In Memoriam - July 23 2012; Walter Sheppard McMeans

 

WALTER SHEPPARD MCMEANS, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 23, 2012, in Sugar Land, Texas, at the age of 83.  

He lived in Sugar Land for 47 years having moved there in 1965.  During those years in Sugar Land, Walter served on the Planning Commission, the City Council, and as Mayor from 1984-1988.  As Mayor, Walter had the lead role in shaping the foundation and current city limits of Sugar Land. He was instrumental in the annexation of the land along Hwy 59 South to Greatwood, preventing annexation by Houston.  In 1986, Walter ran for newly created County-Court-at-Law.  He was elected Judge of Fort Bend County Court at Law #2, where he served for 24 years, until his retirement in 2010.    

Walter was a founding member on August 31, 1993 of the Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 of the Sons of the American Revolution.  His patriot was Charles Mynn Thurston who as Colonel commanded Thurston's Additional Continental Regiment.

Walter was born May 26, 1929, in Birmingham, Alabama. Later the McMeans family moved to Houston, where he attended Lanier Junior High and Lamar High School, graduating in 1948. He graduated from the University of Houston in 1953.

He served two years in the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant in France and Germany.  While in Germany, he met his future wife Jane Anna Glauner who was teaching at the Stuttgart American Elementary School.  They were married in Springfield, PA on July 1, 1960.  Walter attended the University of Houston Law School at night and graduated in 1960.  In June of 1960 he passed the bar exam.   

Walter was an Eagle Scout. He was a member of the Fort Bend Archeological Society, the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, the Fort Bend Exchange Club, Sugar Creek Rotary, the 100 Club of Fort Bend County, the VFW, the Optimist Club, Sons of the Confederacy, and was a life member of the Fort Bend County Fair Association. He served as a Director for CASA, and on the Board of Directors for the Gus George Lawn Enforcement Academy and the Fort Bend Museum Association.

Walter was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Luckett McMeans and Louise Sheppard McMeans. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jane Glauner McMeans; sons, Jeffrey A. McMeans, and Gregory A. McMeans and his wife Marika;daughter, Suzanne Overstreet and her husband John; grandchildren, Mason, Christy, Alex, Trenton, and Bryce; and brother-in-law, George Glauner and his wife Sue.

Walter was a loving husband, devoted father, and caring grandfather, who will be missed greatly. His life was the "Law" and he worked tirelessly to ensure Fort Bend County had a respected, fair, even-handed judiciary. In some way, legal, political, educational, religious, economical, or marital, Walter has touched the lives of almost everyone in Fort Bend County.

Virginia in the American Revolution - early background not provided in the Newsletter Supplement

 I have been working on the Supplement to our Newsletter that covers the role that Virginia and her troops played in the American Revolution with additional coverage of some of their uniforms.

A priority is also give and account of the Patriots ancestors of members of the Alexander Hodge Chapter who fought in Virginian military Units or who provided material aid to the troops.

That said, the actual contributions of Virginia are too lengthy to be added to the planned Supplement.  Out of necessity some are provided here.

Conflicts between Virgina and the British Government first appeared in 1763, in what was known as the Parson's Cause.  The Virginia legislature passed an Act to stop clerical salaries from inflating.  However, King George III vetoed the measure and the clergy sued for back salaries.  Patrick Henry, first rose to prominence by arguing in the case where one minister sued Hanover County over the Act on behave of all clergy affected by the Act.  The jury verdict awarded the Anglican minister a sum of one penny.  As a result, no other clergy brought suit, so the award essentially nullified the king's veto.  

Conflict in Virginia to Stamp Act and the Sugar Act passed by the English Parliament resulted in the Virginia Resolves passed by the Virginia General Assembly on the grounds of No Taxation without Representation.  The Royal Governor of Virginia, Francis Fauquier responded by dismissing the Assembly.

The protest to these and additional Acts by Parliament in the mid 1760's, gave rise to the Sons of Liberty or similar groups in Virginia and the other Colonies.  The Colonies also began to form Committees of Correspondence to communicate with each other and to gather news of British actions prior to the Revolution. In 1773, Virginia's Committee of Correspondence was the only one that was officially part of the Legislature.

The Virginia House of Burgesses approved June 1, 1774 as a day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer as a show of support for Massachusetts following the closure of the Port of Boston.  The Governor, Lord Dunmore, dismissed the legislature.  The Legislature reconvened at the Raleigh Tavern as the First Virginia Convention on August 1-6, 1774.  Delegates were elected to the Continental Congress scheduled to meet in Philadelphia in September 1774.  A Virginian, Peyton Randolph was selected as President of the Congress.

