Religion and Ancestors

So lately, I have been fascinated with telling you about my skull fetish. I have read over and over about the Native Americans had a  fascination with crystal skulls. It was more than that to them. Crystals have vibrations of their own, and we are made of the same elements as the crystals. We can feel the energy within the crystals. It really makes sense to me. Rocks and gemstones of various colors and properties have different types of energy that we feel. We know for sure that colors of gemstones effect how we feel. We know for sure that stones are used in computers and watches. They have power, and in the form of a skull is a reflection of us as humans. We have taken something from nature and manipulated it into something that we can identify with, ourselves.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be examining this subject in more depth. Bringing information to you that at least will illuminate the subject of skulls and their place in art, symbolism, and rituals.

I am not sure if Joseph Sparrowhawk knew of or related to crystal skulls, but I do know that he had a deep appreciation for nature. He believed that kindness and tolerance go a long way in society. I too believe in more than one religion above it all. If a religion is GOOD to other people it really does not matter to me what or who they worship. It is about the goodness of their heart. We as human beings have come a long way, and we have more in common with each other than differences. Sure, we are individuals, but we are a community of people that have more love for each other than distain. Kindness goes a long way, rather to our fellow humans, animals, trees, plants or insects. Do something nice today for something or someone! You will feel great!

Thank you Joseph Sparrowhawk and Sarah Persinger for helping me be who I am.

Joseph Sparrowhawk and Sarah Persinger 4

Sarah and Joseph had several children. In the state of Virginia at the time it was against the law to marry a Native American. Native people were not even considered human beings. White or Black were the only classifications. If a person was Mulatto, the person was an outcast. They were in neither class. Sarah had several Mulatto children, and they were taken away from her. The state of Virginia took her to court, and wanted to know who the father of the children was. She would not tell them. The children were considered wards of Overseers of the Poor. Andrew was the brother of Sarah, so he ended up taking the children. Interestingly enough while the children were in the Overseer of the Poor they were considered Mulatto, but once they were moved into the house of Andrew they were considered White. I am sure this made their lives a little easier, but they were still Mulatto to some people.

Sarah married another man later in life, and Joseph had to walk the Trail of Tears with two of the children he and Sarah shared. The two children were darker complected and Sarah and Joseph thought it would be too difficult for them to be considered White. Joseph died in Oklahoma, and Sarah stayed in Virginia.

Families Happy Easter

This is an actual Marriage Certificate. The Bible that this come from is HUGE. The Maxon family took this Bible to the Church to have it signed. George Washington Maxon is proclaiming Ida E. Bailey as his wife. Both of them are from Blackstone, Mass. Married May, 20th 1886. These people are not part of my family. I bought this Catholic Bible about 10 years ago on ebay. I loved the art that was in it. There is also a four leaf clover and another leaf of some kind. I have left them on the page that the family added them to since it may be special to that family. I have wanted to share this for a long time. Since this Bible is leather and the cover is a little lose I keep it covered in a plain white sheet so the pages wont become damaged by the sun.

There are some other family pages in the Bible, and if there is an interest I will share them. For now, here are some of the reasons why I bought this one in the first place...

This is a pledge that no one in the family signed. It is about drinking alcoholic beverages.

Here is the cover, and you can see the Stainless Steel hinges that keep it closed. I am not selling this Bible. I just want to share this family information, since it may be important to someone out there. I love doing family research myself, and hope that if someone out there had information to share they would do the same.

If you happen to know Maxon families from Blackstone, Mass this may be their family.

Joseph Sparrowhawk and Sarah III

Joseph Sparrowhawk was not comfortable living in a house. Sarah Persinger Sparrowhawk live in a cabin. Joseph and Sarah would often visit the Cherokee village that Joseph was from, and often Joseph would go off to hunt and Sarah would stay home. 

There were times that Sarah would play the stick game with the others in the Cherokee village. It has been said that Sarah was really good at the stick game (we call it lacrosse now). Sarah enjoyed hunting with Joseph too. One story that I am familiar with went a little something like this...

