National History Day 2014

Hey there everybody!

I’m sorry that my blog has been silent since Christmas. But that's because I've been working on my National History Day project for 2014. This year I am working alone. (Will decided to take the year off.) This year, the theme is: "Rights and Responsibilities". My topic is 'The Right of Fallen Soldiers to Come Home, and the United States' Responsibility to Bring Home the Fallen.' Below is my thesis paragraph:

The United States has not always held the same respect for its fallen that it has today. Up until the Civil War, soldiers were buried where they fell, and, unless they had some sort of ID on them, they were unidentified. Slowly, our respect for our fallen countryman has grown. Perhaps it is because we understand, that instead of fighting in a royal army, named after a monarch, our soldiers fight as the United States of America. And America is all of us. We the People send our young men off into war to protect us and our liberties. Many give the ultimate sacrifice so that we may stay free. It is their right to come home; they have given the ultimate sacrifice. They have payed for that right with their lives. Now it is our responsibility to ensure that they receive that right. It is our responsibility to give our war dead an honored welcome home. We are one of the only nations in the world that feels this responsibility. The United States follows honors this responsibility in numerous ways. Today, the Joint Mortuary Affairs Command (JMAC) brings home the dead just a day or two after they have fallen. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)  brings home the fallen from past wars. It is in this way that our nation honors the dead, and brings them home. It is their right, and our responsibility.

So that is my NHD project for this year! I am wrapping up my research, and will begin making the documentary before long. I have several major interviews coming up that I'm really excited about! Once I finish competition, I will post the documentary here. I will continue to post updates as I continue to work! Thanks for reading everyone!

JM

The Christmas Blogging Bash: The Mystery of the Magi

Hello Everyone!
Due to popular demand, the Christmas Blogging Bash is back! This year, a couple of people will be doing a blog post. At the bottom of this post, you will find links to their posts. However, you need to read this post first!

This year, my topic is the Mystery of the Magi. So here we go.
While there is a lot of tradition around the Magi, I'm going to try to avoid that and just state what we know, and what we suspect. 

What is a Magi Anyhow?
First of all, the word Magi is kind of made up. The word in Greek means astrologers, or magicians that watch and predict the future. But who wants to say that instead of being visited by kings, Jesus was visited by a bunch of geeky astrologers who were the leaders of a cult! So they just took an old French term that meant 'the magicians' and dropped the end of it, making the word Magi. Some versions also say Wise Men, which is probably a better translation, but less magnificent sounding.

Who Were the Magi?
The Wise Men were astrologers, or people who watched the stars. They were probably a part of the far eastern cult Zoroastrianism. This brings up an interesting question; Did God use astrology to announce the birth of Jesus? The answer is yes. God sent the message to the Magi using the stars. The Magi tell Herod such in Matthew 2:2, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Italics added by me). God can sometimes use evil practices to show people the truth, but that's a whole other post. 

What Were Their Names and Where did They Come From?
While we don't know the names of the Magi, how many there were, or exactly where they came from, we can make an educated guess. The Greek word used is generally used when referring to China or India. However, Isaiah writes in chapter 60 that "Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense." This chapter is generally seen as a prophecy about Jesus coming back to earth. The reference to Sheba is interesting, because in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, Sheba refers to Ethiopia. Now, that is a long way from China! So it seems like the Magi actually came from different parts of the world, and actually met in Jerusalem! That is a miracle within itself. That three different men from different parts of the world would all see the same star and then come to Jerusalem to worship him and then meet is simply miraculous. According to tradition, the other Magi was from Persia, but I can find no evidence of this. 

When Did They Come?
According to Matthew, the Magi came and visited Jesus while he was living in a house; "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother..." So, he was not still in the manger as many images and nativities show today. Jesus was between 41 days and 2 years old when the magi arrived. Jesus was taken to the temple to be dedicated after Mary's 40 day period of uncleanliness was over.The magi had to have come after Jesus' presentation in the temple, that is, after Jesus was 40 days old. Why? Because, Matthew tells us that after the magi departed, an angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt, because Herod would try to kill Jesus. According to Scripture, Joseph, Mary and Jesus left that very night and went to Egypt. This would have left no time for the presentation in the temple, which we know happened. To see when Jesus was born, please read this article that I wrote last year. Basically, The Magi came sometime after 6 B.C. but before 4 B.C.


What Did They Bring and Why?


