Rev. Stephan Bachiler; Our Rebel 10th Great Grandfather. Excommunicated Twice!

Our 10th Great Grandfather's Signature and Seal.

A Dispatch from the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove Valley

Dear Clan,
I'm hoping this parchment finds all in good spirits and well in health. In tonight's readings I found information about our 10th Great Grandfather, through Violet Mattson's Mother's line.
The historical question is, Was he a Saint or a Sinner? Isn't that the question about many whose blood flows through our veins?

"Among many remarkable lives lived by early New Englanders, Bachiler's is the most remarkable."
--The Great Migration Begins

Stephen Bachiler was born in 1561, and according to World Family Tree, his birth took place at Wherwell, Hampshire, England.
Stephan Bachiler entered St. John’s College Oxford on November 17, 1581 when he was 21 years old. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1585. In 1587 he was appointed Vicar (Priest/Pastor) of The Church of HolyCross and St. Peter by William West, Lord De La Ware. He remained there until 1605. Apparently he was very opinionated and was fired as Vicar.

The next time his name pops up is 1593. It is reported in court documents that Stephan Bachiler “uttered in a sermon at Newberry, very lewd speeches tending sedulously to the derogation of Her Majesty’s Government” This of course refers to the government of Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth passed a law against the Puritans in 1593 which gave the authorities the right to imprison the Puritans for failure to attend the Church of England.

Stephan was excommunicated from the Church of England. It is thought he travelled from place to place preaching to different congregations when he could avoid the persecution of the church people.

Some time before 1632 we locate Grandpa Stephan again. A certain Sir Robert Paine, Sheriff of Hampton and Church Warden of Barton Stacy reports that several of his parishioners were misled by Stephen Bachiler, a “notorious nonconformist”. It seems he “had demolished a consecrated chapel at Newton Stacy, neglected the repair of the parish church, maliciously opposed repairing the church at his own expense and executed many things in contempt of the canons and the Bishop.”

King James VI worked to rid Great Britain of Puritans. In 1605 he was fired as a pastor at Wherwell. Stephen was the among the first of hundreds who lost their pastorates because of the King’s order. Grandpa Stephen embraced the Puritan doctrine. He was considered a liberal Puritan, zealous of human rights.

Between 1607 and 1620 is seems Grandpa Stephen hid from the English authorities in Holland.

On March 9, 1632, Stephan Bachiler and his family boarded the ship “William and Francis” from London. The crossing was difficult. They were at sea for 88 days. Stephan was 71 years old. With him on the journey was his third wife, Helena; his widowed daughter, Deborah Wing, and her three sons, Daniel, John and Stephen.
The ship’s register recorded the following cargo brought by Rev. Bachiler:

Four hogsheads of peas,
Twelve yards of cloth,
Two hundred yards of list,
Oaken furniture,
and a collection box.

Upon arrival in New England, Mr Bachiler and his family moved to Lynn Massachusetts. On his first Sunday in Lynn he baptized four children. After preaching for 4 months in Lynn he came under “suspicion” of having independent ideas, which he was not willing to yield to the dictates of others. The General Court passed the following order against him on October 3, 1632,
“Mr. Bachiler is required to forebear exercising his gifts as a pastor and teacher....... for his contempt for authority and until some scandals be removed.” After 5 months the prohibition was removed and he was free to form a church in Massachusetts.

The Rev. Bachiler's Chair, now on display at the Hampton Museum.

The History of Hampton , N.H. records the following about the Rev. Bachiler:

Mr. Bachiler was a tall and sinewy man, with prominent features. Especially his nose, a very dark complexion, coarse black hair in his younger days, white in age, mouth large and firm, eyes as black as sloes, features long rather than broad, a strong clear voice, rather slow of motion and speech, simple in dress, obstinate and tenacious of his opinions to a marked degree, a powerful preacher drawing largely from scripture, impress the hearers with the uncommon power and sanctity of his sermons, strong in his friendships and in his hates

The Rev. Bachiler's Church in Hampton.

The Rev. Bachiler founded the city of Hampton, New Hampshire. The church he organized at Hampton is now the oldest Congregational Society n New Hampshire and the second oldest continuous church in the United States.

The plaque on the stone in Hampton's
Founder's Park commemorating the
founding of the town in 1638.

Between 1638 and 1644 he and his parishioners fell out. He was once again prohibited from preaching and Excommunicated again!