Governor Dunmore ordered Royal Marines to remove the gunpower from the Williamsburg magazine on the day after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 20, 1775.  Patrick Henry led a group of Virginia Militia to oppose Dunmore's order.  Although a peaceful resolution to the Gunpower Incident was achieved, ultimately Governor Dunmore had to flee to a nearby British Ship at Yorktown.  Dunmore declared Virginia to be in rebellion and on November 7th he issued a proclamation declaring that any slave fighting for the British would be freed.

The first significant battle involving Virginia militia occurred on December 9th, 1775.  It will be covered later in the Newsletter Supplement. 

jgp

Online Registration for State Convention in San Antonio for April 11-14 ends on Friday, April 5th!!!!

 Time is growing short to register for the 129th Annual Texas SAR State Convention in San Antonio from April 11 - 14 at the DoubleTree by Hilton - San Antonio Airport, 611 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas 78216.

The last day for online registration is Friday, April 5th. 

Mark your Calendars - April 17th, Meet for tour of HCU's Independence Hall.

 Alexander Hodge SAR Chapter Members

Please join us for a tour of Independance Hall at Houston Christian University, formally Houston Baptist University. The hall is a full-scale replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, replete with Liberty Bell. The Bell was forged at the same foundry in France that the Liberty Bell was forged. The guided tour will be conducted by Chris Hammons Ph.D. the director of the Morris Family Center for Law and Liberty and also a member of our chapter. Spouses and significant others are welcome to attend.

The address is 7502 Fondren for Houston Christian University. The tour will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday April 17^th and should last about an hour. We plan on going to Pappa's BBQ nearby for lunch afterword,

Please let me know how many will be attending by April 12th. We would like to have a good turnout for this great SAR chapter event. Parking information at the university will be provided later.

Carl Hill

President

Alexander Hodge Chapter

Sons of the American Revolution

281 773 1739

Speaker at last night's Meeting was awesome - Tom Jackson

Members present at Spring Creek BBQ on Hwy 6 in Missouri City were not disappointed.  Our President through his contacts secured another fine speaker for our Bi-Monthly Meeting.

Our speaker was Tom Jackson and his topic was “The Contributions of the Orange and Green.”   The slide presentation detailed the history of the Irish people and their subsequent arrival in America.  Tom presentation went on the highlight the contributions of Irish soldiers, sailors, and commanders within the American military during the Revolution.

Tom's Irish roots start in 1730 with the birth of his patriot ancestor Jeremiah Dial Sr in County Cork, Ireland. His son, the future patriot Jeremiah Dial, Jr. was born in Dublin in 1758 and the family left from Ulster in 1772 bound for Charleston South Carolina.  He has presented to over 10,000 students and adults on topics concerning the American Revolution.

Tom belongs to approximately 30 lineage societies or certificate programs and has held leadership positions in various lineage organizations. He was the founding national Treasurer of Order and Founders of North America and has returned to that position today. He is the national Founding Treasurer for the Sons and Daughters of Officers of the Colonial Militia and continues in that position today. He served as President (2021-2022) of the Texas Genealogical College. He served as President (2019-2022) of the Sons of the Revolution in Texas.

Furthermore,  within the state of Texas, he is a member of: 1718 San Antonio Founding Families and Descendants, First Families of Bexar County, Alamo Defenders Association, Sons of the Republic of Texas, Texas First Families, Descendants of Texas Rangers, Gone to Texas Pioneer Certificate and The Order of the Granaderos y Dámas de Gálvez.

Tom has served the National Society Sons of the American Revolution, as a Trustee (2019-2022), as President (2018-2019) of the Council of State Presidents, as Chairman Host Committee National Congress (2018), and as national chair of education and communications committees. 

Tom has served the Texas SAR as President (2018-2019).  He was made an Admiral in the Texas Navy in 2018.

Professionally, Tom is a CPA, a Certified Information Systems Auditor, and a CGMA. Academically his undergraduate degree and graduate work are both from the University of Texas in Austin. He has been a national lecturer on Information Technology, an instructor in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin, and an adjunct professor in accounting at Houston Baptist University. At the corporate level he taught seminars in statistics and auditing. He was a contributing editor to the textbook, “Theory and Practice” and taught night classes using the text.

