My Very Own #SonsOfLiberty

  While the current Sons of Liberty mini-series that just aired on The History Channel is pure historical fiction, my hope is that it inspires people to seek and find more of the truth surrounding our country’s founding. As a family researcher, I’m even more interested in making historical events become more “real” to us when we have an ancestor (or ancestors) directly involved in the significant historical happening. I count myself fortunate to have (and share!) a couple of my own Sons of Liberty from my family tree. 

My 7th great-grandfather was a real rabble-rouser. Part Daniel Boone, and part smart-aleck, he stood up for what he believed in, both personally and for the colonies. Involved in several border disputes between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and a shrewd “real estate businessman”, Col. Thomas Cresap was born in 1694 and died in 1787. While researching him, I was thrilled to read the following: 

“The newly formed Sons of Liberty in Frederick County under tough old Tom Cresap were the most stalwart resisters of the Stamp Act and provided a stimulating example to similar groups forming in Baltimore and in Anne Arundel County.” (excerpt from this site: http://bit.ly/1Cga1y5 and written for the Virtual Marshall County Genealogy Society by T. Vernon Anderson) 

He even hosted a young surveyor’s apprentice by the name of George Washington in 1748. And though he eventually settled and passed away on the western edge of Maryland, he was highly involved with the Ohio Company - which helped settle much of the Ohio Valley surrounding my great state.

I’m also honored to be the descendant of another Sons of Liberty member,  William Hall - my 5th great grandfather. Just a few short weeks ago, I found his Revolutionary War pension record, filed when he was 95 years old. He served three different times with three different companies during the Revolution, but I was most interested in his time while in his home county of Frederick, Maryland and the city of Winchester. He served at General Washington’s Fort Loudon, guarding British POWs. He even served under the famous Colonel Daniel Morgan there. 

There were several other men and women in my family history who sacrificed during this incredible time in history. And whether it’s a documentary, or “just historical fiction”, remember - these people LIVED - and their lives matter. 

A proud daughter of the Sons of Liberty, 

Cate. 

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.” ― Samuel Adams