American Revolution - Karen A. Chase

Declaration of Independence Novel: Serializing for America’s 250th

June 4, 2025 By Karen A. Chase

It’s been six years since Carrying Independence, my novel about the Declaration of Independence, was published. Now, we are a year away from celebrating the 250th anniversary of that document on July 4, 2026. In honor of that anniversary, I feel compelled to share this story more widely—my gift to my fellow Americans.

Starting today, I’m releasing Carrying Independence, chapter by chapter—leading up to the 250th—on my new Substack Publication: From the Wandering Desk of Karen A. Chase.

Along with it, every other week on my blog here, I will take you on a deep dive about a historical fact within that week’s chapter. You can also join the conversation, and collectively we can have a good (and civil, please) discussion about our Declaration.

Join me & read the prologue & chapter one.

Why This Revolutionary War Novel Matters Now

This story matters, now more than ever, for two compelling reasons.

First, it’s a celebration. The 56 chapters I am releasing are a tribute to the 56 men who ultimately signed that one sole copy of the Declaration on August 2nd, 1776. In reality, however, in 1776, it was thousands of ordinary individuals—not merely those founding fathers—who decided to band together behind a Cause greater than themselves. And that action became the motto of the United States. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one.

Second, it’s necessary. Today, various news outlets and politicians use our founding document for sound bites and publicity, often describing its purpose or content incorrectly or without context. Such acts are dividing us at a time when we should be coming together, just as we did in the beginning. As Thomas Paine wrote in American Crisis, “The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall.”

The Untold Story of Our Declaration of Independence Founding Document

The novel, Carrying Independence, is laying on the Declaration, along with a pocket-watch, ink, and other vintage pieces from 1776.

When I began researching this book in 2009, I discovered something remarkable: there were no historical novels focused on the actual process of signing the Declaration of Independence. Everyone knows the document, but few knew when it was formally signed (August 2, 1776). Even fewer knew how. (Historians still debate this point.)

Carrying Independence tells the story of Nathaniel Marten—a reluctant Revolutionary War courier tasked by Congress with carrying the document (hence the title) and acquiring the final signatures on a sole copy—a contract that would unite us as one nation. The novel opens at a woodpile, with Nathaniel—the very man charged with the Declaration’s protection—determined to destroy it. Because all seemed lost. Because we were losing that war.

My Goals in Crafting This Historical Novel

Choosing to write a factually-accurate historical novel about a document everyone knows—yet of which I knew very little—seems, well… foolish. Yes, looking back, that’s the word that comes to mind. To set that Revolutionary War novel during a time period I also knew scant about? About a war so long ago that even the most deeply born-and-bred Americans have six or even eight generations between them and 1776? Ludicrous.

I don’t tend to do things halfway. (Hold my ale.) So, I set two ambitious requirements for this Revolutionary War story:

Share deeper, lesser-known truths. I wanted readers to repeatedly ask, “Was that true? How did I not know this?” By revealing true yet hidden stories about real people and events, I hoped to make even well-informed Americans question what they thought they knew about our founding. (Did you know a woman’s name is on a 1777 copy of the Declaration—the first to broadcast all the names?)

Create genuine suspense about known history. I needed to weave unknown facts with familiar events to generate such tension that even Revolutionary War enthusiasts would worry about the outcome—like watching Apollo 13 and wringing your hands over whether the crew actually made it home safely.

The Response Has Been Extraordinary

Did we win? Or did the Redcoats? Did the Declaration of Independence actually receive all the signatures? Or was it stuffed in a dresser somewhere, or worse, thrown onto a fire by the very person tasked with its completion?

Since publishing Carrying Independence in 2019, the response has been remarkable. Thousands of copies sold in the US, Canada and even the UK! Over 100 presentations and book clubs nationwide. (And now even a job as an onboard history lecturer on American Cruise Lines as a result!) A handful of awards, including second place in the Cinematic Screencraft Cinematic Book competition, and being recognized as Number 12 of the Top 100 Indie Books of 2019. An award for independence. How fitting.

