Race is a social construct. There’s no better way to understand what that really means than to look at history. “So get this. Some of the eighteenth century founding fathers only thought English and Danish people were white. Even Swedes and Germans were “swarthy.” French certainly were. So Franklin would not have considered me white,…
Mapping History
I love these animated maps. Ollie Bye, “The History of the World: Every Year“, YouTube (Oct. 14, 2016). Retrieved Oct. 22, 2016. Centennia Historical Atlas, “Map of Europe: 1000 AD to present day“, Liveleak. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2019. Updated to add links.
Not One Drop of Blood But What Is American
John Adams (1735-1826), President and Patriot, gave the following account of his ancestry: “One of the foreign Ambassadors said to me, You have been often in England. — Never but once in November and December 1783. You have Relations in England no doubt. — None at all. — None how can that be? You are…
Swanström Arms
Traditional arms, assumed about 1918(Design by Magnus Backmark) Descendants of Adolf Swanström The Swanström arms were assumed (I believe) during or shortly after World War I, perhaps about 1918, and certainly before 1942 by my great uncle Hugo Ferdinand Swanström (1886-1971). The arms might be older than I know. No records exist of…
American Heraldry Society
Back in 2003 I was one of three founding members of the American Heraldry Society, with David Boven and Cory McHenry. Those were the days. As I recall, the Society grew out of discussions in an online forum. One of the usenet groups, I think. Probably rec.heraldry. In the beginning David was our President, I…