Saturday, February 24, 2018

Observations on royal lineage

Finding out that you have a royal line is sort of neat. It may be an English royal, a Scottish, Italian, Dutch, whatever. Actually the English royal heritage is more German than English, but I digress.

As neat as having a royal line or two is, I am more impressed with the noble's ancestors who became common folk. The may have ended up as simple farmers or craftsmen in their home counties. They may have been among those sent from English prisons to Australia, who started anew and became the town builders, station [ranch] owners and others who developed that island nation.

The Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and other religious groups who settled in America to follow their beliefs and battled the elements and other hardships to establish themselves are far more impressive than the princes of Medieval Europe.

The families who settled along the waterways and coastlines of the colonies to make their living as mariners, boatmen, ferry operators, traders, ship and boat builders were a few notches above the dukes and counts.

The farmers, merchants and craftsmen who settled the colonies, fought in the French and Indian War, and later fought for Independence were more noble than the kings who had denied them freedom.

The Scots-Irish, Northern border English and others who settled the frontier west of the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountains and gave birth to our first legendary heroes, like Daniel Boone and David Crockett, were greater than the Crusaders.

The Irish, German, Scandinavian, Italian and other European immigrants who came to escape famine, war and despotism were a notch above their blue-blood rulers.

Don't forget the indentured servants and slaves brought over to work for those wealthy land owners and businessmen; the Chinese bought to help build the western leg of the transcontinental railroad; European Jews escaping extermination during the 1930s-40s.

The stories of these people are far more interesting than those of the nobles.

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