January 10, 2013 04:18 AM UTC

A Little Politics - A Little History

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• by: Pam Bennett

Mom sure gave a hot lead about the Foster side.  I started looking at all the information and decided that I want to reclaim the original settlement.  Throw the intruders and interlopers off our family estate.  

From Emily’s window we can see the building tops of Hyattsville.  I drive through the old homestead (maybe) on the way to the VA medical center.  Where the wedding took place in 1708, now Upper Marlboro, is about 7 miles or less from my apartment.  It is fun being a direct descendent of the very original settlers of Maryland.  

What is also real cool is that Morgan Carroll, my former roommate/owner of home, whose ancestor signed the Constitution, was a contemporary and possible (next county over) neighbor of our Fosters (not Morgan, her ancestors).  

This is one of those important moments in life.  If I were to run again it would be easy to point out that one big blonde candidate is a direct descendent of the original settlers of Maryland.   Her family lived right here.  Her family made Maryland.  She is proud to continue that pioneer spirit to this very day.  Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité oops, wrong future era.  God save the king.  

So began an email to my family back in Colorado a couple days ago.  The time period in the colony of Maryland begins around 1660 to 1680.  Fewer than 20,000 souls in the entire colony, although that number expanded greatly to nearly 100,000 by time John Foster settled near where Hyattsville exists today, in 1760.  More research is necessary to establish who arrived in the colonies and when; one great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was born near here in 1680, the location only known as Prince George’s County, record keeping was not that good in that time period away from the original settlements of Saint Mary’s, Maryland and those near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.  

A few of them ended up as politicians.  Several performed more important professions, such as blacksmith.  During the Revolutionary War, one was killed and at least one made their slaves free people.  They survived massacre by American Indians and the French.  During the early 1800’s they moved north and west, going as far as Oregon and then returning to Iowa to do what they did best, farm.  

The little I know about political life during those very early years is very striking.  It was big time politics concerning the King wanting to make Maryland more Church of England (his own) and less “Popist”.  Battles were waged, civil war fights over the issue of religion.  A good reason for our ancestors to not allow the states to decide which religion is the official religion.

The question is how, or rather why, I would travel 1400 plus miles to end up where my family started?  Was there a break in the space-time continuum?  A long ago ancestor ghost visiting to say “HI, stop by sometime”?  Serendipity?  I do know that I am still stunned and filled with awe about this discovery.  To know that where I walk, where I drive, where I look, my forbearers had been and looked at over 300 years ago.

Oh, for a little more fun, I am probably moving to Annapolis soon.  To within sight of the state capitol dome.  And, the Hatch Act has been changed a little bit too.