Shortly afterwords her moved to Stawbery Bank. He was a widower and hired a housekeeper, a young widow whom he called “an honest neighbor”. His neighbors thought it “unseemly” so he married her. He was 86. She was 60 years younger than him. Her name was Mary Bailey. Strangely, he performed the marriage himself and failed to publish it.

Mary had an affair with their young next door neighbor George Rogers. When it was discovered she was sentenced to be flogged and branded with the letter “A”. The court ordered Stephan and Mary to live together after her punishment “or else”. Instead he fled to Hampton and lived with is grandson. Many believe that Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" was inspired by Mary's punishment.

He wanted to escape Mary and going back to England seemed the best thing to do. The King had been beheaded and Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of the land. It seems our Grandfather and Oliver Cromwell were friends. In 1654 he sailed back to England.

Stephen Bachilder was buried in the church yard of Allhallows Staining on 31 October 1656, having lived nearly 100 years.

In summary.

"Rev. Bachiler 'had a real genius for opposing the majority,' and in consequence his character has been much maligned. The truth is he was a reformer, with the strength and weakness of his kind. He was among the first to refuse conformity to the English church and 'suffered much at the hands of the Bishops.' He came to America in his old age, hoping to find here that liberty which was denied at home; he rebelled at the union of church and state, which the strong Puritan covenant enforced, and in consequence found himself opposed to the party in power, the Massachusetts authorities." Pierce, Batchelder Genealogy, p. 95.

Two Pictures from the Albums for Your Consideration.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Valley of the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Tonight I present two photographs for your consideration. The first comes with questions.

In this photograph, taken around 1976/7 we see Grandma Violet Mattson. I believe the young boy standing in front of Grandma is Forrest DelGrosso. Notice Forrest is packing heat. This is South Dakota mind you. In Dakota Territory we arm them young. Its every man, woman and child at the windows shooting if them injuns attack.
If I'm not mistaken, the young lady next to Forrest is Lisa Willamson. I'm waiting to be corrected. Now, who is the lady in the background holding the baby? Anyone related to us? The young lady with the bleached face in the lower left corner of the photograph is another mystery . Any help on this would be appreciated. This looks like it could have been taken in Grandma's trailor, parked in Rapid Valley.

Our Second Photograph comes from 1975/76. Kevin looks to be about 13/14. Luckily for us, Kevin wrote the following on the back of this picture.
Brad Bishop, top. Scott Bishop top right. Randy Weeks top left.
Middle Row: Carry Gilles, Jim Lamphere, Bruce Middleton.
Bottom Row: Brad Haugen, Rick Olmstead, Kevin Williamson and Jeff Gilles.

Kevin also wrote the following: "Picture taken at Casper, Wyo. We won. Now we go to Denver. Unfortunatly we lost at Denver. We played Friday the 13th. Then on the 14th we lost because Jeff was there Ha Ha.

There you have it, a picture of the Rapid City 2nd Ward Youth Basketball Team and there in the center, our Kevin.

Simply,
Victor

Henry Fiddler and Francis George, Our 3rd Great GrandParents.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
In my search to find information on famous ancestors I feel I tend to neglect our great grandparents who lived lives similar to our own. I'm talking about simple folks that get up every day and do their best to put bread on the table and shoes on the kid's feet. These are the people that built America one homestead or farm at a time. Tonight we take a minute to celebrate the life of one such American.

Family, I’d like to introduce you to our 3rd Great Grandfather and Grandmother Henry Fiddler and Francis George. Henry and Francis were the Grandparents of Grandma Mattson’s Father, Walter Edwin Pierce.

Grandpa Henry was a native of Pennsylvania. He was born on 23rd of Nov. in 1823. His parents were Abraham Fiddler and Susan Keller. We know little of the the Fiddlers until 1838 when the family moved to Richland County, Ohio, where in 1846 Henry Fiddler married Francis George, daughter of Jacob George. In 1853 the family came to Iowa, stopping to winter in Muscatine County.

On March 24, 1854 he traveled to DesMoines to make a payment on 129 acres of land on Section 29. He only had one dollar in money. It was just enough to pay the fee at the land office. He relied on the charity of other pioneer settlers along the way as he travelled home. On the trip home he picked up three passengers who paid him $1.50 each. That money paid his expenses and he felt, with that money in hand, to be in good financial circumstances when he got home.

