In Memoriam - April 26, 2003, Samual "Sam" Bartholomew

on March 18, 2024


 SAMUEL (SAM) BARTHOLOMEW, 48, of Sugar Land, passed away April 26, 2003. 

 He was a past President in 2002 of Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 of the Son of American Revolution.  His first Revolutionary Patriot was approved 2001.  He went on to document five additional patriots with two in 2002 and three in 2003.  His ancestor patriots served in the Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia.

His Visitation was held on April 29, 2003 at the Settegast-Kopf Co. in Sugar Land.  His Funeral Service was held on April 30, 2003 at Christ United Methodist Church of Sugar Land with burial being at Forest Park Westheimer.  His Obituary was carried in the Houston Chronicle on April 28th, 2003.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions was requested to be made to Christ United Methodist Church Habitat for Humanity Fund, 3300 Austin Parkway, Sugar Land, Texas 77478.

He received his BBA from the University of Texas in Austin. He was a past president of the Parks Board for the City of Sugar Land as well as a member of the Fort Bend Chamber Leadership Cass. Sam was a devoted member of Christ United Methodist Church where he was very active as a volunteer for the church youth group. 

Survivors include his wife of 17 years, Cynthia as well as, a daughter, a sister and a brother and both his parents.


In Memoriam - July 27, 2003; County Judge James Clyde Adolphus (wasnt mentioned in Chapter Blog in 2003)

 In an effort to ensure every past member who has died was given a proper "In Memoriam" highlight in the Blog, I begin with James C. Adolphus. (jgp).




COUNTY JUDGE JAMES CLYDE ADOLPHUS  

Judge James C. Adolphus was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 10, 1929. He died in Sugarland, TX on July 27, 2003.  

He attended the University of Texas, then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the outbreak of the Korean War.  He completed Aviation Cadet Training and was a Lieutenant in the Air Force and served 22 years in the Texas State Guard where he retired in 2002 as a Lt. Colonel.

He had a successful career in oil and gas Industry.

Judge Adolphus served three terms as a City Councilman in Missouri City, Texas and thirteen years as a Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace in Fort Bend County and retired as County Judge of Ft. Bend County.  He decided not to seek re-election because of poor health.  He subsequently was diagnosed with lung cancer.   Jim was a stalwart member and office holder for the Republican Part of Fort Bend County.

He was deputy chief of the Houston Volunteer Mercy Corps for 17 years, a past Commander of the Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a member of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, Sons of the American Revolution, Sugarland Rotary Club, a 32nd Degree Mason, Richmond Lodge, and an avid fisherman.

His Obituaries were published in the Houston Chronicle on July 29, 2003 and another one on Aug 4, 2003

His Services was handled by Miller Funeral Services of 7723 Beachnut St., Houston.  Visitors were received at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Ingram Room, 4900 Jackwood, Houston, Tx. on Tuesday, July 29, 2003.  The Service followed in the Church at 10 am.

Interment was in the Morton Cemetery, 401 North Third St., Richmond, TX.

In lieu of flowers, the Adolphus family requested that donations be made to the Fort Bend American Cancer Association or the West Fort Bend Heart Association.

He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Lynda Cooke Adolphus and two sons and three daughters and several grandchildren.

An Elementary school, Judge James C Aldolphus located in Richmond in the Lamar Consolidated School District. It opened in August of 2013 and was named in his honor.


In Memoriam - List

on March 17, 2024

 I am making an effort to arrange the "In Memoriam" list of deceased members from most recent to most distant.  

Second, I am making an effort to ensure sure that all has an Obit and some description of their life and/or role in SAR or the Alexander Hodge Chapter.

Members or friends of the Chapter that have been around awhile and know that some information on their life is missing, please email me and let me know.

It also looks like members who died before 2019 did not get a story in our Blog, their obit is written as a Link embedded in the Memoriam List and not a Link to a story in the Blog.

Members who died in 2019, 2020, and 2023 have both.  

I will work on getting a Story in the Blog for those that were missed.  Unfortuately, will not be able to get into the Blog Archive for the actual year that they died.  Looks like possibly 14 past members were missed.

would appreciate any of your thoughts on the issue!

