John Ronald Miller (1915-1952): The Uncle Most of Us Don't Remember

John Ronald Miller, who went by Ronald, was Aunt Ruth's first husband. He died before my younger Lange first cousins and me were born or were old enough to remember. According to Mom, he was born in Britain; never knew who his father was; and was raised by an aunt who had a bit of money but who died of cancer when he was young. As he cared for her in the final stages of her life, he became addicted to the morphine her doctor's prescribed to manage pain. Eventually after a 12-year marriage to Aunt Ruth, he committed suicide.

Not long ago, I looked at the information I had collected about Uncle Ronald (it seems weird to call him that), and realized there were a lot of gaps in the paper trail. So I went digging.

John Ronald Miller (1915-1952*); personal collection

Ronald was born on 16 September 1915 in Grimsby, England, also known as Great Grimsby, a large seaport on the Humber estuary close to where it joins the North Sea west of Leeds. Britain makes birth records available to genealogists and family historians after 100 years. I should be able to find the registration of his birth, but I have not. I am left wondering if John Ronald Miller was his birth name or one assigned to him later.

On 22 March 1930, 14-year-old Ronald boarded the Cunard Line's RMS Antonia along with thirty other boys from the National Children's Home (NCS), which had been established in 1869 by a Methodist minister. By the time Ronald lived at the NCS, the organization operated a number of homes across England, including one in Leeds, which may have been where Ronald lived. There was always pressure on the NCS to find homes for the children in its care so their would be space available for new arrivals and emigration played an important role in achieving that end. Many of the NCS administrators believed the children would have the opportunity for a better future in Canada. Ronald arrived in Halifax on 31 March 1930. He indicated to immigration officials, his foster father was Sidney Rogers of Grimsby and he had been a student in the UK but intended to work on a farm in Canada.

On 27 July 1932 Ronald joined the British Merchant Navy in London. A few days later he signed on to merchant ship Esperance Bay in Southampton. He indicated it was his first ship and previous to that he fished for work.  Ronald served as a deck boy.

Merchant ship Esperance Bay; courtesy of State of Victoria Archive

By 1939 Ronald lived in Montreal and worked as a sales manager. On 6 November he arrived in Burlington, Vermont, by plane. He told immigration officials he intended to reside permanently in the U.S. and his destination was New Orleans where he would visit a friend. Interestingly, the building listed as friend's address is now known as the Maritime Building.

Ronald married Ruth Hedwig Lange on 16 September 1940 in Washington, DC. She was the daughter of Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin. She was born in Winnipeg in 1916 but had been raised on a farm in Prince George's County, Maryland. At the time of their marriage, Ruth worked in a bakery in Washington. Surpringly, neither Ronald or Ruth were listed in the 1940 census, which was enumerated earlier in the year. A month after their marriage Ronald registered for the Army draft. He was a Canadian citizen, as was Aunt Ruth, and they lived in an apartment in a row house at 1201 C Street, NE.

1201 C Street, NE, Washington, DC; courtesy Google Maps

Ronald worked for the Standard Drug Company, which had been established in 1919 in Richmond by two pharmacists. Stores were later opened throughout Maryland and Virginia and the chain thrived for decades before it was purchased in 1993 by the company now known as CVS. The remainder of the records I have for Ronald are border crossings returning from trips to Canada in 1943 and 1945. He and Ruth continued to live at 1201 C Street, NE, during that time.

Mom said Ronald and Ruth would move around the country frequently so that he could obtain prescriptions for morphine. When a doctor discussed a detoxification clinic, it was time to move. They were in Pelham, New York, when a doctor convinced Ronald to be institutionalized in order to withdrawal from morphine. However, after a few days, he called Ruth and begged for her to get him released. She did after seeing his terrible physical deterioration. According to Mom, Ronald committed suicide in 1952 in Pelham, New York, a few days later. The New York death index for that time period is available and I have found one record that could be Ronald's but have been unable to verify it. If it is for "my" Ronald Miller, he died in 1956 in Poughkeepsie.

Ruth (Lange) and J. Ronald Miller in happier times; personal collection

Ruth married Robert Riffle Meek in a 1960 civil ceremony in Stamford, Connecticut. He was a divorcee with one adult son and worked as a real estate broker. Soon after their marriage they moved to DeLand, Florida, and purchased an apartment complex, which they managed for several years.

I can't help but think after spending several days researching and learning more about Aunt Ruth's first husband that his life began with hardship which continued through much of his childhood. Even though his adult life seemed normal to most casual onlookers, his demon's conquered him in the end.

The Rice Family: Lost at Sea

A couple of my DNA matches confirmed that Rev. David Rice (1733-1816) was my six times great grandfather. He was a prominent man in the Virginia colony, the nascent state of Kentucky, and the Presbyterian Church. He was also an early, strident abolitionist and he was often called the "Apostle of Kentucky." He was written about often and I have collected digital copies of several books which include biographical sketches, his involvement in education and religion or his family's history in the colonies. Those books indicated a Thomas Rice, Rev. Rice's grandfather, was born in England but was an "early adventurer into Virginia." But I had never researched the generations which preceded Rev. Rice.

Interestingly enough, my brothers did not share any DNA matches with Rev. Rice as the common shared ancestor. When my 89-year-old uncle's test results were available, that changed. My uncle currently has 11,800 DNA match results. As a comparison, I have 6,600. Nearly 150 of my uncle's matches include the surname Rice in their family tree. Not only did he share most of the matches I had, he also had several where the common shared ancestor was Rev. Rice's grandfather, Thomas Rice.

So it was time to see what information I had already collected about the early Rice line and develop a research plan for Thomas. I am still working on that plan, but I wanted to share with you a brief sketch of his family history, which I discovered in A History of St. Mark's Parish, Culpeper County, Virginia, by Rev. Philip Slaughter, which was published in 1877. That book contained a direct quote from memoirs written by Rev. David Rice.[1]

Title page of A History of St. Mark's Parish, Culpeper County, Virginia by Rev. Philip
Slaughter, and published in 1877; courtesy of Internet Archive

"Thomas Rice was an Englishman by birth, of Welsh extraction. He was an early adventurer into Virginia; where he spent the first part of his life is not certainly known. In the latter part of his life he owned a small plantation in the lower part of what is now (1824) called Hanover county. Here he left his wife, with nine sons and three daughters, and went to England to receive a considerable estate which had been left him, but returned no more. The sailors reported that he died at sea. It is supposed that he was assassinated. No return was ever made of the property after which he had gone, and his family were left destitute in a strange land.

The family being left without an earthly father, were distressed, but they were, in the good providence of God, provided for. The greater part moved about thirty miles farther up the country, where they procured a small plantation, on which they raised numerous families; four or five of them became professors of religion, and were succeeded in their religious profession by a considerable number of their children."

