Lineage

I found this Fan Genealogy Chart online and uploaded it to my iDisk for people to download and use. It is a good one for doing longer family trees - if you get to the end, just start a new fan for that person.

I'll come back to geneaology in a little bit, but first just some random stuff.

Paying attention to my dreams, I've come to the conclusion that my recurring places in dreams are normal for me. There have been several other recurring places I've dreamed about since I last blogged on it - different places than those I've mentioned. So my dreams must have a landscape all their own - at least certain kinds of dreams. This morning I woke up from a dream that struck me as odd - I was a junior high music teacher and we were putting on a musical production of Planet of the Apes that I had written. I have no idea why that came up - I haven't been involved in anything Planet of the Apes related recently. When I was in junior high my choir teacher was who I wanted to be like when I grew up. I was really into choir at that time. As for Planet of the Apes, I remember my brother had some of Planet of the Apes comic books that came with 45 records - you would listen to the story on the record while reading the comic book. We had some Star Trek ones too that I really liked as well. Those things were awesome!

I took my nephew to a circus on the base at Fort Carson last night. His sisters were both doing something and he had a free ticket from school and wanted to go out so I took him. We were just a little bit late because he didn't tell me until it was about time to go and we had to get through the gate security line to get onto the base. The circus was the typical cheesy lame stuff I remember from every circus I've ever seen except Cirque du Soleil (which is awesome, literally). And the ticket for me to get in was outlandish at $20 - but my brother gave me the money so I can't complain. Nephew had a good time.

So today for no apparent reason I went through the family charts I could find at my parents' house. A few pieces are missing and may be located later. I'll share what I found, starting with my grandparents - maybe someone will find it in a search for their own family history sometime.

Grandparents -

Mom's side - Ralph Gordon Anderson born somewhere back East December 13, 1915 and Frances Marie Andritsch born November 11, 1917 in Colorado Springs, CO.
Dad's side - Park Forsythe Beatty born April 5, 1927 Toquerville, UT. Served in Navy WWII in San Diego, and Gladys Marie Allison born 11 25 1924 Fairplay, CO, also served in Navy in San Diego in WWII.




Great Grandparents -

parents of Frances - Josef Andritsch born 1893 immigrated from Fohnsdorf Austria through Ellis Island at the age of 14 in 1908. Went to McCurtain Oklahoma then Elbert County, CO, then Colorado Springs where he was a Coal Miner at the Peakview Mine. Married to Ethel Nancy Cummings (Nancy Ethel Cummings) here in Colorado, born 12 28 1895 in Newport, KY. I

parents of Ralph - Albert Anderson born July 27, 1883 (from Sweden maybe?) and Rachel Guddal born January 21 1892 somewhere in the U.S.

parents of Gladys - Viola May Ooley - of Coffeyville, Kansas ???- family lore says that her mother pulled her off the street when the Dalton Gang shootout happened on October 5, 1892 - Viola was very emotional about it, very angry at the gang for the violence. But that would mean she was a lot older than her husband and I don't know if that's true - maybe the story comes from her mother instead. Gladys' father was Millard Ernest Allison born February 22, 1900 in Tablerock, Colorado (a potato farming community near what is now Black Forest, in El Paso County but close to the Elbert and Douglas county lines). He worked as a shoe cobbler in Leadville, Fairplay and Colorado Springs, and he served in the Navy in WWI. I did find that Millard's dad's brother was married to a gal from Coffey KS - that would be a farfetched connection to the Dalton gang thing but you never know.

parents of Park - Vera Forsythe born June 1, 1894 in Toquerville, UT and Walter Lamb Beatty born July 7, 1892 in Toquerville, UT. Walter was semi-famous in his day - he was a real 'cowboy' who served as a guide for 20 years in Zion National Park and is mentioned and pictured in some books about the park and had several roles as a movie extra, including at least one speaking part, in the films Ramona (1936), The Badman of Brimstone (1937), Drums Along the Mohawks , Stagecoach (1939), Union Pacific (1939), My Friend Flicka (1943), Thunderhead Son of Flicka (1945), Ramrod (1947), Bugles in the Afternoon (1952), Brigham Young (1940), Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949), Red Canyon and maybe more.