I’m thrilled by readers who’ve shared how worried they were while reading. One woman told me she yelled out loud, “No, Nathaniel, don’t go in there! You have to finish this!”

I’m in awe of historians who asked me for resources I’d discovered so they could research more about these lesser-known Revolutionary figures and events.

And I’m honored by Americans linked by lineage to Patriots—Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution—who said they picked up the Declaration of Independence and read it beginning to end—some for the first time.

Why the Revolution Was About More Than Battlefields

The Semiquincentennial celebrations of our founding document is the perfect moment for more of us to learn about the Declaration’s journey through a war that could have ended very differently. A war won against insurmountable odds, and fought, in part, for the ideal of becoming something better. However, unlike what we’re taught in school, the Revolution wasn’t just on battlefields. Hopefully, by reading Nathaniel’s story, you’ll understand why John Adams said the real American Revolution “was in the minds and hearts of the people.”

Join Nathaniel’s Journey to July 4th, 2026

Today, there is no other historical novel about the American Revolution quite like this—focused on the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence, following a reluctant courier through the perilous journey that brought our nation into being.

Although Nathaniel is fictional, you’ll discover the facts about how our founding document and this nation came into being against impossible odds, a Cause carried by ordinary people like you and me who chose something bigger than themselves.

This story isn’t just mine. It’s ours. At the very least, I hope you’ll learn about and read our original Declaration of Independence. As Nathaniel’s father says at a critical turn in the novel, “The only person more ignorant than a man who cannot read, is one who can and chooses not to.”

Join me—share the message far and wide—and together we’ll be Carrying Independence.

Subscribe and Read the First Chapter

Join the conversation on Substack: From the Wandering Desk of Karen A. Chase

Ready to discover the untold story of how our founding document survived the Revolutionary War? Visit Carrying Independence to learn more about the novel, or secure your autographed copy at my bookstore.

Mary House: Recognized as Female Patriot of the American Revolution

March 27, 2024 By Karen A. Chase

During this Women’s History Month, and ahead of the nation’s 250th celebrations, I have the great fortune of announcing a new Revolutionary female Patriot. I spearheaded an application with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) to prove a new female American Revolutionary-era Patriot.

Mary House owned and operated a boarding house in Philadelphia, the House Inn. Because she paid taxes on the inn, her support tax directly helped fund the Revolutionary war. Just two blocks from the famous State House, where Revolution was debated and the Declaration of Independence signed, the inn was a respected political hub, frequented by familiar founding fathers.

In this press release issued by NSDAR, Pamela Wright, NSDAR President General and the National Society’s volunteer elected CEO, says, “We are thrilled to add Mary House to our list of verified female Patriots. As we approach our nation’s 250th birthday, DAR members across the country are concentrating on sharing the stories of these amazing Americans, helping contemporary U.S. citizens understand the relevancy of Patriots to our lives today. As a female entrepreneur myself, I am inspired by the story of Mrs. House.”

The star on this map shows the location of the House Inn. To red outline to the left is the State House. The red outline down and to the right, is the Arch Street Quaker Burial ground where Mary House was buried.

The House Inn hosted Thomas Jefferson and Other Founders

Mary House was a wise entrepreneur. After her husband died, the widow established the boarding house, which quickly became known for what was then called “fine entertainments.” It offered quality lodgings, good food and refreshments, and above all an atmosphere that encouraged convivial engagement. It quickly attracted founding fathers familiar to us now. Silas Deane, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. Mary recognized that congressmen visits to Philadelphia would increase as Revolution rumbled through the colonies. Consequently, she wisely moved her already established House Inn closer to the action, to Fifth and Market Streets. Like the famed City Tavern, the House Inn was a gathering place for end-of-day political discourse over dinner and drinks.

Finding Mary House and Proving Her as Patriot

Although I spearheaded the search and the NSDAR application, the journey to validate Mary House’s Patriot status was a collaborative effort. It took multiple years and involved more than 15 individuals across five NSDAR chapters and three states, along with additional historians and translators. To submit an application for patriot status for Mary House, we found and proved lineage to a living descendant. That descendant is also related to two other significant figures: Jefferson and the subject of what I call my Eliza Project.

