No comments about Cavaliers and Pioneers : Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666.

4 comments about Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia.

1. A product of a decade of dedicated research, "Staff Officers in Gray" is an essential reference for historians, genealogists and the "just plain curious" concerning themselves with the Confederate Army. It is not limited to the Army of Northern Virginia, but includes Krick's gleanings from records dealing with other Confederate armies and other generals, as well as several rare illustrations. Excellent introductory essay is itself worth the price of admission. Super.



2. Bob Krick--the son, not the father--has proven himself a worthy successor to his father. In this extraordinarily useful work, Bob Krick has given us a volume every bit as useful as his father's earlier landmark work, _Lee's Colonels_. In this work, Krick provides us with informative capsule biographies of the many staff officers who played an important role in the Civil War, and photos of many are also provided.

   I wish someone would do the Union equivalent to this book.




3. The older I get. the more I realize that the only history that really counts is "useable history". Readers want to know how history touches them. They want to know the people, places and ideas close to them. That is a start. Krick gives us a genealogical smorgasbord of the best and brightest young men of the southern states during the Civil War. Do you want to understand the Confederacy? Flip through this book and see that excellent minds served the South as well as the North. This is a deeply researched, unbiased presentation of facts that will help both genealogists and Civil War historians for decades to come.



4. This is an impressive and useful book. Mr. Krick's efforts to compile information regarding the staff officers of the Army of Northern Virginia are thorough and explanatory. However, I am left wanting an index, so that I would be able to search for specific Regiments, as I am currently doing regimental research.

1 comments about The Melungeons: Notes on the Origin of a Race.

1. This is a concise yet complete history of a little-known people. She brings compassion and humanity to this group, and gives them a place in history. An enjoyable, educational book that should not be limited to those of us who grew up in this region.

1 comments about Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1624/25: Families R-z.

1. FAMILIES (R-Z)
   Reynolds, Robins, Rolfe, Rookings, Royall, St. Leger, Salter-Weld, Savage, Scarburgh, Sharp, Sharp-Baugh, Sheppey, Slaughter, Smith (Arthur), Smith (Richard), Smith (Roger) , Southey-Harmar-Littleton, Spencer, Stephens, Strachey, Swann, Tatum, Taylor-Cary, Thorowgood, Tooke, Townshend, Trussell, Utie, Utie-Bennett, Vassall, Waters, West, West (Anthony), Whiting, Wilkins, Williams, Willoughby, Wood, Woodhouse, Woodliffe, Woodson, Woodward, Wroughton, Wyatt, Yeardley, Zouche
   
   The final volume of the most important work ever to appear on Virginia genealogy!
   
   This is the third and final volume of the legendary Adventurers of Purse and Person, a monumental compendium of genealogies of the founders of Virginia during the formative period 1607-1625 and the culmination of more than twenty-five years of research by the widely respected Virginia genealogist John Frederick Dorman.
   
   It contains accounts of forty-six pre-1625 Virginia settlers or members of the Virginia Company of London whose families later came to the colony, with thirty-six of them traced to the sixth generation. Individuals ranging from R-Z (Reynolds to Zouche) identified in the work must have been resident in Virginia during the period 1607-1624/25 or members of the Virginia Company of London in order to be designated "adventurers," and it is their descendants alone who qualify for membership in one of the most distinguished hereditary societies in America, the Order of First Families of Virginia. Adventurers of Purse and Person is their story, a collection of genealogies of all adventurers with proven descents into the sixth generation.
   
   Prepared under the auspices of the Order of First Families of Virginia to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, this new edition of Adventurers of Purse and Person extends the lines of descent of the founding families documented in previous editions from four generations to six, bringing most families down to the Revolutionary or early Federal periods. The purpose of the work is to establish descents of the approximately 150 individuals who can be identified as (1) Adventurers of Purse (i.e. stockholders in the Virginia Company of London who either came to Virginia in the period 1607-1625 and had descendants, or who did not come to Virginia during that period but whose grandchildren were resident there); or (2) Adventurers of Person, 1607-1625 (i.e., immigrants to Virginia who left descendants).
   