Great Great Grand-parents

parents of Josef Andritsch - named Josef Andritsch and Maria Rogi

parents of Ethel Nancy Cummings - Frances A Bryant b. 1887 and Ira George Cummings, b. 7 1 1857 Tobin Township Perry City Indiana, died 1927 in Colorado Springs.

parents of Rachel Guddal - Gabriel Guddal born January 1 1870 in Tonstad Norway and Christina Mydland from ?

parents of Albert Anderson - Anders Petterson born February 5 1848 and Botilda Olsdatter born 3 17 1841

parents of Millard Ernest Allison - Millard M Allison born 10 14 1873 in NC and Nettie Jones

parents of Vera Forsythe - Benjamin Henry Forsythe born 11 18 1868 in Toquerville, UT and Barbara Lamb born 2 17 1872 in Toquerville, UT.

parents of Walter Beatty - John Thomas Beatty born May 25 1869 and Helena Lamb born 10 2 1869, both born in Toquerville, UT. (Helena and Barbara were first cousins.)





Three-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Frances A Bryant - Alexander Bryant b. May 1826 Kentucky and Eliza b. 10 1836 Tobin Township Indiana.

parents of Ira George Cummings - Issiah Cummings b. 2 19 1823 Perry Indiana, and Nancy Butler. (Family history says Ira George Cummings was a full-blooded Osage, but census records do not confirm and it appears to be untrue - maybe it comes from the Bryants or Butlers, if at all).

parents of Anders Petterson were Petter Jonasson Al and Elin. (Obviously, Petter's father was named Jonas).

parents of Botilda Olsdatter were Ola Mansson born 3 21 1810 and Sissa Olsdatter.

parents of Gabriel Guddal - Johannes Aslaksen Guddal born 1 25 1844 in Tonstad and immigrated to the U.S. with wife and kids. Married to Ragnhild Gundersdatter born 6 30 1847.

parents of Millard M. Allison - Thomas B Allison born 10 12 1836 in Burke near Old Fort, North Carolina and Martha Bird Hicks of Burke/Old Fort, NC. Thomas Bird Allison died in 1902 in Elbert, Colorado.

parents of Benjamin Henry Forsythe - Thomas Forsythe born 9 20 1813 in Kelso, Roxburgshire, Scotland and Mary Browett born 6 25 1823 in Bottsford Leicester England.

parents of Barbara Lamb - Mary Hardy Foster born 5 1 1834 in Bradford Essex New York and Brigham or Brighman Young Lamb b 6 27 1833 (Yes if you haven't figured it out yet, the family in Toquerville were all Mormons from the very beginning of the church, continuing today for large parts of the family tree, although I don't know where this name Brigham Young comes from as he was born only a few years after the famous Brigham Young.) born 6 27 1832 in Avon Longton New York.

parents of John Thomas Beatty b 10 24 1845 - Maryann Duffin b 1 29 1852 and John (also Thomas?) Beatty/Batty

parents of Helena Lamb - Edwin Lamb b 12 23 1831 (brother of Brigham) and Elizabeth Hardy b 8 29 1839(sister of Mary Hardy Foster).




Four-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Olsa Mansson were Mans Olsson and Hildegard Persdatter. (Obviously Mans had a father named Ols/Olsa and Hildegard has a father named Pers).


parents of Ragnhild Gundersdatter - Gunder Knutsen born 1816 and Anna Svensdatter born 7 2 1814. (Obviously Gunder's dad was named Knut and Anna's dad was named Sven).

parents of Johannes Aslaksen Guddal - Aslak Johnsen Guddal born 6 20 1802 and Astrid Isaksdatter Liland born 9 12 1802

parents of Thomas B Allison - Moses Allison born 7 15 1805 in Old Fort North Carolina and Susannah ? born 10 10 1806.

parents of John Thomas Beatty - George Batty Jr. b. 8 14 1819 Pilley York England and Encora Woodcock b. 10 15 1822 England - immigrated to US.

parents of Martha Matilda Bird Hicks - Wilson Lee Bird born 4 5 1807 in Burke NC and Rebecca Lyttle b 7 18 1807 in Burke NC

parents of Mary Browett - Benjamin Browett born 1775 in Bottsford/Bottlesford England and Mary Sparks born 3 14 1782 in Bristol Gloucester England.

parents of Thomas Forsythe - Thomas Forsythe b. 6 4 1782 Kelso Scotland and Isabella Jackson

parents of Brigham Young Lamb - Almira Merrell born 6 15 1807 in Hartford, CT and Able Lamb born 3 9 1801 in Rowe Franklin Massachussetts.

parents of Mary Hardy Foster - Samuel Hardy born 9 21 1804 in Bradford Massachussetts and Caroline Bacon Rogers born 9 6 1806 in Noragewalk, Maine.

