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Shaking Your Family Tree

July 2, 1998
	YANKEE DOODLES GET LAST LAUGH by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
"Yankee Doodle'' is perhaps the most popular song from the American Revolution. Although several European nations claim ownership of the tune, it became famous as a march of the American patriots during the Revolutionary War. The original words of the song are attributed to Dr. Richard Shuckburgh (whose surname is spelled variously), a surgeon on the staff of the British Army. It is claimed that he wrote the verses in 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a joke about the American colonial militiamen's lack of polish and discipline. "Macaroni'' was a reference to a fancy-dressing Italian, a style which was widely imitated in England at the time. Thus, by sticking just a feather in his cap and calling himself a "macaroni" (a dandy), Yankee Doodle was showing himself to be a country bumpkin, which is how the English regarded the American colonists. However, the American colonists turned the joke around, wrote their own verses, and as Britain's General Lord Charles Cornwallis' army marched to surrender to General George Washington on October 19, 1781, it was the American version of "Yankee Doodle'' they heard. All sorts of information about the American Revolution era -- music, re-enactments, history, manuscripts and genealogy -- can be found on the World Wide Web: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/bcortez/revwar/revwar.html and http://www.revwar.com/ If you prefer books to virtual text, or if your ancestors were in Virginia during the Revolutionary War, you may be interested in a recently published tome titled, The First Virginia Regiment of Foot, 1775-1783. This new, 467-page book by M. Lee Minnus, contains some sparkling gems for genealogists, such as this entry: "PITCHCREEK, JOHN, Private. This soldier was not a member of the regiment. The muster of Crump's (Sayres's) Company for 9 June 1777 had him as confined after desertion from a German regiment.'' And, from the notes on Peter Mines, private, we learn that he married Ephy Marlin on 20 February 1783 in Rockbridge County; the tax lists of 1787 had him in Augusta County and his pension application was filed on 20 April 1818 in Augusta County, at age 69. He was in the Battle of Monmouth and that winter of 1778/9 was badly ruptured while making huts for winter quarters. He was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781, and he died on 30 September 1825. The First Virginia unit was the first state unit formed and the last to be dismissed after the war's end. The book also includes a list of that unit's patriots who died in service, along with the date or an approximate one. If you have ancestors who served in the First Virginia Regiment of Foot, this is a must-have book. Virginia historians will find it fascinating too. It is available ($34 postpaid) from Willow Bend Books, 2818 Ft. Evans Rd., NE 101, Leesburg, VA 20176-4429. Virginia residents please add $1.35 for taxes. http://www.mediasoft.net/ScottC Whether you're just surfing the Web for tidbits or hoping to find a book about your ancestors' participation in the American Revolution, an incredible amount of information is available. Enjoy the Fourth of July and remember those "country bumpkins'' who changed the words of "Yankee Doodle'' and made this celebration possible. (c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
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