Whose Scout? What soldier? Which War?

The scout has to be Dad due to your timing hint, but the picture of the face could pass for Don. I don't know if Don was ever a scout. I was a scout and remember so well going to scout camp in Bristol by the Bridge. I forgot the name of the place - it was a national boy scout rendezvous of some time, back in mid 1940's. I got to be a 1st Class but never an Eagle Scout. Best scout in my local troop lived just across the first bridge and hung himself in his basement - sorry for such a "nice" story. I believe Greg was once a Cub scout, but don't remember much else.

The Army picture must be of our Grandfather Stone who was a Doctor and therefore must have been called into the Medical Corps in the 1st World War. This is really a guess, but I remember seeing the picture before

Tom

I would have guessed that the first picture was of Uncle Don...until I saw the second hint. I will guess that it is a picture of Pop-Pops. I can make out the words "my" and "red" on the back of the picture but the last word looks like "sent" to me?!

The age of the photo made me think of Pop-pops first. Thinking back to that photo of he and Nana before they were married, I think I see the same person. But it really does look quite a bit like my dad!

I see "my red scout" which doesn't make a whole lot of sense! But it also looks the first line is all one word, which means "my red" is out. Hm...

The hint makes it clear it's WWI. Since Grandfather Simpson would have been pushing 50, it must be Grandfather Stone, who would have been early 40s (and who died not long after). Besides, I think he looks like a Stone! On the other hand, I can't figure out WHERE this is! The house Pop-pops grew up in was brick, so it's not there.

If this is Dr Daniel 2, I had no idea he served in WWI!

Hmmm...

Tom's comment about the "best Scout" in his troop reminds me of Richard Cory - the poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson . I guess we never know what's going on in the minds of others, or were there some hints I'm not aware of that made this tragedy not all that surprising? I have vague memories of this, but I was too young at the time to be told much about it.

"First bridge" is a term I had forgotten. I assume that's the Barrington Bridge. But was the "second bridge" the Warren Bridge, or the one by the White Church? Or was that bridge the "first bridge???"

Yes, I was a Cub Scout and I think I made it to "Tenderfoot," or some such, in Boy Scouts before quitting. (that would be the lowest level ;-) As an adult I wrote several articles for "Boys Life," the official Scouting magazine, when I was freelancing in the 1970s.

I believe the first photo is of Pop Pop, based on the dates and on the face! The resemblance to his sons is striking!
The second photo may be Pop Pop's Dad, Daniel E Stone, however, he died when Pop Pop was around 12 (of appendicitis), so if not, then it is Pop Pop's grandfather, Daniel E Stone I. They were both doctors, so the special unit would have been a medical unit. Was he proud? That is an interesting question... I will guess 'no' because a.) He was a Quaker by religion as were most of the Stones, so he would have been against war b.) I never ever heard Pop Pop or my Dad mention that a Stone served in WWI. Many people who have a relative who served in WWI or WWII talk about it more.

I see 'scout', but the 'c'is unclear, and although the first word looks like 'my red', I think it was meant to be one word...I don't know what.

Catharen

Well, I'm ready to learn more here from those of you who know about Quakers in our family tree. I know very little of this.

I know the first Doctor Stone, my great grandfather, was a Quaker. That's it. I don't think my grandfather , at least as an adult, was, though perhaps he was raised as a Quaker. I believe my grandparents attended some other Protestant church in Emmitsburg - but someone else can set the record straight if I'm wrong.

I think I am the only Quaker in my generation, so let me set the record straight on what Quakers call the "peace testimony. " I have been very involved in this personally and have made a casual historical study of it. It is something that started with the Quaker Founder, George Fox, who told the King of England he would never take up arms. But - and this is something important - it is NOT followed by all Quakers at all times. First, because Quakers have no creed - you do not have to become a pacifist to be a Quaker. Your faith is between you and your God.

That said, Quakers generally believe there is "that of God" in everyone and so I would say most are opposed to killing most of the time, but some change their minds when faced with a specific crisis. (One Westport Quaker whom I like very much served on a battleship in WWII.)