Grandpa Henry improved his land, and in 1855 resumed his work as a trained carpenter. They continued to live at Eldora where he built the third framed house in the town. He was elected Sheriff of the County in 1856 and served as Sheriff for four years. In 1859 he took his first prisoner, Eli Osbourn. Eli was convicted of stealing bacon. Henry took him to Ft. Madison. The trip took one month, which was a sixth of Eli’s prison sentence. In 1856 he arrested two men for the attempted murder of a Mr. Marryweather. Henry took them to Des Moines - home of the nearest jail. In August of 1856 he took another prisoner to DesMoines as well. He was arrested for stealing four hundred dollars at Hazel Green.

The locals wrote that Henry Fiddler was a conspicuous character in the pioneer history of Hardin County. He and Francis had 10 children. Eldora E. is our second Great Grandmother.

Robert McCrillis, Our 5th Great Grandfather.

With the Information Below the Males in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Sons of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Females in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Children and Teens in our
Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Children of the American Revolution.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Once again in my newly undertaken quest to highlight the lives of our departed ancestors I took it upon myself to search the truth behind another old family story. My mother told me that we had ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War. Of course who that or those ancestors were was the mystery.

Today I proclaim another Victory in my research. I found an ancestor that fought in the Revolutionary War. Family, may I introduce you to Robert McCrillis, our 5th Great Grandfather and soldier in the American Revolutionary Army. Information on Robert is sketchy at best but this is what I know.

Robert was born in 1740 in Lebanon, York Maine and died on the 9th of June, 1819 in Corinth Vermont. He is buried at the McCrillis Cemetery, Family Farm in Corinth, Orange County Vermont. He was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth McCrillis of Lebanon. According to town records, Robert's father (Daniel) "was the original McCrillis to settle in town, is said to have been a Scotch/ Irish emigrant who came to Lebanon, Maine from the north of Ireland soon after 1745"

Mother (Luella) remembers a family story about 3 McCrillis brothers who came to America from Northern Ireland. This story says that the three brothers moved from Scotland to N. Ireland to help bolster the protestant population in their attempts to free northern Ireland from the Catholics. The Scottish immigrants were given the best land to farm. The story goes on to say that the three brothers decided to leave N. Ireland for American and settled somewhere in the East. Well, I found that somewhere. The McCrillis family settled in Maine.

The family was probably living in Lebanon before 1750, for on July 30, 1749, the Rev. Amos Main entered upon the records of the First Parish of Rochester, N.H. the following: “Also baptized, Robert McCrelis.” At that time he Rochester church was located about four miles from where the McCrillises lived.

Here You See Robert McCrellis's Name and Pay from a Revolutionary War Roll.

Robert McCrillis was a private in Captain David Place’s Company, stationed on Seavey’s Island, being named on a return dated 5 November 1775. On July 14, 1776, the Rev. Isaac Hasey of the First Parish Church of Lebanon recorded in his diary the following:
“Bill up by Rob’t McCrellis for himself bound into ye Army.”
His name occurs on a roll dated at Charlestown on July 27, 1776, in Captain John Drew’s Company raised for Canada out of Col. Evans’s and Col. Badger’s Reg’ts.

Of course, with the information above all of us can join the organizations listed above. It is good to note that membership in the Children of the American Revolution could bring with it scholarships. Something to look into.

Now enjoy your read and I'll continue to bring our family's past into view. Remember, A family is stronger when it knows its roots. Our ancestors and their stories are the blood in our veins.
Please share this information with your children. Give them a sense of pride, knowing who they descended from and what their possibilities are as members of one of America's Great Families.

Simply,
Victor

The Rev. Thomas Carter. Our 9th Great Grandfather. A Humble and Pious Man.

A Painting of our Great Grandfather's Ordination as the First Minister
Ordained into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642.

From the Fortress of Solitude.
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Tonight I want to introduce you to our 9th Great Grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Carter (1608 to Sept. 5, 1684). He was a Puritan Minister and the first minister ordained in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642. He was a humble and honest man that was loved by his community.

A Biography of our 9th Great Grandfather:

The Rev. Thomas Carter was a admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge University, April 1, 1626. He received his Bachelor of Arts in January, 1629/30, and his Master of Arts in 1633.

