LAND OF OUR FATHERS

Saturday, March 28, 1998

In the census of 1900 I found the following:

THE SANDS OF TIME

All the children of Charles and Bernice were born in Michigan. As I noted earlier, the 1880 census showed the occupation of Charles TRUMAN as "Clearing land for a farm." Some questions remain such as who Charles’ parents were as well as Bernice’s. When did they leave Pennsylvania for Michigan? Where in Pennsylvania (I tend to discount Charles or his father living in N.Y.) did they settle after leaving the port of entry (Philadelphia)? And many others.

I did find that the parents of Charles (and Charles at age 5) came from Yorkshire, ENG, located on the North Sea. Captain Cook sailed from this area. The land here is mostly used for cattle and sheep grazing. Such words as "moors" and "boggy bottoms" pop up when reading about this area. Mutton was part of the Yorkshire menu. Ships sailed regularly from this area. Workers such as carpenters, sailmakers, and crewmen lived in Yorkshire. The sea was a huge boost to the local economy. Wooden sailing ships, don’t you know …?

One account told of a British ship that apparently hauled contraband during the Civil War having to throw 114 kegs of cargo overboard to escape going down the river leaving Savanna, GA at low tide. "Colonists dressed as Indians pursued from the river banks. The ship was from the Yorkshire area. (Don’t you think these name-places hold a certain fascination?)

Dad said the TRUMANs emigrated through Scotland because of U.S. immigration quotas. The English frequently went through Scotland, Ireland, and Wales when the quota for England was filled.

Residents of Yorkshire huddled in houses with thatched roofs. One or two families lived in a small hut. They complained they were not allowed to build new houses.

Justice was sure and swift. Men convicted of comparatively minor offenses were herded aboard "transportation" ships and exiled to Australia, New Zealand, and other places. One account told of a 10 year-old boy being forced aboard one of these ships for stealing two coats. Did I hear one of our kids say how hard he/she has it?

(I recently had a conversation with a Corpus Christian born in New Zealand. He stated the "convicts" from these ships were imprisoned in British garrisons after debarking in Australia. They were later released and some chose to go to New Zealand with the promise of free land. The terrain was much friendlier for farming; more rainfall and more temperate than Australia. This caused the Maori Uprising mentioned earlier. The British were in their colonizing period.)

The economy of England changed rapidly from agrarian to industrial in the l9th Century. It was, as we know, the Industrial Revolution. Cities began to grow from the influx of farmers and their families into the cities from the countryside. Craftsmen and artisans lost some of their independence as they did in New England with industrialization. The population of England increased exponentially. One family I’ve read about had 23 children. Charles and John Wesley came from a family of 19. Three other children died in infancy. The world would not ponder overpopulation and its implications for nearly another century.

England did not experience violent upheaval and revolution as did France and later, the Soviet Union. Some attribute this to the influence of Wesley, Whitefield, and other interant preachers in the 18^th Century who exerted a moderating influence on members of the poor, working class. One doesn’t have to be a genius to know religion exerted a tremendous influence on British society during this period. It was a time of large revivals.

Speaking of "Wesley"--were the TRUMANs Dissenters? Were they driven from England by those loyal to the Church of England? Charles’ middle name "Wesley" might be a clue. Charles was born only 50 years or so after John Wesley’s death. With religious intolerance a fact of life then (Has it changed much since?), would a member of the Church of England name his child after the heretical John Wesley? I think not. Then again, "Wesley" might have been a well accepted given name (or surname) then.

The name, TRUMAN, means "true men or loyal subject." But, loyal to royalty who were followers of Henry VIII and those of his successors who were Church of England or loyal to those other British monarchs who were Catholic? Or, as asked earlier, were they Dissenters (such as Quakers and Anabaptists) and thus not really loyal? When in English history were they so named ("TRUMAN")? Further research of census and other records should reveal some answers.

We can see that religious intolerance affected migration of the English which began in the 17^th Century and continued well into the 19^th Century. History books don’t mention this, that I can ever recall. As succeeding monarchs came and went over this three century period, the United Kingdom was divided into two camps basically; those who adherents of the Church of England and those who were Roman Catholic (also called Papists). The monarchs who succeeded Henry VIII alternatively chose one or the other, often for self-serving reasons. Commoners were dragged along in this factional tension and were persecuted if their ancestors had not made the "right" choice centuries earlier.

In spite of all the changes during the Industrial Revolution, I get the strong impression things really haven’t changed that much in some respects. The English language spoken in the UK, in particular. The English express themselves in their own way. Many phrases used in 19^th Century English literature are used today. We in the U. S. have regional differences but they have become less pronounced with our mobility since World War II.

What I’m trying to say is that differences in speech patterns of the British from ours are greater than differences in regional speech patterns in the U. S. (a run-on sentence?). This evolution and branching of the American-English from the English-English language has occurred in only 250 to 300 years. In further writings I’ll give some samples of English speech now and in the 19^th Century. Perhaps it might be compared to the street language of Afro-Americans in its contrast.