Sarah's mom was working in the vegetable garden saw only figures of two people walking toward her. Since they were in the sun she knew that the two were dressed in the Native way. She saw that one of the figures were carrying something. As the figures got closer she finally saw that it was Sarah and Joseph. Sarah had a deer over her shoulders. Sarah greeted her mom, and showed off her deer. How did Sarah kill the deer. Joseph told her that Sarah finally learned how to stand as silent as a tree. Sarah had always had a jaw that did not waver. Soon the brothers of Sarah show up to see her with her deer. They teased her about her hunt, and she was not going to take being teased. She told them to set up some apples and she would show them how good she was with a bow and arrow. The boys set up some apples. She missed the first one, but got the second one square in the middle. Joseph was so proud he cheered for her. 

Once Sarah was pregnant she could no longer enjoy as much hunting. Often Joseph was gone. As Sarah got closer to her date of possible delivery a family member would go to check on her. During the delivery of her first she was all alone in her cabin. Just as the head came out one of her brothers just arrived. He helped her as she gave birth. The first baby she named Gabriel after the Angel since she believed that it was Heaven that sent her brother to the cabin at that time. She wasn't done. One more child...this explains so much she said...I wondered why I was so big and so uncomfortable...I was carrying twins all this time. 

Next time I will tell you what becomes of her children.

Joseph Sparrowhawk and Sarah II

The father of Sarah was Jacob Persinger. Jacob was one of the Scottish men that moved into the area of Virginia where Cherokee People had been living for thousands of years. A village of Cherokee people became fond of Jacob, and he of the village people.

A family that he knew lived near the home of Jacob. The Cherokee family lived in a cabin in the woods. One night the family was being harassed by some men that were not friendly with the Native People, and believed that somehow they were superior to the Native People. The men gathered the family, and shot them, and then burned the house down. The men did not know that the ten year old girl was outside. The men spotted her and ran after her. The rowdy noise of the men and fire caught the attention of Jacob and another neighbor. The men rode to the cabin where the family lived. They heard a shot ring into the air. The little girl had been shot in the back. Jacob and his neighbor quickened the step of their horses, they found the girl. She was bleeding heavily. She was still alive. Jacob picked her up and pressed the wound closed. The neighbor got as close to the fire of the cabin as he could. The family had already died in the flames. Jacob took off with the girl for his home. The neighbor rode to the home of the Doctor. The Doctor refused to come to help an Indian girl. Jacob and his family did all they could. The little girl lived for 12 days, but passed away with a fever. Jacob and his family made a tribute to the family. He wanted everyone to know what happened at that cabin should not happen again.

Joseph would never feel comfortable living in a house. It is said that he often thought of a house as a four wall cage. He would stay with Sarah sometimes in the cabin that Sarah lived, but he would never stay long. Sarah understood this, and let Joseph be Joseph. Joseph was from the bird family of the Cherokee people and he needed to feel his freedom. Sarah loved him, and loved seeing him happy. There was the one time of her first pregnancy that she wished he was there with her. (That story will have to wait until next time,)

Sarah meets Joseph Sparrowhawk

Sarah Persinger goes out into the woods. She is familiar with the woods since often it is her playground. She likes the solitude, but also knowing that there are others in the woods with her. Where Sarah lives in Virginia are many known Cherokee villages. Her family often has associated with the Natives of the area from the time the Persingers came into the area. Her family has always been on friendly terms. The family knows and respects the Native people.

As Sarah is walking around in the woods she come across a beautiful man. Tall, with long silky black hair, beautiful sand colored skin. He goes about his business of cooking up a little rabbit that he has hunted. As the rabbit cooks...Sarah moves in closer for a better view. Joseph tells her "I could hear your footsteps long before I saw you." Sarah says nothing, but just longingly adores the beautiful man that is sitting before her. Instead of waiting for him to ask she tears a little bit of the rabbit off for herself. He then says " I was going to ask you if you wanted some for yourself." She replied "I know, I could just tell that you were going to offer some for me." He asked her "Why are you out in the woods alone?" She tells him bravely "I am not out here all alone, I am here with you." He asked her "You are not afraid?" I am not afraid! What do I have to fear? My father wants me to find a husband, so I came to the woods looking for you. He is a little puzzled...You were looking for me? He asked. Yes! She said...I had to find you so I could take you back with me to meet my family. He just laughed. What makes you think I am going to come back with you? He asked her...I just know in my heart that you are the one I have been seeking with my heart.