Mary House’s Daughter, Eliza Trist, Went West & Kept a Journal

Mary House is significant in her own right as a supporter of the Cause and an entrepreneur. She is also the mother of Eliza House Trist—a woman who traveled west in 1783, two decades before Lewis and Clark. Eliza Trist kept this journal for Thomas Jefferson. Trist met Jefferson when he lodged at the House Inn. The two became significant in each others lives, and long after her westward journey, Eliza Trist’s grandson married Thomas Jefferson’s granddaughter. Consequently, this new NSDAR member on this application, is related to House, Trist, and Jefferson.

To be frank, I feel like we’ve hit the NSDAR’s version of a quadfecta or superfecta. Myself, and this incredible network of genealogists and historians, have correctly proven four positions significant to the NSDAR. New female Patriot. New Female Explorer. New member. And all connected to Thomas Jefferson.

The only known portrait of Eliza House Trist. From the Ledger book of William Bache, National Portrait Gallery.

What will the Patriot Status Achieve?

Mary House was buried in Philadelphia, in the Quaker Arch Street burial ground, which was built over in the late 1800s. Eliza Trist is buried at Monticello. Neither woman has a gravestone, and their contributions have never been granted state historical markers. As I mentioned in the press release, “The goal is to ensure each of these women has a grave marker and historical recognition… In honor of the 250th, we are striving to broaden the narrative we tell about the founding of this country. Eliza and Mary matter. Who we tell our origin stories about matters so more of us can envision ourselves contributing to our future.”

The Permission slip provided by the Quakers to bury Mary House in the Arch Street grounds.

To learn more about Eliza House Trist

I am producing a more comprehensive and widely-accessible narrative for Mary House and Eliza Trist. For now, you can learn more about Eliza House Trist’s journey when you pre-order a copy of The Travel Journal of Eliza House Trist, 1783-84. It’s a brand new transcription, with a brief introduction. For the first time, her journal is replicated as she originally wrote it. In this beautifully hardbound book, is an all new introduction and a map of her journey. The book publishes April 15th.

Historic Bartram’s Gardens in Winter

December 7, 2021 By Karen A. Chase

In late November, I had the good fortune of touring Bartram’s Gardens in Philadelphia, PA—a 50-acre garden in existence since 1728. The oldest surviving botanic garden in the US, the sloping and tiered lands on the western banks of the Schuylkill River were home to John Bartram—a botanist, collector, and explorer—and his son, William Bartram. Their garden was a source for seeds and plants for many of America’s founders including Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. My tour was for research for my next historical novel, and specifically to learn what those gardens looked like in 1787 when James Madison and others visited the gardens during the Constitutional Convention .

Why tour historic gardens in winter?

Now, before you go believing I’m nuts for touring a garden during winter (rather than July when Madison visited) such off-season tours mean fewer tourists and an occasional late bloom/fall burst of color. In our case, the oldest Ginkgo tree in America and the Tea-Oil Camillia, were giving a brilliant show.

The best reason has to do with wandering with a guide. Because there is less to do in winter, the curator—Joel T. Fry, who has been with the gardens since the late 90s—seemed to have all the time in the world to help me prune away the gardens as they are “now” in order to visualize them as William Bartram did “then.”

Bartram’s Gardens then and now

When the British moved through Philadelphia during the Revolution, troops built a floating bridge across the Schuylkill River east of town. What had been a ferry system from Grey’s Landing just few miles from Independence Hall, became a series of floating planks permitting visitors to land just a tad north of Bartram’s.

I wish I could say the view shown in this historic 1838 drawing (Charles P Dare, Fitzgibbon & Van Ness publishers) was equal to the view now. Today, one approaches Bartram’s via a graffiti-strewn bridge, and enters from the less-attractive back lane.

Back in 1787, however, a visitor would have first seen the tiered beds of plants—collected from various states as far south as Florida—rising up to the main house (like the photo above). Greens, tubers, and other edibles would have been planted closest to the house in the kitchen gardens. Built by John Bartram, the house was added onto many times, but the architecturally arresting structure remains.