Even today, you will find significant differences on this issue. The Quaker Meeting I belong to opposed the Iraq War and all other recent wars that I know of. But the neighboring Quaker meeting in Dartmouth has taken no formal stance on the issue. I suspect that is because they can reach the kind of unanimous agreement Quaker meetings need to reach before taking such a position.

Individual Quakers have served in all our wars. I know some who served in WWII, for example. So, don't be surprised for a Quaker to appear in uniform - especially a doctor. Afterall, this is a difference between healing the wounded and wounding the well!

As usual, I've come to this party late and I have little to add! The discussion has certainly been interesting.

Now, my first thought was that the picture looks exactly like Pop-pops, which is what I thought when I saw the picture of "Uncle Jess." So I'd say it could be either one. And I'm amazed you even see "scout" in those words, I'd be hard pressed to read that out of context.

I'll be interested to hear the story behind the second photo. I'd guess that very few people are called to service with emotions that aren't mixed. Even if they agree with the war and want to serve, their lives are upheaved.

Sarah and I were both Girl Scouts, and Mommy was a leader. I made it through Cadets, but didn't do seniors. Both of my daughters have been Daisies and are/will be Brownies. I will be a leader next year.

Maggie

Now I'm learning something about modern Quakers! In my family research I've learned a little bit since our early Quaker ancestors were prominent in the government of Pennsylvania (when 8G grandfather Richard Hough drowned, William Penn wrote, “I lament the loss of honest Richard Hough. Such men must needs be wanted where selfishness and forgetfulness of God’s mercies so much abound.”).

I do know that back then slave ownership or marrying out of the faith was cause to be asked to leave the "monthly meeting" (this happened to early relatives of ours). Certainly not the level of acceptance that Greg explains modern Quakers have!
(Note: Of course there are enormous degrees of difference between slavery, serving in a war and marrying outside the faith. A compromise on one hardly means you'd compromise on the others. Still, during the time period that the Quakers strictly enforced these requirements, all three were legal under the laws of the land and there were no compromises.)

On the scouting front, both Dan and I made it to Webelo status -- a step above Cub Scout. Mom was a den mother at one point. Perhaps the thing we both remember most are creating our pinewood derby cars. We made a prominent fin/skeg down the center of the "trunk." Dad drilled holes in the bottom into which we melted solder and graphite was our secret weapon to make the plastic wheels spin fast and loose on their nail axels. We both had trophies from those races, though where those are now, who knows! Dave, Dan and I recently relived the whole experience when Dave and I saw Alex's pinewood derby racer (Dave was a Boy Scout).

I didn't know about the Penn connection. I would like to know more about our Quaker roots.

As I review what follows I see I have written more than intended. I won't be offended should people ignore it. You can stop reading here ;-) But if you would like to understand more about historical and modern Quakers, read on.

Quaker's started out quite firmly promoting several key points - they believed in the individual's ralationship to God and thus rejected priest; they followed the Bible but believed inspiration and revelation were continuing things, not fixed forever in a book; they opposed war, opposed slavery, gave women equal say in all things, and perhaps because they had themselves spent time in prison, had a deep empathy for prisoners. (In the 17th Century Massachusetts executed four Quakers for the crime of being Quakers in Massachusetts. This colony was a theocracy then, much like the Taliban.) Quakers also promoted simple dress, simple life styles, and did away with oaths and with titles in their speech. (If you have studied the Bible you know Jesus is quite specific about the futility of oath taking. A simple "yes" or "no" prevails - either your word is good, or it is not.,)

Those themes are strong in modern Quakers, especially in New England. In the 19th century, however, there were several splits within Quakerism. A significant number of Quakers took the same path that Protestant evangelists were taking at that time - and that included getting strict about marrying within the faith. However, not all believed this way thena nd I'm not sure any do now. It also included coming very close to requring belief in a Creed.