It is interesting to note that our Great Grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Carter was for several years (1628-1633) a fellow student at Cambridge University with the Rev. John Harvard, the founder of Harvard College. They both came to America and settled in neighboring towns. It is probable that they were well acquainted while at the university. Both entered the ministry. Both were made freemen of the Colony of Massachusetts in the same year, 1637. The next authentic information on Thomas Carter is the fact of his being admitted a freeman of Dedham, Mass., March 9, 1636/7 . . . being "presented" by Philemon Dalton. (Dedham Records.)

From the records it seems that Thomas Carter was preaching in Dedham, and at this time was filling the office of Elder in the church at Watertown. In Watertown, Thomas Carter was granted a homestead of ten acres and, in 1642, a farm of 92 acres and a lot in the town plot.

Thomas Carter preached in Woburn for the first time Dec. 4, 1641. This was the second service of public worship ever held in the new town. His sermon was based on a passage in Gen 12. The town records wrote of the sermon "incouraging to trust in the Lord for the Means." This sermon or his previous reputation seems to have impressed the people of Woburn, for the Town Records state: 1641, Dec. 19.

“They now all at Mr Carter, who was very backward to promise anything, but only to bee helpful to them at sum tims which was very seldom."

The ordination of Mr. Carter as a minister came about as follows:

Aug. 14. A Church gathered at Woburn. Mr. Knowles, (assistant pastor of Watertown) Mr. Allen, (pastor of Dedham) Mr. Symes, Mr. Carter and divers other godly and faithful ministers of Christ held out the wright hand of fellowship in the name of the other Churches." After much persuasion, Mr. Carter finally yielded a reluctant consent and became the first minister in Woburn, being ordained November 22, 1642.

In Winthrop's "History of New England from 1630 to 1649” you can read the following account of the ceremony:

The village at the end of Charlestown bounds, was called Woburn when they gathered a church, and this day Mr Carter was ordained their pastor with the assistance of the elders of other Churches; some difference there was about his ordination; members fit to solemnize such an ordinance, they would desire some of the elders of the other Churches to have performed it; but others supposing it might be an occasion of introducing a dependency of Churches, etc., and so a presbytery, would not allow it, so it was performed by one of their own members, but not so well or orderly as it ought.

Capt. Edward Johnson, one of the principal founders both of the church and the town, was present on this occasion, and described the ordination in his "Wonder Working Providence" (published in 1654):

After he (Thomas Carter) had exercised in preaching and prayer the greater part of the day, two persons in the name of the Church laid their hands upon his head and said, We ordain thee Thomas Carter to be Pastor of this Church of Christ: then one of the elders present, desired of the Church, continued in prayer unto the Lord for his more especial assistance, of this his servant in his work, being a charge of such weighty importance as is the glory of God and the salvation of souls, that the very thought would make a man to tremble in the sense of his own inability to the work.

At his ordination, the town presented him with a house, which they built for his use, and also gave him a salary of £80 per year, one-fourth of which was to be in silver, the remainder in various necessaries of life, at current prices. This compensation was increased in 1674 by the grant of twenty cords of wood annually, to be delivered at his door. From the time of his ordination, Mr. Carter ministered constantly to his people without the help of an assistant for thirty-six years, when the Rev. Jabez Fox was chosen assistant pastor. He continued in the service with Mr. Fox for six years more until his death in 1684, thus making the entire period of his ministry at Woburn more than forty-two years.
Johnson, in his "Wonder Working Providence," speaks of Thomas Carter as a "reverend Godly Man, apt to teach the sound and wholesome truths of Christ" and one who had "much encreased with the encreasings of Christ Jesus."

Sewell, in his History of Woburn, says:

Mr. Carter appears to have lived secluded in great measure from the world; and hence he is seldom if ever named in history among the eminent clergymen of his day. Still there is abundant evidence that he was a very pious, exemplary man, an able and sound preacher of the gospel, and one whom God honored and prospered in his work. Under his ministrations, the church was greatly enlarged and built up, and the town flourished, and was for the most part in peace.

In the following lines addressed to him in the "Wonder Working Providence", Mr. Carter is represented as a plain, but faithful and successful minister; a pastor of distinguished humility and meekness, and in gentleness toward his flock:

"Carter, Christ hath his wayes thee taught, and thou Hast not withheld his Word, but unto all With's word of power dost cause stout souls to bow, And meek as lambs before thy Christ to fall: The antient truths, plain paths, they fit thee best, Thy humble heart all haughty acts puts by; The lowly heart, Christ learns his lovely hest, Thy meekness shews thy Christ to thee is nigh. Yet must thou shew, Christ makes his bold to be As lions, that none may his truths tread down; Pastoral power he hath invested thee With; it maintain, leest he on thee do frown. Thy youth thou has in this New England spent, Full sixteen years to water, plant and prune Trees taken up, and for that end here sent; Thy end's with Christ; with's saints his praises tune."