The numerous trees scattering the property now would likely have been in a specific grove to one side of the house. That Ginkgo tree? In 1787, it was just two years old, so likely shorter than me, and in a different location. It now towers more than two stories tall. You can see an original William Bartram illustration of the garden map, on the Bartram Garden’s website here.

An incomplete archive of plantings

What was planted where and when by William, however, is difficult to ascertain. Although Bartram’s sold seeds and plants, “we don’t really have garden records from that time,” Joel shrugged as we chewed on some of the spinach miraculously still growing and plump despite a few frosts. “We don’t know if the records were thrown out when the family later lost the property, or if perhaps the Bartrams weren’t that good at keeping records in the first place.”

Personally, I find the latter easy to believe. John and William both seemed so enchanted by illustrating, collecting, exploring, and experimenting with plants and seeds, I can see them failing to write it all down at the end of a day’s digging. Their minds were likely their libraries and journals. Although Williams botanical illustrations are in some ways a series of singular plant records, like his study of Franklinia—a tree named for Franklin, and the garden’s signature tree.

A room inside the Bartram’s home. None of the furnishings are original either.

William Bartram’s illustration of the flower of the Franklinia Tree.

Visitors post-Revolution might also have seen a working cider mill along the banks. Again, the Bartrams papers have no record of it, although a reference to it appears in a letter from a visitor named Manasseh Cutler of Massachusetts. “[Bartram’s] cider-press is singular; the channel for the stone wheel to run in for grinding the apples is cut out of a solid rock; the bottom of the press is a solid rock, and has a square channel to carry off the juice, from which it is received into a stone reservoir or vat.”

Joel and my spouse, Ted, permitting me a photo for size perspective.

What Captivated Me Most in Bartram’s Garden

“What we’re doing is what William loved to do with visitors in the garden.” About half way through our tour—many stories in, the wind picking up, and much history shared—Joel smiled as he gazed across Bartram’s garden glittering with fall leaves. “We’re walking the paths and sharing ideas about the plants and other events of the time. It’s a chance to learn together.”

Nothing warmed my heart more on that cold November day. Thanks to Joel, in my next novel I expect you’ll find my protagonist Henry (along with other characters real and fictional) sharing ideas while wandering those same paths with William.

I urge you to visit Bartram’s Garden, and not just at the height of spring or summer, so hopefully you will be captured by this historic place, too. Just a 15-minute drive from Philadelphia, it’s a 50-acre respite for the city-weary soul Chasing Histories.

The view from the back of the house, with a new favorite vine—cup-and-saucer—gracing the left-hand edge of the walkway.

Revolutionary War Tunes

September 13, 2019 By Karen A. Chase

Songs from the 1776 Trenches

KarenAChase_Yankeedoodle_Sprit_of_'76.2 — One of several versions of a scene by Archibald MacNeal Willard in the late nineteenth century, the painting came to be known as *The Spirit of ’76.*

Although many historians focus on the tune of Yankee Doodle, often referring to the image here as such, some Revolutionary War songs are far more free-spirited. Sung by soldiers, they were sometimes influenced by the men’s varied heritages. Case in point, the song, “Maggie Lauder.” It was known to be sung in the American trenches, but it originated in Scotland.

Francis Sempill of Beltrees, who lived from around 1616 to 1685, wrote the ditty, and then it had the added benefit of having an easy and completely memorable tune put with it. (Careful, as it will get stuck in your craw when you watch the below version by The Corries.)

The song also has the benefit of having one heck of a funny word in the first verse. Blatherskite. Though back when spelling wasn’t standardized, they spelled it bladderskate…

Wha wadna be in love
Wi bonnie Maggie Lauder?
A piper met her gaun to Fife,
And spier’d what was’t they ca’d her:
Richt scornfully she answered him,
Begone, you hallanshakerl
Jog on your gate, you bladderskate!
My name is Maggie Lauder.