Quakers in the midwest today frequently have what we call "pastoral" meetings where there is a minister. I have attended such "meetings" and they feel like any other Protestant church with a minister preaching and hymn singing. That too grew out of the 19th Century split. (Quakers joke about they're inability to sing - they're too busy reading a line ahead to figure out if they agree with the words to get the tune right ;-)

In New England I would say Quakers are closer to their own roots - and the roots of early Christians before a Creed was adopted for Christianity - that was around 300 AD, about the same time the Romans stopped labelling Christians as members of a "pagan cult" and the Emperor became a Christian.

In Westport our meeting for worship is silent - which means we may sit for an hour in complete silence - or the silence may be broken by one or more members who feel moved to speak, or even sing. (A few have beautiful voices and will express themselves that way.) The highest officer we have is a "clerk." Business is decided by us all being in agreement - or at least by those who are not in agreement, agreeing not to oppose the meeting.

I see Quakerism more as a way, a culture, a respect for everyone - than as a set of beliefs. In my mind that means nothing is absolute, including the peace testimony. To oppose the war in Iraq our meeting had to review this in a soul-searching way and we needed to reach agreement on it. The meeting then approved a specific "minute" opposing the war. Though we don't take a vote, any one person in the meeting could have stopped that action.

We still meet in the same simple, wooden meeting house that I believe was built in 1817 with signigicant assistance from Paul Cuffe, a black man in Westport who, like most Quakers of the time, was a very successful business leader. (He also established the first school in Westport wtih his own funds.)

If you have been following the news today, you know that Liberia was established by freed American slaves. Cuffe, whose father had been a slave, was one of the first to advocate this course of action as a solution to incipient racism and spent a significant amount of his own money to establish a colony of former slaves in Sierra :Leone.

Which is getting well astray from family issues - but since Quakers are part of our past and are frequently misunderstood - or confused with Shakers or Mennonites - I hope this is helpful.

I wish I could talk to Dad now and find out more about how he became an Epsicopalian. My understanding is that some time after his father's death his mother simply went to the Episopal Bishop of Maryland, whom she knew, and asked him to confirm her son. I am sure there was no Episcopal Church in Emmitsburg at the time. and I don't know if Jess was involved in this action, though it would seem logical that he would be.

I had heard (and I'm guessing this is the root of Catahren's statement) that the Stone's were Quakers but that when Great-Grandmother decided to send Owings and Jess to religious school, they converted. Of course that assumes that Owings snd Jess went to an episcopal school as children!

Greg, you touch on one of the major misconceptions about religious freedom in early Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Colony was all about the freedom to practice their own religion, not about providing that freedom to other religions! Our history books gloss over that little fact.

Of course, we're also taught that the Pilgrims (those seekers of religious freedom) were the first settlement here in the Americas. They were the first English settlement meant to be a permanent self-sustaining colony with families.

The first English settlement was Roanoke, which disappeared, followed by Jamestown in Virginia. English men settled this colony in an effort to farm and grow rich and then head back to Eurpoe. Our 11G-grandfather Capt. Thomas Graves arrived there in 1608. His future wife was on the same ship and they married a few years later. However, all of their children are believed to have been born in England -- the entire family didn't settle in Virginia until about 1622.

Of course, now I'm way off the Quaker topic! So far as I've found, Quakers appear only on the Stone side of the family, with most of Dr Daniel Sr's ancestors being Quaker or converting upon their marriages. The Hough ancestors (Daniel Sr.s paternal grandmother's ancestors: Hough, Biles, Janney) and the Wynnes were involved in early Pennsylvania politics at the time of William Penn.

Well, from the picture I would have thought that scout was Don - what an amazingly strong family resemblence there is among the Stone men!

On the scouting front, Alex is a cub scout and Joshua can't wait to be old enough. Somehow or other I've gotten sucked into being a Den leader - can't imaging how that happened, but with 3 boys I guess it was inevitable.

Is that a wolf on the banner? Alex was a "wolf" cub this year - wonder if that idea comes from way back in the scouting program? Also - I would have guessed the first word was written on the back is "rugged".

Alex just loves wearing his uniform and when the answer is posted I'll show him this picture. He'll get a real kick out of the "family connection"!

Karen