Everyone knows the Magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but what is the significance of that? Actually, there is a lot of significance. In the ancient times, gold was only given to kings. Thus, the gift of gold to baby Jesus was quite an astonishing thing. It was a less then subtle hint as to what the Magi believed about Jesus. Frankincense was used as a perfume, and an expensive one at that. Myrrh was used for medicinal purposes, and was believed to be able to cure many diseases. These were all very expensive gifts, and were only given to the most important of people. Tradition says that Mary and Joseph sold the gifts to finance their time in Egypt!

Why Does It Matter?
Now you've read the rest of the post and you're thinking, "Interesting, but why do I care?" And that's hard question. Why do the Magi matter? Well they matter in three ways:
1. They financed the trip to Egypt that save Jesus and fulfilled a prophecy,
2. They fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah 60
3. The main significance of the Magi is that God so wonderfully revealed the identity of Jesus as Messiah and King of the Jews to these Gentile Magi. (And to the rest of us who aren't Jewish and are considered Gentiles.) It seems to be a wonderful fulfillment of the prophet Simeon's prophecy, that Jesus would be, "a light of revelation to the Gentiles" Luke 2:31.


Thanks for Reading!
JM


Here are the links to my friends' posts for the Christmas Blogging Bash:

Hannah posted about Christmas Traditions, Ellen posted about Christmas Recipes, Caleb posted about Desperation for Christmas, and Spencer posted about Old Testament Prophecies and New Testament Fulfillment.


Bibliography:
The Holy Bible
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midian
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/why-did-the-magi-bring-gold-frankincense-and-myrrh/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/bible-scholar-brent-landau-asks-%E2%80%9Cwho-were-the-magi%E2%8
Dr. Eric Smith Prof. Old Testament
http://www.orlutheran.com/html/magifaq.html

John Patrick McQuillan

John Patrick McQuillan
July 8th 1949 - November 30th 2013
My Grandpa.

He will be sorely missed.

Rest In Peace.

JM

JFK: A Tribute

50 years ago, today, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. It is still debated who did it, and with what, but that's not what this article is about. While I may not have agreed with President Kennedy on many of his policies, that's not what I want to discuss here. Instead, I would like to give a tribute the President. His death changed our nation, for better or for worse, forever.Kennedy was intelligent, good looking, and he had charisma. Yet, like all of us, he was a fallen man, and his life reflects that. But during his presidency, he had numerous achievements, as well as decisions that would change the world, I will just mention a few.

Kennedy's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
                   Stopped a crisis the would probably have lead to a nuclear war.
Kennedy's Atmospheric Nuclear Test Ban
                  Stopped nuclear testing in the atmosphere
Kennedy's encouraging of the NASA and the Space Race
                  Helped start and continue the Moon program as well as the space race.
Kennedy's Work with the Civil Right Movement
                 Laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Kennedy's Treaty with Israel
                  Laid the groundwork for today's friendship with Israel

Rest In Peace John Fitzgerald Kennedy 

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/cvplive/cvpstream1.html

To Late To Apologize.... Founding Fathers Style

Hello everyone!
 This is one of my favorite music videos of all time. It is a parody on the Song 'To late to Apologize' by One Republic and Timbaland. And it is hilarious. The basis is that the Founding Fathers said 'its to late to apologize' to King George III. The ending is a little weird, but it is still hilarious! Enjoy.

Thanks for reading!
JM

The Story of George Saltzman

Hello everyone!
 While I was looking through some new Myers family history documents, I stumbled upon an amazing story of a family ancestor named George Saltzman. He was the brother of my Great great great great great great great Grandfather Anthony Saltzman.

Before I get into the story, I would like to say that the research in this story was not done by me, but rather by a distant relative by the name of Norman Myers. His hobby was genealogy, and he traveled the world (Quite literally) looking for Myers ancestors and their records. When he died, he left behind mountains of research, most of which has never been published or shared. He intended to write a book, but died before he got to it. I have received bits and pieces of his work, but I have never read it all. All that to say, I would like to thank Norman and his nephew, Alan Caldwell, for researching, discovering, and then sharing this information.

We don't know exactly when George Saltzman was born. What we do know is that he came from Germany to America in 1751 with his family. The family settled in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. When George came of age, he moved several miles north of the family onto his own farm. There is no evidence that he ever married or that he left behind any direct descendants.

