King Henry VIII Armour

Photo of armour made for King Henry VIII around 1545 which was made by the Master Armourer, Erasmus Kyrkener and my 15th great grandfather.

Erasmus often referred to as Asymus was one of King Henry VIII's favorite workmen.

What talent, Erasmus!

 

 

 

 

Erasmus Kyrkener - The Clarke of the Armoury 

What's in a Name

There are many meanings behind the names we are given.

My name broken down is:

Autumn = my mom’s favorite season

Lorraine = named after my grandmother (a line of ancestry that is from Lorraine, France)

Baccelli = the pod of leguminous plants

I decided to adopt a Hebrew name. My Hebrew name is:

Bathshua  ( בַּת־שׁ֫וּעַ ) = I chose this name for several reasons, but I will list only two of them for now. My 9th great grandmothers name. Her line connects to my Magna Carta lines.

Washington's Prayer for the Nation

Keeping America Strong........ God Bless America
Copy of a military artillery chapel handout during 1949

The Magic of DNA Testing and Never Giving Up

A long time family mystery of Francisco Baccelli was finally solved on December 16, 2014 with an old time photo and a DNA test. This was truly a Christmas miracle.  

I have been researching my Baccelli line for a very long time. I pretty much exhausted all records in the U.S.A and did a lot of research on Italians in Sacramento. I was pretty sure that not only did Francisco come from northern Italy, but from Lucca, Italy. It was just weird that there was another Baccelli that appeared in Sacramento right before my great grandfather died. They were the only two Baccelli’s in the Sacramento area.

All the records I obtained on Francisco’s associates all came from Lucca, Italy, but I just couldn’t find the link for Francisco. I searched many church records in some towns in the Lucca area, but wasn’t able to find Francisco. I tried all kinds of research strategies and even got very creative with my research. I ended up finding all 13 children that Francisco and Inez had.

I came across some old photos of Francisco’s children. One, in particular had a very distinct look which stood out. I then came across an online photo of another Baccelli tree that just happened to have a photograph that looked identical to Francisco’s son. After making contact with the Baccelli tree owner he agreed to DNA testing. After several months of waiting the results finally came in and he was a match. Knowing that his Baccelli ancestors were from Lucca, Italy a search was conducted in the same township where his ancestors were from and Francisco’s baptismal record was found and down came the wall and the line was moved back to the late 1600s.

This wouldn’t have been possible without that old time photo and DNA testing. I want to thank my new found cousin, John for taking the DNA test and for having that particular photo online. I also want to thank my other cousin, Danny for checking the microfilm for the township in Lucca and pulling the baptismal record and for helping get Francisco’s line moved further back. I also want to thank my second cousin, Elwood Greer for giving me those old photos and especially my brother, Brent for doing a DNA test.

Never give up on an ancestral line you want to solve. You might have a strong brick wall, but with patience and creative research you can knock that wall down. It took me and many of my older family members many years of research and now the wall has finally fallen.

Did you know that....

One of the earliest guns was called a blunderbuss which came from the Dutch word “donderbus” which means “thunder (donder) pipe (bus)”.  This was because this old fashion gun had a bell shaped muzzle. Several bullets were loaded into the gun through the muzzle at the same time. When the trigger was pulled the bullets scattered widely. The blunderbuss was best used for short range and was very effective because bullets were sure to hit the target.

The blunderbuss was used by early American Colonists, especially the Puritans.

 

 



Fourth of July Celebration

Today is a day to honor and give thanks to those who fought and died during the American Revolutionary War and during the War of 1812.

We gained our independence from the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and then we secured our independence through the War of 1812 (1812-1815).  Both these wars played a vital role to our independence.

The American Revolutionary War began as a civil war and then escalated into a world war.  It was at the end of 1775 that our Patriot militia had full control in all thirteen colonies and it was on July 4, 1776 that America declared her independence.  

The War of 1812 was essential and crucial for America and it was through this war that America confirmed and secured her independence.

      Our national anthem was adopted by congress in 1931 from the poem created by Francis Scott  

      Key on September 14, 1814 as he witnessed the attack of Fort McHenry.

 

      I'd like to thank our heroes for everything they did and all of their sacrifices. I'm proud to be an 

     American and happy to know that some of my ancestors served our country in these testing times.

 

 

     Link to hear our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner:

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwxv-EZpb7U&feature=youtu.be

 

 

     Link to The Star-Spangled Banner lyrics and sheet music:

     http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/the-lyrics.aspx