parents of Elizabeth Hardy - same as those of Mary Hardy Foster

parents of Edwin Lamb - same as those of Brigham Young Lamb

parents of Isaiah Cummings - Uriah Cummings b. about 1780 Virginia and Sarah Lanman born 1779 Derby Caswell North Carolina




Five-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Astrid Isaksdatter Liland - Isak Eilefsen Liland born 1757 and Karen Olsdatter Tunstand born 1759.

parents of Aslak Johnsen Guddal - John Nicolaysen Guddal born 1775 and Berthe Torgiesdatter Guddal born 1773.

parents of Moses Allison - Thomas Bird Allison born before 1755 in MD and Cassandra Bird born 10 3 1760 in Rock Creek Prince George's MD

parents of Wilson Lee Bird - Reverend Richard R Bird b 8 27 1769 in Rowan NC and Elizabeth Westlake born 5 22 1780 in Greenbriar, VA.

parents of Rebecca Lytle - George M Lytle born 11 27 1785 in McDowell NC and Ann Clark born around 1785 in NC

parents of Almira Merrell - mother was Phebe Shepard.

parents of Able Lamb - Aeneas Lamb and Anna Blackmore.

parents of Caroline Bacon Rogers - John Rogers and Rhoda Davis.

parents of Samuel Hardy - Benjamin Hardy and Hannah Brokleback.

parents of Thomas Forsyth - James Forsyth b. 1 18 1756 Nenthorn Scotland and Jean Minto

Parents of Isabelle Jackson - Christian Ladlie/Laidley and Henry Jackson

Parents of Uriah Cummings - Thomas Cummings b. 1750 or 1754 VA, and Sarah Henry b. about 1740 Rocky Mills Hanover VA

parents of Sarah Lanman - James Taylor Lanman b. 1752 Fairfax, VA and Sythe (Seth) Blake Sommers b. 2 29 1756 Fairfax VA







Six-Greats Grandparents

parents of Karen Olsdatter Tunstand - Ole Torgieson Guddal born 1731 and E Berte Halvorsdatter Seland.

parents of Isak Eilefsen Liland - Eilef Eilefson Leilan and Gundvar Olsdatter Tonstand.

parents of Berthe Torgiesdatter Guddal - Torgie Mauritzsen Guddal born 1755 and Tora Johannesdatter Lindeland.

parents of John Nicolaysen Guddal - Kristi Omsdatter Lunde and Nicolai Atlaksen Rosstol born 1733, son of Atlak Nicolaysen Rosstol and Ragnhild Tongiesdatter.

parents of Thomas Bird Allison - Mary, born around 1725 and Benjamin Allison born around 1725 in MD.

parents of Cassandra Bird - Benjamin Bird born 6 13 1775 in Prince George's MD and Elizabeth Allison born around 1735 in Dorchester MD

parents of Reverend Richard R Bird - same as parents of Cassandra Bird

parents of Elizabeth Westlake - Thomas Westlake born 1 1 1755 in Trenton NJ and Mary Bracee born 9 21 1762 in CT

parents of George M Lytle - Captain Thomas Lytle born 6 6 1750 in Rowan NC and Susanah Perkins born around 1752

parents of James Forsyth - Thomas Forsyth b. 10 19 1718 Nenthorn Berwick Scotland and Isobel (Elspeth) Madder b. 11 20 1719

parents of Thomas Cummings - Thomas Cummins b. 1716 VA

parents of Sarah Henry - John Henry and Sarah Winston b. 1709 Richmond VA (sister of the famous Patrick Henry "Give me liberty or give me death".

parents of James Taylor Lanman - George Taylor Landman b. 4 4 1715 and Elizabeth Taylor b. 1712 VA

parents of Sythe/Seth Blake Sommers - George Sommers/Summers b. after 1724





Seven-Greats Grand parents


parents of Benjamin Bird - Thomas Bird born around 1680 in England and Anna Benedictsdottir Stedham born around 1691 in New Castle, Wilmington, DE

parents of Benjamin Allison - Thomas Allison born around 1696 in Charles, MD and Barbara Burch born 1697 in Newport Charles MD

parents of Isobel Madder - dad George Madder

parents of Thomas Forsyth - Walter Forsyth b. 1688 or 1690 in Nenthorn Scotland and Janet Leach of Stitchell

parents of Thomas Cummins- Malachi Cummins b. 1695 Fauquier County VA and Elizabeth

parents of John Henry - Alexander Hendrie Foveran Aberdeenshire Scotland and Jean Robertson

parents of Sarah Winston - Isaac Winston b. about 1680 Hanover VA and Mary Dabney b. about 1676 Hanover VA

parents of George Taylor Landman - William Landman b. 1680 or 1689 Richmond Co VA and Catherine Thomas b. 1680 or 1693 North Farnham VA

parents of George Sommers/Summers - John Summers b. 1687 Maryland and Seth Harrison Lucas






