Violence

Freddie Woodruff 1947–1993

Eighth Cousin Thrice Removed

Freddie Russell Woodruff was born on Sep. 14, 1947 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Freddie died on Aug. 8, 1993 in Georgia. His death at age 45 was due to being shot in the head. He was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Brennan, John O. University of Oklahoma. 26 Feb. 2014. Central Intelligence Agency. Web.
I always administer the oath of office in front of our Memorial Wall. There are 107 stars on that wall, each one representing an Agency hero who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our Nation. You should know that one of them, Freddie Woodruff, was a native of Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Freddie was one of our finest officers. I had the privilege of knowing and traveling overseas with Freddie in 1991. He was a good ole boy from Oklahoma, a consummate intelligence officer who was dedicated to serving his country and his fellow Americans until he was killed overseas in 1993.

Gup, Ted. The Book of Honor. New York, 2001. 374. Web.
Freddie Woodruff was shot to death in August 1993 in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The forty-five-year-old son of a professor, he was an ordained minister who could read ancient Greek and speak Russian, German, Turkish, Armenian, and several other tongues. He had been in Georgia under cover as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy. His mission was to train the security force assigned to protect that nation's embattled leader, Eduard Shevardnadze.

James Alison Maney 1855–1920

Sixth Cousin Four Times Removed

James Alison Maney was born on on Dec. 10, 1855 in Tennessee. James passed away on Jul. 4, 1920 in Monrovia, California at age 64.

Branch: USA Rank: Colonel

"Murder at Fort Sheridan." The New York Times 31 Oct. 1893. Web.
FORT SHERIDAN, Ill., Oct. 30.
Capt. Alfred Hedberg of Company I, Fifteenth Infantry, was shot by First Lieut. J. A. Maney, Regimental Quartermaster of the same regiment, at this post to-day.
The men were in front of the cavalry barracks, and the shooting took place in the presence of Sergt. Copeland, two sentinels, and three prisoners who were working near the cavalry stables. Capt. Hedberg died two hours later at the post hospital. Lieut. Maney immediately after the shooting gave himself up to Col. R. E. A. Crofton, commander of the post, who ordered him under arrest and turned a guard to watch him until the civil authorities could be communicated with, or until his superior officers should decide upon a court-martial.
Maney used an army revolver, and fired but one shot, the bullet striking Capt. Hedberg in the groin. The Captain was taken to the hospital by the ambulance corps.
Those who were witnesses of the affair differ as to how it occurred. It is quite certain that the meeting of the two officers was accidental. They soon got into a wordy altercation, had a scuffle, and then Maney drew his revolver and fired at close range, Hedberg falling on his face in the dirt of the stable yard.
Private Edwards says that before the shooting Maney called Hedberg names that in army circles are considered fairly good cause for a shooting, and that Hedberg stood it without doing more than to say, "You are a scoundrel."
Sergt. Copeland, who saw the shooting from a distance of fifty yards, says that Maney drew his revolver, and then told Hedberg to go and get his. Copeland says that Maney advanced toward Hedberg holding his revolver in his hand. In a moment they met and clinched. Maney kicked Hedberg and was in turn kicked. The Captain dropped an armful of parcels that he held and struck at his opponent. Then came the shot.
In view of the fact that Lieut. Maney will probably make the plea that he shot in self-defense, the testimony of other witnesses is important. They say that Maney told Hedberg he was going to shoot him, and that Hedberg was shot while trying to wrest the Lieutenant's pistol from his grasp.
When Capt. Hedberg was taken to the hospital it was discovered that he had a loaded revolver in his pocket. He made no effort to reach it when he was struggling with Lieut. Maney.
There is something back of the shooting this afternoon that army officers are loth to speak about and that privates do not know enough about to give an intelligent story.
There has been talk in the past of Capt. Hedberg's jealousy of Lieut. Maney, who was undoubtedly an admirer of Mrs. Hedberg, a beautiful woman and twenty years her husband's junior. Mrs. Hedberg was told of the shooting by the Chaplain of the post, who was accompanied by the wife of one of the officers. She was completely prostrated and it became necessary to summon the surgeon, who administered an opiate.
The Hedberg quarters are close to the bachelor rooms of Lieut. Maney and the sentinels guarding the prisoner are within sight and sound of the widow of the victim.
Mrs. Hedberg did not arrive at the side of her husband until after he had expired.
Capt. Hedberg had trouble to keep the roster of his company full, and finally the command was "skeletonized" and Hedberg was sent to Chicago on recruiting service. This duty was completed last Spring, and on returning to this post, the Captain was put in command of Company I, which exists only on paper, and the Captain's principal duty has been that of standing his tour of officer of the day. He went but little into society.
Capt. Hedberg was fifty-five years old, came from Sweden, and served as recruiting office the latter years of the war. He was never at West Point. He married his wife in California.
Lieut. Maney is thirty-six years old. He graduated from West Point in the class of '77 and has since been in the service. He has a fighting record, and is an excellent soldier. In various Indian fights he took an active part, and he was conspicuously brave in the Victoria campaign from 1878 to 1882 in New-Mexico. In the Chief Geronimo fight he took an active part. He is very popular at the post.
Capt. Cornish, Officer of the Day, made an examination of the case, calling before him the witnesses to the shooting, and, as already suggested, it is understood among the officers at the post that Lieut. Maney will make the plea of self-defense at the trial.
Col. Crofton has notified the District Attorney of the killing of Capt. Hedberg and the arrest of Lieut. Maney. At the examination Lieut. Maney said:
"The shooting was a result of the trouble I had with Capt. Hedberg a month ago over the kalsomining of his basement, when he threatened to shoot me after an investigation, over which I had charge. I expected Capt. Hedberg to shoot me if I did not get him first, and consequently, in self-defense, I had to protect myself."
Lieut. Maney refused to make any further statement.
Col. R. E. A. Crofton said to-night:
"Up to one month ago both men had been the best of friends. At that time an altercation took place between them about some trivial official affair, and I understand that Capt. Hedberg threatened to kill Lieut. Maney. Since then nothing has occurred to show that the men were such deadly enemies as they have proved to have been.
I believe the shooting was done in self-defense, as Lieut. Maney is not the man to resort to action of that kind without sufficient grounds. I understand that the Captain had a revolver in his pocket at the time of the shooting, but I do not know that he tried to use it. Capt. Hedberg was quick tempered-his best friends admit that-and I really believe that Lieut. Maney shot him in self-defense, as I said before. As to what will be done with Maney I cannot say. There may be a court-martial or a civil trial. The kind will depend upon what the higher authorities say."

