RELEASE DATE: JULY 29, 2007
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Did any of your relatives take part in the largest and bloodiest land battle in Texas history? If they did, you may want to plan to attend the 194th anniversary ceremony of the Battle of Medina near Pleasanton. Anyone interested in Texas history is invited to attend.
According to Tom Green, who submitted this information, the commemorative celebration will begin at 11:00 a. m. on August 18, 2007. The ceremony will take place at a site in Atascosa County overlooking Galvan Creek. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Jesus de la Teja, who is the head of the History Department at Texas State University in San Marcos. He is also the president of the Texas State Historical Association and was recently appointed the first Texas Historian by Gov. Rick Perry.
To reach the site, proceed south from San Antonio on Highway 281 approximately 15 miles from the intersection of Loop 410 South and Highway 281 to the community of Espey and turn west. Signs will direct you to the ceremony. For more details about the anniversary celebration, call Tom Green at 281-922-1118 or 832-687-3474 (cell).
For people who are not familiar with the Battle of Medina, Green shares interesting facts about its history. Occurring about 20 miles south of San Antonio, the battle took the lives of between 800 and 1,300 men on August 18, 1813. The fight was between the Republican Army of the North (also called the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition), composed of approximately 1,400 men, and the Spanish Royalist Army, made up of approximately 1,800 men, commanded by Gen. Joaquin de Arredondo. Before arriving in San Antonio, the Republican Army of the North won all the battles (including a siege of the fort at La Bahia--the longest siege in American military history) leading up to the August 18th bloodshed. After reaching San Antonio, the Republican Army proclaimed Texas free from Spanish control. This first Texas Declaration of Independence occurred April 6, 1813. Due to Arredondo's victory, the first Republic of Texas was short-lived.
At least five patriots of the American Revolution participated in the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition. One who fought and died during the Battle of Medina was Peter SIDES. Direct descendants of Sides are eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) or the Daughters of the American Revolution (DRT) and the Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT) or the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). Some of Peter's descendants will be in attendance to re-dedicate a SAR Patriot Grave Marker.
Because descendants of the men who fought on either side of the battle are eligible for membership in the Sons or Daughters of the Republic of Texas, a SRT grave marker will be re-dedicated. Descendants of Benjamin ALLEN, who died in the fighting, will re-dedicate the marker. Members of the Mayflower Society will also re-dedicate their marker.
If any of your ancestors came from the Old Line State, you may be interested in MARYLAND CONNECTIONS QUERIES. Edited by MariLee Beatty Hageness, the periodical comes out six times a year. Annual rates are usually $17, but a first time subscription is only $15. Checks, payable to MLH Research, may be sent to 3916 Bramble Road, Anniston, AL 36207-7004.
As indicated in its title, the periodical carries queries about families from Maryland. However, the publication mainly contains extracts from a wide variety of genealogical material. Examples of data in the May/June 2007 (Vol. 17, No. 4) issue are property lease agreements in Baltimore County, a list of Civil War draftees in Somerset County, estate valuations from the Maryland prerogative court, a militia list from Allegany County in 1814, Lutheran church records from Frederick and Carroll counties, land patents in Kent County, estate files from Harford County, tombstone inscriptions from Queen Anne's and Wicomico counties, and marriage records from such counties as Anne Arundel, Dorchester, and Montgomery.
In addition, MARYLAND CONNECTIONS QUERIES contains brief records on individual families. Data in this issue pertain to the surnames of BONNIFIELD, DIVERS, NICODEMUS, RIGGS, ROE, SPALDING, STONESTREET, SWAN, TALBOT, THRIFT, TURPIN, TYDINGS, WALKER, and WARING. When the information has been collected by someone other than the editor, the name of the submitter appears so interested persons can get in touch with the compiler for further details. The published information is usually not documented.