Two different times

TL;DR - The 400th can be split into the 250th plus others on both sides of that divide. There are many categorizations for analysis that do not get much attention in prior times. For one reason, we did not have the data nor the technology. That has changed this time around. Essentially, Gardner Research is setting itself up to follow the series of 400ths that we will be seeing in New England as each of the towns takes a pause to look back at their history. At the same time, we can look from the 250th onward with respect to these families. 

--

The overarching theme of 400 years of history is and will be our focus. Extensions? Well, there are various areas that we can learn more about. But, our first area was Massachusetts. All matters considered were from that focus with Essex County as core for several reasons. And, unless some conceptual modification comes into play, extending the boundaries of our views will be from the area of New England including both the north and the south. 

One impact of that will be always looking at how the long reach of New England came into play in any situation across the country. Actually, given our use of both north and south, we pretty much cover the basis. New England south had its 400th in 2007 with Elizabeth II visiting. At the same time, Maine was on the agenda, albeit without much fanfare. They endured much better up there; the decision to not continue had to do with a death in the family of the leader that required him returning to England. 

There are several points in time that could attract our attention, so as to make things seem disjoint. However we will use an event whose 250th is coming up. Namely, nodding to SAR/DAR, we will use the fifth generation's involvement with the Revolution where aspects before and after will be part of additional research. Partly, the necessity for this comes from our personal orientation with respect to history. That is, dealing with families can throw light back into situations and allow us to relook at what might have been thrown out through the desiccation process of history that removes the juices of truth. 

Some have done this type of thing. For instance, the 300th lookback from 100 years ago had lots of activity of this nature. These were local in scope, due to many reasons, such as technology. Too, the flu pandemic had influence. But, we, as a whole, are also more knowledgeable now than ever, with communication schemes that have lots more potential than we have seen come to fore. Technology, then, will be a part of our focus, too. 

Now, this post looks at two different times. Both are post the Revolution and are separated by a couple of hundred years. Why these? We can show that the parties have ties back before the turmoil. That will be part of the 'long reach of New England' study. Too, though, they are only examples that can be quickly done. We have lots and lots of other types of categorizing to do and which make sense. 

Now, the first time extends our look at the early times of the U. S., especially those things dealing with the west which was where the three major groups (New England, New France, and New Spain) interacted. The post titled Frontier century gives a little bit of a background. Here we point to a few incidents and people during the time when the northern borders were fluid so that restrictions were loose. And, we need to look at New France's contribution which was earlier; the American spread across the wide expanse was not until after the conflicts with Great Britain were settled. 

Reminder: this is work being done by Gardner Research. Too, we will address all types of media. We did not see the movie nor read the book (yet), but the film Revenant dealt with the area of MT and SD and surrounds in the 1820s. People there were from New England (north and south) and New France. It is that latter that caught our attention with respect to this posts. Who were the people? Why were they there? And more. Too, though, we argue that the 'frontier' experience is not getting proper attention by those of the east coast. So, let's let descendants of early arrivers here tell their tale, so to speak. At the same time, we'll do the proper generalizations to get the knowledge respected. 

The second time is more recent and deals with the current landscape where a blue/red bifurcation is noticeable. From our perspective, we see two sides of a coin. So, let's get the 'coin' defined better to start to abate some of the conflict.  Too, leadership in the world that is wanting and needs attention will be more amenable to analytics in a sense that the U.S. will help define. 

Small steps being proposed? Yes. But, things are screwed up. Lessons to be learned have not be grasped. The 400 years as pertinent? Well, we have not seen a proper look at the preceding 150 years. Yet, there are a slew of families with that whole bit of years as part of their legacy. 

--- So, to the times. 

A. We have looked at several periods where the early players were the trappers and where the eastern link was via St. Louis (MO). New France was in the MO area concurrently with Thomas' later years in the 1670s and further west. We have seen much later activity, such as Judge Thompson's trek, which was mid-1800. But, we really need to back up. For now, here are links to material with some comment. Plus, we can say that seeing a painting by Paul Kane got the query started that resulted in this post. 

Alexander Mackenzie (1764 - 1820) - born and died in Scotland. He was on this continent several times. He came into New York with his father prior to the Revolution. However, his father had already served in the Brit military so was a Loyalist. He shipped Alexander north where the young guy got bit by the fur fever (what else was there to do?). Jumping ahead, his treks went north (to the Artic Ocean) and west (almost the Pacific where he had wanted to go before wandering north). Being persistent he was and is known to have been the first European to cross to the Pacific (close enough to see) from the east. This was 1793. The U.S. was twixt the Revolution and the War of 1812.  

