Did You Know #54

Born in 1923 into a West Virginian farming family, Charles Elwood Yeager would become famous as a test pilot. He enlisted in the military in 1941 and served as an airplane mechanic. After WWII Chuck Yeager became "a test pilot at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base, California)" (www.wikitree.com). It was in this capacity that Yeager flew the Bell XS-1, which he called Glamorous Glennis, named for his wife, into history.

"Two nights before the scheduled date for the flight, Yeager broke two ribs when he fell from a horse. He was worried that the injury would remove him from the mission and reported that he went to a civilian doctor in nearby Rosamond, who taped his ribs" (wikipedia.org). In great pain from this accident Yeager was determined to carry out his scheduled test flight and on October 14, 1947, at an altitude of 45,000 feet over the Mojave Desert, he became the first person to break the sound barrier.

On December 7, 2020 Brigadier General Chuck Yeager died at the age of 97. What I did not know at that time was our family's relationship to him. He and Mom just happened to be 7th cousins 1 time removed. The chart below traces the family tree connection.

Col. James Taylor and Elizabeth Paisley
Mary Ann Taylor b.1710	George Edmund Taylor b.1710
Catherine Hannah Burke b.1727	Zachariah Taylor b.1739
John M. McComas b.1757	Mary Taylor b.1765
Christena McComas b.1796	Zachariah Peter b.1780
Elisha M. Franklin b.1829	James M. Peters b.1820
Adeline Frances Franklin b.1865	Margaret N. Peters b.1851
Albert Hal Yeager b.1896	Zacharious I. Standerfer b.1871
Brig Gen Charles Elwood Yeager b.1923	Mercedes Ruth Standerfer b.1892
	Mary Jean Ethington b.1928

Did You Know #53

    With Thanksgiving coming up I thought this item may be of interest to visitors of this family blog. Four hundred years ago a little ship called the Mayflower brought a group of pilgrims to The New World. Arriving in what is now Massachusetts on November 21, 1620, the Mayflower was only about 90 feet long, and the living quarters, where the 102 passengers spent their 66-day voyage, was about the size of a volleyball court. One hundred and two passengers finally disembarked on December 21st (the two births en route offset the two deaths). In those first harsh winter months half of the pilgrim population died.
    But did you know that our family has a link (by marriage) to the Mayflower? Dad's 3rd-Great-Aunt, Alzina Nettleton Bragg was the fifth-great-granddaughter of Priscilla Mullins who, along with her father, William and brother, Joseph, were all passengers on the Mayflower. Their other siblings, William and Sarah, stayed behind in England.
    Also on the Mayflower was Priscilla's future husband, John Alden. Priscilla Mullins was also a main subject of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1858 poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish.
    So here is the connection that comes through William and Alzina Bragg:

Don C. Bragg (1920)
Orval Bishop Bragg (1895)
Franklin Martin Bragg (1867)
William Bragg (1834)
Hugh Lewis Bragg (1795)         <brothers>	William M.Bragg (1808) married Alzina Nettleton (1814)
	Barnabas Nettleton (1780) married Phoebe Stafford (1785)
	Daniel Nettleton (1740) married Phebe Stannard (1748)
	Lemuel Uriah Stannard married Ruth Grinnell (1722)
	Paybody Grinnell (1691) married Ruth Nettleton (about 1700)
	Daniel Grinnell (1668) married Lydia Pabodie (1667)
	William Pabodie (about 1620) married Elizabeth Alden (about1624)
	John Alden (about 1598) married Priscilla Mullins (about 1602)
	William Mullins (about 1572) married Alice (last name unknown)

NOTE: Each generation's principle individual in bold.

Attached are pictures we took in August 2007 of the John and Priscilla Alden's house in the Duxbury, MA (visit Alden Kindred of America for more information).

Getting Through Life Alive

     Under the dark shadow cast by COVID-19 during the summer of 2020 more American families opted for vacationing in the great outdoors. With camping and campers on the rise, the National Park Service issued guidelines for safety when encountering a bear in the wild. Their advice ...

    • don't run (bears will chase you)
    • don't climb a tree (bears can climb too)
    • don't push!
NPS officials actually warned campers, “Do NOT push down a slower friend (even if you think the friendship has run its course)” (Kootenai Valley Times, Bonners Ferry, Idaho).
    We are all pilgrims on this physical journey through life (1 Peter 1:1). Our goal is to fully realize the eternal life Jesus promised to those who obey and follow Him (John 14:1-4). On this journey we need the support and encouragement of fellow Christians. Satan, however, uses any means possible to keep us from attaining those precious promises, even if it is getting us to turn on each other, "pushing each other to the bears."
    Isn't it wonderful that the church of the New Testament is infused with love? Love for God. Love for the Son. Love for the Bible. Love for one another (1 John 4:21). As Christians, we need each other to help us get out of this life to live forever.