Family, I give you our 9th Great Grandfather, The Reverend Thomas Carter.

Simply,
Victor

Bob Coronato's 1st Painting for the 2010 Masters of the American West Show

Here are a few shots of my brother in law's new painting of Russell Means for 2010 Master's of the American West Art Show. Bob has an Amazing Talent. He and Lisa are heading to the show this weekend. Mom and Dad are in California watching their kids.

Thomas Dudley, our 10th Great Grandfather. Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Thomas Dudley, Our 10th Great Grandfather

Thomas Dudley (October 12, 1576 - July 31, 1653) was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Deputy Governor. During his terms he did the following:

• Founded the city of Newtowne, which later became Cambridge Massachusetts.
• He built the first home in Cambridge.
• He signed the Charter creating Harvard University. Thomas Dudley Gate at Harvard was named in his honor, as is the non residential Dudley House

The Charter Creating Harvard University Signed by Our Great Grandfather.

This Great Grandfather was born in Northampton England. In 1629 with tensions between the Puritans and the British government high, Dudley was chosen as one of the five officers to travel to the Americans under the Royal Charter.

It is difficult to understand Thomas Dudley's decision to leave England for the unknown shores of North America. In England he had friends, position and prosperity. But he decided to leave all this behind. Apparently, the pressures of persecution were so great that he was virtually forced to leave England or give up his religious convictions.

In 1630, Thomas and his wife and children sailed to New England with the Winthrop Fleet, a group of eleven vessels carrying 700 passengers. The Dudley family was on the flagship, the Arbella. The Fleet left England in the Spring and arrived in Salem in June.

Thomas was a strict Puritan and clashed several times with other leaders of the colony. He was known to be very inflexible in his views. Cotton Mather wrote that if Thomas Dudley had been alive at the time of the witchcraft trouble, New England would never have been disgraced by the bloodshed of innocent persons. He was one of the principal founders of the First Church at Boston and in the church now standing at Berkley and Marlborough streets is a tablet with the following inscription:

THOMAS DUDLEY. FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS GOVERNOR OR DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY. AS GOVERNOR HE SIGNED THE CHARTER OF HARVARD COLLEGE. BORN IN ENGLAND 1576. DIED IN ROXBURY 1653. A MAN OF APPROVED WISDOM AND OF MUCH GOOD SERVICE TO THE STATE.

On July 31, 1653, Thomas Dudley died at the age of 77 at Roxbury, Massachusetts. There was a great funeral, with the most distinguished citizens as pall bearers. the clergy were present in large numbers. Military units were present with muffled drums and reversed arms. He was buried at Roxbury, near his home, where his tomb may be seen on the highest point of land. His epitaph was written by Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and reads as follows:

In books a Prodigal they say;
A table talker rich in sense;
And witty without wits pretense;
An able champion in debate;
Whose words lacked number but not weight;
Both Catholic and Christian too;
A soldier timely, tried and true;
Condemned to share the common doom;
Reposes here in Dudley's tomb;

To finish our converstion with this Great Grandfather I end with a letter he wrote in 1631. You can read something written by his own hand.

Governor Thomas Dudley 
Letter to the Countess of Lincoln: March, 1631

Upon the river of Mystic is seated Saggamore John, and upon the river of Saugus Sagamore James his brother, both so named by the English. The elder brother John is an handsome young ...[one line missing] conversant with us affecting English apparel and houses and speaking well of our God. His brother James is of a far worse disposition, yet repaireth often to us. Both these brother command not above 30 or 40 men for aught I can learned. Near to Salem dwelleth two or three families, subject to the Saggamore of Agawam whose name he told me, but I have forgotten it. This Sagamore hath but few subjects, and them and himself tributary to Sagamore James, having been before the last year (in James his minority) tributary to Chicka Talbott. Upon the river Merrimack is seated Sagamore Passaconaway having under his command 400 or 500 men, being esteemed by his countrymen a false fellow, and by us a witch.

