An Overview – Japanese Samurai
Finding the lifetimes and lifelines of genealogy is fascinating and fulfilling, regardless of any famous or infamous ancestors. However, the historical stories of family trees are what make genealogy so absorbingly interesting. Do you ever wonder if these stories are true? You can be related to any number of famous or infamous ancestors and various captivating relatives in between. Do you know who your ancestors are? Do you know where they came from, each of them? All the answers you seek to know yourself are waiting for you with the study of your ancestry, which is genealogy.
The best means of tracing your family history is by visiting and listening to the stories of your oldest living relative such as your grandparents. Ask them to list for you any details concerning their own grandparents, parent, siblings and cousins. Learn as much as you can from them and then use that information to further your pursuit. Find out if any relative have an old family bible that includes notes of births, deaths as well as any old documents or photographs that you can scan for copy. Many times while tracing family history you may come across a distant relative who is doing genealogy as well. It is a mesmerizing hobby. Exchanging notes with relatives is a great resource.
Finally, Samurai were trained to be masters of the battlefield, and were well-equipped for the task. Each Samurai would be armed with a masterfully crafted long blade known as a katana as well as a shorter blade, called a wakizashi. This equipment, combined with years of training, would culminate in the Samurai becoming the undisputed masters of close quarters combat in ancient Japan.
According to historians Merrill J. Mattes and Paul Henderson, in their book "The Pony Express From St. Joseph to Fort Laramie," there were 24 stations in the St. Joseph-Fort Kearny division. This does not include Fort Kearny. Mattes and Henderson say that the fort itself didn't have a station proper, although there was a stop 40 rods west of the fort (about 220 yards) where the Holliday Stage Lines had a shack at which Pony Express riders may have stopped irregularly to pick up military and civilian mail.
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary "adventuring" along the First Administrative Division of the historic trail, tracking down monuments and station remains along the way, meeting the people, and having the perfect anniversary celebration for two enthusiasts of the history of the Old West. We chose to limit our travels to the First Division only because we were limited on time and financial resources — and because that first division is located relatively near our home.
A number of years have gone by since our trip (we did it in 1992), but the people and artifacts of this colorful trail are still there and still very worth seeing. This is the first of several articles I will be writing to share our impressions and some of the things we learned about this brief, romantic period in the life and history of the Old West as we took to the trail. I hope you'll ride along with us!
The best means of tracing your family history is by visiting and listening to the stories of your oldest living relative such as your grandparents. Ask them to list for you any details concerning their own grandparents, parent, siblings and cousins. Learn as much as you can from them and then use that information to further your pursuit. Find out if any relative have an old family bible that includes notes of births, deaths as well as any old documents or photographs that you can scan for copy. Many times while tracing family history you may come across a distant relative who is doing genealogy as well. It is a mesmerizing hobby. Exchanging notes with relatives is a great resource.
Finally, Samurai were trained to be masters of the battlefield, and were well-equipped for the task. Each Samurai would be armed with a masterfully crafted long blade known as a katana as well as a shorter blade, called a wakizashi. This equipment, combined with years of training, would culminate in the Samurai becoming the undisputed masters of close quarters combat in ancient Japan.
According to historians Merrill J. Mattes and Paul Henderson, in their book "The Pony Express From St. Joseph to Fort Laramie," there were 24 stations in the St. Joseph-Fort Kearny division. This does not include Fort Kearny. Mattes and Henderson say that the fort itself didn't have a station proper, although there was a stop 40 rods west of the fort (about 220 yards) where the Holliday Stage Lines had a shack at which Pony Express riders may have stopped irregularly to pick up military and civilian mail.
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary "adventuring" along the First Administrative Division of the historic trail, tracking down monuments and station remains along the way, meeting the people, and having the perfect anniversary celebration for two enthusiasts of the history of the Old West. We chose to limit our travels to the First Division only because we were limited on time and financial resources — and because that first division is located relatively near our home.
A number of years have gone by since our trip (we did it in 1992), but the people and artifacts of this colorful trail are still there and still very worth seeing. This is the first of several articles I will be writing to share our impressions and some of the things we learned about this brief, romantic period in the life and history of the Old West as we took to the trail. I hope you'll ride along with us!