Squidoo is a site designed for one page web sites on any and all subjects. I have been publishing numerous sites related to my travel interests over the last few months — another reason for my infrequent posts lately to this blog. Now, I am back to balancing my genealogical interests with my travel interests.

The two latest sites I have done on Squidoo.Com are related to our family history and genealogy. These have both been added to the new genealogy group site called “Everything Genealogy and Family History“.

One site is entitled “Reformation, Pietism, and the Apocalypse: Johann Jacob Zimmerman”, and is about our ancestor Johann Jacob Zimmerman.

“Pietism, Reformation, and Apocalyptic movements are all associated with the Protestant rebellions against the Catholic Church, and later the resultant Lutheran Church.

Much of the genealogical heritage of these German pietists are shared by Americans who have descended from these first religious zealots.

This lens discusses the historical background and life of one of these ancestors, Johann Jacob Zimmerman.”

The other site is entitled “French Huguenots and Walloons” . The introductory paragraphs follow below.

“This site will share with you some of the history of the French Huguenots and the French speaking Walloons and their relationship to family history and genealogy.

Genealogists and family historians have a special interest in the French Huguenots and Walloons. These French speaking protestants from France and Wallonia (Southern Belgium)are genealogically significant

Most immigrations from Europe to America which included these groups came from the early 1600’s to the late 1600’s during the height of their religious persecution.

As a person who has several Huguenot-Walloon ancestors, I have always had a particular interest in this group. It didn’t take me long to realize that the strong protestant orientation in my family in many cases could ultimately be traced to the historical conditions which created these two groups.”

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I have done a good bit of both since that time. As you can see from this blog and the pages of information I have created here, genealogy and family history has taken front stage for much of this time.

Most of you however do not know that I have traveled extensively over most of my life and have had my own business as a home based travel agent for a number of years now.

I even went as far as to get my 200 hours plus training to become a “Certified Master Cruise Counselor” with Cruise Lines International Association. [That means I’m supposed to know something about cruising and the cruise industry].

My wife Amparo and I have taken numerous cruises to different parts of the Caribbean, the Mexico Coast on the Pacific side, and to Alaska. Just last December, we took a cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico to the Southern Caribbean.

[By the way, if you get too bored with life, you might even try starting your own home based travel business. It’s really easy. Click Here for details on how to do it.]

Also, since we retired (that word “retired” doesn’t really fit our life), we have taken a two week tour of China, three weeks of traveling throughout Spain and Portugal (including side trips to The Rock of Gibraltar and Tangiers, Morrocco — in Africa)

So, lately I have begun to alternate writings on travel and my other interests with my genealogical and family history writing.

If any of you are interested in travel arrangements (Air, Hotel, Cruises, Etc.), check out my travel agent website, and who knows, you might even want to book some travel.

My latest finding on the internet is a place called Squidoo.Com. It provides a place to do FREE one page websites on any topic of interest you might have. You can do it for fun, for profit, or for charity. It is a lot of fun. Maybe some of the Ross family members would be as interested in the site as I have become.

I will be doing a number of these sites on different topics of interest I have. My first two are on “Travel”. The next few will probably be on travel also.

They are:

Build a Home Based Travel Business

Lone Wolf Travel Adventure

Topiary and Epcot’s Annual Flower and Garden Festival

I will also be doing some on genealogical topics and other personal interests.
Anyway, since it has been a little while since my last posting, I thought I would write a brief post to let you know why.

I hope everyone has a great summer.

These families include the following surnames: Bokers (Boekers); De Haven (In Den Haven); Levering; Schaal; Schibhower; Sellen (Zellen); Stackhouse; Supplee (Souplis); Van Fossen; and Zimmerman. Most of these ancestors came by way of Germany or Holland, although some, like Andreas Souplis, came from France. You can click on the link for pages on the right hand side of this page or on this link.

Spellings of all of these names vary considerably in the early records, as those recording the names many times did not understand the languages from which the names came.

He was an astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, Lutheran clergyman, and most significant historically, one of the leaders of the German “Pietist” movement. He believed that the end of the world was coming in 1694 and prepared a group of believers to head to the “New World” to wait for Christ’s coming. He died the day before the group was to leave, but because of his plans and their journey to America, his children became the progenitors of our existence. Because they were, we are!!

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.

I am trying to add at least one surname per week now.

So far we have pages on RossTribe.Com for the following surnames.

Bronough

Chadwell

Owens

Whisenant

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.

The following wills were also added to this site:

Will of John C. Chadwell

Will of George Chadwell

Will of Jeremiah Bronough

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.

The site has many things to offer family members, like email, a homepage, etc. More about this later.

Today, I will talk only about the “Ancestral Roots” page on the Rosstribe.com site (Click on link on right side of Rosstribe.com page to get to the “Ancestral Roots” page). I have listed already the surnames (with the outlines and links for pages on each) for the first eight (8) generations of our ancestors through this line.