David Thompson (1770  1857) - born in England; his entry was into Manitoba. But, he too headed west. David mapped the headwaters of the Mississippi which goes south. In the same area, many rivers go toward the Lakes. Later, David navigated the entire length of the Columbia River (see image) which is what got our interest as most of the river is in the U.S. This party established a fort in what is now the State of WA. 

Thompson navigated
the entire Columbia 
River

Simon McGillivray, Jr () - was one of the managers of the Fort near Walla Walla (WA), serving in this capacity in 1831-1832. This was an early time when the Hudson Bay Company was still prominent in the area. Until the resolution of the boundaries in the 1840s, there were parties from both New England (and the U.S.) and Canada operating. A relation of his was Duncan McGillivray. 

Paul Kane (1810 - 1871) - he came into Canada from Ireland but did extensive travel here and abroad. Paul crossed the Rockies a few times. He did a lot of painting (sketching on site and doing the painting later). His painting of a buffalo hunt in SD which was done in 1846 got our attention for several reasons. 

B. Now, jumping ahead to the 20th century, we have several families that we can focus on in this regard. For now, this is a short list which would include William Coffin Coleman whose ancestry we are studying as it looks to be New England in general with particularities related to Essex Co, MA.  William was in the north and the south before getting into the central plains. 

A recent discussion got us thinking of the various threads that we can follow which would be families in the central areas from the beginning. Many of these have parts of their family that came in along the timeline, to now. We want to see that whole balance. 

So, these two gents are such where one side of their family is old New England while the other side is a recent import. This was a common occurrence. If we look at SAR/DAR, many patriots (and loyalists) were of one or two generations from the entry of their family. On the other hand, old New England (north and south) saw the fifth generation bear the brunt of the conflict with the fourth generation involved as leaders of various sorts. Too, though, some early members of the sixth generation were of sufficient age to contribute. 

This below pairing is of interest due to times that we are in. Too, one of the gents is of a family that stayed on the east coast. The ancestors of the other came to the wild west. And, for each, we have a much larger bucket of families to throw in. After all, when one takes the 400 years and considers what might be a generation, we can have 1000s of parental nodes, many of which can be known (see Numbers, again). 

John F. Kerry (1943 - ) - John is a descendant of Thomas Gardner, via son, George and is a representative of Winthrop-Dudley clan that has excelled in public service for the U. S. The ancestors of John's father, Richard John Kerry, were newbies. It was through his mother's (Rosemary Isabella Forbes') mother that John got his New England pedigree (WikiTree profile for Rosemary). John is still alive, however he is a public figure with documented histories available on the web. 

David Koch (1940 - 2010) - David's mother provides him the old New England heritage. His father, again, was of a newbie family (WikiTree profile for Mary Clementine Robinson).  

A quick glance at these two gentlemen and their families would bring out lots of differences some of which seem to generate a permanent bifurcation. That is one problem that Gardner Research is helping to work on. Similarities abound, of course. And, many of the seeming differences can be seen as 'spectral' in scope which points to one of our interests: the 400-year focus across families can now cover much more than was possible before. And, it's fortuitous that the capability of technology might just be ready for the work that is needed. 

Remarks: Modified: 08/15/2022

08/17/2021 -- We could do different scopes and themes. One constant will be showing related profiles from WikiTree. 

08/15/2022 -- Almost a year later. Haven't looked at this, however a new theme was the tying of earlier immigrant families to the time of the Revolution. Say, the Passenger to Patriot of the Mayflower focus where we have the Cape Ann to Patriot. 

Conflict with the American Indian

TL;DR - Early on, conflict was minimal. With more new entrants, the potential for conflict grew. For almost two centuries, the incursion covered coastal areas. Even though western movement started early on, it was a gradual affair with small steps. Until the Revolution and Europe (Spain, France) giving (selling) their claims. Even then, the expanding frontier was an experience of over a century. We can look at the history with an educated eye. What are resolutions that might be pending? Events like the 400ths (and the 300ths, and 250ths, and 200ths, and the 100ths) are good points to step back and review. 

--

Though we have mentioned the American Indians (changed in the blog from Native Americans) whose population experienced the incursion from Europe in several posts, we need to make this topic a regular point of research. Our focus was primarily New England for a while; just recently, we see that we need to change to a broader view since the West was established over several long decades after the Revolution. 

