• Books
  • Feb22

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    Earlier today I read an article on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, which started 100 years ago today and left 26,000 men killed. My great-uncle Michael E. Tierney had been a wagoner in supply support for the 324th infantry which fought in that battle. It had been awhile since I had looked through his military service records that I obtained from the NARA, so I pulled up the PDF and had a look through.

    So first, a sideline: Detail from detachment records for Michael E. Tierney, WWI (source: NARA)One thing I found oddly intriguing was in some details of his detachment and pay records once he returned to the United States in 1919. There’s a section for “Clothing Settlements” that appears to be an accounting of uniform-related items (?) when the soldier is separated from active service. A couple of the lines have the US due $15.00 and $6.60 for something or other (I can’t really read what the notes say.) But, in one of the lines, under the “Balance Due Soldier” column is the figure ($10000.00) . What could THAT possibly be? Did he forget to return his wagon or truck?

    Well, no matter I suppose. What I really wanted to focus on in this post was the introduction to a book of photos I found relating to the Meuse-Argonne area fight. In Pictures of the battlefront of the 324th infantry: Meuse-Argonne, November 9-11, 1918, company Chaplain T. G. Vickers returned to the area the year after the battle to take a large number of photos.

    DedicationHe also wrote what I find to be a very well-put sentiment on the need for men to stand up on the side of the Right* and that the men that have shared his terrible experience in this battle and the war overall will need to stand up and help steer the ship of the United States in a positive direction – while pointing out that the United States’ reaching a welcome and righteous destination is far from guaranteed.

    (*Read “The Right” as the Honorable or Moral position, as opposed to a political standpoint is it is more often used today.)

    I do not use this genealogy blog to espouse particular political agendas, but I do think his experiences make his perspective one worth listening to, and the strength of his words lingers in my mind as I think of our current events. Vickers says,

    Such a body of men assembled for battle makes a serious situation for the enemy. Such a body of men scattered throughout the country in their homes and home communities makes a leavening element that will go a long way toward helping to make America an invincible force for right in the world, or a selfish, money-grabbing, power-drunk giant which will not only consume others, but must certainly come to destruction itself.

    He goes on to say…

    America needs manly, unafraid, unselfish men every- where as she needs nothing else.
    Politics needs to be purged of its self-seeking, unscrupulous elements in order that our government may serve the ends for which it exists. It is imperative that there be born a feeling of brotherliness and co-operation among Capital, Labor and the Public. Wherever you look there is the same call for men who will do their work not only with an eye to their own rights, but also with due consideration for the other fellow.
    Social life needs to be cleared of some of its dangers. In Church, in politics, in industry, in business, in the social fabric, in international matters, in everything there is the same urgent demand, nay, pressing necessity for men who have seen the value of Right, that they may decree by the irresistible force of their determined convictions that this country shall not become the victim of selfish or half-crazed men seeking to ram some pet scheme down the nation’s throat.
    If we who fought in the Great War make up our minds that America shall go right she will go right, and no power can lead her astray. It is the man determined to live according to Truth and Right that must keep this land safe.

    I strongly suggest you read his entire dedication and page through his photos and their captions.

  • Sep20

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    Yesterday I made a nice discovery by simply trolling through the NYS Archives documents on Ancestry: my great-uncle Thomas F. Tierney enlisted in World War I, was stationed at Fort Slocum, and eventually made Sergeant and getting assigned to the Cavalry. We already knew another brother Michael had been over there and was a part of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, but Uncle Tommy’s service was new info to me. Turns out the war ended before he could be deployed overseas.

    So, with some down time last night I began to look for the assignments listed on his Abstract card: “4 Rct Co GSI Ft Slocum NY” and “MG Tr 310 Cav”, followed by “20TM Btry”. That poking around led me to find an interesting book on Archive.org: Brooklyn & Long Island In the War (1918) contains more than 200 pages of vignettes about the war, stories and photos of men from the area and lists of the killed and wounded. Published by The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, it has the feeling of a newspaper with focus on the men.

    If you have family from the New York area that fought in WWI or are just interested in that period in history, you should give this book a look.

  • May5

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    Emma S Clark Memorial Library DoorBack when our kids were fairly small, my wife started a terrific tradition while looking for things to do in the otherwise lazy summertime: Library Field Trips.