John Prideaux 1718–1759

Cousin (22)

John Prideaux died on Jul. 19, 1759. He was killed in the Battle of Fort Niagara.

Humphrey de Bohun

Twenty-Fourth Great Grandfather

Humphrey de Bohun married Elizabeth on Nov. 14, 1302. Humphrey died on Mar. 16, 1322 in North Yorkshire, England. He was killed in the Battle of Boroughbridge.

Browning, Charles H. The Magna Charta Barons and Their American Descendants. Philadelphia, 1898. 344. Web. This book is not accepted by the Baronial Order of Magna Charta.
5. HUMPHREY DE BOHUN, Earl of Hereford and Essex, lord high constable, He was taken prisoner in the Scotch wars and was exchanged for the wife of Robert Bruce, then a captive in England. Subsequently he joined the banner of the insurrectionary Barons, under Lancaster, and was killed at Boroughbridge, March 16, 1321–2. He m. November 14, 1302, Princess Elizabeth, b. 1282, d. 1316, widow of Sir John, Earl of Holland, and daughter of EDWARD I., KING OF ENGLAND, by his first wife, Eleanor of Castile

William Bonville

Twentieth Great Grandfather

William Bonville married Margaret Grey. William was beheaded on Feb. 18, 1461.

William de Braose

Twenty-Seventh Great Grandfather

William de Braose married Eva Marshal. William was hanged on May 2, 1230 in Gwynedd, Wales.

Tout, T. F. The History of England. 1905. 38. Web.
At Easter, Llewelyn took a drastic revenge on the adulterer. He seized William in his own castle at Builth, and on May 2 hanged him on a tree in open day in the presence of 800 witnesses.

Malcolm III of Scotland

Ancestor (2)

Malcolm died on Nov. 13, 1093 in Northumberland, England. He was killed in the Battle of Alnwick.

Sir Richard Grenville 1542–1591

Second Cousin Fifteen Times Removed

Richard Grenville was born in 1542 in Bideford, Devon, England.