To call someone a blatherskite, is basically to say they are full of B.S. I truly love how Maggie shares her moniker with this bloke, the piper, while also putting him in his place by calling him names. Incidentally, if anyone has a definition—or a more modern spelling—of hallanshakerl, please let me know.

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Reader Insights: When you’re writing historical fiction, if you put too many period-appropriate words or phrases into dialogue, it can be clunky for readers. So, I use them sparingly. While I’m reserving blatherskite for my next novel, you’ll find I happily used the curse, blistering blackguards. You can read it within an excerpt with Captain Blythe on the Frontier from my novel, here.

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For more history nerd posts like these, subscribe to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

There is only One Declaration of Independence

May 16, 2019 By Karen A. Chase

Founding-Documents Blog Series: Part One

Between now and July 4th, my blog will be an ongoing series related to the history and signing of the Declaration of Independence. While our country and the media is lately consumed with the US Constitution, understanding our founding better begins with an examination of the documents in order of creation.

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How many copies exist of the Declaration of Independence?

Hundreds. You’ll find a tabloid size copy in historic homes like Berkley Plantation, home of Benjamin Harrison IV, signer of the original document. There’s a massive copy hanging on the wall in the Virginia State capitol building. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown has a broadside. We see so many versions of the Declaration of Independence, and you can buy a replica for about $4 at historic museums. However, in 1776 there was only ONE piece of parchment—with hand-written calligraphy—drafted to contain all the signatures.

The Sole Declaration of Independence

Yes, it’s this document (approx. 24″x30″) at the National Archives that thousands of people (over 275,000 during June and July alone) visit when they come to the museum each year. It’s the one encased in bullet-proof glass stolen by Nicholas Cage. I wouldn’t call it a copy. A copy implies that it’s a duplicate. That ONE original document (shown above), is the only one that contains all 56 original signatures of the Congress. (Until November of 1776 there were only 55 signatures, but that’s a whole other story.)

Why was there one Declaration of Independence?

It was a contract. It was a unanimous agreement between the men and between the thirteen colonies—an agreement for the colonies to separate from the Crown AND come together as these united states (yes, lower case) of America.

The copies you see—often called Broadsides and with typeset text and names—were made before the original contract was signed and afterward. Broadsides were notices, distributed and posted, detailing what Congress had agreed to do.

What they had agreed to was not war. I find it easiest to remember the purpose of the Declaration by describing it one of two ways… It was both a divorce decree and a marriage agreement. It was one of the biggest “Dear John” letters in history.

“The #DeclarationofIndependence was not a declaration of war. It was both a divorce decree and a marriage agreement. Basically, it was the biggest ‘Dear John’ letter in history.” Huzzah to #carryingindependence and sharing #ChasingHistories with author @karenachase – Tweet This…

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For more history nerd posts like these, subscribe to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For behind-the-scenes author-related news, giveaways, and to find out where I might be speaking near you, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

The Real Reverend Ewing

April 25, 2019 By Karen A. Chase

While researching various aspects for my novel, Carrying Independence, now and then I discovered an historical figure (not the usual founding father) who I’d never heard of, and whose life could bring extra meaning to the story. Enter Rev. John Ewing of Philadelphia.

Doctor John Ewing, More than a Reverend

I first encountered John Ewing, on the pages of a 1953 Historic Philadelphia book, published by the American Philosophical Society and given to me by friend Bill Ochester (who is also a reenactor as Ben Franklin).

In these pages, Ewing was described not only as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church on Pine Street, but as Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, a mathematician, and scientist. He was the “Director of the Observation of the Transit of Venus in 1769 in Independence Hall Yard under the auspices of the American Philosophical Society.”

I fall hard for historic figures who illustrate how we humans have long-been nuanced. Today, we too often position scientists and the clergy as opposites. Here was a devout theologically-minded minister who also mapped the trajectory of Venus, and challenged the thoughts of the day—so much so that even Dr. Benjamin Rush was said to have “left the church because of Doctor Ewing.”