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[1] I have purchased but not yet received A History of the Church in Kentucky for Forty Years, Containing the Memoirs of Rev. David Rice by Robert H. Bishop, published in 1824.

Crossing "the Pond" with Edward Shippen (1639-1712)

My six times great uncle, Rev. Samuel Blair, Jr., was a very accomplished man for his time. He attended what is now Princeton University, had been an assistant pastor at the Old South Church in Boston, served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War, and was the second chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He married Susan, or Susannah, Shippen, a great granddaughter, of Edward Shippen, who was born in England, came to Boston in 1668, later removed to Philadelphia at the urging of William Penn, and was named the first mayor of Philadelphia under the 1701 Charter of Privileges promulgated by William Penn.

Shippen genealogy from Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family by General Daniel Roberdeau
published in 1876 and available on Ancestry.com

In 1911 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania compiled a multi-volume work entitled Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania. Beginning on page 96 is a profile of Edward Shippen which includes several generations of descendants. Below is an excerpt of his profile.

Edward Shippen as drawn from an original painting;
courtesy of Find A Grave

"...Edward Shippen born in Methley, Yorkshire, not far from Leeds, to William Shippen and Mary Nunnes, whose father was a yeoman. Edward was baptized in the parish church on 5 March 1639. He came to the American colonies in 1668. There he engaged in mercantile pursuits with much success. In 1669 he was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, showing that he was still at that time a member of the Protestant Church of England. Two years later he married Elizabeth Lybrand, a Quakeress; this marriage led him to become a Quaker. Owing to his new religion, he was subjected to severe persecution, and in 1677, was twice "publickly whipped." In various ways he was subjected to great annoyance, until finally, about 1693-4, he decided to take refuge in Pennsylvania.

It would seem to have taken him about a year to perfect the disposal of his estate in Boston and transfer it to Philadelphia. In this latter city his wealth, his fine personal appearance, his house on Second Street[1], styled a "princely mansion," his talents and his high character, speedily obtained for him such position and influence that on 9 July 1695, he was elected Speaker of the Assembly; in 1699 he was made Chief-Justice, and on 25 October 1701, William Penn named him in the charter as Mayor of the City of Philadelphia...In Edward Shippen he found a man of courage, energy, integrity, intelligence, and sagacity; whose unspotted moral character was ample earnest to the citizens that the executive power would be exercised with the strictest justices and fidelity; whose active business habits and bravery equally assured them of the chief magistrate's resolution and promptness, whilst his high social position gave dignity to the office.

From 1702 to 1704 Edward Shippen was President of the Governor's Council, and for six months, when there was no Governor in the Province, he was acting Governor. In 1706 he contracted his third marriage, which led to his separation from the Society of Friends. After that, apparently, he retired from public life, except that he continued to advise upon public affairs...Edward Shippen died at Philadelphia, 2 October 1712...

U.S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Edward Shippen married (first) Elizabeth Lybrand of Boston; they had eight children, from whom are descended the Shippen family in America. She having died 25 October 1688, he married Rebecca, widow of Francis Richardson, of New York, and daughter of John Howard (Haywood) of Yorkshire...Edward Shippen took up his residence in a fine mansion on the west side of Second Street, north of Spruce, and had a fine, "country house" at Broad and South Streets, his property extending along the south side of the old city as far west as Sixteen Street and east to Front Street. William Penn spent much of his time at Shippen's house on Second Street, on the occasion of his second visit to Pennsylvania. His spacious lawn extending down to Dock Creek, on which he maintained a herd of deer, and his orchard of choice fruits were famous in their day...

Mr. Shippen's second wife, Rebecca (Howard) Richardson, died in Philadelphia, 26 February 1705, and in 1706 he married Elizabeth/Esther, widow of Thomas (or Philip) James, from Bristol, England, daughter of John Wilcox. This marriage separated him from the Society of Friends, and about this time he retired from public affairs. Edward Shippen died in Philadelphia 2 October 1712. His third wife survived him, dying in Philadelphia, 7 August 1724."

Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850 edited by James N. Arnold and
published in 1895; courtesy of Ancestry.com

One of Shippen's grandsons was Continental Congressman William Shippen. A granddaughter was the wife of Philadelphia Mayor Charles Willing. Another grandson, Edward Shippen, III, was also a mayor of Philadelphia. Shippen's great granddaughter, Susan, married into the prominent Presbyterian Blair family, and a great great granddaughter was Peggy Shippen, wife of Benedict Arnold..."

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As I researched the life of Edward Shippen, the issues I could find in the above biographical profile were minor. 1) I believe his third wife, Elizabeth or Esther (Wilcox) James was also a Quaker and he was not separated from the Society of Friends as a result of that marriage. He was buried at the Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church Cemetery. So more research is definitely required. 2) There are also conflicting sources about his place of birth, which could be Hillham, Cheshire, England. However, his father married in Methley and by 1642 (3 years after Edward was baptized) was overseer of the poor. He did die in Cheshire. So I am unsure. 

And may I say how much I enjoyed Colonial era records from Boston and Philadelphia. What a difference to what is available for Virginia during the same period!

Who Was the Original Jennings Immigrant?

The first documented Jennings direct ancestor in Virginia was my four times great grandfather, Benjamin Jennings (about 1740-1815). He first appeared on a payroll record for the Virginia Milita on 9 September 1776, serving as a private in Captain Thomas Gaddis' company. He married twice, had eight known children, and owned land in Powhatan County. His life was fairly well documented after the Revolutionary War, including a will.

Many public trees claim his parents were James Jennings and Mary Dickerson. James was a son of Colonel William Henry Jennings and Mary Jane Pulliam. There is much documentation to support the life of the colonel, that he immigrated to the Virginia colony from England, and had a son named James. The only problem is there is also evidence to support that his son, James, ever had a son named Benjamin and was ever married to a woman named Mary Dickerson.

I set a research task for myself to discover all of the immigrants to Virginia with the surname Jennings. My plan was to research those men until I have proved they are not related to Benjamin or, if I am lucky, were related.