Allen, W. C. North Carolina History Stories. Richmond, 1901. 17-20. Web.
It was with pleasure that Manteo and Manchese once more saw the land of their birth. They had been absent about eight months, and had seen much of the world. They were overjoyed to see the smooth waters of the sound and, in the distance, the forests where they had so often roamed.
As soon as the ships reached Wocoken they cast anchor. There were more than a hundred men on board. Ralph Lane was governor of the new colony and Sir Richard Grenville was commander of the ships. Manteo was sent to Roanoke Island to inform the king of their arrival. While waiting for him to return, Grenville and Lane, with about a dozen others, crossed over the sound and explored a large part of the neighboring country. They were received in a kindly manner by the Indians. Several villages were visited. Everywhere the best of feeling existed between the Indians and the English.
One night they stopped at Aquascogoc, a small village with about twenty wigwams. The Indians were glad to see the strangers, and welcomed them to their homes. The night passed very pleasantly.
Next morning Grenville and his party left to go to another place. They bade farewell to the savages, who crowded around to see them off. The white men thanked the Indians by signs for what they had done, and gave them presents.
On the next day, after having traveled a long distance from the village, one of the men found that a silver cup had been stolen from him. He told Sir Richard Grenville, and said that it had been stolen by an Indian in the village where they had spent the night. At once they returned to the village. Grenville sent word to the chief that the cup had been stolen and the thief must be caught. The chief sent word back that he would try to find the thief and the cup. Soon he came out to the white men with an Indian boy, who confessed that he had taken the cup, and promised to go back to the village and bring it.
The white men waited for some time, but the boy did not return. Nobody knows why he did not. Some one may have stolen the cup from him, or he may not have wanted to give up what pleased him so much. The white men became restless. Soon they lost their tempers and began to shout and curse. The Indians became frightened and began to run. Grenville and his men fired their guns at the fleeing savages. Then they charged into the village and began to destroy everything they could find. As they went through the village they searched for the cup, but could not find it, and this made them still more angry.
They set fire to the village and burned every wigwam to the ground. They searched the country around to find the boy who had stolen the cup, but he was nowhere to be seen. They then set fire to the fields of grain and destroyed everything in sight.
This was the beginning of bad feeling between the Indians and the white men. It was wrong for the Indian to steal the cup, but there was no reason for the white men to act as they did. The Indians never forgave them for it. Manchese, who had never had any fondness for the English, left them and began to plot their destruction.
After having destroyed the Indian village and the fields of grain, Grenville and his party returned to their ships.
Soon Manteo came back bringing an invitation from Wirgina, the king of Roanoke Island, to the white men, bidding them come there to make their settlement. This invitation was accepted, and the whole company set sail for that place.
Governor Lane and the colonists received a cordial welcome when they reached Roanoke Island. King Wirgina sent kindly messages and gave them lands upon which to build their homes. Other Indians helped them unload the ships and erect their houses.
Soon they had a nice little village of huts. Then they took from the ships all the household furniture they had brought over. Lane and his men worked hard, and soon had comfortable homes. Sir Richard Grenville then sailed away to England, leaving the colony to live or die in a strange land.
At first the Indians came to see them every day, and were very friendly. Later they did not come so often. They began to show some unfriendliness. They had heard how Governor Lane and some of his men had burned the Indian town because they could not find the silver cup. But Manteo was a strong friend, and remained so.

Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Sir Bevil Grenville 1595–1643

Fourth Cousin Thirteen Times Removed

Bevil Grenville was baptized on Mar. 1, 1595 in Withiel, Cornwall, England. Bevil married Grace Smith. He was wounded in action on Jul. 5, 1643 in Somerset, England. He was buried on Jul. 26, 1643 in Kilkhampton, Cornwall.

Cornwall. Online Parish Clerks. Baptisms. 1595. Web.
Date: March 1
Parish: Withiel
Name: Bevill Grenfill
Father: Barnardii

Cornwall. Online Parish Clerks. Burials. 1643. Web.
Date: July 26
Parish: Kilkhampton
Name: Sir Bevill Grenville
Note: Knight

William Camp Gildersleeve 1795–1871

Fifth Cousin Five Times Removed

William Camp Gildersleeve was born on Dec. 6, 1795 in Georgia. William passed away on Oct. 11, 1871 in Pennsylvania at age 75.

Champion, Andrew Quinn, trans. Scranton Wochenblatt 12 Oct. 1871. 6 Jan. 2017. Web.
William C. Gildersleeve, a Resident of Wilkes-Barre from the previous Century, died on Wednesday. Because of his Niggerlove he was once subjected to some Persecutions.