On June 14, 1775 the Continental Congress authorized formation of six companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania.  John Adams, in a letter to his wife, spoke of the vote to raise ten companies of southern riflemen.  These men were described for their “skillful use of a peculiar kind of musket, called a rifle.”

General Washington daily expected the arrival of the “Rifle Companies” which used the deadly rifle.  This weapon was almost unknown to the New Englanders but the Pennsylvania gunsmiths had for a number of years been making the weapon.  It differed from the musket in that spiral grooves within the barrel caused the ball to spin making it accurate.  The piece of greased leather around the ball clung to the rifle barrel holding in all the expanding gas.  In addition to increasing the accuracy, this expanded the range. 

One of these rifle companies was commanded by Captain John Lowdon of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  Most of the members of this company were sworn in on June 29, 1775.  On July 1, 1775 George Saltzman enlisted at Derr’s Mill in the company commanded by Captain Lowdon which was within Colonel William Thompson’s Battalion of Riflemen.  


In late July of 1775, the regiment moved out and marched to Boston. There, they were attached to the Second Regiment of the Army of the Colonies. They were involved in several small skirmishes in Massachusetts, current day Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

After his stint in northern New England, he was moved to Long Island, and fought there at the Battle of Long Island. After the Americans lost this battle, the Continental Army retreated through New York, New Jersey, and then Pennsylvania.  On October 16, 1776 on a clothing account at Philadelphia, George Saltzman drew one jacket, one pair of britches, one shirt, one pair of shoes, one pair of stockings, and one blanket.  He was a member of Captain James Parr’s Company at that time with the documents endorsed to show it was part of Colonel Hand’s Regiment. This was the last official surviving record of George Saltzman. However, he is not believed to have died right after that. In fact, a record in Clinton County dated 1779 says that he didn't die (Or at least, that no word of his death came until) until 1778 or 79. He is believed to have continued fighting all the way through the autumn of 1777 and perhaps longer.


This is where the story gets interesting. Not long after Saltzman drew his last consignment of clothes, Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River. Captain James Parr's company was not only there, but, according to records and accounts of the battle, played a key part in taking Trenton and then later Princeton. After these battles, they were attached to the army of Daniel Morgan, (Ironically another of our ancestors, but that's a story for another day.) and moved to upper New York. 


That autumn, (1777) the 1st and 2nd battles of Saratoga occurred. Many of you know the basic outline of the battle, but for the sake of clarity, I will write a quick summary. British General Burgyone was trying to capture Albany, New York. The American army of Horatio Gates, Benedict Arnold, and Daniel Morgan stood in their way. The British tried to break through on September 19th, but the battle ended in a draw, with both sides withdrawing from the field with numerous casualties. However, Burgyone was determined to get to Albany. So on October 7th, he sent one of his subordinates, General Simon Frasier to try and break through the American line. It is here that my ancestor comes into play. The tide of the battle was just starting to swing to the British, and the Americans began to panic. American Captain James Parr recognized the signs of defeat, and decided to do something drastic to stop it. He sent sniper Timothy Murphy of the Pennsylvania Rifle Company up a huge tree, and told him to shoot down the British. Murphy decided to aim big. He searched for General Frasier himself. He found him and then, at a distance of 300 yards, he shot him dead. Many historians believe that shot to be the turning point in the War. The British panicked and ran, and the Americans pursued. Just a few days later, Burgyone surrendered. He lost most of his 7,000 troops in the surrender, a massive amount in those days. The awesome thing is, George Saltzman was in the same company as Timothy Murphy and probably at the base of the tree when Frasier was shot. Just to think that I had relative there to witness that moment is awesome. I have read and studied so much about that war, that battle, that moment, and yet I never ever suspected that I had a close relative who witnessed it. 


This story has a sad and a happy ending. The sad thing is that Saltzman disappeared not long after that. Family tradition says that he was killed by Indians in a skirmish just after the Battle of Saratoga. While there is no evidence that that is true, the family probably got that story from one of the soldiers who did make it home from the Pennsylvania Sharp Shooters, and therefore, it is the most likely ending. The happy ending, is that Saltzman did not die in vain. The United States continued on, and won against unthinkable odds and became its own sovereign country. It continues on today.

George Saltzman has an unblemished military record. He was a man who gave everything he loved for the love of his country. He gave his life so that we could live free. I hope that his memory will never be forgotten. Thanks for reading.


JM