Tobacco ships on the James River in the 1600s; image courtesy of The
Maritime Heritage Project

During a trip to the Library of Virginia in Richmond, I created the following list of people as possible ancestors:

• Edward Ginnings, 1663, transported by Thomas Mudgett
• William Jennings, 1635, transported by William Woolritch, who received a grant in Elizabeth City County
• Edward Jennings, 1643, transported by John Wall, who received a grant in Northumberland County
• Edward Jennings, 1662, transported by Richard Iliffe
• John Jennings, 1643, transported by George Levitt
• John Jennings, 1662, transported by Valentine Allen, who received a grant on the south side of the Rappahannock river
• John Jennings, 1635, transported by Thomas Fowler, who received a grant of 900 acres in James City County near the Chickahominy river
• Nathaniel Jennings, 1643, transported by William Lawrence, James City County
• Philip Jennings, 1635, age 25
• Richard Jennings, 1636, transported by Elizabeth Hawkins and her son, received land in Elizabeth City County
• Symon Jennings, 1643, transported by Richard Howe, Gentleman, Henrico County
• Thomas Jennings, 1636, transported by Walter Daniell, James City County
• Ed Jennings, 1664, transported by Thomas Philpott, who received a grant in Westmoreland County
• Henry Jennings, 1635, age 24, a minister, transported from London to America in the Truelove de London, Robert Dennis, Master
• Henry Jennings, 1658, transported by James Kimygam and James Fullerton, who received a grant in Rappahannock County
• Jane Jennings, 1635, age 25, transported on the David
• John Jennings, 1635, age 18, transported by Peter Blacker
• John or Jonas Jennings, 1638, transported by Edward Travis and John Johnson, James City County
• Matthew Jennings, 1623, died in Virginia
• Michaell Jennings, left Virginia on 26 September 1679 bound for Jamaica aboard the sloop, Butter
• Nicholas Jennings, 1634, age 22, bound for New England April 1634
• Richard Jennings, 1635, transported by John Flowers, master of the Dora
• Richard Jennings, 1636, received a grant in Henrico County due to his wife, Dorothy, widow of the late Edward Garner
• Richard Jennings, 1651, transported by George Eaton, Northumberland County
• Richard Jennings, 1653, transported by Matthew Tomlin, Northumberland County
• Sarah T. Jennings, 1635, transported by John Flowers, master of the Dora
• Thomas Jennings, 1638, transported by Roger Davis, Charles City County
• Thomas Jennings, 1639, transported by Walter Daniell, James City County
• William Jennings, 1679, in the sloop Trufriendship, Charles Kallahana, commander

That's a lot of Jennings!

If I was sure this was a complete list, I might continue with my original plan, but right now, I am rethinking my research strategy.

Suggestions?

Who Got the Great Jennens Fortune?

In almost every Jennings genealogy written in any country, there is a section about the Great Jennens Fortune, which was left by William Jennens who died intestate at the age of 97 in 1798. His death set off a multi-continent legal free-for-all that was the basis for Charles Dickens' book, Bleak House.

William Jennens, who was described as a "crusty old bachelor," had his unsigned will in his pocket and was on his way to his solicitor but forgot his spectacles, started home to retrieve them, and died. This part of the tale does not seem to be in dispute. Every source that discusses William and his fortune mentions it. Where the story differs is the beneficiaries.

I thought I had solved who finally got William's fortune when I wrote this blog post, which indicated Mary (Finch) Howard, Viscountess of Andover, and Richard William Penn Curzon, later made Earl Howe, received the bulk of the fortune. A book[1] prepared in 1879 for a Jennings family association in England interested in pursuing what they believed was their rightful portion of the fortune listed the peers as the beneficiaries and provided their genealogies. The book was written by genealogists hired by the association and so the book also "proved" how the courts in England had erred. These genealogists believed Lady Andover and Lord Curzon were really related to the William Jennens who died in 1803. An earlier report[2] written in 1863 for a Jennings association in the United States said the fortune had been distributed by 1821. It then went on to indicate the errors of this dispersal.

Partial family tree of John Jennens, the "Ironmonger of Birmingham," created
using Microsoft Powerpoint

But not so fast...I found another book[3] about the Jennings family on the HathiTrust website which also tells the story of the great Jennens fortune. It indicated a different beneficiary and said the decision wasn't made until about 1852:

"...we noticed that the Court of Chancery, after 54 years of deliberation, had recently come to a decision as to the appropriation of the immense property comprised in this estate. The heir-at-law proves to be a person named Martin, a descendant of Jennens' sister. He is now 90 years of age, and his daughter is the wife of a person named Langham, at this time in the employ of Mr. Hawes of Maldon, plumer and glazier. Martin was originally connected with the trading craft, in the Maldon river, but of late has been in low circumstances. The 12th of June next is fixed for the transfer of the funded property in the Court of Chancery, and the estates are expected to follow."

-- Benjamin Gibbs Mitchell, Consanguinity of the Families of Gibbs and Mitchell

Snippet from Documented Notes on Jennings and Allied Families by Beatrice
Mackey Doughtie; courtesy of HathiTrust

This is a much different and more heartwarming end to the tale of the richest commoner in England who died intestate than two peers receiving yet more money and property. So who really did get the money? According to Wikipedia, the lawsuits dragged on for over a hundred years and eventually exhausted the fortune. The only way I can think to resolve these conflicting reports, is to think the Viscountess of Andover and Lord Howe received the estate first but legal challenges continued. In one of those suits, the Court of Chancery ruled against the peers, and the case drug on until the money was gone.

Many public trees indicate my four times great grandfather Benjamin Jennings was a descendant of the John Jennens (died 1653), known as the "Ironmonger of Birmingham," and the great grandfather of the William Jennens who left the fortune. Wouldn't that be nice?

Unfortunately, the first documented record for "my" Benjamin Jennings is a 9 September 1776 payroll record from the Virginia Militia company commanded by Capt. Thomas Gaddis. He was selected by Col. Morgan in 1777 as a sharpshooter in Morgan's Rifles. After the war he owned land in Powhatan County, Virginia, where he appeared on several tax lists. His will was probated on 19 July 1815.

Even though he has caused me no end of grief trying to cross the pond with my Jennings ancestors, I've grown quite fond of curmudgeonly old William Jennens, often called the richest commoner in England.

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[1] Harrison and Willis (Compilers). The Great Jennens Case: Being an Epitome of the History of the Jennens Family, (Sheffield: Pawson and Brailsford, 1879), pages 85-89, 98, 101, 113-114
[2]Smith, Columbus and Fisher, C. M. (Compilers). Report to the Jennings Association, U.S.A., (Rutland, VT: Tuttle & Gay, Printers, 1863), pages 11-12
[3] Doughtie, Beatrice Mackey. Documented Notes on Jennings and Allied Families, (Decatur, GA: Bowen Press, Inc., 1961), pages 1-6.

The Great Jennens Case
There's One Born Every Minute: Scamming the Greedy
A Forcible Act of Possession
Dickens' Bleak House Is about My Family

To read more about the details, T. Mark James has written an article entitled The Humphrey Jennings Estate Fraud that is worth reading.

Guest Blog: Leber’s Optic Atrophy

By Sarah Semple

My dad came from good working class stock.  He was the fourth child of five and there was nearly a six year gap between him and his next older sibling. His mother decided to hold him back from going to school until his younger brother was old enough, so that the two siblings could keep each other company.  Dad had very little in common with his youngest sibling who was always getting into strife.  But being dad, he just went with the flow and didn’t question the decision.