First printed in 1696 in: Massachusetts; or, The First Planters of New England. The End and Manner of their Coming thither, and Abode there, Boston 1696.

Simply,
Victor

July 1972. A Few of Lisa's Baby Pictures

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove

Dear Clan,
Tonight was Parent Teacher Conferences. I had one parent darken my door. I'm lovin It! Normally I wouldn't have parents on parent teacher conferences because I direct the Space Center. But, I volunteer to teach the school's gifted math class in the mornings so that obligates me to visit with any parent that has a desire to see how their little Johnny and Missy are doing.
Really, the hardest and most challenging thing about working with the math gifted is their talking. Gifted children like to babble on and on and on and on. They like to think of themselves as little adults. They have opinions about everything and sincerely feel us 'real' adults care about those opinions. As a teacher It is my job to foster those opinions, but I don't have to really give them much credence. I'm good at looking at them eye to eye and making them feel like they have my undivided attention when in reality I'm one thousand miles away.

Tonight I bring you a few snapshots of little Lisa Larke taken a few weeks after her birth on July 5, 1972.
Here she is in the arms of 15 year old Kim sitting on mom and dad's bed. Kim was just out of the shower which explains her attire and hair. I'm sure she'd want that made perfectly clear.

Here she is just after getting her nappy changed. I don't remembe why I put the bag over her head. It was just one of those things to make the picture interesting.

And again in Kim's arms fast asleep.

And finally throwing a tantrum in her swing. I loved that swing. It was the only thing that was 100% effective at getting her to go to sleep. The problem with the swing was the wind up mechanism. I'd put Lisa in the swing, she'd cry a tempest for a bit then mellow and finally drift off. The swing went back and forth only as long as the wind lasted. Sometimes one wind wouldn't be enough to get her to sleep so we'd have to wind it again as she was drifting off. That extra wind was the real challenge. Our challenge was to wind it up again without the noise waking her up. It was a challenge because the crank was so loud. I remember cranking that thing slowly - ever so slowly hoping not to stir the sleeping beast. I was successful 50% of the time.

Now for a confession. We must all ask Lisa's forgiveness for this.

If we wanted a good laugh (the rest of the brothers and sisters) we put Lisa into the swing and let it put her into a deep sleep. I'd gather my siblings around the swing when it stopped, place my hand on that obnoxiously loud crank, and wind that thing as fast as I could. The sound shocked her awake. You should have seen her eyes - they'd get as big as saucers, and she'd quiver like she was made of jello. Then the air intake; she'd go into momentary shock, want to cry but never had enough air because we scared the wind right out of her. We'd laugh while she'd attempt to suck in enough air to scream. Of course there was a price to pay. She'd finally let loose an ungodly sound and then we'd deal with it - so we didn't do it often; only when we needed a good laugh or when friends came over. You know, something to do when you were board.

Simply,
Victor

Saint Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons. Our 39th Great Grandfather

From the Fortress of Solitude

Dear Clan,
Tonight I continue with our Famous Ancestors. May I introduce you to a 39th Great Grandfather, Saint Alfred the Great. The second Cannonized Saint in our family's history. He is the ONLY English king given the title "The Great". Alfred is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church and is regarded as a Hero of the Christian Church by the Church of England and Anglicans worldwide.

Alfred was born at Wantage in Oxfordshire in 849, fourth or fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. Following the wishes of their father, the sons succeeded to the kingship in turn. At a time when the country was under threat from Danish raids, this was aimed at preventing a child inheriting the throne with the related weaknesses in leadership. In 870 AD the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by Alfred's older brother, King Aethelred, and Alfred himself.

In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. The following year, he succeeded his brother as king. Despite his success at Ashdown, the Danes continued to devastate Wessex and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the Somerset marshes, where he continued guerrilla warfare against his enemies. In 878 AD, he again defeated the Danes in the Battle of Edington. They made peace and Guthrum, their king, was baptised with Alfred as his sponsor. In 886 AD, Alfred negotiated a treaty with the Danes. England was divided, with the north and the east (between the Rivers Thames and Tees) declared to be Danish territory - later known as the 'Danelaw'. Alfred therefore gained control of areas of West Mercia and Kent which had been beyond the boundaries of Wessex.

Alfred built up the defences of his kingdom to ensure that it was not threatened by the Danes again. He reorganised his army and built a series of well-defended settlements across southern England. He also established a navy for use against the Danish raiders who continued to harass the coast.

