The Ancestral Pen

  Dear Reader, Well, I have some news I'm still a little giddy about. Fading Light has been chosen as the current read for the ISSDAR book club! If you know me at all, you know what that means to me. Captain Edward Beeson is my fourth great grandfather, and it was through him that I joined the Daughters of the American Revolution in the first place. Writing his story was my way of honoring him before America's 250th anniversary. Now the very organization that connected me to him is reading his book. I couldn't have dreamed that up if I tried. And it gets better. On August 22nd I'll be featured on their podcast, talking about Edward, the research behind the book, and what it was like turning two hundred year old records into a family you can get to know. Though before that, on Saturday, August 1st , I'll be signing copies of Fading Light for DAR members at the Asotin County Library in Clarkston . Members, if you already have a copy, bring it along and I'll happi...

  Dear Reader, This is the last newsletter before America's 250th, so I want to spend it on the ancestor who started all of this for me — the first patriot I was ever able to actually prove was mine. You know him already. Captain Edward Beeson , my fourth great grandfather, the patriot I wrote Fading Light for. With the 4th right on top of us, I keep going back to a few passages from that book. So today, instead of another round of research, I want to just sit with some of his story — and his family's — for a minute. Here's how I put it in the author's note: "Some people celebrate anniversaries with cake. I wrote a book. Captain Edward Beeson is my fourth great grandfather. When I discovered I could join the Daughters of the American Revolution through him, I made it my mission to write this novel in his honor before America's 250th anniversary." Every Beeson in that book is real. The births, the marriages, the battles — they all came out of actual milita...

  Dear Reader, I've been deep in the weeds writing the Conner family book, and sometimes the time is just perfect. As I traced my husband's Martin line back I found he has a Patriot ancestor, and what better time to share such a find than the week of the 4th of July.  Meet Richard Martin Sr. He's my husband's 5th great-grandfather — and he's a Revolutionary War patriot. Richard was born January 3, 1749, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Before the Revolution, his family had made their way south to North Carolina. I know he was already there by February 28, 1775, because a land grant record in Dobbs County puts him squarely in the colony while the political crisis with Britain was still building to a head. He was already an established landowner before a single shot was fired. When the Revolution came, he didn't wait around. On May 7, 1776 — less than two months before the Declaration of Independence was signed — Richard enrolled in the First North Carolina Regi...

  Dear Reader, When you see this newsletter, it will be Memorial Day. I hope you'll take a moment to stop and reflect on the men and women who have lost their lives in the service of our country — to protect the freedoms we all enjoy. As a Daughters of the American Revolution member, I feel very strongly about this. I'll be spending part of my day at the local VFW serving our military men and women. Then it's back home to the garden. My tomato, pepper, and okra plants are just exploding on the shelves right now. I know better than to put them in the ground up here until the first week of June, but I do need to prep the soil and get seeds in — corn, beans, squash, and melons. So much to do! Live Today Fading Light It is live today. If you like historical fiction, I sure hope you will enjoy this story of a family -- my ancestors -- who lived through the Revolution in North Carolina. Fading Light The weekly question to ponder: Does your family have a soldier who never came hom...

  Dear Reader, I’m writing this to you on Mother’s Day, though you’ll be reading it tomorrow. I hope yesterday was a good one — whether you were celebrating or being celebrated, or simply missing someone. The Woman Who Created Mother’s Day Here’s something almost nobody knows: the woman who created Mother’s Day died broke, blind, and alone in a sanitarium because she spent every dollar she had trying to cancel the very holiday she built. Her name was Anna Jarvis. When her beloved mother, Ann died in May 1905, Anna made a promise at the graveside that the world would remember women like her. She launched a relentless letter-writing campaign to politicians and church leaders across the country, and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed Mother’s Day into law as a national holiday. Anna Jarvis had done it. And almost immediately, she was furious. Within years, florists were tripling the price of carnations every May. Greeting card companies were printing millions of sentimental vers...