Dad was a good sportsman, an average performer at school and had decided to become a teacher. He was 19 years of age, in his second year of teacher training when something extraordinary happened to him.  He lost his eye-sight.  He lost the sight in one eye in January 1954 and then the other in May 1954.  The medical system couldn’t explain it.  He could see nothing in front of him, and just shapes in his peripheral vision.  He spent 10 weeks in hospital and was told that his eyesight was bad but it wouldn’t get any worse.

Life was turned on its head.  He had to withdraw from teacher training and his beloved sport.  He lay in the hospital bed feeling very sorry for himself.  To cut a long story short, he heard a girl come in to his ward and tell people to breathe in and out.  He thought that this sounded like an easy job and enquired about it.  She was a physiotherapist, and he found out that there was a School for the Blind for Physiotherapy in London.  He got sponsorship from the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind and off he went -- alone on a six week boat trip, first time out of New Zealand with minimal eyesight. He had a fabulous three years training in London, establishing friendships with other blind physiotherapists that lasted a life time.

John "Jack" Alexander Semple in England, 1958; photograph courtesy of
Sarah Semple

So how does this relate to genealogy? Well, it all comes back to the rare eye disease called Leber’s Optic Atrophy.  When researching this disease, I found out that it is genetic, but that it is only passed on from the female.  So a male can inherit it (like my dad), but his children can never get it.  His sister however could both inherit the gene and develop the disease, as could her children.

So with this information, I approached a renowned Opthamologist who confirmed that as far as he knew there were only two families in New Zealand with this disease.  He had studied the other family to understand the heredity patterns of the disease.  

Jack Semple playing bowls; photograph courtesy of
Sarah Semple

I found that one of my dad’s aunts had also inherited the disease and had died after accidentally drinking a bottle of poison that she thought was a soft drink.  I also found women in dad’s family with poor eyesight that people had attributed to old age, however may well have been the same eye condition.

So when I come across or hear about people (especially young men) who lose their eyesight at an early age to Leber’s, I always ask the question… what was their mother and grandmother’s maiden names?  Chances are, we could be related.

52 Ancestors #6: (Guest Blog) Flung to the Far Corners of the World

Ancestor Name: Alfred Wolfe BRISK (1880-1942)

I have many immigrant ancestors so one of their stories seemed like a natural fit for this week's theme, So Far Away. Many emigrated from Scotland to far-flung places like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the U.S. Others left different parts of eastern Europe in pursuit of a better life in places like Brazil or Guyana. But the person I kept thinking about wasn't even one of my ancestors. He was the great grandfather of the husband of my 4th cousin once removed. I first read about him in a book my cousin had written about the Brisk family.

Sarah, lives in New Zealand, and found me in through Ancestry.com. I live in the U.S. How's that for so far away?! Thanks to modern communications technology, we work together researching our common Scottish Semple family. And she has taught me a lot about proper research. I seem to learn more when working with her, plus it's always more fun to have a collaborator!

I thought Sarah would be the best person to tell Albert's story, so over to Sarah......

Albert Wolfe Brisk was the grandson of Jewish immigrants who had fled Belarus with their young family (including Albert’s father) during a sustained period of anti-Semitism in the mid-1860s.  The family settled in Safed, Palestine which is where Albert was born in 1880.

As a teenager, Albert moved to Switzerland where he trained as a watchmaker, completing his training in 1897.  He had an uncle who had recently moved to Singapore and so that was where Albert moved to next.  He opened a store in Kling Street for the Anglo-Swiss Watch Company in Singapore in 1898.  Albert became very successful and paid for his parents and half-brothers and sisters to move to Singapore. 

He married Betty Cornfield about 1902 in Singapore and they had six children. Betty was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul). 

Albert Wolfe and Betty (Cornfield) Brisk with their six children, circa 1920;
photograph courtesy of Sarah Semple

He became a naturalised Singaporean citizen in 1910.  He had a number of rental properties and his children were educated at the local convents in Singapore.  One of the nuns set aside a room so that the Jewish children could have somewhere to eat their Kosher lunches together.

Albert and Betty used to travel to places like Antwerp and Zurich to buy diamonds.  They were a very close couple who were seldom apart.  However in 1936, Betty took her youngest daughter to Shanghai in China to visit one of her sons, and then to Yokohama in Japan to visit another son.  Betty died unexpectedly in Yokohama.

Albert continued to live in Singapore where four of his children still lived.  The first Japanese bombs fell on Singapore in December 1941.  Albert managed to get his youngest daughter Lulu out of Singapore on one of the last ships to leave in January 1942.  He gave her some jewellery to sell and she successfully made it to England where she worked twelve hour shifts in a munitions factory in Leeds.

Albert and his five remaining children were interned by the Japanese.  Albert and three sons were interned in Changi in Singapore, one son was interned in Shanghai and his daughter Esther was interned in Sumatra. 

Esther had tried to flee Singapore on board the SS Kuala which sailed from Singapore on 13 February 1942 with approximately 500 evacuees on-board.  The ship was bombed by the Japanese with at least 100 people dying on-board.  The call was made to abandon ship, and as evacuees were swimming to the nearby island of Pom Pong, Japanese planes were bombing those in the water.  Esther spent nearly eight hours in the water before being rescued by some Chinese fishermen.  She was then captured by the Japanese and spent the remainder of the war in a women’s camp.  She never spoke about her experiences in the camp.

Albert died from starvation and a cerebral hemorrhage at the hospital attached to Changi on 19 December 1942.  His children managed to survive their internment although all came out of camp malnourished, grossly underweight and most had suffered from diseases like tuberculosis.

His son who had been in Shanghai ended up emigrating with his family to Australia and the remaining children eventually made their way to England to where their sister Lulu was waiting for them. 

The phrase “so far away” must have been felt with great frequency by Albert and his family.  First by Albert leaving his family in Palestine and moving to Switzerland and then Singapore.  Albert’s wife dying away from home in Japan, his daughter Lulu fleeing to England, his other daughter Esther surviving the Japanese bombing and being interned in Sumatra.  The family was displaced after the war with surviving family members leaving Asia to begin again in a new country. So many changes, so far away.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme So Far Away.

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I first discovered Albert Wolfe Brisk's story in The Brisk Family of Brest-Litovsk, Palestine and Beyond, by Sarah Semple and published in 2011.

Other stories of ancestors who found themselves civilians in the midst of war:

Odessa to Vancouver:  The Long Way
Living in War-torn Europe
Escaping from Eastern Germany
There's a Nazi in the Family
Trip Around the World: New York to Egypt (Franco-Syrian War)

Other guest blog posts by Sarah:

Am I Related? Definitely. Maybe.
What's in a Name?

The Great Jennens Case

Two wealthy men named Robert Jennens died in London in 1725. They both had sons named William Jennens. One William died in 1803 and the other William in 1798. The latter William died unmarried and intestate.

And left one of the largest fortunes in all of England, which created considerable interest in the United Kingdom and her current and former colonies.

