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History Lesson

I learned a bit about Danner ancestry. My sister, Dawn, is an avid genealogist, since joining Ancestry.com. During her visit today, she revealed that our great, great grandfather was a war hero, dying in the civil war; fighting and dying, from dysentary, after being wounded in battle. I was relieved to hear that he fought on the Union army's side, fighting for social justice and human rights, specifically the equality of black people, the abolishment of slavery.

She mentioned that she had poor grades in history due to lack of interest. She told me that always felt that history didn't pertain to her. Frankly, that's true for me as well. Memorizing dry dates was so disconnected from our lives, that their significance was lost on us. I felt cheated out of our heritage; she must also feel the loss. Somehow, our 92-year old uncle didn't impart the knowledge to our father.

The first Danner to land in America, did so in 1727, nearly 50 years before we became a country. He was a reverend in the Dutch presbyterian, or protestant, church. He came here for religious freedom, to start a church. William Penn deeded land to him to found and build the church. Now, I'm interested in history.

Uh oh, according to Wikipedia, William Penn died in 1718, and was a Quaker. Now, I must have her review her data, she was rattling off of memory. Hmmm...
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Location: 2720 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112, USA

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