And, part of that widening is to bring New France and New Spain into the discussion where New England had much more association with the former. So, we will continue to have the early period that pertain to the colonies. Then, there is the following period that is around the Revolution and shortly after. Before, we had the French-Indian affair which involved quibbling with New France. Conflicts in that period occurred in what we can call the south (say Florida) and the mid-West. 

Then, we can focus on the period up to the Civil War. And, finally, there would be the time after the Civil War (which really is open ended). Each of these periods involve clashes between immigrants and the American Indians. But, there are inter-American-Indian issues to look at, too. Some talk of these latter two partitions as East of and West of the Mississippi (this post uses the Ohio River as an example of friction building). But, we saw it, too, with Boone, earlier. 

See Wikipedia's American Indian Wars. 

We can use our partitioning where we point to a post for an example of the period. 

• Colonial (to 1776) - John Goff's article can serve as our example: King Philip's conflict (John Goff's article). 
• Wilderness (to Lewis & Clark) - A southern example would be the Trail of Tears. 
• Going west (to Civil War) - The trappers were from the territories of New France, originally. Later, we find wanderers from the east coast. Example: Arikara War which gave us Hugh Glass and a movie (see Gardner River which is even further out). 
• Everywhere frontier (Civil War, on) - Some of these conflicts were from the west coast (Oregon and surrounds) inward. 

Let's leave our cursory beginning with a couple of links. 

• U.S. Army view - Indian War Campaigns
• The Order of the Indian Wars of the United States - Campaigns  

So, we have not been unaware. There was lots of material to read, digest, and organize. So, conflicts? Has the U.S. ever been without this? We mentioned from the beginning that the future would include participation by American Indians in ways to be discovered. The Mayflower event was a good example. 

An additional comment is in order. After the work of the past three years, it is our assessment that the eastern stuff is well handled. That is, the stories told, except we have found a few. So, we will have a continuing appreciation of the east (east is least?). On the other hand, the west is sorely covered and needs a whole lot more attention. It is not that easterners of note have not come out, after all we have Lawrence KS (see Frontier century) as an example. But, the NCAA is a good metaphor. How many easterners know about the PAC-12 (we have to kick ourselves to remember the PAC-8)? So, we'll end with this graphic. 

Promises in 1851

These are the promises of 1851. We can find those before and after. And, will. 

As an aside, this is about the time that Judge Thompson was on his jaunt where he helped found Montana. It is past the California Gold Fever. But, people were still on the look out for things that shine or had some value (the whole bit of establishing this will come into the discussion, as well). 

Remarks: Modified: 05/28/2022

05/02/2021 -- Brief recap of the later times: Great Sioux Reservation. 

06/02/2021 -- Learning more about the American Indian leaders and the New Englanders who were at the Little Arkansas Peace negotiations and signing. 

05/28/2022 -- Memorial Day, 2022 - An Osage Mission. 

400ths

TL;DR -- 400ths, we have touched on that for a while. Last year, a major 400th was cancelled, in terms of people being involved personally. That might be the case for a bit more. However, virtual is what we need to have for a focus going forward, in terms of persistence. Persistence? Yes, even DARPA is thinking of 100-year time frames now. About time. The B52 is over 60 years old, still performing. 

--

Which one? By right, we need to include Morton and others twixt the Mayflower crowd and Cape Ann's invasion. So, let's do that. As well, after Morton and Cape Ann, we would have a series of events related to the towns/cities as they became organized. See Timeline of Settlement on Wikipedia. Starts with Weymouth (1622) goes through Ipswich (1633) and Woburn (1640) ending with Worcester (1673). Altogether, there are over 70 towns/cities. 

Timeline of Settlement
Massachusetts Bay Colony

What we would like in terms of focus? Several things. One would be a living book related to the descendants of Thomas and Margaret with information about collateral families. Too, more interaction with descendants (friends) of other Cape Ann families. 

On the other hand, the internet is a mess. The TGS can show by example. Who wants to really tackle the beast? This is imperative, as do we want the likes of Musk, Bezos, and others ruling our life via their insidious cloud which stifles, actually suffocates us, many ways? 

For Thomas and Margaret and those related to the early endeavors, we need a living book. The concept of multi-media seems quaint, but there are lots of way for us to go (including educational games). Actually, ought to go.

The main drift? Truth engineering and its requirements. Lots to do and discuss (in that order, discussion needs to be about things of substance, as in concrete - to now, lots and lots of computer stuff is pure flimflam even things mathematical). 