To this day there are Jennings descendants who believe they could claim a portion of that fortune. Others were more skeptical. In fact, one of my grand aunts was contacted by an attorney, who told her she was entitled to millions from a "lost inheritance in England" and wanted her to sign something before her death in 1959. She never would.

Who got the money and what relationship to the decedent did they claim? By 1821 Lady Mary Andover had became the administrator of the estate and received most of the personal property. She claimed to be the grand daughter of William Jennens' aunt Ann, daughter of Humphrey Jennens. Lord Curzon, later made Earl Howe, received the bulk of the real property, including Acton Hall. Earl Howe claimed to be the great great grandson of William Jennens' uncle, Charles, also a son of Humphrey Jennens. That would make Humphrey the grandfather of the William, the richest common in the country.

Acton Hall; drawing from The Great Jennens Case

But were they really? Or were they actually related to the William Jennens, who died in 1803?

The Great Jennens Case: Being an Epitome of the History of the Jennens Family, which was compiled by Messrs. Harrison & Wills on behalf of the Jennens family, certainly didn't think they were the rightful heirs. In their 1879 book, they made a compelling case, citing baptismal records, burial records, marriage records, manuscripts and wills to prove that Lady Andover and Lord Howe should not have received anything from William Jennens estate.

Their position was Lady Andover and Lord Howe were ancestors of the William Jennens, who died 1803. But the William Jennens, who died with all the money in 1798 was the grandson of Robert Jennens, not Humphrey Jennens.

Are you confused yet? I certainly was when I first read this old book until I started building the family tree. (If you are an Ancestry.com member, you may find it here.)

Partial Jennens family tree showing the two Roberts
and two Williams. John Jennings (d 1653) was the son
of William Jennens, son of Robert Jennens of Shottle

The genealogy that is not in dispute is the Jennens family is of very ancient origin. Presumed to be of Danish extraction, a captain came to England with Canute, King of Denmark. He was given land as a reward for his services to Canute's father. Little more is known about the family until the reign of Henry the VIII. A Robert Jennens appeared in court and was presumably a favorite of the king. In 1545 Henry VIII promoted him to act as chief deerstalker and ranger and sent him to Shottle in the parish in Duffield in Derbyshire. He married Ellen Beard and had a son named William, who went to Birmingham, and married Joanna Elliott. They had a son named John, who became the great ironmonger of Birmingham. He married twice...and created all the problems.

John Jennens Birmingham Town House, 1653;
drawing from The Great Jennens Case

John's first wife was Mary Jennens, a cousin. They had one son also named John, who I call John Jennens II. John then married Joyce Weaman, whose father William, was a noted solicitor. The compilers of the The Great Jennens Case believe the William Jennens who left the great fortune descends from John and Mary Jennens' son, John II.

John Jennens, the ironmonger of Birmingham's will showed definite partiality to the children of his second wife, Joyce Weamon. His will was prepared by Joyce's father. Perhaps something nefarious was going on or perhaps not. After John Jennens II married Jane Ambrose, he left the country for 28 years. Perhaps his father thought he was dead. We just don't know.

But if you are game, have some spare cash for attorneys fees, and can prove your ancestor is John Jennens II through his son Roger, you may have a case!

John Jennens II and Jane Ambrose had four children:

• Jane Jennens, died unmarried in 1663
• William Jennens, line was known in 1879 to be extinct
• Robert Jennens, born on 9 July 1644 at Mobourne Mill; entered at Middle Temple in 1649; married Jane Truelock at Aldworth in Berkshire in 1669; had issue: one son, Robert and one daughter, Martha, who died in infancy. Son Robert born in 1672; married Anne Guidott in 1700; had issue: one child only, the late William Jennens of Acton Place, Suffolk, who died in 1798 a bachelor and intestate
• Roger Jennens, his descendants are the alleged true legal claimants

Descendants of Roger Jennens, alleged true claimants to the fortune of
William Jennens; from The Great Jennens Case

Have fun in your quest for fame and fortune!

There's One Born Every Minute -- Scamming the Greedy
A Forcible Act of Possession
Dickens' Bleak House Is about My Family

Followers of Emanual Swedenborg

I recently read The Making and Unmaking of a Revolutionary Family: The Tuckers of Virginia 1752-1830, by Phillip Hamilton on Google Play. The book was about a possible branch of my sister-in-law's Tucker family that came from Bermuda and settled in Virginia just prior to the Revolutionary War. It detailed how the lives of the Virginia planter gentry declined and changed after the war and how the family dealt with those changes. Most of the book focused on St. George Tucker (1752-1827), who married Frances Bland Randolph, his brothers, children, and step-children.

One of his brothers was Nathaniel Tucker (1750-1807). He was born in Bermuda and when he was 20 years old accompanied a brother to Charleston, South Carolina. He left the Colony of South Carolina about 1773 to study medicine in Edinburgh. He later transferred to the University of Leiden in Holland from which he graduated.

Leiden University Library

In 1786 Nathaniel decided to settle in the old mother country in the seaside town of Hull. There he established a modest medical practice, worked in a local charity hospital, and married a serious-minded woman from a modest family named Jane Wood. Together the couple had six children and became devout followers of the Swedish theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg. Nathaniel translated Swedenborg's works for English followers but the effort was not commercially successful. According to Lewis Leary[1], he would not allow his name to be associated with his pioneer translations, though perhaps his greatest claim to memory is that these translations introduced Swedenborg to such talented and thoughtful men Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Henry James,  and Thomas Carlyle.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Other famous followers of Swedenborg were Helen Keller and Elizabeth Barret Browning.

________________

Lewis Leary wrote a book entitled, Poems of Nathaniel Tucker. He was the former William Rand Kenon Jr Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

52 Ancestors #6: Humorous William Bull

Ancestor: William Bull

Several weeks ago, I read Traditions and Reminiscences, Chiefly of the American Revolution in the South, including Biographical Sketches, Incidents and Anecdotes, Few of which have been Published, Particularly of Residents in the Upper Country by Joseph Johnson, which was originally published in 1851. The book includes much information about William Bull (1710-1791), the brother of Colonel Stephen Bull of Beaufort, South Carolina, who married Elizabeth Bryan.[1] William Bull was a medical doctor and completed his studies under Boerhaave, the famous Leyden physician. He returned to South Carolina and became one of the colony's most eminent citizens, serving as royal governor several times between 1760 and 1775. In 1782 he went with the British troops to England and died there.