   The foundation of the work is the famous "Muster" of 1624-25---essentially a census taken by the Royal Commission which succeeded the Virginia Company to determine the extent and composition of the Jamestown settlements. In the Muster, which is reproduced in entirety in Volume One, the name of each colonist appears with the location of his home and the number in his family, together with information about his stock of food, his supply of arms and ammunition, his boats, houses, and livestock. In all, about 1,200 persons are named in the Muster, of whom approximately 150 are shown in this work to have left descendants to the sixth generation.
   
   In addition to the Muster, this work builds on the investigations of dozens of scholars, correcting, revising, and supplementing the best genealogical scholarship of the past half century. New discoveries, newly available information, and a further reevaluation of evidence concerning previously accepted relationships have led, in some instances, to wholesale changes in the accepted genealogies. In consequence, this fourth edition brings together the results of all the most recent scholarship on these families, expanding the limits of what is presently known and opening up possibilities for research beyond the sixth generation.
   
   In the Foreword to this volume, Carter Branham Snow Furr, President of the Order of First Families of Virginia, writes: "Thanks go to those earlier genealogists and researchers as well as to those who assisted our current genealogist in his research. Mr. John Frederick Dorman has labored continuously since the publication of the third edition of 1987 to compile lists of new genealogical lines as well as the massive histories of all six generations, where available. It is he who deserves the ultimate gratitude of our Order and the public for giving us this most complete and comprehensive genealogy of our earliest Virginia ancestors."
   
   HIGHLIGHTS
   
   * Volume Three covers a total of 46 families that were established either by settlers of Virginia prior to 1625 or members of the Virginia Company of London whose descendants came to Virginia later.
   * Of these 46 families, 36 are traced to the sixth generation.
   * Over 6,500 individual descendants resident in Virginia (or subsequently in other states) are identified.
   * Family accounts are supported by nearly 10,000 footnote citations to manuscripts or published records.
   * The index contains 20,000 name, place, and subject entries, many with multiple page citations.

2 comments about Sir Robert Bell and His Early Virginia Colony Descendants: A Compilation of 16th, 17th, and 18th Century English and Scottish Families with the Surname Bell, Beale, le Bel, ... et al..

1. The Book "Sir Robert Bell and His Early Virginia Colony Descendants" is a most throughly researched tome. It is a well written history of this clan of Bells. There are dozens of interesting Maps, Charts, and Photos that augment the history. The time line, "Bell Britain-American History, 1520-1790", is helpful relating a time in history with various Bells on both continents. This book has already helped answer a number of questions I have had in my research, and I'm sure it will be of further use in the months to come. I highly recommend the book for those researching with lineage to Sir Robert Bell.



2. A resource for early English/American geneological research. Great asset, opened a new chapter for us.

1 comments about Kegley's Virginia Frontier: The Beginning of the Southwest. the Roanoke of Colonial Days 1740-1783.

1. With its vast territorial rights and claims, Virginia at one time had the most extensive frontier of any of the original thirteen states and colonies. Moreover, Virginia served as a gateway for the various migrations to the west, northwest, and southwest by early colonists, including the intrepid Scotch-Irish. By far the most authoritative and comprehensive account of the advance of the Virginia frontier in colonial times is Kegley's Virginia Frontier--a mammoth work detailing the social, religious, and family life in Southwest Virginia from 1730 to 1790.
   
   The importance of this extraordinary work to genealogists cannot be overstated. Kegley culled through a multitude of original records to ensure that his work would be the most reliable sourcebook available on this subject. To help the reader understand the migration into this new area, Kegley focuses particularly on the settlers themselves. He identifies each newcomer with his place of settlement, and then examines the pioneer's experiences and subsequent movements, using nearly three dozen maps to show more definitively the location of settlements and important homesteads. More than sixty additional illustrations further enhance and clarify the text.
   