David Bragg

Family Building Blocks

    Police were summoned to the Camillus, New York home after receiving a call from one side of an altercation in late May 2018. Upon arrival they were faced with a heated dispute between a 30-year-old son and his parents. His parents had won a previous court decision that their son could no longer live in their basement. The son was finally collecting up his belongings and complying with the court order when the dispute escalated.
    As members of the press gathered to witness and report on the dispute, the son informed them that he had called police when his parents refused to hand over their grandchild's, the complainant's 8-year-old son’s, Lego set (dailywire.com).
    No family is perfect because all families are composed of people, mortal creatures marred by sin (Romans 3:23). Yet, every family has a perfect pattern for assembling the divinely ordained building blocks freely available in the pages of scripture. Through inspiration the Apostle Paul clearly laid out the essential foundation for the family as he argued for Jesus’ relationship with the church He established in Acts 2. Within the roles of husbands and wives (Ephesians 5:22-33), and of parents with children (6:1-4), Paul saw this blueprint for a successful family: “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (5:25).

David Bragg

Finding Peace in a Turbulent World

    Susie Maroney did something that nobody else had ever done. On May 12, 1997 the 22-year-old Australian became the first person to swim from Cuba to the Florida Straits. For 110 miles in shark infested waters she swam nonstop for 24 1/2 hours. To protect her from the sharks she swam in a special cage pulled by a boat moving with her. To encourage her along the way her mother and brother rode in the boat cheering her on. Along with this amazing feat of endurance she arrived in the Florida Keys she was dehydrated, sunburned, and covered with jellyfish stings. Even more amazing to me is the fact that Maroney was born with cerebral palsy. She took up swimming at the age of four and began competitive swimming three years later. As a teenager she had pushed herself to the point where she could compete in long distance swimming contests.

    Life is lived in a turbulent world with obstacles that seem to challenge us at unexpected turns. Health problems. Financial concerns. Family conflicts. Career upsets. Sometimes the challenges of life make us feel like we are swimming with sharks and no shore is in sight.

    Jesus has the perfect solution for handling life’s ups and downs. To those who have obeyed Him in baptism and who strive daily to maintain their faith He offers peace. To His disciples He proclaimed, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). That promise is just as available today as then. Jesus will surround His faithful followers with a peace the world can never penetrate. Live your life with determination and faith and Jesus will give you peace.

David Bragg

A Wing and a Prayer

    On February 1, 1943 Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg flew out to North Africa with his team, the 414th Bomb Squadron. On the way back to their base they came under attack by a German fighter pilot. The enemy plane suddenly spiraled out of control crashing into the lead American plane sending it crashing down. Still falling, the German plane next struck the B-17, the All American, piloted by Bragg. With a gaping hole in his plane's fuselage, the rear of the bomber literally swaying as it flew, he was somehow able to bring the plane in for an emergency landing. Once on the ground, the crew emerged unharmed from the damaged plane just before the rear portion collapsed. Later, in relating his experiences to Jimmy McHugh, Lt. Bragg told how "we came in on one engine and a prayer" (www.armyairforces.com). Not only did his story inspire McHugh's song, A Wing and a Prayer, but also a film with the same title.

    Prayer is one of the greatest spiritual blessings bestowed upon Christians during their earthly sojourn. In it the power of God beautifully blends with the faith of the believer. The resulting masterpiece only further emphasizes the crucial role Jesus plays as the Christian’s mediator and Savior. Prayer can make the difference in our attitude in facing life’s adversity. It may not always change circumstances, but it will most certainly change you.

David Bragg

A Lurking Danger in Mattoon

    For several generations my family has lived near the town of Mattoon, Illinois. Following my graduation from junior college I lived and worked in Mattoon. Yet, I could never have imagined a time of darkness that terrified that community in 1944 when it was terrorized by the “Mad Gasser of Mattoon!”

    In a time before air conditioning was prevalent a mysterious figure dressed in black would strike without warning spraying "a paralyzing gas" in the open windows of private homes. Over a period of two weeks twenty-four attacks were reported to local authorities of a sweet-smelling gas being sprayed through open windows. Some screens were slashed at the windows in questioned and when there were witnesses seeing a fleeing suspect the descriptions were usually consistent.

    Authorities were stumped and eventually dismissed many of the attacks as mass hysteria. Yet, despite armed vigilantes roaming the streets the attacks continued as did the skepticism of baffled law enforcement (www.historicmysteries.com).

    A far more dangerous force regularly attacks the entire human race. Unlike the Illinois case, we know this enemy and can recognize his tactics (2 Corinthians 2:11). Also unlike whatever or whoever terrorized Mattoon in the fall of 1944, Satan’s attacks never end as long as life endures.

David Bragg