Memorial to William Bull, placed at Ashley Hall by Hannah Beale Bull, 1792. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

"A steady friend and affectionate husband…on this land, part of his estate and place of his birth, this obelisk was erected, sacred to his virtues and her grief, with duty and affection by his disconsolate widow"

Two humorous stories are included in Traditions and Reminiscences about William Bull. A Dr. Samuel Wilson told the author the following anecedote:

While Governor Bull was walking one day before his residence and the State House, he was met by a plain, uneducated back-country man, who stopped and stared at him with open mouth. The governor also stopped and civilly asked the country man, "what is the matter, friend?" The fellow replied, "Really, Mister, you are the ugliest man that I ever saw in my life." The governor smiled as if neither surprised nor displeased, and with much good humor said, "But you would not say so if you had seen my brother, Stephen."

Governor William Bull House, 35 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina

and…my favorite:

Governor Bull was so great a favorite in South Carolina that parents frequently named their children after him. There was a plain, respectable man then in Charleston, a tailor, named Frog. Influenced by some favor or patronage received from John Walters Gibbs, of facetious memory, Frog asked Mr. Gibbs to be the godfather for his son, to be named John after his proposed godfather. Mr. Gibbs promptly assented, and the day was appointed for the ceremony. When the parties met, and were going up together to the font, Mr. Gibbs asked permission to give the child an intermediate name, after their worthy governor, Bull. Permission was of course granted, and the child was baptized John Bull; the ceremony was over, and the parties separated in great good humor. But when the whole name was pronounced, and the child called, John Bull Frog, the parents were dismayed; the citizens all joined in the laugh and all the Frogs, little and big, hopped off to escape the continued jests.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

_______________
[1] Elizabeth Bryan is the great grand aunt of the husband of my sister-in-law's fifth cousin four times removed.

NOTE: William Bull was born on 24 September 1710 at Charleston County, South Carolina Colony to William and Mary (Quintyne) Bull. He married Hannah Beale on 17 August 1746 at South Carolina. He owned Ashley Hall plantation on the Ashley River in Charleston County, South Carolina. The plantation remains under private ownership today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bull served as the royal governor of South Carolina five times: 1760-61, 1764-66, 1768, 1769-71, and 1773-1775. He refused to take an oath of allegiance to the revolutionary government and left for England in 1777. He returned in 1781 during the British occupation of Charleston. Bull was evacuated in December 1782 by British troops. He died in London on 4 July 1791 at London, England. He was buried on 18 July 1791 in St Andrew Churchyard at Holborn, London, England.  He and Hannah had no children.

52 Ancestors Surprise -- Cousin Bait

Last week Amy Johnson Crow, author of the No Story Too Small blog, issued the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge to the genealogy and family history blogging community. Yesterday she posted the Week 1 Recap and included a link to it on Facebook. Amy was kind enough to sort her recap by surname so that we could look for common ancestors. And at least one cousin connection was made already!  It turns out my post about Nathaniel Tucker was "cousin bait."

From William Tucker of Throwleigh, Devon, by Robert Dennard Tucker; image courtesy of my sister-in-law's new "genea-cousin"

Beverly Harrison, author of The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist, spotted the Tucker surname. She descends from Francis Tucker (1653-1723), who went to Bermuda from England. This branch of the family went on to Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri. My sister-in-law descends from Henry Tucker (1652-1728), who was born in Bermuda. This branch went to Virginia and then Georgia sometime before 1790. Both our lines descend from William Tucker of Throwleigh, Devon (1495-1543) and our common ancestor is George Tucker (1621-1663).

We'll be comparing our Tucker trees next. It's been an exiting day at Tangled Roots and Trees!

Update #1: I've been reading the entries for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge on Amy's recap post. It appears Nathaniel Tucker was not the only cousin bait in Week 1. Bill West's post about his 8x great grandfather, Edward Colbourne (Colborne, Colburn or Coburn) netted him a new cousin, who participates in the 52 Ancestors challenge on Facebook.

Update #2: Amy Johnson Crow describes all the connections made in her new post, Cousin Bait and the 52 Ancestors Challenge.

52 Ancestors #1: Nathaniel Tucker, Poet

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

Nathaniel Tucker (1750-1807) was the 3rd cousin six times removed of my sister-in-law. In 1973 Lewis Leary, a specialist in American literature and the former William Rand Kenon, Jr, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote a book entitled, Poems of Nathaniel Tucker. In it he described Nathaniel Tucker this way:

"…a very minor but not unrepresentative poet of the late eighteenth century. Born in Bermuda in 1750, he lived during the early 1770s briefly in South Carolina and visited in Virginia, but then spent the rest of his life abroad, a student at Edinburgh, Leyden, and London, and was a physician in Yorkshire until his death in 1807. During the American Revolution, he thought of himself as a patriot marooned in an enemy land, able only to play a spectator poet's part in the struggle of his colonial countrymen for freedom. To their cause he contributed Columbinus: A Mask, hoping that it might be adopted in the new United States as a national drama, to be performed each year on some patriotic anniversary and thus, he said, become 'the bark in which I am to voyage over the ocean of time to the distant shore of posterity.' Instead, it has been hidden away for almost two hundred years in a manuscript copy, unread by almost everyone.

Tucker House in St George's, Bermuda. It is now a museum. A magnificent collection of Tucker family silver, china, crystal, antique English mahogany and Bermuda cedar furniture, portraits by Blackburn, and quilts are just some of the treasures on display.

Poor Natty, his brothers called him, for nearly everything that he turned to seemed to fail. Other Tuckers did well. His oldest brother, Henry, was to become President of the colonial council in Bermuda, and Henry's sons would play important roles in the colonization of India. Thomas Tudor, six years older than Nathaniel, received a medical degree from Edinburgh, practiced as a physician in Charleston, South Carolina, became a delegate to the Continental Congress, and during Jefferson's administration was the Treasurer of the United States. St George Tucker, two years younger than Nathaniel, came to Williamsburg, Virginia, as a student at the College of William and Mary, served with distinction at the battle of Yorktown, and remained in Virginia for the rest of his life, a lawyer, judge, professor, and occasional poet, honored among her most prominent citizens. But Nathaniel, whom his family thought blessed with much talent and great goodness of heart, was less successful, largely, it was supposed, because he wanted so badly to be a poet."

Nathaniel Tucker's most acclaimed verse was The Bermudian written as a homesick assistant to his brother, a medical doctor in Charleston, South Carolina. It was first published at the contrivance of his brother, St George Tucker, by Purdie and Dixon in Williamsburg, Virginia. It has been republished many times since. The Tucker House Museum in Bermuda offers copies to those visitors interested in the poem.

Photograph courtesy of the royal gazette.com

Warning, readers, the poem is long!

The Bermudian by Nathaniel Tucker

BERMUDA, parent of my early days,
To thee belong my tributary lays;
In thy blest clime, secured from instant harms,
A tender mother press'd me in her arms,
Lull'd me to rest with many a ditty rare,
And loo'd and smiled upon her infant care.
She taught my lisping accents how to flow,
And bade the virtues in my bosom glow.