-- Families --

Some families have been researched. There are many ways that information has been presented. We want to have a properly filled in look at the progeny Thomas and Margaret and have started with WikiTree. But, issues of technology will always be on the table. 

Then, we need a general focus with respect to modern events as they relate to the past. One might use Amelia Earhart as an example. William Coffin Coleman is another that is pending some work. 

-- Technology --

We will recap what has been thought about so far with respect to the 400ths and other anniversaries. Too, we need to think of presence every day. And, that presence ought to be of use. Even DARPA (behind technology for decades) is thinking of systems in terms of 100 years. So will we. 

--- Our posts on 400 --

• 400th Anniversaries - first look at the subject. List of things to do. For one, review what happened at the 300th (Pageant of Salem). 
• 400th, again - Recent400thAnniversaries (includes link to 300th). Link to John White celebration (link stale, however do have this Timeline for Rev. John). 
•  400 or so - mentioning Popham and the Massachusetts Magazine.
•  Massachusetts 400 - official acts of the State; also, planning for Plymouth and Gloucester. 
• American 100s - we have the 250 of the Revolution; but, we can celebrate centuries going back. That's the point, namely, families here from the beginning, contributing, living, ...

As we see with the portal to truth (https://TGSoc.org), we have a text scroll with tidbits from various TGS publications. This can become a multi-media affair which will persist and become a backbone for future presentations. 

Remarks: Modified: 08/13/2021

08/13/2021 -- Updates: Gloucester after Weymouth for the 400ths. The 250th of the sixth generation? SAR/DAR. 200ths: Michigan, Carving the land, Missouri and the west. 

Amelia Earhart

TL;DR -- Most think of Ms Earhart as being from KS, however her parents had long pedigrees of New England, both north and south. She was a prodigy and wife of  George P. Putnam. They supported the efforts of the Switlik Parachute Company which was started by a 20th century immigrant from Poland (Austria at the time). This link gives us a technology. We will make that type of connection for all of the centuries of the frontier. Why? The 21st century has already shown us new things. Do lessons from the past still make sense? Well, we really need to identify these first? 

--

Amelia Earhart, from KS, will be part of our series on the Frontier century (post Lewis & Clark). We first looked at Amelia, in 2011, when "Gardner's Island" was mentioned with respect to her disappearance. There is a discussion of the naming on the Wikipedia page. Later, we were contacted by John Goff (Salem Preservationist) who had been searching, too, due to reports of findings that might be related to her loss. Since then, there have been other mentions in the media from time to time. 

Recently, we noticed that a Switlik Parachute had a Putnam as an early investor with respect to training via a tower. Turns out that he was Amelia's husband and soon-to-be widower. Well, the name Putnam is old Salem; on a closer look, Amelia has a balanced pedigree from Maine to Virginia with stops in-between, CT, NY, MD, and PA. 

Amelia and chute drop
(see history of parachute, below)

So, all three are cousins, of some sort to be sorted out (it's easy on this side of the pond since New England kept good records). Which brings up this adage: what's in a name? We'll get to that. The focus ought to be Poland, though, in its many configurations while the dynamics here played out (over 400 years). Switlik in Poland is like some families in Brit-ville and here: Gardner, Porter, even Davenport (several of that name) and others. 

Aside: Former President Bush (1) used a Switlik when he was shot down in WWII.  

For now, a few links:

• WikiTree - Profile for Amelia Earhart. 
• New York Times - 3 Jun 1935, first parachute jump, using Switlik equipment
• ThoughtCo - History of the parachute
• Wikipedia - Stanley Switlik
• Switlik Parachute Co - Our story 

Some of Amelia's lines are: Otis, Cornell, Swazey (Swayze). That last is a family that came to Salem and split. Not unusual. One part stayed in Salem and its surrounds. The other went to Long Island and branched from there. BTW, the journalist (TV) and the actor (dancer) are of the southern variety. We'll post more on the northern kin. 

Relates to the west: Frontier century. As well, we will be looking more closely at work related to the 400ths in a different sense. First, we need to look across the board at the 70 or so towns and cities that came about in Massachusetts. Each has its own founding families and history. Too, on any day, we really could look at the 100th (say Amelia's time - end of the frontier century), 200th (start of the frontier century), 250th (Revolution with nods to DAR and SAR), 300th (that would have been not long after the Salem ordeal of the witches) and 400th. 

