Gardner's Beacon, Vol. III, No. 2

All who came over the big pond had some type of yearning for freedom, after all it's arguably one sign of maturity for humans. The recent celebration of American Independence pertains to that common urge. But, the actuality was long coming, and issues related to this urge continue to this day. Some claimed freedom early, such as the crowd at Merry Mount. But, it was way too early for such a thing.

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As we add to the Annals collection, it looks as if a "History, Gardner viewpoint" would be a good theme for a series of papers and, even, books. That is, several authors have tried creative methods in writing about history. One example is a history written from the viewpoint of the common man in which events, usually ignored, come to fore.

Most history tells the tale of the winners. Or, you might say, those who controlled the message. But, we all know that reality deals with millions and billions of people. Are their lives of little substance (again, arguable from several sides)?

With Thomas and Margaret, we do not have the blank slate that some might think, not that there is a lot of information to use. That gap leaves much to fill in; doing so will allow a new look at what happened. We'll be more specific about this as we go along.

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One thing to cover will be goings-on of note in the "Mother Country." So, we itemize the changes in power over the time of Thomas and his immediate ancestors. Charles I, for instance, lost his head during Thomas' time. Felt's Annals is a good read in the context. Earlier, we noted that Thomas dared to marry a Quaker, without repercussions. George, on the other hand, had to flee to Connecticut. Well, looking at the Annals can remind us that Charles II wrote to those in power here and told them to lay off the Quakers, more or less.

Methinks that Thomas could handle the pressure. Endicott respected him.

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Now, too, it looks like time to tell the Gardner story coming forward from those early times. Thomas and Margaret have descendants across the U.S. and the world. Some are interested in specific trees and relationships.

As well, the total of the information would add to the story. So, there is a lot to do (with no real end in sight).

1881 Expedition team (left)
Relief team (right)

An interesting little tale involves two cousins. Both were Thomas and Margaret descendants, but they met in the polar region. Greely led the expedition
team which was stranded for a couple of years. Coffin commanded one of the relief vessels that finally got the remainder of the expedition team rescued in 1844. Greely's team did hold the farthest north title for a few years, getting past 83 deg north.

Recently, photos have been added to the Wikipedia page about the expedition and the relief effort. Coffin and Greely are next to each other. Did they know of their cousin-hood?

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See Vol. III, No. 2 of Gardner's Beacon for a look at some events of Thomas' time. Too, read a little more about the cousins.

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Remarks:

07/07/2013 --

Modified: 07/08/2013