn.

Aside from a really exhuberant, over active immune system reacting to the Covid booster shot (Moderna Bivalent booster) this last weekend (and a tooth deciding to go on me), recovery has been spent sleeping or camped on the couch, researching.

And I found what I was looking for.

My 4th great grandfather, on my paternal great grandmother's line, her own great grandfather and 2nd great granfather. Winborns, that line. Originating in Halifax and Northhampton Counties of North Carolina,in the Free Colored Persons communities since early Colonial days, mid 1700s.

"WINBORN FAMILY

1. Thomas1 Winborn, born say 1750, was head of a Halifax County, North Carolina household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:65], and 2 in 1800 [NC:354]. He was probably identical to Thomas Winmon who was head of a household with his wife Patience, counted as "free molattows" in the Bertie County list of Josiah Harrell for William Vann's District, adjacent to Benjamin James in 1770 and 1771 and in the list of Samuel Granberry adjacent to Benjamin James in 1774 [CR 10.702.1, box 2]. Thomas Winborn was counted in the 1790 census for Halifax County living in a household nearby Benjamin James [NC:65]. He purchased 25 acres on Little Swamp in Halifax County on 2 March 1818 for $113 and 100 acres in Halifax County from Mark Murray on 15 May 1823 for $62 [DB 24:307; 26:203]. He left a 15 March 1829 Halifax County will, proved August 1829, by which he left 148 acres to his heirs who were his wife Easter, his brother David, his grandnephew John Henry Winborn (son of Thomas, Jr.) and Willie Winborne (son of Nancy Winborne) [WB 4:52]. His children may have been

i. William, born before 1776, head of a Halifax County household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:170].

ii. Benjamin, born say 1785, married Sarah Jones, 26 May 1804 Bertie County bond, Frederick James surety, and was head of a Bertie County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:142].


2. David Winborn, born before 1776, was head of a Halifax County household of 11 "other free" in 1810 [NC:56] and 9 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:170]. He received 50 acres by the 15 November 1815 Halifax County will of (his mother-in-law?) Lucy Murray, proved in August 1816 [WB 3:587]. He may have been the father of

i. Thomas2, father of John Henry Winborne who was named in the will of Thomas1 Winborn.


The family moved to Ripley township, Rush County, Indiana, where John, Lewis, David, Hardy, and Benjamin B. Winborn were heads of "free colored" households in 1840."

- Free African Americans website

Me-->My dad--> His dad--> grandma Cora--> great grandma Jane(Winborn)--> 2nd great grandfather John Henry Winborn--> 3rd Great grandfather Thomas Winborn-->4th Great grandfather David Winborn...

Before 1840, the family relocated to Indiana with several other Free Colored Persons households of note.

1840 Census- Ripley Township, Rush County, Indiana- family listed as 'Free Colored Persons', with David Winborn as head of household

1850 Census-Thomas listed as 'mulatto', moves to Van Buren County, Michigan by 1860.

1860 Census- Thomas and son, John Henry, both listed as 'mulatto'.

1870 Census- Thomas was listed as 'mulatto'.


Here's the fun part-

1875 Census in Van Buren County, Michigan- John is listed as 'White". In 1872, his daughter, Jane, marries William Stratton, a very old, very white New England family. ( I can trace that line of my family back to England, in 1592, when they came to the US, and back further in England.)

In the 1880 Census- Thomas is listed as 'Black'. His son John Henry, is listed as 'White'.

John's daughter, Jane, is listed as 'White'. His entire family is.

Apparently, Thomas' wife's heritage (Ireland born) had finally asserted itself enough in her son and grandchildren, that Census Takers of the time, classified them as light skin enough to pass.

That's right.

Census takers at the time determined your ethnicity/race, not you. To add to this, mulatto was/is derogative, and covered anyone of mixed heritage, be it Black or Native or any other ethnicity.

Unfortunately, I have no photos of Cora. I do have photos of Carl and his second wife, Jennie. Cora died when my grandfather, Algernon, was 2 yrs old.

I do have Devall family in Michigan, that I have limited contact with. I'm going to have to reach out and see if anyone has any photos of Cora they'd be willing to share.

In the meantime, back to researching the Free Colored Person Communities of North Carolina and Virginia.

There's always, as long as I can remember, been this family story, passed through my paternal line, that were had Native American ancestry. Specifically, that we were related to one of the Potawatomi chiefs, via his daughter. But no one could say who or when.

My dad would mention this occasionally, especially when I was a child , through my early teen years. I used to believe it as a child. I mean, my dad was telling me this, surely it was true.

I started questioning it as an adult, more so when I started doing our family genealogy over a decade ago. The more I researched, more the more convinced I was that, it simply wasn't true.

When I connected with my dad's birth family, via a cousin, it crystalized that, it was merely a family legend and had no merit. Those connections opened up vast branches that lead back to the founding of the US, and beyond, with no evidence of Native American heritage.

Unfortunately, often for many people, lack of evidence, lack of papertrail doesn't always mean there's no connection. I'd get messages sometimes that still claim this story was true, see I found this, and I've have to say, nope, not our family, not our ancestors, it is not true. They'd them either get angry and go away, or continue to insist they were right until I finally blocked them.

When Ancestry started their DNA testing, I told Mark, I wanted to do it. I wanted to know, beyond a resasonable doubt, whether it was true or not.

Well, it took a few years to get around to getting tests- which only served to allow time for it to be perfected to the degree that it has been- but last Christmas, we got 2 tests, one for me and one for him.

We sent in the results after the holidays, so they wouldn't get lost in the mail (except mine did for a week, ugh), and then we waited.