A technology theme will be continual. Some might say spectral. What's next? Meaning, the 21st century? Computing plus human abilities long left ignored. However things start to unfold, lessons from the past will continue to be of importance, if only we paid attention. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/23/2021

04/23/2021 -- Modified Putnam's involvement to the training venture. 

Frontier century

TD;LR -- A photo of Alexander Gardner of Lawrence, KS gets us to back up from the end of the frontier century to its beginning. Kansas came out of the Louisiana Purchase which became known as the Missouri Territory. An early split out was Arkansas. So, we need to look at that are in terms of events at the same time that we pay attention to the far west. 

--

Just saw a photo of Lawrence KS from 1867 at a FB site related to the city's history. It came from the Kansas Historical Society. The time of the photo would have been over 10 years past the visit by Col. Higginson and shortly after the Civil War. This photo was taken by Alexander Gardner who came over here from Scotland. 

Massachusetts Avenue
Lawrence, KS

The area had been part of the Missouri Territory which was a renaming of the Louisiana Territory after that State was formed. We will be looking further at the Missouri Territory due to the western movement going through that area. At the time of the mountain men (such as Jedediah Strong Smith whom we will look at further; also see Rendezvous) which was early 1800s, there were people settling in all of this area. Boone was one. 

Here is an early map of this territory. 

Notice that Texas in not included. However, we are dealing with families from all over this area, some of whom were there about the time of Boone. 

Also, with due respect to the brains of genealogy, they have missed several boats. We will explicitly deal with several of these as we go along. 

Here is another view, a little later. Arkansas Territory ran along the TX border and included OK. We will look at families who came out of the east (Cumberland Gap) that covered that area: MO, AR, OK, and TX. Some of these folks had ancestors who went south from New England. Others met Yankees out in the western expanse, thereby closing the tie of the New Englands, north and south. 

Arkansas cut out

BTW, a motivation? One deals with frontier issues being different than that 'wilderness' view of the east coasters. We might use the label of America's Lost Generation. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/25/2021

04/21/2021 -- We will be looking into the 400th as an event of importance. At the same time, we will consider a thematic cover, going backward 100, 200, 250, 300 and 400 years. The 250th? Upcoming relook at the Revolution. In terms of the 100th, which is the end of the frontier century, we can use individuals, such as Amelia Earhart, William Coffin Coleman, and others.

07/25/2021 -- Missouri is where the carving of the great U.S. landscape started. Driven, we might add, by New England. We'll think of some piece to honor George Kimball III who died this month in 2011, cuz of Ann several ways.   

Unfoldment

TL;DR -- Technology allows lots of ways to present data. Something of interest is the age of humans on the planet where the continents are shown with population count through time. Of course, the flow is out of Africa to the mid-east and east and back to Europe and the Brit isles. Too, there is the flow into North American from the west. Then, starting with Year One, we can look at population, mainly in North  America and Europe. And, we show this for the years of 1750, 1800, 1850, 1900 and 2000 which cover the main divisions in time starting just before  Revolution and at the end of the 20th century. 

--

Somehow, a page came up while browsing that has a video (7 billion around the world in 5 minutes) that shows the human population from early times as it wandered the world using a global map. Then, the presentation goes back and starts from year 1 (CE, AD) in increments of 100 years. We took snaps so that we can show how the U.S. compares. 

This first image shows maps from 1750 and 1800. The yellow dots represent one million people. Notice that the U.S. only has two dots: Southern New England (would be VA/NC/SC/GA) and the left coast (SoCal). Even coming forward 100 years, we only have one additional dot. And, it's huge. New York City (and surrounds). Yes. That is our place for which untold tales are pending being told. 

Before going further, look at the populated regions. Even Europe is not hugely dense. We have India and China, basically, representing the human populace. Yet, we know from the specifics as told by history, that lots was going on in Europe and in what became the U.S. 

Let's step forward through three periods of time: 1850, 1900 and 2000. We will use the map in this image. 

By 1850, there are more and balanced dots in the northeast as we have New York and surrounds coming into influence. However, now, there is a huge spot in the midwest. Chicago might come to mind, but St. Louis would be a factor, too, as it served as the Gateway to the west. By 1900, we see more interior dots with Chicago, again, the center of activity. On the west coast, Mexico outweighs SoCal in terms of population. 

Finally, coming forward to 2000, the spread is almost complete. Except, large areas are not populated for several reasons that can be rated from an element of difficulty to near impossibility. For instance, one can pinpoint Denver and one area with population in a mountainous area. 

Related posts: Rendezvous, Foreign incursions, Rivers and more, New France, and more. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/30/2022

04/21/2021 -- Add the TD;LR line. 