    She began to seek out various libraries in our county of Suffolk on Long Island and they would pack up some things for snacks and/or lunch, pick a town and just browse the library there. As a life-long book and library fiend, I am aghast that such a thing never occurred to me, except maybe for larger libraries such as the New York Public Library in Manhattan.

    The kids have loved it – an opportunity to find new books they’ve never seen before along with at least the small sense of adventure one feels when visiting a new place. We’ve found some wonderful libraries, and also found that even though they’re all in the same county system, the facilities – and rules – can vary greatly. We’ve toyed with the idea of creating a dedicated blog for these trips, and now I regret not creating one a few years back. (Especially now that our son is 12 and less inclined to find the adventure. *sadface*)

    Stained Glass WindowToday I believe we have found my favorite Long Island library: The Setauket’s Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, opened in 1892 in memory of Miss Clark, who was the niece of millionaire confectioner Thomas Hodgkins.

    The library has been greatly (and beautifully) expanded several times since that first day, when the annual membership charge was a whopping 10¢ per year. The magazine area is housed in the original structure, constructed of arches and old wood that creaks comfortably beneath one’s feet.

    As my wife and son perused other areas of the library, my daughter Lily and I sat in this wonderful spot. I could easily imagine people running up to the overlarge entrance door in older times, shaking off the snow, pulling a volume from a shelf and sitting in the nook beside the fireplace and golden bottle-glass adorned windows.

    Clark Library StairsLily read quietly as I imagined these ancient goings on, and spoke only once to say “It is so peaceful here!” *Sigh.*

    As an added bonus to the library itself is that the area is of historical significance and has some beautiful churches and cemeteries to explore nearby. Walking out through the library’s nice plantings we then crossed the village green to learn that the Revolutionary War Battle of Setauket was fought here.

    Lily in a Flowering Tree

     

     

     

    For those who are viewers of the show Turn: Washington’s Spies on AMC, you might recognize the location name. (I have requested the first season from my own library, so please don’t tell me who wins!)

    NYS Historical Sign for Setauket village GreenThe area still has a nice rural feel to it, and it is easy to imagine carriages and soldiers milling about while crossing the triangle-shaped green on our trek over to the Setauket Presbyterian Church. As usual, the headstones in the cemetery called to us and we wandered through for the better part of an hour.


    Setauket Presbyterian Church

    Grave of Abraham WoodhullWe noted a few Revolutionary war soldiers as we walked through, and more than a few DAR markers. Then we stumbled upon one raised memorial that appeared to be built over the original headstone and had coins and stones scattered across its face.

    Abraham Woodhull PlaqueThe plaque on the top of the memorial informed us it was for Abraham Woodhull, “Friend and confidant of George Washington, head of Long Island Secret Service during the Revolution, and operated under the Alias of Samuel Culper, Sr.”

    Overall, an excellent field trip day, I must say.

  • Apr28

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    For those of us of the genealogical mindset, we seek slight glimpses of ancestral life in their archived documents, their location, time in history, and even hope for finding mentions in newspapers, even if less than good.

    More desired are personal letters or diaries, but I suspect few of us are lucky enough to possess such things.

    Now, I have some homework for you. As you read May Sarton’s poem A Light Left On, below, think what “inside weather” you might document and leave for your loved ones to recall you by, to help understand the space you live in, physical, spiritual, and waiting for your return…

    A Light Left On

    In the evening we came back
    Into our yellow room,
    For a moment taken aback
    To find the light left on,
    Falling on silent flowers,
    Table, book, empty chair
    While we had gone elsewhere,
    Had been away for hours.

    When we came home together
    We found the inside weather.
    All of our love unended
    The quiet light demanded,
    And we gave, in a look
    At yellow walls and open book.
    The deepest world we share
    And do not talk about
    But have to have, was there,
    And by that light found out.

    Poem: “A Light Left On,” by May Sarton from May Sarton Collected Poems 1930-1993 (W.W. Norton).

  • Apr13

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    I’m back with another edition of cool old books I’ve found online. If you have Scottish Ancestry, you may want to flip through this 1850 book entitled (now would be a good time to get a beverage or snack, because you might be here awhile…)

    The Clans of the Highlands of Scotland, An Account of their Annals, Separately and Collectively with Delineations of Their Tartans and Family Arms.
    Edited by Thomas Smibert, Esq.
    Enjoy!