Eight-Great Grandparents -

parents of Thomas Allison - Charles Allison born around 1663 in Charles MD and Elizabeth Posey born around 1675 in Port Tobacco Charles MD

parents of Janet Leach - Ninian Leach and Catherine Williamson

parents of Malachi Cummings - Alexander Cummins b. 12 10 1677 St. Stephen's Parish, North Cumberland Co VA and Sarah Muttoone Great Wicomico Parish VA

parents of William Landman - John Landman b. before 1673 Richmond Co VA and Jane Barrow b. before 1673 Richmond Co VA

parents of John Summers - John Summers died 1702 VA







Nine-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Charles Allison - Thomas Allanson born 10 6 1639 London Middlesex England and Mary Roberts born 1 29 1645 St. Andrew Holburn Middlesex England

parents of Alexander Cummins - William Cummins b. about 1659 St. Stephens Parish VA and Anne

parents of John Landman - William Landman b. 1647 Northumberland VA and Ann b. 1651 Richmond

parents of Jane Barrow - Jonathan Barrow b. 1647 Richmond VA




Ten-Greats Grandparents -

parents of William Cummins - Nicholas Cummins b. 1636 England and Elizabeth Hooper b. 1635 St. Stephen's Parish VA

parents of William Landman - John Landman Northumberland VA and Mabel b. 1618 Northumberland


Eleven-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Nicholas Cummins - Nicholas Comins b. 1602 England and Ellen Elison b. 1610 Hampton Parish York County VA

parents of John Landman - John Landman b. 1600 VA and Mary b. 1604 VA





Twelve-Greats Grandparents -

parents of Nicholas Comins - William Cummyne b. about 1575 London England






That's about as far back as our records go for now. If anyone has any information on Viola May Ooley who married Millard Ernest Allison let me know!

Recommendations for Consumption re: Muharram and Shia

People take different approaches to mourning. And people take different approaches to the observance of Muharram.

I often find myself in a reflective state. For, if a sacrifice is to have any true meaning and worth, it must bring about a benefit and a change. The benefit for all of us from the sacrifice of Imam Husain (as) is the survival of opportunity to seek and find Truth. But the change has to come from our response to the sacrifice - what do we choose to do with the opportunity? Do we honor the sacrifice by availing ourselves of the search or do we succumb to the ho-hum of the status-quo?

I find my own words generally inadequate for expressing much of anything related to Muharram. Others have already said many things well enough.

Here are some things I like to consume this time of year (and all year) in relation to this train of thought (in no particular order):

1) There are not a lot of English language latmiyat available - so what "those Shia" are chanting is often a mystery, and sometimes people assume the wrong things. Usama Al-Atar has produced some popular recordings that are English renditions. Karbala's My Heart (purchase) (download free)
is an Ashura-themed album. I like track 4 - Every Day is Ashura and have it on my iDisk for you.

2) The Murder of Imam Husayn is an African-American rhythm and rhyme story-telling style account of the tragedy of Karbala written and told by Shaykh Ali Abu-Talib son of Abdun-Nur. If you do a Google search, you can find a few of his shorter poems online and experience his strong style. What I have is four-cassette tape set of this poem - so, yes, it is long - but it goes into good detail of the events and are good alternatives to nightly lectures. The tapes say they were recorded and distributed by GrassRoots Calling, P.O. Box 741177 San Diego CA 92174-1177; (619) 527-9683.

3)Husain The Savior of Islam by S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali is very old by the standard of anything available in English about Islam and particularly Shia Islam. But to this day, it strikes me as something very unique. In particular, part of it shows the parallels between the Hajj rites and the role of Imam Husain (as) and the tragedy of Karbala.

4)Honouring Allah's Saints is a very poorly translated book, but it still contains valuable insight toward understanding some of the origin and textual basis for the emotional fervor some Shia'a display in love of Ahlul-bayt.