Rev. Ewing’s Own Words

A bit more investigation on Ewing, and I discovered research gold. A 444-page book of Ewing’s own words—his sermons—was published in 1812. It includes a brief biographical sketch and words spoken about him at his funeral. In the book is a footnote about how Ewing often referenced a lesson learned in his own childhood after coming upon a snake and a frightened bird.

In my novel, readers will find Ewing in his rectory, peering through a telescope borrowed from the Philosophical Society, sharing this childhood tale (paraphrased, of course), with a member of his congregation—one of my fictional characters. Hopefully I have portrayed Ewing’s “easy and affable” manner well. By his actions, I trust you’ll experience Ewing as he saw himself—a thoughtful man convinced that “his own investigation confirmed him in his belief of the doctrines of grace.”

A PDF of Rev. Ewing’s sermons can be found linked through my Carrying Independence Research Pinterest Page here.

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For more history nerd tidbits like these, subscribe to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For behind-the-scenes author-related news, giveaways, and to find out where I might be speaking near you, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Why the Revolution?

April 4, 2019 By Karen A. Chase

On Writing About the American Revolution

A Guest Post by Lars D. H. Hedbor

I’m often asked why I write about the American Revolution. It is true that here are many fascinating and compelling eras in human history. Indeed, when I reach the end of my explorations of the Revolution, I expect to broaden my scope.

There is Opportunity in Writing About the American Revolution

In part, I started writing about the Revolution because of the opportunity—there are a lot of fascinating small stories that contributed to the big events of the Revolution, and few of them have been explored in fiction. Having a wide, uncrowded field in which to work is hugely appealing.

Too, the events of the Revolution are familiar (if imperfectly), so I’m not having to explain to my readers that the Americans fought the British to achieve independence. They open my books knowing that much. The details and nuances, though, make terrific grist for my imagination.

Then there is the opportunity to remind readers that history is shaped by the small decisions of ordinary people. The Revolution was not accomplished by just a few heroic figures striding across the pages of history atop mighty white horses. Critical events were shaped at the kitchen tables of folks who would never make it into our histories. I take my readers to those kitchen tables and let them imagine what choices they might have made—and reflect on how they may affect history with their choices today.

The American Revolution Changed Humanity

Most importantly, though, I write about the Revolution because it changed the course of human history. It is unique in that it was not fought over the question of which prince would rule over a patch of dirt. The American War of Independence was as much a philosophical revolution as it was a military one. It reframed the very concept of governance—the whole relationship between the people and their leaders.

With the Revolution, we emerged from being subjects of the King to becoming citizens of the Republic. We were no longer ruled under divine right, but are led by men and women of our own choosing. It has become fashionable to focus solely on the imperfections of the Revolution—which were many and about which I write unflinchingly. However, thinking only about what the Founders got wrong tends to overlook how much they got right.

This magnificent accomplishment, which took a scattered collection of hardscrabble colonies and united them as one of the leading nations of the world, is well worth understanding deeply. That is why I write about the American Revolution, and will do so for some time to come.

Lars D. H. Hedbor is the author of the Tales From a Revolution series, each of which explores the Revolution as it unfolded in a different colony or future state. His most recent release is The Tree: Tales From a Revolution—New-Hampshire, which follows a young man as he is abruptly orphaned, and is left to manage his father’s timber grants with only the help of his eccentric aunt. He finds comfort in a new friendship with Betty, a decidedly odd neighbor. Defying the Royal Governor’s crackdowns and his aunt’s commands, Abe makes choices that put him on a collision course with both. With rebellion in the air, Abe must escape detection by the Governor’s agents and solve the puzzle of Betty’s past in order to secure his future.

The Tree is available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook. You can learn about all of Hedbor’s books on his website, LarsDHHedbor.com.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts like this one are welcomed and encouraged––by academics, historians, authors, artists, and storytellers. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Christian Di Spigna Reexamines History

December 6, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

The Generous Benedict Arnold

A Guest Post by Christian Di Spigna

To many Americans, the name Benedict Arnold is synonymous with treason and treachery. The former American patriot hero flipped sides and became a spy in the employ of the Crown. When Arnold’s betrayal was uncovered in 1780, it shocked and pained patriot sons and daughters of liberty.