[I will do the same later on another web site for the ancestors of my maternal grandparents, John Bertie Long and Nannie Grace Lewis].

Each surname will have its own web page with information on that surname’s ancestral line. The more recent names will of course have more information since they go further into the past. As an example of what you can expect as I fill in the data on each surname, go to the Whisenant Surname and check it out. This will be done with all the surnames as I get the time to complete them.

When you go to a new surname page, you can tell easily whether it is an ancestor of James McClellan Ross or Esther Lou Owens. There is a picture of James McClellan Ross in the left hand corner of each page of his ancestral surnames. For Esther Lou Owens, her picture is in the right on each page of her ancestral surnames.

Check it out. If you have any comments or suggestions as to how to improve the site (or specific information you would like to see added for a surname ) let me know. You can do that my commenting on this site or emailing me at lamar@rosstribe.com or lamar@rossancestors.com.

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.

[See our Huguenot and Walloon Ancestors at this Page: “Our Huguenot and Walloon Ancestors“].

Human atrocities throughout history have more frequently been the rule than the exception. Burning at the stake, impalement on sharp stakes, disemboweling, beheading, and “quartering” were common during much of European history. Royalty killed Royalty and commoners killed commoners. No one was safe.

Violence and warfare in some of its most atrocious forms was frequently associated with religious movements. The distinction between state, religion, and society during the 1500’s and thereafter was not made in people’s minds and experiences. Prior to that, for approximately a 1000 years religion had formed the basis for a social consciousness that pervaded the thinking of royalty and commoners.

France in particular had tied itself closely to the Catholic Church. The Church sanctified the monarchy’s right to rule in return for military and civil protection. “One faith” was considered essential to maintain societal stability and innovations was frowned upon and not generally acceptable. Even the Renaissance period had to be justified as a return to a simple, purer time rather than as change.

The French Huguenots and Walloons

After the Protestant Reformation that had been started by Martin Luther about 1517 in Germany took hold, it spread rapidly in France. The French Protestants gradually left the Lutheran teachings and adapted the teaching of the Reformed Church, established in 1550 by John Calvin. This reformed religion was practiced by both members of the French nobility and the social middle class who were for the most part artisans, craftsmen, and professional people. Their belief in salvation through an individual faith that did not rely on the intercession of the church hierarchy, and an individual’s right to personally interpret scriptures put them in direct conflict with the Catholic church and the King of France.

On January 19, 1536 a general edict was issued in France which encouraged the extermination of the French Protestants. These Protestants called themselves “reformees” (reformers). By 1550, when the first church based on John Calvin’s teachings was established in a home in Paris, they were being called Huguenots, a name which has continued to be used to describe them until this day.

General persecution continued after the edict of 1536 but the movement prospered and by 1561 there were 2,000 Calvinist Churches in France and the Huguenots had become a political faction that seemed to threaten the state. The antipathy toward the Huguenots created an atmosphere of hate that led to the Massacre at Vassy, France on March 1, 1562 of 1,200 Huguenots. This triggered the Wars of Religion which lasted from 1562 to 1598.

Persecution of the Huguenots continued and in August, 1572, 8,000 Huguenots were killed in one night at the St. Batholomew Massacre. This occurred in Paris at the wedding of Henry of Navarre (later to rule as Henry IV) where thousands of Huguenots had come to celebrate his wedding.. Catherine de Medici, who violently hated the Huguenots, had persuaded her son Charles IX to order the mass murder. She personally inspected the carnage on Sunday, the 24th of August in 1572. Pope Gregory XIII ordered bonfires and celebrations in Rome, when news of the massacre reached him on the 2nd of September, 1572.

When Henry IV became ruler, he signed the Edict of Nantes on April 13, 1598, ending the Wars of Religion and establishing 20 specified French “free” cities where the Huguenots were allowed to practice their faith. This official support soon ended upon the murder in 1610 of Henry IV. Cardinal Richelieu began a siege of the Huguenot free cities which resulted in their last stronghold of La Rochelle falling to Richelieu in 1629. Widespread persecution of the Huguenots again began in earnest and under Louis XIV (1643-1715) the Edict of Nantes was finally revoked on the 22nd of October, 1685. Louis XIV stated a policy of “one faith, one law, and one king” and the end result was the destruction and burning of Protestant churches and homes, and many Huguenots being burned at the stake.

In spite of emigration being declared illegal, 200,000 or more French Huguenots fled the country, going to Switzerland, Germany, England, America, and South Africa. Between 5,000 and 7,000 Huguenots and Walloons (French speaking protestants from Wallonia, in the South part of Belgium) came to America between 1618 and 1725. At least four of these became a part of our ancestry.

Click Here: “Our Huguenot and Walloon Ancestors“.

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.

I am also putting the SEARCH SITE HERE link on the blogroll to make it easier to do a search on the site. This search tool is provided by FeedBlitz and does a great job of locating site names, etc. I recommend them highly.

© 2008 by E. Lamar Ross and Infopreneur Publishers, LLC.