Hollister, H. "The Gildersleeve Episode." The Historical Record. Ed. F. C. Johnson. Vol. VIII. Wilkes-Barre, 1899. 337-38. Web. This is an eye-witness account of the disgraceful affair in 1839.
At this time the North, not only in Congress, but out of it, was controlled wholly by the South. Southerners taught us to believe that without slavery the country would go to the devil at once. Nearly everybody believed it. The smooth words of Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun were law in the land in regard to slavery. The fugitive slave law had not been enacted, but every Northern man was told and taught that to catch a runaway "nigger" was a duty he owed his God and his country. The poor, sore-footed, hungry slave who sought liberty in flight, found only here and there a friend to give him aid, shelter and food. Those who did were called Abolitionists, in disdain. They were hooted and howled at almost as bad as the escaping slave and everywhere and time were treated with contempt. Not only this, but their families were ostracised from society. They had few, if any, associates. A fugitive slave found his way to Wilkes-Barre and was directed to Montrose on his way to Canada. Wm. C. Gildersleeve was a philanthropist and the great Abolitionist of Wilkes-Barre. He was a zealous, generous, warm-hearted man who thought that all men were born free and none should be slaves. These sound doctrines he owned in public, greatly to his prejudice in the Wilkes-Barre community. His convictions were strong and he defied public opinion. The people looked upon him as a public enemy and it needed little incentive for a demonstration.
At about this time an incident in Wilkes-Barre hastened and intensified the Gildersleeve affair. At the Phoenix hotel, where the popular Gilchrist pampered to the Southerners, an escaped slave was employed as waiter. His former master, with two or three friends, dined here one day when the negro made his appearance to serve the guests. The master sprang for his former slave, who with a brave and friendly carving knife defended himself as he could and finally escaped running across the street and leaping into the Susquehanna river below the bridge and swimming vigorously across and escaped in spite of the pistol shots fired after him.
I landed my boat in the Wilkes-Barre basin one evening where but the single house of Mr. Brobst stood … and ventured up to the Public Square, where a great crowd of people were standing. In the then small, quiet town this thing was unusual, and I ventured to inquire what was going on. "Riding Gildersleeve on a rail" was the reply. He had been taken from his house, divested of all his clothing but his pantaloons, placed on an ordinary rough fence rail, supported by a man on each side and carried by four or five strong men. From his head to his pants he was covered with tar and feathers, and though uncomplaining, presented a picture of despair. He made no protest, answered no questions, uttered no sounds. From the court house he was carried to the Phoenix Hotel, where several Southern sympathizers looked on approvingly, then taken up River street to the old Redoubt, then turning to the right across Union street down by the residence of Andrew Beaumont, who lived in a three-story building on the corner. Beaumont was then the great Democratic chief of Luzerne county. He was father-in-law of Samuel P. Collings, one of the best and brightest newspaper editors in the State. When Beaumont saw these disgraceful proceedings going on, he harangued the crowd and tried to disperse it as did Anthony H. Emley, a private banker, and Ed. Le Clerc, but succeeded indifferently. The excited throng carried Gildersleeve to his door on the inhospitable rail, admonished him to be careful in future and he vanished into his own house.
Though fifty-one years have passed, few are living who witnessed the transaction, but if any are remaining who participated in the affair they wish to blot the reminiscence out. No arrests were made because public opinion was averse to any conviction and any jury would have brought in a verdict of "served him right."

Portrait and Biographical Record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. 1897. 170. Web.
William Camp Gildersleeve, a native of Georgia … who died in 1871, was a merchant in Wilkesbarre, and in ante-bellum days was quite conspicuous by his connection with the underground railway; his Abolition sentiments brought him the dislike and even abuse of many of opposite opinions, but he persevered in his course and lived to see his judgment triumphantly vindicated by the people of the country. He was a son of Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve, who was born on Long Island and became the first pastor of the Wilkesbarre Presbyterian Church.

Scranton Wochenblatt 12 Oct. 1871. Chronicling America. Web.
William C. Gilderſleeve, ein Bewohner von Wilkesbarre aus dem vorigen Jahrhundert, ſtarb am Mittwoch. Wegen ſeiner Niggerliebe war er früher manchen Verfolgungen ausgeſetzt.

Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. Web.

Private Henry Troon 1888–1915

Second Cousin Thrice Removed

Henry Troon was born in 1888 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Henry was wounded in action on May 4, 1915 in Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Turkey. He died on May 6, 1915 aboard HMHS Gloucester Castle. He was buried at sea.

The Ballarat Courier 20 May 1915: 4. Trove. National Library of Australia. Web.
Private Henry R. Troon (died of wounds) was the son of Mr H. Troon, of Forrest street, and was employed at Messrs Ronaldson Bros and Tippett's works. He was a tennis player, and member of the Wendouree Recreation Club, and was also a foundation member of the Wendouree Fire Brigade, in which body he held the office of lieutenant at the time he joined the Expeditionary Forces. He was one of the old 7th Regiment in Ballarat; but joined the Ambulance Corps for the war.