The English language evolved from Old German and Gaelic into Old English, Middle English, and ultimately Modern English. Language is constantly evolving. We have many words taken (or "borrowed") from Latin, French, and Spanish. We can think quite easily of words coined in the Technology Revolution: hacker, computers, astronauts, hardcopy, are but a few. In addition, specialized fields such as law, medicine, and government offices each have their own vocabularies. Don’t discount the importance of language on a nation’s culture and identity.

Old German was brought by the Norman invaders to the Battle of Hastings (1066 AD). Dialects spoken by indigenous tribes then living in the British Isles were overwhelmed by the language of the invaders. The language of Beowolf of the 11^th Century and Chaucer of the 13^th Century little resembles the English of today. In order to comprehend these authors we must read laboriously and maintain focus. We have all read the Saint James version of the Bible (1610), for a more modern example.

Many of the buildings including many houses from that era, are still standing and utilized. If you have the opportunity, you must see the huge cathedrals of Europe. St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City reminds me of the ones I saw in Florence, Italy. Huge edifices, ornate with naves, high vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and for the worshipers, impersonal. St. Patrick’ covers one square block. But, I digress.

One thing I have noted after reading some 200 e-mail msgs from Yorkshire. The English do not refer to themselves as British. More commonly they call themselves "Brits.".

The 40^th Foot Regiment is from Yorkshire. The 40^th served in Australia, New Zealand, and India, among other places, in the 19^th Century. They fought in a number of battles, including the Maori Uprising in New Zealand. The British were still building the British Empire by colonizing all over the world.

It was customary for a married woman who was expecting a baby to go back to her parent’s for the birth in the 19^th Century. I’m including this section concerning England so maybe you can get the flavor of life in the19^th Century.

Mom told me at one point we were three-quarter (3/4) English, so the English connection is strong in our family. This may be questioned, however. Both grandparents on Dad’s side of the family are German. That is, William C. SCHAFER and Julianna ARN (AHRN 2 or 3 generations before Julianna),.though Oscar SCHAFER’s wife, Mary Ann BRIGGS, Dad’s mother, was English. The TRUMANs and BRIGGS insofar as I can tell, are 100% English. So, you tell me what the correct percentage of our generational lineage is. Maybe 5/8^th English? Maybe we cannot know for there was migration from place to place in Europe, too, over the centuries.

The BRIGGS also emigrated from Yorkshire, ENG. Edwin BRIGGS, b. 6/12/1849, Mary Ann’s father, emigrated from Horton, Bradford, Yorkshire to Delhi, Ontario in 1872.

By the way, Keith’s family tree shows Oscar’s father as C. William SCHAFER. I’m relatively certain it’s Charles William SCHAFER, though I will confirm it.

If memory serves, Orville Truman said it was Charles Wesley TRUMAN. I haven’t yet researched the TRUMANs more than two census, the 1880 and 1900. I’ll check it out when I transcribe census records for Mecosta County.

The head USGenWeb Census Project person for Mecosta County is at this moment (3/28/98) finding which year I’m to transcribe. Originally I was to do 1850 census record but the local library does not have it on microfilm though they do have other years. Population doubled in Mecosta County, Morton Township, from 1860 to 1880, from approximately 230 to 500.

Some things you may like to know. Mecosta County was formed in 1840 from Mason, Ostego, and Kent Counties. Michigan had become a state in 1836. The TRUMANs were true pioneers (Isn’t it peculiar that I have never thought of them in that way until now?).

Michigan was mostly pine forests when the TRUMANs first came to Michigan. It seems to me Michigan has reverted somewhat back to it’s natural state. Having traveled as far North as Traverse City recently, it seems to me a lot of farmland has reverted back to nature, much of it new-growth pine. Especially north of Reed City. (I delivered freight to Traverse City shortly before I retired.)

Lawrence and Florence TRUMAN had seven children: Carey, Orville, Wesley, Bernice (Eaton), Alice (Hopkins), Geneva (Schafer), and Doris (Boyce)

If you are ready for this, one of our ancestors hanged himself, Dad’s mother’s grandfather, William BRIGGS (1864). I have not discovered any scofflaws or scoundrels in our family tree.

As an aside, I found the Allen family listed in the 1860 census records. Oscar Allen, you will remember, was co-preacher of the Sylvester Church along with Hazel Stout. Hazel became Orville TRUMAN’s second wife. I also can recall Grandmother Wilcox who died in 1939. She was actually our Great- Grandmother.

Maxine remembers her as an stooped, grey-headed, elderly lady sitting on a stool in Grandmother TRUMAN’s kitchen. Gosh, Maxine, you were only 5 yrs old! Hazel showed Bill, Joel and I a tattered, small notebook in which she kept records of marriages, deaths, etc., from the Sylvester church. In it was an entry for Great-Grandmother Wilcox’ death in 1939. (We know more family history of the ARNs, BRIGGSes, and WILCOXs than we do about the SCHAFERs and TRUMANs.)

(2,648 words - 6/7/98)