Ancestors

It is always a little surprising to realize how condensed our eventful history has been. The following cheerful letter from Frances Gladys Latta Dunn of San Mateo, California, gives an indication of how close we really are to the men who founded our republic: With the Bicentennial coming up soon, I want to tell someone about my own heritage. I am very proud to be one of a few who can claim to be a fourth generation from the American Revolution. My greatgrandfather, Joseph Bartholomew, was born in New Jersey in 1766. He died and was buried at Clarksville, Illinois, in 1840. His early life was spent on the Pennsylvania frontier, where he became a guide, scout, and patrol for colonial forces, especially for General Anthony Wayne. He had eighteen children, and my grandfather, William M. Bartholomew (born 1821), was the eighteenth. My mother (born 1860) was William’s seventh and youngest child, and I am her youngest. I was born in 1899. Thus I am fourth generation from our beginning in 1776. I have always been a student of history, having read all I could find during my early schooling. Later I majored in it at the University of California, graduating in 1946 along with one of my three sons. You can see why I am a proud woman at age seventy-five.