Seth Whitney 1726–1807

Seventh Great Grandfather

Seth Whitney was born on Feb. 8, 1726 in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Seth passed away in 1807 in Yorktown, New York. He was buried in Yorktown.

DAR #A125388 Service: New York Description: Suffered Maltreatment by Tories

"List of Marriages." The Journal of the Reverend Silas Constant, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Yorktown, New York. Philadelphia, 1903. 372. Web.
Seth Whitney and Elizabeth Wright 21 March 1787

Phœnix, S. Whitney. The Whitney Family of Connecticut. Vol. I. New York, 1878. 39-40. Whitney Research Group. Web.
His house was attacked during the Revolutionary war, by a party of tories who took all of his arms; soon after which they paid him another visit, headed by the notorious freebooter, Joseph Hueson, who tried to enter a back window, while his comrades kept watch outside. Whitney warned him to keep out or be killed, but Hueson, feeling sure that he had no arms, persisted in the attempt, and was stabbed in the breast with an old bayonet which Whitney had mounted on a stout staff. Hueson fell inside of the house, and his comrades forced the door and carried him away. They took Whitney into the yard, and not daring to use their guns for fear of alarming a body of American soldiers who were quartered at Crompond Church, a short distance from there, they struck him over the head with a horse-pistol, giving him a mark which he carried through life, and leaving him for dead. He had the satisfaction of hearing Hueson, as they carried him off, say, "the old rebel has killed me"; and so it was, for he only lived to ride a half-mile.

United States. Census. 1790. Web.
State: New York
County: Westchester
Town: Yorktown
Head of Family: Seth Whitney
Males: 4
Over 16: Seth Whitney, 1726
Over 16: Amos Whitney, 1767
Over 16: Unidentified
Over 16: Unidentified
Females: 4

United States. Census. 1800. Web.
State: New York
County: Westchester
Town: Yorktown
Head of Family: Seth Whitney
Males: 3
16 to 26: Unidentified
26 to 45: Unidentified
Over 45: Seth Whitney, 1726
Females: 2
26 to 45: Unidentified
Over 45: Unidentified

Daniel St. John

Fourth Cousin Eight Times Removed

Daniel St. John died on Jul. 5, 1778 in Pennsylvania.

DAR #A099146 Service: Connecticut Description: Killed by Indians

Harvey, Oscar Jewell. A History of Wilkes-Barré. Vol. II. 1909. 1037. Web.
On Sunday, July 5th, the Indians dispersed themselves throughout the Valley in bands of from five to ten, and began to plunder the inhabitants. Many of the latter—particularly the men who had taken part in the battle—had fled from the Valley before Forty Fort was capitulated. The deserted homes of these people were set on fire by the savage marauders in sheer wantonness. On this day news came to Forty Fort that a Mr. Hickman and his wife and child, living in the house of Isaac Tripp at Capouse (Providence Township), had been murdered by Indians, after which the house had been set on fire and, with the bodies of the dead, almost entirely consumed. Also, that Daniel St. John and James A. Leach had been killed by Indians near Timothy Keyes' sawmill, about six miles up the Lackawanna River. These two men were removing their families and household goods from the Valley, having set out in the morning from "the block-house at the Parker place in Pittston." Their belongings were loaded upon a cart drawn by two yoke of oxen. When the party was waylaid by the Indians St. John was on foot, driving the oxen, while Leach and the women and children were on the cart. Leach had his young child in his arms. Without warning the two men were shot and then scalped by a party of Indians; one of whom took the young child which Leach had been carrying and gave it, all covered with its father's blood, to its mother, saying: "Me no hurt!" The Indians then killed one of the oxen, and departed. The women and children later made their way to the Pittston fort.

Lewis McKune 1821–1861

First Cousin Six Times Removed

Lewis McKune was born on Jul. 22, 1821 in Pennsylvania. Lewis married Laura Etta Corse. He died on Jul. 21, 1861 in Virginia at age 39. He was shot through the heart at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Branch: USA Unit: 1st Regiment, Minnesota Infantry Rank: Captain
United States. National Park Service. The Civil War. Web.

Albert McKune 1837–1883

First Cousin Six Times Removed

Albert McKune was born on Aug. 18, 1837 in Pennsylvania. Albert died on Sep. 24, 1883 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His death at age 46 was due to being shot. He was buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs.

Branch: USA Unit: 13th Regiment, Illinois Infantry Rank: Private
United States. National Park Service. The Civil War. Web.