06/30/2022 -- Changed early flow to the North American continent to 'west' rather than 'east' (which meant from Asia). 

Ohio River

TL;DR -- We have looked at things western from St. Louis on out. Now, we need to see how people got to St. Louis. One method was the Ohio River. It's time to look at that waterway whose basis goes from NY to IL on the north and from VA to western KY on the south. The Ohio River carries water from SC, GA, AL, MS, and KY to the Mississippi. 

--

We seemed to have overlooked the Ohio River. So, we can look at it more closely as this river did more than help people run down the water to the Mississippi River. That is, St. Louis was a key point on the trails west where people transitioned from flowing down the waters of the Ohio to where they labored up the Missouri. 

Earlier, we have had several posts about waterways as helpers and hinderers. If one was on one, and it was navigable without much difficulty, then progress was faster than traveling on land. However, lots could go wrong. Lewis & Clark ran into shallow water early on. Notice that it took hours to unload their boat, move it manually, and reload (that is, after carrying the load downstream). Fortunately, a little further down the river, the depth improved. And, they got out west to the coast and back. We will be getting back to events along the Missouri and points west.  

When one considers the whole of the drainage basin for the Ohio River, one finds that it is quite extensive in terms of coverage of the U.S., the flow, commerce along the river, and a lot more. 

The image on the left comes from a paper that looked at water use (Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, see orsanco[.]org). The redline shows the boundary of the basin. If we follow this boundary from the top right, it goes southwest from NY to NC. Here it goes through PA but gets water from MD, VA and WV. Then, it goes west through the south (SC, GA, AL, and MS) since the Tennessee River empties into the Ohio. As well, the Cumberland River of KY and TN ends at the Ohio. 

 

The Ohio meets the Mississippi coming down from St. Louis at the left middle of the map. So, following the redline back, the basic includes IL, IN, OH and back to PA. The size of this basin is 189.4K square miles. Its counterpart to the west is the Missouri basin which we will be getting back to. However, we also will look further at the Wisconsin River (via the Fox River) basin and the Arkansas River basin (Jedediah Strong Smith was killed in this area) and a few more. 

The image on the right shows the basins for the contiguous States. The numbering starts with the Columbia River basin plus those of OR, then those that flow to the Pacific (and others) in CA. The 3rd deals with interior flows, such as that for the Great Salt Lake. The 4th and 5th are for the Colorado River basin.  The 6th is for the Rio Grande. The 10th, the largest, is for the Missouri (see below). The 8th is for the Arkansas. 

Earlier, we took a brief look at an area where the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th all have water courses with fairly close origins that split out into flows into these different areas. In the below map showing the basin for the Missouri River, we are talking the upper left part of the map. 

Back to the Ohio, given that we can trace families along these courses to various parts of the country, we will also include activity that occurred early in their endeavor. Going back to a look at establishing KS as a Free State (post was in 2016), the group that left the Boston area went to New York and got a steamer to Chicago via the Great Lakes. Then, they took a coach across Illinois and Missouri to the Kansas City area. After that, it was by foot or horseback. Now, this was in the 1850s. Of late, we have been looking at matters up to three decades earlier. 

However, for the Lawrence group, the travel would have been much faster. 

In terms of the Ohio River, it was shown to be more efficient to move goods down from IN and IL on the Mississippi River to New Orleans and then by ship to New England than trying to push things back up stream. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/01/2021

04/13/2021 -- Added image for our portal. 

07/01/2021 -- Now, looking at the gateway to the west. 

William Gardner

TL;DR -- After seeing his house, we went looking and found more documentation which is presented without much commentary. 

---

William Gardner owned the Wentworth-Gardner House. He had children. The following list provides some information about William and his family. 

• Rambles about Portsmouth (pp 307-311)
• Portsmouth Athenaeum - Letters to John Langdon
• To George Washington, 16 Aug 1779 
• Petition, 31 Jan 1795
• Report, 29 Feb 1792
• From Hamilton to Washington, 2 Dec 1790 

We are working on identifying the early ancestry of William Gardner. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/11/2021

04/11/2021 -- Added image for our portal. 

Rendezvous

TL;DR -- Borders were fluid for a while in the western part of the U.S. But, that didn't keep the mountain men from their work. The fur companies pulled the guys together to trade. The characters? Some are well known, such as Jedediah Strong Smith whom we picked due to his being a northern New Englander (his family). But, there are many more to consider. 