State Convention in San Antonio on March 11-14. Online Registration ending soon

on March 16, 2024

 Texas Society - Sons of the American Revolution

2024 Annual Meeting – April 11 (Thursday) to April 14 (Sunday) 2024


DoubleTree by Hilton – San Antonio Airport- 611 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX - Phone: (210) 340-6060

 

Update on Blog Viewer Stats for March (Mar 18)

on March 11, 2024

 

                               3/11     3/16    3/17    3/18

Today                      16        20          8        41

Yesterday                28        54        77       77   

This Month           777    1071      194     1227

Last Month          2752   2752    2752     2752

Vol 118 No.3, 2023-2024 Winter Issue of SAR Magazine has several Alexander Hodge Chapter related entries

on March 1, 2024


 

Members of the Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 can read several mentions of either members or the Chapter in the just arrived Issue 118 N0. 3 of the SAR Quarterly Magazines.

On Page 41 in the "In Our Memory" Section, our late Vice President, Everett Shaw Gardiner is listed.

On Page 44 in the "Welcome New Members" Section, Jonathan Robert Buford is listed.

On Page 47 in the "When You Travel" Section, Alexander Hodge Chapter meeting time and place is mentioned along with giving the address for the website.


looks my Article didnt make it this Quarter's Magazine.

The Story behind the new SAR Logo from the Winter 2020-2021 Issue 115

on February 29, 2024

 (Note: "The formatting of the copied text is my own due to unable to capture original formatting".  jgp)

The New SAR Logo           

By VPG Allen Greenly, South Atlantic District 

As many of you may now be aware, the National Society Sons of the American Revolution has adopted a new logo. Let me give you a little background on how this happened and introduce the designer. 

When President General Warren Alter asked me to become the Branding and Engagement Committee chairman, I said yes without giving it any thought. 

His one charge to me was to create a new SAR logo. 

Warren surrounded me with a great committee. Howard Fisk became the vice-chair and was invaluable as we moved forward to create a new logo. We believed the best way to create a logo was to get someone outside the SAR to do the design work. After much discussion on how to get this accomplished, we opted for a contest with prize money. 

 The committee went to the Executive Committee and requested prize money. The winner would get $5,000; second and third place would each receive $1,000. Gregory Greenwalt reached out to 44 graphic design schools and advertised in both the SAR and C.A.R. magazines to reach as large an audience as possible. It worked. 

The committee worked on fillable forms, which were created by Victor G. Murray of the Florida Society. With Mick Pitzer and Michael Scroggins’ help, a link was set up on the SAR website to direct potential contestants to the page where the contest rules were posted and they could download the forms to submit their entries. 

The committee received more than 300 logo designs by the Dec. 31, 2019, deadline. 

Just a quick note about our committee members: There were 13 members from across the country on the Branding and Engagement Committee, and they ranged in age from 35 to 70 and over. It was a right mix of young, middle-aged and older members, a great cross-section of the SAR. Then came the judging. A Google spreadsheet was set up for members to log their votes. As the entries were received, they were sent to the committee in groups of 10. Each member would vote yes or no. After all the entries were received and the first round of judging was completed, totals were run on each entry for the number of yes votes. Votes for each entry were tabulated and put in groups of 0–13. It was an exceedingly complicated process, but the committee narrowed the field down to the top 10. 

All the contestants were then notified about the first round of judging. From the top 10, the ExComm selected the “final four” to go to the trustees. The trustees met and voted three times, eliminating one entry each time, leaving us with the final logo. 

And now a little about the winning designer: Stephen Harrington from Connecticut submitted the winning design. Stephen received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. After a brief stint as an art director at a Connecticut advertising agency, he decided to go out independently. In 1987, he became a full-time, self-employed illustrator and designer. His favorite projects combine his two passions: art and history. 

As he stated, this is why his work on the SAR logo was such a labor of love. What follows is, in his own words, how he came up with the winning logo. “First, I came up with a shortlist of visual icons I associated with patriotism, the theme of the logo. 