   The narrative is divided into five parts: Part I covers the Virginia frontier from the beginning of the colony to 1740; Part II covers the period from 1740 to 1760; Part III tells the story of the Virginia frontier in the French and Indian War; Part IV covers the closing years of the war and the settlements from 1760 to the organization of Botetourt County in 1770; and Part V details the organization and development of Botetourt County from 1770 to 1783. Throughout each of these parts--in section after section--there are biographical sketches and countless lists of land grants and deeds of conveyance identifying thousands upon thousands of settlers and their family members. This documentary history is without a doubt the premier source of information on the pioneers of the Virginia frontier.
   
   "Henceforth [Kegley's Virginia Frontier] will be regarded and accepted as the one necessary and sufficient corner-stone in any collection of books dealing with the history of the Virginia frontier."--Samuel M. Wilson

4 comments about The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family.

1. This was a very enlightning book about the Lees history. Some very fascinating stories about the lees and their roots



2. "The Lees" tells the story of a remarkable American family from its establishment in Virginia to General Robert E. Lee. It gives us a glimpse into their lives and the stages on which they played.

   One theme which runs through the book was that this family had many failures. Although there were shining lights, such as Richard Henry Lee and Robert E. Lee, the more typical Lee was R.E. Lee's father, Gen. Lighthorse Harry Lee, who squandered his wealth, spent time in debtor's prison and ended his life in flight from his creditors.

   The two leading figures of the family are Richard Henry Lee and Robert E. Lee.

   Richard Henry was one of the leaders of the call for American Independence. As the sponsor of the Independence Resolution, he would have been a natural for the Committee to draft the Declaration. His opponents in the Virginia delegation blocked his appointment, insisting on the conservative Benjamin Harrison. Less conservative delegates blocked Harrison, with Thomas Jefferson being the compromise choice. Oh, how history could have been different! Richard Henry had a long and, on the balance, distinguished career during which he led the "Lee Party" consisting of himself, his brothers and other Lee relatives.

   The coverage of Robert E. Lee amounts to a biography lite, with an emphasis on his involvement in family matters. There are better sources to learn about him.

   Much of the book consists of quotations from letters and the provisions of wills of many people who would have never been mentioned in a book had they not been related to Richard Henry Lee and Robert E. Lee. This makes portions of the book rather boring.

   I picked up two ideas which emerged from this book. One is the tremendous importance of inheritance for the Lees. This may have been exaggerated because wills are documents which survive, but many people's destiny seems to have been dependent on the inheritance of a farm or a plantation. The other is that it seems that, but for a few government positions, few of them ever aspired to any job other than to manage their farms. This may reflect the nature of the economy and may also reflect the social limitations on their class.

   Overall this book has some merit. One could read biographies of Richard Henry Lee and Robert E. Lee and forget the rest, but then the reader would miss the story of how this family worked together over the centuries. Make you own choice.




3. This book is a fascinating look at a famous and influential family in a time and place I happen to find among the most interesting in all American history: Virginia from its founding until 1870. Within a few decades of the founding of Jamestown in 1607, the first Lee arrived in the Tidewater. For the next three centuries, more or less, the Lees were at or near the center of Virginia's -- and later America's -- history. For readers familiar only with Robert E. Lee, it may come as a shock to realize just how important his family was before and during the Revolution. But even for those for whom that's not a surprise, Paul Nagel's work is still richly rewarding.
   
   That's because "The Lees of Virginia" isn't really a composite biography of each individual member of the vast Lee family. Many of them do receive pretty thorough portraits, of course. But Nagel's main purpose is to chart the connections and relationships within the family, and to explore the influence of the family *as a* family.
   
   In so doing, he paints a fascinating picture of how characteristics and traits passed from generation to generation -- and how, just as importantly, subsequent generations learned from, and tried to do things differently than, their forebears. Perhaps the most interesting contrast here is between the erratic and debt-ridden "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and his son Robert Edward. R.E. Lee, in this analysis, comes across, frankly, as something of a moralistic prig, and one who more or less chained his daughters to their invalid mother's bedside. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to say about someone, "Well, he came from a messed-up family." I have more appreciation for Robert E. Lee's greatness, as well as his human failings, for seeing that he, too, came from a messed-up family.
   
