Who Were They?

My Sixteen great-great-grandparents lived during a time of explosive growth - and of explosive tumult - in our Nation's history.

There were only 16 states when the first of them was born (1803), but there were 48 states by the time the last of them died (1936).  All sixteen were alive during the Civil War, at least one of them having served in that conflict; several of them lived through the War of 1812, many of them lived through the Spanish-American War, and three were alive during the First World War.  In all, American forces saw action in over 50 wars during the lives of My Sixteen.

All but one of My Sixteen were born in the United States.  They came from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Germany, showing that we have been a mobile society for a very long time.

The men represented a wide range of trades and professions: they were merchants, tanners, lawyers, stonecutters, and industrialists.  All appear to have been successful, not surprising given the rapid expansion of our country in that time.  While only a few of them were college-educated themselves, all were able to send their sons to college.

/AC