I thought of the American flag, the bald eagle, the Liberty Bell, the Minuteman statue, and the American Shield—all bold, easily recognizable symbols that would translate well into a logo. I decided the color theme, regardless of the design, had to be red, white, and blue (what’s more patriotic than that?). 

I then created several thumbnail sketches, determined which were the strongest, and then rendered those at full size on my computer using Photoshop and Illustrator. “The winning logo’s inspiration was to combine the majestic beauty of an eagle in flight with a flag waving in the breeze. My design originally started with an entire eagle’s tail feathers morphing into an American flag’s stripes. 

Type was always an important element of the design, integrated into the eagle’s shape and the flag. Once I created this initial design, I realized the eagle/stripes were too small and did not have the presence I was looking for, so I revised the design using just the bald eagle’s head.” 

Thank you, Steve, for all your hard work, inspiration and enthusiasm, and for the fantastic logo you presented! It is a design that represents our organization well and one of which we will all be proud. Compatriot David Perkins presented Steve’s check. Chancellor General Peter Davenport submitted the paperwork, and we have received the copyright for this logo. Thanks to everyone involved in this project!

on February 28, 2024

 

                       February 27, 2024 Business Meeting 


 

Officers Present:

Carl Hill – President, interm Registar                                                  Don Rollins – Sgt. at Arms

Mike Green – Newsletter Editor, interm Registar                               Phil Whitley - Chaplin

Jim Penny – Webmaster

 

Officers Missing due to illness:

Lovell Aldrich and Steve Barber

 

Reports:

Treasurer : Carl Hill reported that the Treasury had a balance of $10,74.54.  Two remaining checks remain outstanding from last years JROC Awards.  One for $300 and one for $500.

The purpose of these awards that are to first recognize a nominated JROC cadet in Fort Bend ISD and Lamar Consolidated ISD and then assist with cost of College. 

Discussion followed with ideas to prevent this from repeating.  One point was made that for future awards it was suggested to require use within 6 months.  Another for it to be managed by the JROC Program at the School District.  There were additional ideas.  They will be considered but must meet the ability to track for compliance with the use of donated funds.   Our District 7 VP, Richard Zdunkewicz has again raised $1250 for our Chapter’s JROC Award Program.  In addition, the Beaumont Chapter was not going to use their donated funds, so Richard has divided between 2 other Chapter and Alexander Hodge Chapter.  The result is that our Chapter got an extra $416.64.  This will allow Alexander Hodge to award two-$500 scholarships to FBISD and two-$300 scholarships to LCISD.  If were are unable to locate the two cadets that have not used their scholarships, the checks may have to be cancelled and the money returned to our account.  Carl went over the metals that he has in stock to award this year. 

Annual IRS Filing 501C paperwork – Carl said that he will be completing that soon.

 

Registar:  Carl reported that he has received back the Certificates for Jonathan Buford and Jason Barnes have been received and plan on inducting into the Chapter at the next Meeting on March 26th at Spring Creek BBQ.  An additional 5 inquires into membership have come in.  One of the individuals is a relative of the patriot, Alexander Hodge.  Since try to get the relationships proven for Robert Goodwin and submitted to the State SAR.  At the beginning of the year there were 16 members who hadn’t paid their Dues.  Several issues had preventing them from completing the online payments.  Including a member who had died.  After contacting the members 8+ of those who hadn’t paid completed the online payment of dues.

 

Other Announcements and Discussions:

1.      Speakers for 2024 are filled except for 2 months.  Tom Jackson will be the speaker for the March meeting.

2.      Carl handed out the SAR pin that commemorates the 250th Anniversary of the United States in 2026.  The National SAR will have additional pins and coins that commemorate events during the Revolution.  These can be purchased online. 

3.      Plans to create a Door Prize of a SAR Commemorate Coin to a member in attendance at our next meeting on March 26th.  A member at the meeting contribute $20 to go towards purchasing the coin.

4.      Carl said that he would like to schedule a time for a tour of the re-creation Independence Hall on the Campus of Houston Christian University (the old HBU).

