Please add me to the United States Project. I am a direct descendant of: a couple of the earliest settlers/survivors of Jamestown plus several Mayflower passengers, most notably William Bradford; (in)famous colonizers such as Rev. Robert Fordham and John Carman; an infamous pirate—Jean Lafitte and his Caddo mistress Marie; several presidents; ancestors on every side of Indian wars, Revolutionary War and Civil War; people who were conductors or whose homes were waystations along the Underground Railroad; a grandmother who walked the Trail of Tears and lived in a fort where Renegade Apaches often tossed spoils of hunts as well as crops over the fortress walls to the many people held captive there; pioneers who followed the Oregon Trail, or who were part of the land grabbers known as the “Sooners”; some (whom I have known personally) drove horses and cattle along the Chisholm Trail; my mom’s family survived the Dust Bowl and Great Depression (while my grandfather and great-grandfather were riding the Chisholm Trail, my grandmother, mother and sometimes my uncle—when he stayed home from riding the trail, especially during the Dust Bowl—managed to raise many vegetables, turkeys, chickens, beeves and dairy cows in spite of the harsh conditions, thereby providing for the tables of neighbors and less fortunate family members as well as themselves); my grandfather fought in France during WWI, and my dad and uncle fought overseas in WWII, while my mom and grandparents built airplanes (Mom was nearly riveted into the wing of a plane, and my grandfather was a supervisor for fitting out the Enola Gay to carry the atomic bomb). I had horrible history teachers who only taught dates and events, but nothing about people, so I had no interest in history until I met my husband—fortunately in time for me to come to a new respect and understanding of the many rich and important family stories I so loved. Weirdly, these were “just family stories” completely divorced from the background history before my sweet husband taught me the profound heritage of my extended family. I am now very interested in history, especially in US history. I’d also like to join state history for Oklahoma, Oregon, and Hawaii.