   If I do have a complaint about this book, it might be that ending the narrative at R.E. Lee's death in 1870 seems a little arbitrary. Certainly, General Lee could be seen as the last truly great or influential member of the family. But as Nagel himself mentions, the General's sons and nephews continued to play relatively important roles in the history of Virginia, including service in Congress and as governor of the Commonwealth. Families wax and wane in their influence, as Nagel's book on the Adamses also proved. But I would have been willing to follow Nagel's reporting for another generation or two, just to see what happened.
   
   That aside, though, this is a fine book about an interesting family in interesting times. There are several members of the family I hope to find out more about -- especially Francis Lightfoot Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence, whose relatively reclusive personality -- at least as contrasted to his more attention-seeking brothers -- was especially intriguing to me. I've always thought one sign of a good book is how much it makes you want to explore related topics, and "The Lees of Virginia" delivers in that regard too.



4. I live on Leesylvania and bought the book to find out more about the family that owned that plantation. It is a successful family and a tragic family, but a family nonetheless. Debt, drugs, laziness, control, and the dead hand in passing legacies are a part of the story.
   
   Deadbeats and success. That may be the history of all families. The book was worth reading.
   
   I do not think that Robert E. Lee should be the saint that he has become. Some of his faults are disclosed, but all in all he is portrayed as a great hero. That is not my opinion of him. For example, others were at fault at Gettysburg. This is an age old controversy, but I think Lee himself answered the question when he said that it was "all my fault".
   
   He is personally responsible for more deaths of Americans than practically anyone else in Amerincan history. Had he stayed true to the Union there would have been fewer deaths. Had he recognized the futility of the confederacy and refused to prolong the ordeal there would have been fewer deaths of Americans. He did neither.
   
   But the book is not just about him. It is a good portayal of a family from generation to generation. I drive north on Highway 28 near Dulles from time to time. One can see the buildings of Sully off to the east. I will visit the estate as I was tempted to read this account.

4 comments about Ten Sisters : A True Story.

1. Courage comes at an early age... these women had it in 1942 and even today display that same courage. As I know each one of these women personnally, my review may be a bit biased...but anyone that reads this work will see that I am only telling the facts. Each sister is a remarkable work of art. This book is a true "Love story" about "Family" and the meaning it gives to our lives. "Divided" as a family at such an early age has given great meaning to "togetherness" as each sister worked their way from mid 20th Century to present day.... Their style of writing is free and bold as they tell of perceptions and feelings. Just to get ten sisters to sit down and author a book together is almost fiction. Yet again their spirit of "one for all" won out, and I, a reader won too. This book is "true LIFE" at its worst, and best



2. I really don't like to read...let alone do a report on something that I have read! I don't know why, but I actually like doing it for this book...... It has some really funny, sad, and just odd things in it. I mean who would have a pet goat as a kid? I am in Highschool and lots of my friends and teachers were all dying to read this book. I would sit in class and read bits and pieces and the kids around me would always want to hear more...it was weird! Stuff like having a boxing ring in the front yard, or ten sisters sleeping in one bed not knowing who wet the bed in the morning...for some reason that sparked their interest???? Then there was the sad stuff in the book that was described in detail. It really made me learn a lot more then I already knew about these ladies, it's like stepping into their shoes (although they didn't wear them too often) I really like the book, after I read it there were just soo many things to tell about it in the report I did for my sophmore English class that it ended up getting an "A"...which is odd for me! :) This book is great...there are just soo many things to like about it, so many stories. The part I really like about the book though was that sometimes the sisters had different view points about the story, it was kinda neat to see what each one said about certain things...if they remembered or included it. And living in Iowa, it was a big highlight of my life...not many things can do that here! thanx-AM