 

Prepared by Jim Penny

2/28/24

New Logos required by National SAR

 Received this from National Webmaster and I responded requesting the Logo for Alexander Hodge Chapter #49, Disctrict 7, and Texas SAR.  Currently, he only has one for our Chapter.  I have attached it here and will find out how to add it to our Blog.




"Hello Webmaster Compatriots,

 

I am writing to let you know that a friend of the Texas SAR has created new logos for every Texas SAR chapter that meet the requirements of the new SAR branding standards (see attached document).

 

When you have time to change the logos on your web sites, write to me and request the logos for your chapter.  There are two versions…a horizontal format and an emblem format. 

 

For those of you who use the John Anderson-developed chapter template for your web site, the emblem format can be easily resized to replace the SAR logo that most of you have on your banner.

 

Both logos are large in size and high-resolution, so you will want to downsize both the width/height as well as the resolution before using them in your web sites.

 

Please let me know if there are questions or issues.

 

Best Regards,

 

Ray Cox

Texas SAR Webmaster"


_______________________________



Minutes of the Chapter's Meeting on January 30, 2024

                                Sons of the American Revolution

                                

Chapter President:  Carl Hill                                             Treasurer:  Carl Hill

Vice President: Don Burns                                                Registrar: Carl Hill and Mike Green - interim    

Metals & Awards: Dr. Robert Graves                                Secretary: ` Steve Barber                                   

Newsletter Editor: Mike Green (desires a new editor)                              Sgt. At Arms:  Don Rollins                                  
Web Master: Jim Penny                                                    Color Guard Commander: Steve Steele                
Chaplain: Phil Whitley                                                      Social Chairman: Sharon Aldrich  

Veteran's Outreach: TBN                                                  Youth Award: TBN

Publicity Chair: TBN                                        



                                             Alexander Hodge Chapter No. 49

                                                            Minutes

                                                     January 30, 2024


The members of the Alexander Hodge #49, Sons of the American Revolution, gathered at Spring Creek Barbeque located at 4895 Highway 6, Missouri City, TX. 

In the private meeting room, Carl Hill called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. with an Invocation given by Phil Whitley followed by pledges to the United States flag, to the Texas flag and to the SAR flag.

19-Attending Chapter Members: Carl Hill (President & Treasure), Steven Barber (Secretary), Don Rollins (Sgt. of Arms), Phil Whitley (Chaplain), Jim G. Penny (Web Master), Mike Green (Newsletter), Rick Giuffre, Dennis Giuffre, Matt Barber, John Lucey, Scott Hutchinson, Kevin Buford, John Placette, Don Burns, Christopher Owens, Randal Hankla, Bob Walzel, Jason Barnes and Allen Bogard.

1-Attending New Prospective Chapter SAR Members: Skip Griffin

3-Honorary Guest: Sam Massey-State of Texas SAR President, Richard L. Zdunkewicz, District 7 Vice President and -Flem Rogers Tonight’s Guest Speaker

12 Other Guests: Mrs. Bernice Mistriot, Mrs. Sharon Rollins, Mrs. Sherri Burns Mrs. Cheryl Buford, Mrs.Carolyn Krysl Hutchison, Mrs. Sandy Hutchinson, Ms. Eron Tynes, Mrs. Jo Ann Placette, Mrs. Kathern Owens, Mrs. Randa Owens Williams, Mrs. Catherine Massey and Mrs. Sandra Barber

Recognitions: Don Burns, Jason Barnes, Scott Hutchinson and John Placette were sworn into the Alexander Hodge Chapter N0. 49, this evening. All gentlemen were awarded their certificate of SAR Membership by Sam Massey, Texas SAR President and Carl Hill, President of Alexander Hodge Chapter #49.

State SAR Presidents Report: Sam Massey and his wife Catherine attended this month Chapter meeting. President Massey presented events coming up for the State Convention and the 250th Anniversary of the SAR organization in 2026.

President Massey presented the effort to build a Texas State SAR Monument in the State Cemetery in Austin, TX. In recognition of this 250 th Anniversary. This $60,000.00 Project has a GOFUNDME setup on the State Website for information and donations. $47,00.00 has been pledged to date. Our District VP. Mr. Richard Zdunkewicz is the Chairman for this fund raiser and can answer question on this important project and can take donations.