Hail Nature's darling spot! enchanted isle!
Where vernal blooms in sweet succession smile;
Where, cherish'd by the fostering sea-born gale,
Appears the tall palmetto of the vale;
The rich banana, tenant of the shade,
With leaf broad-spreading to the breeze display'd,
The memorable tree, of aspect bold,
That graced they plains, O Lebanus, of old;
The fragrant lime, the lemon at his side,
And golden orange, fair Hesperia's pride.
While genial Summer, who, approaching fast,
Claims to disperse the short-liv'd wint'ry blast,
O'er the green hill, and cedar-bearing plain,
Boasts undisturb'd a long-protracted reign.

Her blushing Health, descending from above,
The daughter fair of cloud-compelling Jove,
Pleas'd with the scene all naturally gay,
And importun'd by Temperance to stay,
In pity to the weary peasant's toil,
With blessing crown'd the wave-surrounded soil.

Too happy land! if in the search around
The source of opulence cou'd here be found,
And they worn offspring, ev'ry case resign'd,
His dwelling peaceful, and serene his mind,
With independence bless'd, could sit him down
In age secure of niggard Fortune's frown!
But early torn reluctant from their home,
Amidst the tempest's roar condemn'd to roam,
Thy scatter'd sons, a race of giant form,
Whose souls at peril mock, and brave the storm,
At honest labour's call, with fruitless pains,
Are fare dispers'd o'er Britain's wide domains.

Eternal blessing with profusion smile,
And crown with lasting bliss my parent isle!
Blest be the narrow field, the little cot,
And blest the lab'ring swain's contented lot!
For thee may Commerce to the southern gale
Successfully expand her swelling sail,
And from Peruvian mines the slave for thee,
With treasures load the wave-diving tree!
With joy returning, each endeavor sped,
No more compell'd to roam for scanty bread,
All heart-corroding cares at length supprest,
Each want supply'd by ev'ry wish possest;
May thy lost children, to their friends restor'd,
Taste every blessing Fortune can afford.
While I, whose birth more inauspicious far,
Conress'd the reign of some malignant star, 
Whose name, alas! from fair Enjoyment's date
Stands far remov'd upon the roll of Fate,
With weary step, each distant realm explore,
A wand'ring exile from my native shore.

Off, when in shades envelop'd, Night descends,
And Darkness o'er the hemisphere extends,
When glooming Silence hushes ev'ry sound,
And dead Tranquillity prevails around,
And the distress'd, unmindful of their woes,
In balmy sleep their heavy eye-lids close,
While no repose my weary soul can find,
Thy loved ideas rises in my mind.
Swift at the thought, and for enjoyment keen,
Regardless of the seas that roll between,
Where o'er surrounding depths thy cliffs arise,
With rapid wing my busy fancy flies;
And, representing scenes of past delights,
A painful pleasure in my breast excites.

E'en now, transported to my native land,
Upon the summit of some hill I stand,
The fears view, uncultur'd as they grow,
And all the varied scenery below.
Far at a distance as the eye can reach,
Extend the mazes of the winding beach:
Loud on the coast the bellowing ocean roars,
While foaming surges lash the whiten'd shores;
Stupendous rocks in wild confusion stand,
Lift their tall cliffs, and sadden all the strand.

Before Aurora gilds the eastern skies
The sun-burnt tenants of the cottage rise;
With many a yawn their drowsy comrades hail,
Rub their dim eyes, and taste the morning-gale.
Some bear the basket, plenteously supply'd
With hooks and lines, the able fisher's pride;
Others with dextrous hands the toils display,
Well skill'd to circumvent the scaly prey;
With wide-extended nets the shores they sweep,
Or man the bark, and plough the finny deep.
The happy islander, return'd at night,
Recounts the day's adventures with delight;
Astonishes the list'ning crowed with tales
Of rocks avoided, and of dang'rous gales;
Of groupers, who deluded by the bait,
Shar'd many a former grouper's wretched fate;
And rock-fish, who had tugg'd the well-streth'd line,
Oblig'd their pond'rous carcass to resign.
The little urchin, playing on the strand,
At distance kens the bark return'd to land,
He hies impatient, views the scaly store,
And bids his parent welcome to the shore.

Meanwhile the housewife decks the cleanly board
With all her homely cottage can afford;
Her little brood are seated to their wish,
And taste the blessings of the smoking dish;
Of childish stories prattle all the while,
Regarding either parent with a smile; 
The finny monster's grateful taste admire,
And for it bless their providential fire.
He with delight the youthful tribe surveys,
His gladdened eyes still brighten as they gaze;
Of earthly joys he knows no higher pitch,
And bids the prince be great, the miser rich.

Where rising Phoebus darts the morning-ray,
The verdant hills a diff'rent scene display;
Promiscuous houses in the vale are seen,
Whose decent white adorns the lively green.
The weary peasant here, reclined at ease,
Beneath his fig-tree courts the southern breeze;
Or, while the great, at fruitless cares, repine,
He sits the monarch of his little vine.

There scatter'd isles, whose banks the waters lave,
Grace with their herbage the pellucid wave.
The lordly bullock there, unus'd to toil,
Securely stalks the tyrant of the soil;
While tender lambkins on the margin play,
And sport and gambol 'midst the sunny day.

From early infancy  inur'd to toil,
Rough as the rocks that bound his native soil,
The sturdy craftsman, with laborious hand, 
Fells the tall tree, and drags it to the strand:
Resounding shores return the hammer's blows,
Beneath the stroke the gaudy pinnace grows,
Lanch'd, and completely mann'd, in quest of gain,
Spreads her light sails, and tempts the wat'ry main.

Near yonder hill, above the stagnant pool,
My stem preceptor taught his little school:
Dextrous t' apply the scientific rod,
The little truants shudder'd at his nod;
When-e'er he came, they all submissive bow'd,
All scann'd their tasks industriously loud;
And, fearful to excite the master's rage,
With trembling hands produc'd blotted page.
Skillful he was, and dabbled in the law,
Bonds, notes, petitions -- any thing cou'd draw:
'Twas even whisper'd, and 'tis strictly true,
He claim'd acquaintance with the Muses too,
And, by the goddesses inspir'd, at times,
His lofty genius mounted into rhymes.
Great bard! what numbers can they praise rehearse,
Who turn'd Qui mini into English verse;
Taught the smug epigram with art to glide,
and e'en at lines of heav'nly Maro try'd?
Tho' many an epitaph of thine was known
To grace the cold commemorating stone,
Thy own remains, in some neglected spot,
Now lie unsung, unheeded, and forgot!