Many historians have claimed that one of Arnold’s motivations for becoming a traitor was financial. Yet such a rationale betrays an incredible act of generosity that Arnold bestowed upon the young orphaned children of Dr. Joseph Warren, the martyred hero of the Bunker Hill battle.

Arnold and Warren had met briefly and befriended each other in the spring of 1775. Arnold’s wife died that June—the same month Warren was killed in action, leaving Arnold a widower with young children of his own.

A remarkable letter written by Warren’s fiancé, Mercy Scollay, to Benedict Arnold in July 1780 has uncovered the fact that Arnold had personally given nearly 3,000 pounds for the education and care of Warren’s orphaned children in the years since his battlefield death.

This kindness contradicts Arnold’s motivation of greed. It adds an additional layer to the many complexities surrounding the man. None of Dr. Joseph Warren’s patriot brethren—including future American governors and presidents—provided Warren’s children such financial support. Perhaps now, centuries later, Arnold’s historical lens needs some refocusing.

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You can attend events with author and historian Christian Di Spigna (listing via his website) or connect via Twitter. His newest book Founding Martyr is about Dr. Joseph Warren, an architect of the colonial rebellion, and a man who might have led the country as Washington or Jefferson did had he not been martyred at Bunker Hill in 1775. It’s available online, and at bookstores via IndieBound.

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts like this one are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Ancestry and the American Revolution

November 29, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

Genealogy and the Daughters of the American Revolution

Many of my friends––and even family––are surprised to find out that I am a DAR. After all, I’m Canadian! Yet, it’s true.

Three of my grandparents were from the United States, and on my mother’s side, I’ve fully traced my lineage back to Jacob G. Klock––a senator during the American Revolutionary War. The DAR database helped me find my ancestors, via all those who have joined the DAR from the Jacob Klock line.

*The Founders of the Daughters of the American Revolution*, a 1929 marble sculpture by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. It is located beside DAR Constitution Hall, headquarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution, in Washington, D.C.

Ancestry DNA plus the DAR

Many of us this holiday season, me included, are hoping to have our DNA tests done to help us further define our heritage. (Right now Ancestry.com has a holiday discount for gifting such tests.)

But DNA, and who we’re related to, is only part of our history. Understanding how or if our family’s contributed to who we’ve become as a nation is where the online database through the DAR comes in.

According to the DAR, “the DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) includes free online databases containing information on Revolutionary patriot ancestors, descendants of those patriots, as well as the vast array of genealogical resources from the DAR Library.” You do not have to be a member to search the database.

Minority Revolutionary Patriots

The DAR is changing, for the better. More minorities––African Americans, Spanish, Native Americans, and others––are joining as a result of sources and initiatives the DAR helps provide. Advice and options for tracing minority patriots can be found here.

Have you had your DNA test done? Were you surprised by the results?

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Thanks for sharing in the spirit of learning about our collective American History by subscribing to the blog. Guest posts are welcomed and encouraged. Contact me for details.

For Karen-related author research tidbits, book news and events, subscribe to my e-publication, CHASING HISTORIES.

Washington’s Rules of Civility, No. 7

November 13, 2018 By Karen A. Chase

A Case for Decent Behavior

Last week on COMPOSITIONS, guest Edward Lengel made a case for studying history with compassion. Equally important, is a call for a little more civility (not just politically). For this, too, we can look to our fore-bearers. In this case, George Washington.

GWRulesofCivility_KarenAChase — My own little copy, in my own little room. It looks like Washington is giving the folks on that Toile wallpaper a disapproving look, n’est pas?

Washington’s Rules

Sometime before he was 16, Washington wrote 110 of these maxims by hand, transcribing them from a set created by French Jesuits in the 16th century. What should seem like common sense or simple courtesy for behaving in public––then and now––seems worth repeating. So, every now and then I will feature one of these helpful suggestions, in no particular order, for you to ponder and share. This one seems self-explanatory.

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