President Massey also announced there will be several new programs on Education on the American Revolution associated with the 2026 Patriots Program for the 250 th Anniversary. Keep an eye out for these programs in the SAR magazine and the State SAR webpage.

Treasury Report: Carl Hill presented the Treasures Report. The Chapter’s Treasury has a balance of $9,136.87.

Monies were spent on procuring the 2026 Flag and stand for the 250th Anniversary of the SAR organization.

It was recognized that Mrs. Betrice Mistriot made a generation donation to the Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 in remembrance of her husband Mr. Shelby Mistriot,

Registrar’s Report: 2023 ended with the Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 adding 12 new sworn in members. We also had 3 additional people transfer into the Chapter from other SAR Chapters in State orout of State, with one member that transferred out of State to another SAR Chapter.

This position is still being completed as a committee by Carl Hill and Michael Green. Any member thathas a gift or interest in learning more about research into genealogy contact Carl Hill.

Web Site and Newsletter Report:

Web page for more information. (http://www.hodgesar.org) Jim Penny continues his research into Virgina Continental Uniforms worn during the Revolutionary War. This Chapter has 31 members that trace their heritage back to Virginia.

Mike Green is stepping down as Newsletter Editor. Anybody interested in contributing some time to the Chapters business and communicating what is happening monthly in the Chapter contact Mike Green.

Chapter Meeting Speaker: Mr. Flem Rodgers

Mr. Rodgers presentation was a review of the types of rifles used in the American Revolution by British and American troop. Four different brands of rifles were displayed for inspection by all.

The most common rifle used at the time of the revolutionary war was the British “Brown Bess” musket.

This smooth bore rifle had limited accuracy of about 80 to 100 yards. The advantage of this weapon was it easy to reload and fire at a rate of reloading and firing four times per minute by an experienced soldier.

This was the most common weapon used by both British and American soldiers. The ideal battle practice using this Musket was having several rows of soldier’s line up (20 in a line and three lines) with each line firing their weapons separately while the other lines reloaded in preparation to fire again. The idea was to produce massive and continuous volley of firing at close range.

There were various versions of the smooth bore musket used in the American Revolutionary war that were imported from various European countries. The Prussian soldiers bought their own version in supporting the British side of the war. However, muskets were imported from Spain and France. The Franch “Charleville” musket is an example of one of these imported muskets.

These smooth bore muskets could be loaded with a single ball or with multiple balls of shot, but there was very little accuracy beyond 80 yards. These were designed as weapons of war as wars were fought in the 17th and 18th century.

German and Swiss immigrants into America who were blacksmiths and gunsmiths, started designing a rifle that was more accurate. These have been called the Pennsylvania, or Kentucky long rifles. Most of these can be lumped into the category of the American Long Rifle. These were not designed for war or for the American Revolution, but more for hunting. The long rifle also evolved with various improvements along the way. Originally these were large caliber rifles of 0.45 to .60 caliber. Along the way, the rifle was designed with longer barrels and with grooved barrels to improve accuracy. Lower calibers of 0.40 to 0.45 calibers were introduced to make the rifle lighter to use.

The American Long Rifle was much more accurate up to 200 yards. Great for killing deer in the woods, or as a sniper rifle to pickoff enemy soldiers from a distance. However, this rifle was difficult to load and fire.

It took a well experienced and trained rifleman to effectively operate the weapon. This introduce another method of warfare, guerrilla warfare.

In the American Revolutionary Army 10 Rifle Companies were formed to fight the British army. The groups of rifle men consisted of roughly about 100 men each equipped with the American Long Riffle.

One of the more famous of these groups that were assigned to George Washington’s army was Danial Morgan Rifle Corp.

Closing Remarks:

President reported the next Alexander Hodge No.49-chapter meeting will be held March 26th , 2024, at the Spring Creek Barbeque restaurant on Highway 6 in Missouri City, TX. 

Recessional: The SAR recessional was recited by all present.

Benediction: Closing benediction was given by Phil Whitley, Chaplain.


Prepared by Steven J. Barber, Secretary