Far to the south, above the wat'ry roar,
When the blue Ocean rolls against the shore,
And the tall cliffs and sloping mountain's side
O'erlook the deep, and stop the coming tide,
Of ancient date, and calling for repair,
Is seen the parish-church, the house of pray'r.
No stately columns there superbly rise,
No tow'ring steeple greets the distant skies,
No pompous domes magnificence impart,
Strike the pleas'd eye, or show the master's art.
To mark the silent mansions of the dead,
No obelisk of marble rears its head,
No finely-decorated tomb is shown,
No sculptur'd monument of Parian stone.
But the rude native quarry,  as it lies, 
A far more coarse remembrancer supplies,
Which the dejected son, reduc'd to mourn
His much-lov'd parent, from his bosom torn,
The last sad honors to his ashes paid,
Sighing, erects to the departed shade.

Touch'd with the theme, by pow'rful Fancy led
To more remote apartments of the dead,
I see sad ATTICUS, in silent gloom,
Indignant quit the solitary tomb,
His ancient, well-remember'd form renew,
And pass before me slowly in review.
The happy thought, the mirth-exciting joke,
The turn satirical, the pointed stroke,
The vein of humor, the remark so dry,
The witty sally, and the keen reply,
Around the social table form'd to shine,
Without a rival, ATTICUS, were thine.

Talent like these, (for they have seldom fail'd),
While bus'ness flagg'd, and indolence prevail'd,
And sullen Prudence, frowning, stood aloof,
Entic'd the jovial circle to thy roof;
And for life's eve, thy glory in the wane,
Prepar'd a fund of indigence and pain.

Thrice happy thou! if to discretion led
By the much-valued part'ner of they bed,
Thous hadst been taught more laying bliss to prize,
And learn'd from her example to be wise!
But she, such ills unable to withstand,
When deadly, pale Disease, with tyrant hand,
They cruel destiny relentless wrote,
They visage sadden'd, and they dwelling smote;
For they unhappy lot with grief opprest,
Before thee sunk to everlasting rest.
Her duteous offspring, (who, no longer near,
Expos'd unshelter'd to the storm's carrier,
His native shore unable to regain,
Reluctant plough'd the bleak Atlantic main),
O'erwhelmed with sorrow, at his let return,
With tears bedew'd her consecrated urn.

Tho' at a distance from my searching eye,
Amidst surrounding woods, thy dwelling lie;
Tho' envious Time or weaning Absence strive
Thy charish'd image from my breast to drive;
Yet near my hear (for they shall strive in vain)
His wonted place shall CANDIDUS retain.
If manly sense, if an extensive mind,
Unsway'd by prejudice, and unconfin'd;
A judgment happy to decide with skill;
But mild and open to conviction still;
A voice in polish'd numbers taught to roll,
Whose accents waft the music of the soul;
An honest heart, a temper that can learn
To love mankind, and to be lov'd in turn;
If sentiments humane, combined with these,
May challenge merit, and expect to please,
Of gentle manners, affable and free,
The praise, O CANDIDUS, is due to thee.

No more frequented by festive bands,
Behold yon solitary mansion stands.
There fair ARDELLA tripp'd along the vale,
Her auburn tresses floating in the gale,
Sweet as the favorite offspring of the May,
Serenely mild, and innocently gay:
ARDELLA, once so cheerful and so blest,
Now, by Misfortune's iron hand, opprest.
Methinks I see the solitary maid
Pensive beneath the spreading cedar's shade,
No soothing friend, no voice of comfort near,
Heave the big sigh, and shed the silent tear.
"Awake to consolation, nor repine,
Because the sorrows of to-day are thine:
In air let sublunary cares be hurl'd,
And look exulting to a better world;
Triumphant virtue there shall bear the say,
And life thee far above the solar ray."

Beneath my bending eye, serenely neat,
Appears my ever-blest parental seat.
Far in the font the level lawn extends,
The zephyrs play, the nodding cypress bends;
A little hillock stands on either side,
O'erspread with evergreens, the garden's pride.
Promiscuous here appears the blushing rose,
The guava flourishes, the myrtle grows,
Upon the surface earth-born woodbines creep,
O'er the green beds the painted 'sturtians peep,
Their arms aloft triumphal lilacs bear,
And jessamines perfume the ambient air.
The whole is from an eminence display'd,
Where the brown olive lends his pensive shade.
When zephyrs there the noon-tide heat assuage,
Oft have I turn'd the meditative page,
And calmly read the ling'ring hours away,
Securly shelter'd from the blaze of the day.
At eve refresh'd, I trod the mazy walk, 
And bade the minutes pass in cheerful talk,
With many a joke my brothers wou'd assail,
Or cheer my sisters with the comic tale;
While both fond parents pleas'd, the group survey'd,
Attentive heard, and smil'd at all they said.

Thrice happy seat! here once were centered all
That bind my heart to this terrestrial ball;
The sight of these each gloomy thought destroys,
And ties my soul to sublunary joys!

Ye pow'rs supreme, who rule the spangled sky,
On whose protection firmly they rely,
Grant them each bliss the fertile mind can form,
And lift them high above Misfortune's storm!

But hark! I see them to the green repair,
To taste the sweets of the refreshing air;
Descend, my soul, on airy pinions light,
The circle join, and feat thy gladden'd sight.

Hail ever-honor'd authors of my birth,
The poor's assistants, and the friends of worth!
My best of brothers, hail! companion dear,
Unshaken friend and partner of my care!
My sisters too! transported let me gaze
And bless the sweet'ners of my former days!
A long lost wand'rer to your arms receive,
Soothe all his sorrows, and his cares relieve.

How incomplete is east terrestrial joy,
Where disappointments all our hopes destroy!
Tow other sons shou'd in the circle stand!
For these, alas! I search a distant land;
Lament them gone, an honour to their race,
And with a sigh behold their vacant place.

Tho' CAROLINA, skill'd in social lore,
with open arms receiv'd me to her shore;
Altho' her sons, an hospitable band,
Have hail'd me welcome to their fertile land,
And, giving all the friendly heart can give,
Bade their remembrance in my bosom live;
Tho' (thanks to all my guardian powers!) there
I found a brother and a friend sincere;
Still, for 'tis natural, affection's tide
Flows where my honour'd parents yet reside.

For every blotted be the fatal day
That tore me from their circling arms away,
When the tall ship, regardless of my pain,
Call'd me reluctant to the sounding main;
Aloft her swelling sails triumphant bore,
And left them pensive on the winding shore!

My aged parent's awful voice I hear,
The solemn sound still vibrates in my ear.
"Adieu, my son! with winds propitious go,
Obtain what knowledge travel can bestow;
Thy neighbour's friend, an enemy to strife,
Uprightly tread the mazy path of life;
Let honour's rules they ev'ry act control,
Nor suffer vice to bend thy stubborn soul.
Shou'd sovereign Gold, the tyrant of mankind,
Attempt from justice to divert thy mind;
Exulting still prefer the frugal crust,
And spurn with high contempt, the guilty dust.
Let all the frowns of Fortune be defy'd,
Virtue thy friend, and Providence thy guide!"