3. I became interested in "Ten Sisters" when I noticed that the story took place in my home state of Illinois, but specifically central Illinois. I just graduated from EIU which is located in Charleston and just next door to Mattoon. Reading about the Waggoners in those towns was such a joy, but meeting nine of the sisters was an even greater honor. They signed my book at the mall in Mattoon and were extremely gracious at my interest in their stories. I wasn't able to finish the novel before I met them, but even so, reading the chapters after I had met the authors gave the book a personal touch. I was in disbelief at some of the personal trials they went through. It is amazing that any of them survived so much heartache and uncertainty! My favorite aspect of the book is how Jenny and the older sisters wrote about the same period of time, but by the time you get to Vera's, Audrey's, and Doris' chapters, you are set in a completely different timeframe with completely different lifestyles. It is amazing how so many different stories come out of one very close, very special family. They told me that they will be coming out with an audio version of the book and they'll be featured in a popular women's magazine in Nov. or Dec. I'll be sure to check it out, and you should too!



4. This is a fabulous book. I happened to see a documentary on PBS about this family. So after watching it, I checked out Amazon to see if there was a book, also. I ordered the book and read it in 1 day. I could not put it down. Highly recommended!!

2 comments about Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: A Biographical Dictionary, 1607-1635.

1. This book contains great historical information on early settlers in Virginia and has been added to our genealogy library collection. I would recommend the book for those studing early colonial history.



2. This book is wonderful. It had bios of the early settlers in Jamestown, including one of my ancestors.

4 comments about Jamestowne Ancestors 1607-1699: Commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the Landing at James Towne 1607-2007.

1. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the landing at Jamestown Island, Jamestowne Ancestors 1607-1699 is a genealogical reference featuring a list of known residents of the historic Jamestowne settlement, along with birth and death dates, occupation, and place of origin or county represented. Maps with detailed keys and explanations of descriptive terms round out this handy reference.



2. I suspect other genealogists would be as disappointed as I am with this book. It is a very thin volume and skimpy on detail.
   
   A far superior alternative is Martha McCartney's recent "Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary."



3. "The year 2007 marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America. From its tentative start as a small fort on an island in the James River, with scarcely more than 150 inhabitants, Jamestown became a model for the colonization of the New World. Its founders--planters and indentured servants alike--established a formula for immigration and settlement, and laid the foundation for the leap­frog expansion into the hinterland. Because of its unchallenged position in American history, the 400th anniversary of Jamestown is a milestone, and celebrations are planned throughout 2007.
   
   For our part as publishers we are offering several books in commemoration of the founding of Jamestown, and the one announced here, Jamestowne Ancestors 1607-1699, by noted Virginia genealogist Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis, reveals the names of the very people who established the colony, first under the auspices of the Virginia Company of London and then under King James I and the later Stuart kings of England.
   
   Thus Jamestowne Ancestors is a list of approximately 1,000 persons who are known to have owned land or resided on Jamestown Island between 1607 and 1699. They are listed here alphabetically along with their known dates of residence in Jamestown, their official position in the colony (landowner, burgess, etc.), and their place of origin or county of residence. In addition, the book contains details concerning the settlement of the island, a brief history of Jamestown plantations and hundreds and their evolution into the early counties of Virginia, and pen and ink drawings, together with maps of the fort and city of Jamestown.
   
   The 1608 map of James Fort and the diagram of the site show the original settlement and the progression of present-day archaeological work undertaken there. Other maps show the growth of the colony beyond Jamestown Island throughout the seventeenth century, first as shires, then as plantations and hundreds. From this you can determine the areas where the early settlers selected their home sites and plantations. Together with other facts assembled here, this information can be used as a starting point in establishing eligibility for membership in a number of hereditary societies that require proof of descent from an early Virginia ancestor."



4. This is an attractive edition, and I'm glad it is the
   400 year Anniversary Edition. I already knew what was in the book,
   just wanted an additional proven source for my genealogy works.