As an administrator Alfred advocated justice and order and established a code of laws and a reformed coinage. He had a strong belief in the importance of education and learnt Latin in his late thirties. He then arranged, and himself took part in, the translation of books from Latin to Anglo-Saxon.

By the 890s, Alfred's charters and coinage were referring to him as 'king of the English'. He died in October 899 AD and was buried at his capital city of Winchester.

In Summary:

Alfred was King of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex and one of the outstanding figures of English history, as much for his social and educational reforms as for his military successes against the Danes. He is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'.

Saint Vladimir of Russia. Our 35th Great Grandfather.

An Icon of St. Vladimir of Russia. Our 35th Great Grandfather. He Brought
Christianity to the Slavs. He began the Conversion of Russia from Paganism to Christ.

Dear Family,
Yes, as shocking as it is, Russia’s most holy native Saint is our 35th Great Grandfather. You don't know how relieved I am. At least with one Saint in the family we all have a chance on heaven. My hours of research paid off! Now, according to the Orthodox Church you can print the icon of Grandpa Vladimir, frame it and pray to it. Imagine that, having a Russian Saint in your home that just happens to be one of your great grandfathers.

Now, a few things about St. Vladimir. One of the largest cathedrals in Kiev Russia is named after him. The University of Kiev was named after him. There is the Russian Order of St. Vladmir and Sait Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on July 15th.

Vladimir was born in 958 A.D. and was the youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev and his housekeeper Malusha, who was described in the Norse Sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future.

Vladimir was a warrior King and conquered many lands for Russia. Vladimir had remained a pagan, perhaps taking eight hundred concubines and numerous wives and erecting pagan statues and shrines to multiple gods. Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Bladimir’s time, he remained a pagan. It is said he took part in rites involving human sacrifice.

A Statue of our Great Grandfather overlooking the Dniepier River, Russia

His Conversion to Christianity

In 983, after another of his military successes, Prince Vladimir and his army thought it necessary to sacrifice human lives to the gods. A lot was cast and it fell on a youth, Ioann by name, the son of a Christian, Fyodor. His father stood firmly against his son being sacrificed to the idols. More than that, he tried to show the pagans the futility of their faith: ‘Your gods are just plain wood: it is here now but it may rot into oblivion tomorrow; your gods neither eat, nor drink, nor talk and are made by human hand from wood; whereas there is only one God — He is worshipped by Greeks and He created heaven and earth; and your gods? They have created nothing, for they have been created themselves; never will I give my son to the devils!’”

An open abuse of the deities, to which most Russians bowed in reverence in those times, triggered widespread anger. Rampant crowds killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann (later, after the overall christening of Russia, people came to regard these two as the first Christian martyrs in Russia and the Orthodox Church set a day to commemorate them, July 25th).
Immediately after the murder of Fyodor and Ioann, early medieval Russia saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief. However, our grandfather, Prince Vladimir, was troubled over the incident. The chronicles have it that different preachers came to the Prince, each offering a particular faith. Vladimir spoke to Muslims, Catholics, and Jews, but for different reasons rejected all the religions. Finally, a Greek philosopher told the prince of the Old and New Testaments and presented him with a canvas depicting Doomsday. When he learned of the fate of the unrepentant were in for, Prince Vladimir was benumbed by terror and after a short pause said with a sigh: “Blessed are the doers of good and damned are the evil doers!”

Another Statue of Great Grandfather Vladimir in London

Vladimir settled on Christianity. Vladimir was baptized at Cherson, taking the Christian name of Basil. Upon returning to Kiev he destroyed pagan monuments and established many churches, starting with the splendid Church of the Tithes.
Vladimir took it upon himself to convert his subjects to Christianity. In 996 he erected the large Church of St. Mary ever Virgin. In 996 he built the Church of the Transfiguration, both in Kiev. He gave up was and established schools, introduced courts.
The conversion of Russia was not, of course, an immediate success. It took several decades before Christianity struck roots in Russia firmly and definitely.
Vladimir I completed unification of all eastern Slavs in his realm, secured its frontiers against foreign invasions, and - by accepting Christianity - brought Russia into the community of Christian nations and their civilization. He was remembered and celebrated in numerous legends and songs as a great national hero and ruler, a "Sun Prince." Venerated as the baptizer of Russia, "equal to Apostles," he was canonized about the middle of the 13th century.