--

Rendezvous sites

Our last post looked at countries involved in the west of what became the U.S. as borders were fluid for quite some time. We have mentioned a few times that we want to look at the early activity out west in relation to what was happening back east. As well, we will look at the families of those who were the early travelers. And, for early times, we are talking post the Louisiana Purchase and before the massive movement started two decades before the Civil War. Of course, after that early time, there will be several of points of history to consider with respect to the middle of the country. 

The Fur Trade site has an interesting collection of photos and text related to the subject. The site's owner (O.N. Eddins) lives and works (Veterinarian) in Wyoming and has been active participant in historical research related to the area.  Prior to the establishment of the Rendezvous, trappers took their pelts back to St. Louis. This was facilitated by the Missouri River. However, it was a shorter trek to the Oregon coast. There were 15 years with a Rendezvous. By 1840, the traffic both to Oregon and to Santa Fe by the Trails was becoming regular. 

Beaver, which supplied the prime pelt, became rare due to too much harvesting. As well, the fashion tastes in London changed. 

Travels of
Jedediah Strong Smith

Remarks: Modified: 04/23/2021

04/09/2021 -- The free-spirited ones of the early west were from several places. For those from the U.S. (this is post the Louisiana Purchase, though boundaries were still being settled), many were from the south. We're looking for New England connections (Smith, Trask, Wyeth, and a few more). There were a few from the middle region, like PA. The folks from New France were out there earlier than the rest. Then, we had lots of guys coming in from Europe. So, the American West? There is no other counterpart on the planet, and that whole experience can use further attention. ... Added the TL;DR line. 

04/23/2021 -- After being reminded via comment, we started a series of posts related to the interests of the American Indian. 

Border conflicts

TL;DR -- Earlier, we went west, looking at pre-and-post Civil War movement across the country. Too, we started to look at the players beyond New England (north and south). New France and New Spain were here too, all of the time. So, seeing some of the activity of New France got us looking at the west prior to Jefferson's deal. Too, Lewis and Clark saw some of the activity. So, we will look into these matters until a few questions are satisfactorily answered. 

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In looking at the western movements earlier, we wrote about Jedediah Strong Smith, considered the other parties (such as New Spain and New France), got more into other early travelers like the trappers, and kept looking at information that is available. And, we can see that more information is now being available which does indicate that the web has some benefit in research as it was supposed to have. 

Jedediah covered a lot of area. But, where he was has significance for the U.S. as we see it now. There is more information about his death now on Wikipedia. Too, he went west out of St. Louis which we will look at further. One reason to use Jedediah is how many places he went and early on which means not long after Lewis and Clark's trek became well known. Jedediah dealt with Great Britain in the northern regions as things had not settled. Oregon was still a dream. He had a run-in with Spain in the lower part of California. He was killed by American Indians in territory that belonged to New Mexico. 

His peer list is long including many well-known names that we will get into, such as Bridger, McLoughlin, Ashley, Glass (Revenant), and many more. A couple of Gardners were in the area which we are researching Also, Jedediah was mauled by a grizzly bear and lived. 

For now, here a some links to additional information. 

• Lewis and Clark - Early commerce seen by them on their trek. 
• Lewis and Clark - Early Missouri fur trade. 
• Oregon Country - New Spain was there plus New France. We are looking at the territory prior to the final resolutions that created the borders of Washington and Idaho. 
• Hudson's Bay Company - Though started in 1670 back east, the HBC was involved in the west early on. They established a line from Fort Vancouver (now British Columbia) to London. 

Remarks: Modified: 09/25/2021

04/09/2021 -- Used this in a look at the Rendezvous which lured the trappers to a meeting.  

04/09/2021 -- Added the TL;DR. 

09/25/2021 -- We can look further at Oregon, by water and by land. 

In the small

TL; DR -- Note that the SAR/DAR databases are useful. Looking at William Gardner who is mentioned by SAR, not DAR. There are several families involved in this study. And, there are documents from the time as William was an agent for the new country in New Hampshire. Need to settle Williams ancestry. 

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Lately, we found out that SAR has been updating their website with information about applications. Earlier, we referenced NSDAR and their database in terms of research. In summary, these two organizations have a focus that starts with the Revolution and comes forward. Both provide information about members and their Patriots. One can see relationships between families which can help applicants. Also, the information has been proven though one needs to consider guidelines and rules with regard to the use of this information. 

Too, one can see where there is an absence. It turns out that a recent research project dealt with a Patriot that is in the SAR database with no applications node but is missing from the one of NSDAR. So, we will be looking at that more closely. 