5)The Brother of the Prophet Muhammad by Mohamad Jawad Chirri is a superbly written and thorough work on the relationship with the Prophet (saw) and status of Imam 'Ali (as) through Sunni sources. A reader of this book would end with a clear understanding of the origins and reasons behind the existence of Shia Islam today.

The clear style of the author can be appreciated online in these digitized texts: UPenn's online book links for Mohamad Chirri.

6)Light of My Eyes, Husayn is a very beautiful mp3 file I found a few years ago. I couldn't tell you who made it or where I had found it. But I uploaded it to my iDisk for you.

7) Ziyarat Nahiya Al-Muqaddasa is a profound Ziyarat in relation to Karbala which comes to us from Imam e Zaman (Imam of our Age) through one of his four original deputies. The link here is to an introduction - click through to find the ziyarat itself. I have it in a text sent to me by a dear friend one year that is identical to what you see online in words if not in formatting - published by NABA. It lists their e-mail address as naba@sabznet.com .

8) Kumail and Kausar Publications has published a handful of very beautiful and moving works.
Their actual website is here.
In the current topic, I recommend both "Oppression on the Ahlul Bayt (as)", which is an account of sad events immediately following the demise of the Prophet (saw), and "Miracles of Ziyaarat e Ashoora" which includes the ziyarat itself and Dua Alqamah and some other shorter ziyarahs, and includes moving and interesting reports about the claimed effects of the ziyarat's recitation.

9) Shiabooks produces the highest quality literature of its type in English I've ever seen. The typeface and Arabic font are simply brilliant and the work is fastidiously referenced and published in high-quality. These works are primarily translations of collections of fully-cited hadith topical collections. Their booklet on Imam 'Ali (as) and his sons is available for free pdf download at their site. The other two books are "The Glad Tidings of Mustafa for the Shia for Murtaz'a" and "The Qa'em in the Qur'an". The former explains the meaning and obligations behind the usage of the title of "Shia", while the second is a tafsir of Qur'an of ayahs that have relation or reference to the Imam e Zaman (as).

10) Tears and Tributes is a by now exceedingly well-known novel-style account or story-telling account of Karbala. If someone just wants to read it like a novel, this serves that purpose. But I've always had a problem with this one in that it quotes people as saying things (as it is, after all, in a narrative style) when in reality I suspect much of that may be without reference to back it so I don't believe in its pure accuracy. That might not bother many people as the general message and much of the details are accurate and clear, but I'm a bit of a purist in that regard.

11) Verses of Ghadir is an exegesis of the Prophet's (saw) Ghadir sermons and the Qur'anic ayahs revealed on that occasion. This work is one of the best I've read on Ghadir Khum - the event of the very public proclamation of the role of 'Ali (as) in Islam.

12) - 14) Ultimately, to me, Muharram and all of Islam is about the Greater Jihad - Jihad e Nafs, Jihad e Akbar - the struggle against the self. Nothing else matters without this. It is the kernel, the essence. These three books are profoundly beautiful and meaningful. They can forever change your life. Even one page from them can forever change your life. Reflection and growth upon the pondering of these is delightful and deep.

Al-Siraj The Lantern by Shaikh al-Bahrani is available online, or also for purchase. It is essentially a book of purity and ethics and wayfaring - the path of gnosis and seeking Siratul Mustaqeem.

Self Building by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini(or click here for purchase rather than online) is a superior detailed instruction manual for those wanting to win the struggle against self.

Lantern of the Path is by our 6th Imam, Jafar as Sadiq (as). It is a collection of short passages that take a moment to read but a lifetime to absorb and emulate. It is truly a masterpiece of seeking the Straight Path. It can be purchased here, if you prefer the hard copy to the digitized text.

15) A friend of mine wrote a philosophy textbook that explains Islam as its true self better than anything I've ever read. I put a draft version of it as a pdf file called "Islamway" on my iDisk. It is a very dense writing style - lots of meaning in small space, so it is not a fast read. Also, there are a number of typos not corrected in the draft version. I do believe the edited version is coming to publication soon.

Merry Christmas!

A digital copy of the Beatty Family Recipes is available for download. At least, these are the ones not existing in recipe books somewhere at my mom's house. Let me know what you think. Ignore the instructions about dividers and sheet protectors - that is, unless you decide to make a recipe binder! If the download doesn't work for you, I can e-mail you a copy if you like.

And for Eid, there's some "Shia" Adhan mp3 files in there as well - but these are too big for e-mail, fyi.