 He has been a locally elected official for 34 years and most recently served as President of the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. He earned Master Trustee status in 2016 and he was Board Vice President the year they were named Honor Board for the state of Texas. As a Trustee he presented on various topics at both national and state conferences. He was one of 42 trustees who served at the state level. He also concluded his second term as a board member of Girl Scouts, San Jacinto Council

Exploring the NATIONAL SAR Website - The Store

 Our National SAR Website is loaded with gift items to enhance your membership.  The following are a few items available.

Apparal (shirts, hats, ties)     

Insignia, Metals and Coins             

                                                          Combination Set     Sons and Daughters pin         US Flag & SAR Flag

                                                   

                                                  250th Anniversary Pin     Continental Congress Pin      Continental Congress Patch

                                                                                  250th Anniversary Ornament

                                                                   

                                                     

Update of Viewer Stats for March (27th). Also additional interesting facts on viewer locations

                                3/11     3/16    3/17    3/18     3/21      3/27

Today                      16        20          8        41      119       130

Yesterday                28        54        77       77       263       143

This Month           777    1071      194     1227    1703    2107

Last Month          2752   2752    2752     2752    2752    2752

I will only mention most of the following only one time, found it interesting.  

Found that there were more to the Stats page in Google that just the above info.  For example, it shows what stories were viewed and what times that they were viewed.  Tracks what platform was used to view from, for example, TXSSAR or Google or Apple, etc.

But, also from what countries the Blog is viewed.  All information is Charted.  

Hong Kong      310

United States   202      

China              149   

Beligium            9

Other                  7  

Austria and France      4 each   

United Kingdom; Indonesia; India; and Iran      2 each

Canada; United Arab Emirates; Switzerland; Ghana; Georgia; Russia; Spain; Germany   1 each

prepared by Jim Penny

ON THIS DATE IN THE REVOLUTION - MARCH 26th

 South Carolina becomes an independent state.

 

On this day in history, March 26, 1776, South Carolina becomes an independent state when it adopts its own Constitution, the second of the original 13 colonies to do so. South Carolina was the center of the American Revolution and the patriot movement in the south.

 

Prior to the war, patriots such as Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch and John Rutledge had led the movement of resistance against Great Britain’s taxes. South Carolina even had its own “Boston Tea Party” when citizens threw a ship full of tea into the Cooper River.

           

South Carolina sent five representatives to the Continental Congress in 1774. Henry Middleton, a South Carolinian, served as a president of that Congress. Another South Carolinian, Henry Laurens, would serve as President of the Continental Congress for a year from 1777 to 1778.

 

In January, 1775, the Royal Governor of South Carolina, Lord William Campbell, dissolved the colonial assembly, forcing the members to meet on their own and form an extralegal government body. In March of 1776, this body adopted its own Constitution, along with the name “General Assembly of South Carolina.” The new state’s president was John Rutledge and its first vice president was Henry Laurens.

 

South Carolina was the center of the Revolution in the south, with over 200 battles fought on its soil, more than any other state. The British made an early attempt to invade the south at Charles Town in 1776, but this attempt was driven back at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, forcing them to retreat to the north and make another attempt to take the south later.

 

In December, 1779, the British southern strategy commenced with the capture of Savannah, Georgia. They quickly moved into South Carolina and began a siege of Charles Town in March, 1780, that lasted two months. Large American armies were captured at Charles Town and Camden and the coastal areas were quickly taken over.

 

The British attempted to raise a Loyalist army in the south, but this proved harder than they expected. Militia leaders such as Francis Marion and Andrew Pickens harassed the British with guerrilla techniques and gradually gained the upper hand. When Continental Army General Nathanael Greene arrived, the tide began to turn. Greene and the militia leaders gradually wore the British down and began taking control of the string of British forts in the back country. Eventually, the British were driven back into Charles Town alone on the coast.

 

After the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the war, the British evacuated the city on December 14, 1782. This day is celebrated as “South Carolina Independence Day,” to this day. The city of Charles Town was then renamed “Charleston” because the citizens thought it sounded less British!

Courtesy of

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

February 27, 2024 Business Meeting Minutes

 

                                          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 one of the 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 Challenge coins that commemorate events during the Revolution. These can be purchased online.

 3. A member purchased one Challenge coin as a Door Prize for a member in attendance at our next meeting on March 26th. 

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

Tonight is the Bi-monthly Membership Meeting at Spring Creek BBQ in Missouri City - invitation to all.

 Our President, Carll Hill, sent out a friendly reminder that our chapter's dinner meeting is tonight at Spring Creek Barbeque in Missouri City. 

We will start to gather at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.

We will have a Speaker