• 
  SAR entry - William Gardner who was featured in our last post: Wentworth-Gardner House, in Portsmouth NH. There were several William Gardners, but we know that this is the right William (P-164166) due to the birth and death years. The record shows his early service, which was when he had a rank of Ensign. 

Taking the case of DAR further, their database is built from applications. The interesting aspect is that they have used the same approach for over 100 years, though there have been changes in technology as we all know. However, consistency and stability are two requirements not always being met by computer systems, so DAR's efforts in this regard is to be appreciated. So, yes, our technology focus? It will continue. 

However that will be addressed later. Our next post will summarize what we have learned about William Gardner. Basically, later than shown in the SAR database, he was a supplier. He and General Washington had some disagreement. Hence the title of this post. We all think of the Revolution and the U.S. in terms of the Commander in Chief and the first President. However, lots and lots of other people were involved. 

Some get attention. We will be adding to that mix as we continue our research. As well, Alexander Hamilton exchanged some letters with William. We will be digging deeper into that. Again, 'in the small' really deals with where the rubber meets the road. With respect to William Gardner, we found some information on his children and later life. There are a few official documents that mention him (Letter to GW, 16 Aug 1779).  

In the large, though, supplying the Revolution was difficult for many reasons. We will be looking at that. There is some mention that William paid out of his own pocket. We all know that there were funding issues. Actually, we might just pop forward and compare notes about this issue in the time of the U.S. Civil War. We already looked at Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson's effort at raising troops. 

Lots of error-full events now result from knowledge of scale being lost. One might say that we see top-down impositions as fault causers. Too, though, too much fantasy (SciFi, what have you, Hollywood, ...) is the same issue. Hype versus reality with respect to AI. Sheesh, just caught the esteemed WSJ adding to the problem. Never thought that we would see that. Oh yes, scale? The whole of the internet has raised that to levels unanticipated the past couple of decades. 

You see, with regard to the U.S., history might have periods, however there are persistent themes (memes) the whole of the way from then to now. That's why the upcoming 250th is important (a chance to redo some analysis). Of course, the 400th looks at that which started the thread toward the Revolution. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/09/2021

04/09/2021 -- Added the TL;DR. 

Wentworth-Gardner House

TL;DR -- Saw Isle of Shoals mentioned; earlier had looked at George's Shoal. Same area, meaning off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Then, saw a Wentworh-Gardner House mentioned. Went to look. Identified the owners, including Gardner whose family was traced back to 1680. Several prominent Massachusetts (and Essex County) families involved in the story. 

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Back when we were researching the Bostonian (Barque), we did saw a reference to George's Shoal but did not look further. The reference pertained to danger with a depth of a few meters in some places. The recent American Ancestor had an article of the families who lived on the Isle of Shoals which has nine island that are split between Maine and New Hampshire. What families were these? Well, Thomas Morton was sent there after his run-in with Endicott at Merry Mount. So, there are several things about that story that could be further researched, with All Things Gardner in mind. 

Well, on further search, we see that those who are interested in the Isles of Shoals also are reminded of the Wentworth-Gardner House in Portsmouth, NH. It didn't take much to get information on the house and its builder. But who was Gardner? The map of the area showed streets with names of Massachusetts families, like Pickering, Cutting, and more. Finally, we see that a Major William Gardner bought the house after the Revolution. The house has several interesting features, such as the Gardner chamber and gets attention from many groups: Historic Places, Architectural History, Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association. 

On further research, there were articles on the house in the local publications: Among the Ghosts of Gardner Street; Rambles about Portsmouth (1873 book with lots to digest). 

We learned that one of the Gardner sons was a publisher of The New Hampshire Gazette. Also, Gardner worked for Wentworth. A daughter married Abraham Wendell. And, there are records to review: Quincy, Wendell, Holmes, and Upham Family Papers.  

As said, Massachusetts family names intrigue. So, we will look further at where William Gardner originated. He was born in 1751. 

--- Additional information --

William, son of John, was a descendant of David Gardner and Margaret Cate. William was assigned by Gen. George Washington to obtain supplies which he did many times with his own money. Rambles about Portsmouth is available via Google Docs. The author, Charles Warren Brewster, is a descendant of old man Brewster. 

David Gardner, supposedly, was born in New Hampshire. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/09/2021

04/02/2021 -- Added photo of the house after restoration plus some information on the families involved.  

04/09/2021 -- Added the TL;DR.