He got his results about a week ago- he's literally the poster boy for white people. Whiter than mayo. White as white bread. We joke about it a lot. And honestly, were not the least bit surprised. His family is *very* English and German.

Well, I got my results yesterday. And was pleasantly surprised. Not by the fact that there is absolutely no Native American ancestry, no, it was another result.



Now, granted, anything below 5% is negligable in terms of how far back it is in my ethnicity, but it's still a significant finding, all the more so since it is on my paternal line.

How do I know this?

By looking at the connections to 2nd, 3rd, 4th and distant cousins who've taken tests and who share common dna and ancestors with me, I was able to determine which came from which parental line. It's a lot easier when you have 2nd cousins that have your mom's maiden name and share great grandparents with you, for example.


What makes this finding of that 2% Ivory Coast & Ghana (according to the results, mostly Ghana), is that my dad was racist. He would be absolutely appalled at this finding.

Because somehow, in his mind, in his family's minds, being related to Native Americans was preferable to being related to a Black person. Yeah, I don't get it either, they were/are both treated pretty horribly.


This connection would be, if I understand how it works correctly, as far back as between my 3rd and 6th great grandparents. That's nearly 200 pairs of grandparents I'd have to research to try to find the connection. Now, granted, I can go back that far on both parental lines, and I do have evidence of slave owning ancestors. Unfortunately, that evidence is on my *maternal* line. So further research on the paternal line needs to be done, especially the Strattons, Riddles and Gumaers.

Not because I'd like to be able to claim to be Black, mind- I'm not, most definitely. But because I'd like to know who, where and what happened to them in the generations since. I'd like to know their names, as I do on my maternal line.

I am rather surprised the Russian eethnicity isn't higher, considering my maternal grandmother's line is almost pure Polish through her paternal line (the range does contain Poland, and it is highest concentrated in and around Poland). I guess that's where the Germanic ethnicity comes from maybe, though that said mostly Swizterland and Austria(not surprising that there's no real Italian, though I do have Italian ancestors from Northern Italy, during periods when it was considered part of Austria.)

I am also amused that I'm more Scottish than Irish. And the Sweden and Denmark... no clue where that comes from. So little French though- everything I have from my dad's line pointed to French. Though, given that many were Huguenots, it's entirely possible they were transplanted English to France.

Overall, very interesting. And I have a few things to research more on now.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

The dawn was red today. A deep, violently, luridly red sky as the sun rose. A scintillating red that spread to the south, the north, the west, covering the cloud covered sky in it's obnoxiously vibrant coloring.

It turned fiery orange, then fluorescent magenta, fuschia, then a rosy peach as the sun rose, clearing the mountain tops and tree line. Then the clouds lowered more and it faded to a soft rose toned gold, before breaking into the clear, cold grey of a wintery sky, though it's still, per the calendar, fall. Then the clouds lowered further and all color was gone, leaving you to imagine...

The sky was red this morning at dawn.


* * * * * *

My youngest grandnephew by marriage, only a couple months old, has RSV. They believe he got it from his 3yr old older brother who apparently had such a mild case, the doctor thought it was just a cold.

Not bad enough for hospitalization, but bad enough to have his mom very worried.


Wear a damn mask. Social distance. And if you are ill, for gods sakes, stay away from vulnerable family and friends- in fact, stay the hell home.

But I thought better of it.

My mom told me I was mean last week.

Because I told her she didn't need the nearly 10 boxes of cooking magazines & generic cookbooks that no one else in the family wanted, so donate them.

I also told her she & dad had hoarder tendencies & she agreed. She still kept a box well over full.🙄😆

I say this as I go through the 2 boxes & 2 of 3 totes we brought back with us. One tote I deliberately filled with stuff that were for my brother and we dropped it off at his house when we dropped him off.

Much of this will be donated or tossed. I only have it because it was easier than seeing her face as I said I didn't want certain things anymore, nor would anyone else in the family. Some of it, like the porcelain flowers I have loved since i was a child, will stay packed away, until we can get a nice curio cabinet to display them in.

I have a box full of family photos- vacation photos, reunions, school photos, etc. Those will be gone through, scanned in and the vacation photos with no recognizable family members in them, tossed on the to be burned pile. There are even photos of Dante that I never knew mom had.



Then there's things like this, that belonged to me dad, who told me years ago I could have the one that was 3 times this size, made of solid metal. That I told him I'd love to have but had not only no way to get home, but no place to put it. So he told me I could eventually have this one instead. It'll hold our dice collection.

It still smells like grease, oil, and dust from the garage. Things I associate with my dad when he was working. Even found a single solid brass 6d die in it that I know he machined himself.

I have a couple of his kites. Turns out, after I left home, he'd done kite competitions, trading and selling many of the kites I knew and flew with him, so when we finally got to go through them with my older brother S, I didn't recognize many. I already had his Hawaiian, so really wanted the 3 Trlbys I knew he once had and had started me out flying on. He no longer had them, or the kite bag I remembered. But I now have 2 matching Stingers and one I don't know the name of, as well as extra graphite spars to replace the one my Stinger is missing. Need to go to Into The Wind Kite's website to get new stunt kite string.

I also have something else of his, that I never wanted, told him so, but he insisted, mom insisted, S insisted and well, here we are.


Meanwhile, it's grey, rainy and the low dose Lexapro (oh, hey, I finally broke down and asked for help with the anxiety and depression, but that's for another blog post) is working over time to keep my brain from going haywire with thoughts and such. So back to it I go, before I lose all momentum.