For the next three weeks the two lived in the woods together. He showed her how to hunt with a bow and arrow. He taught her how to be as quiet as a tree in the woods. He took her to the spring that had the sweetest water that she had ever tasted. They canoed in the lake, and caught fish together. He took her to the village where his family lived, and she played a ball game with all the others there. He was impressed with how well she could play ball. The people of the village loved her, and the two of them loved each other. She took Joseph back with her to meet her family. The Persinger family loved him, and they told him that if the two of them wanted to live in the cabin that they were free to do so. It was against the law for the two of them to be married as husband and wife in the eyes of Virginia. They were married to the Persingers and to the Cherokee village that Joseph was a part.

Sarah would often stay in the cabin while Joseph went off to hunt. He was uncomfortable living in a house with four walls because of a story that he was told. (I will share it next week)

Sarah (Sallie) Persinger

This is the Persinger home that the State of Virginia may save. The application process is going on right now, so I am not sure about the approval date.

Sallie was on of 10 children. She was born in 1790, and times were very different back then. The children all helped when it came time to any of the chores. Laundry was done by hand, and everyone tried to keep the clothes as clean as they could. It would be several days before things were washed.

Children were schooled by the family Bible. Learning how to read, and write, and sewing for the girls. Chicken, cows, sheep, were kept around as long as they could keep them. Chickens give eggs, cows give milk, and sheep give wool. Pigs were slaughtered once a year. They ate the leftovers, and gave meat when they were large enough. The whole pig was eaten, no left over parts. Everything was precious.

One day when Sarah was 14 it was her turn to clean out the barn. She was known to have what was referred to as the "eye", meaning that she had flashes of what the future would bring. She told everyone that she did not want to clean the barn. Crying about doing her job. Her other brothers and sisters just thought she wanted to get out of doing her work.

She somehow talked her self into going out to get the job done. She worked hard, went to go get some cool, sweet water, then back to work. She was working at making a nice bed for her favorite horse that was out running the field.

A man come to the door of the Persingers on this hot day. He asked if he could have some work to make some money. Mrs. Persinger said she would give him some food for helping to clean out the barn with their daughter. The man finds his way out to the barn.

Sarah is working hard as she hears the cicadas in the trees. The strange man enters the barn, and she barely sees him out of the corner of her eye when he is on top of her. He rapes her beating her over and over. He finally finishes his terror on this sweet young girl. She gets up out of the hay and walks to the pitch fork. She jabs him in the gut with the pitch fork over and over again. She stabs him so many times with the pitch fork that the tinges bend, she struggles to get the pitch fork out of his lifeless body. She then turns the pitch fork around and beats him in the face with the other end of the pitch fork.

She walks outside the barn dripping in the blood of the terrorist. She allows herself long blood boiling scream, as she bends her knees and falls to the ground.

The family comes running out from every direction. They check Sarah from head to toe to make sure it was not her blood. They look in the barn to find the mangled body of the horrid animal that stole the innocence from a girl. This woman now needs the comfort of her family. Sarah tells them how he defiled her, and they gather in a circle to discuss what they need to get done. Sarah is taken in the house. The boys all agree that there is no way the authorities will understand what Sarah did. The authorities will blame Sarah.

The boys go back in the barn, everyone picks up a limb. The man that came seeking food and trouble was burned in the woods. No trace has ever been found of the man.

Sarah made a recovery. Two years later her father asked her if she was ready for a courting one of the many men that asked about her. Sarah wanted something different. She took off for the woods, she was gone for three weeks.  (More next week)

Minerva Jane Snodgrass

This is a copy of a painting that I have of my great grandmother Minerva Jane Snodgrass. I found Minerva because this is a family name. Her father had a sister named Minerva Jane. His sister died while they were very young. I found the information through the county they lived.  There were will records too, and all on line. My Aunt had this painting, and made a copy for me. The only real personal information I know about Minerva was that she and her sister, Mary had a double wedding. Her mother had a very unusual name America Adkins.

TIPS There are a lot of family groups out there, so if you are looking for people that are from another country start out by goggling your family name.  I found some of the information about Minerva through the county they were from, Cabel County. As I said before there are many counties out there that have a lot of information about their county.

After I found Minerva Jane I knew the first one I found was not the one I was looking for, but they were related. I posted info on Rootsweb, and one of the people e-mailed me to let me know that there was a society that researched the Snodgrass line in Scotland. I found the society, and Sue helped me find the census and more will information.

You may also get lucky with the finding a book all about your family line. I have a cousin that is mailing me some photos of other family members that I have never seen photos of thus far, so I can't wait to share them with you once I have them. Was that a run on sentence?