And extra information gives some texture to these squares and lines. Tonight I learned about why my 5th great-grandfather moved to Missouri, that he owned some slaves, and found another old family picture.

*in short, Samuel Lambeth is my five-times-great-grandfather, born in North Carolina about 1773.

The following comes from ancestry.com user elephantsyard:

In my research I found Samuel had a store on the crossroads from Kentucky and the road from Knoxsville to Sparta.It was called Lambeth’s Crossroads, then. It is now Crossville in Cumberland Co. It was on the main road west and I think it just got too much for him to see everyone going, so he went too. However, it seems some of his family may have gone before. If Daniel and Nancy were married in MO in 1838, they must have gone before him, so he followed. After all, Mary had passed away already, at least she wasn’t in the 1840 census.The Merrill’s I know little about except Daniel Merrill was in the Reovluntary War. I’d like to know more about him and his ancestors.

Look! It's my great-great-great-great-grandmother's Uncle Wesley's family! Since her grandfather, Samuel Lambeth b 1773, gifted him $2,500 and six slaves plus probably a lot of other stuff, I assume he was Samuel's favorite. But, you know, whatever.

And the final interesting thing of the night is Samuel Lambeth’s will:

Will of Samuel Lambeth
Osage County, MO Will Book A
Page 259

I, Samuel Lambeth of the County of Osage in the State of Missouri, do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say, First, It is my will that my funeral expenses and all my just debts be fully paid. Second, I give to Little Lambeth on negro boy by the name of Leander age eight years old. Third, I give to my son Joseph Lambeth one negro girl named Mary age sixteen years old. Fourth, I give to my daughter Elizabeth Anderson one negro girl named Manda aged nine years old. Fifth, I give my son Dan M. Lambeth one negro (girl) woman named Sarah aged twenty four years old and child one month old. Sixth, I give my son Jesse Lambeth one negro boy named Peter aged eight years and six months old. Seventh, I give my daughter Lucinda Ran one negro girl named Martha aged seven years old. Eighth, I give my son Wesley Lambeth one negro girl named Ann aged sixteen years old and one negro named Milton aged one year old. Ninth, I give my grandson Christopher Conely Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when he is twenty one years old. Tenth, I give my granddaughter Margaret McKinney Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when she is eighteen years old, Eleventh, I give my grandson Thos. W. McKinney Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age. Twelfth, I give my grandson Jesse T. McKinney Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age. Thirteenth, I give my grand daughter Mary E. McKinney Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money. Fourteenth, I give my grandson John Sitton Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age. Fifteenth, I give my grandson Samuel Sitton Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age. Sixteenth, I give to my grandson James Sitton Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age, Seventeenth, I give grand-daughter Tebitha Cox Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age, Eighteenth, the within named slaves are given to the named heirs and their bodily heirs. Nineteenth, I give to daughter Tebitha Perkins and her bodily heirs one negro girl named Jane age five years old. Twentieth, The balance of my property after my death and after my debts is paid if any left to be equally divided among my bodily heirs, Twenty-first, I give my grand-daughter Emily Harris, Fifty Dollars in good and lawful money when of age, and lastly I hereby constitute and appoint my son Jesse Lambeth and Wesley Lambeth to be the executors to this my last will and testament, revoking and annulling all former wills by me made and ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 26th day of April A.D. 1860.

Samuel Lambeth, Seal

Signed, published and declared by the above named Samuel Lambeth as and for his last will and testament in presence of us who at his request have signed as witnesses to the same.

Henry Harrison Potts
John Harris

I finally found that he was buried in Missouri, in the Snodgrass Cemetery in 1858. His wife was buried in the Clifty Cemetery in 1882. This means they must have moved to Missouri in the eight years between 1850 and 1858, which is interesting.

Here are Isaac and Sarah’s children as of 1850:

• Henry N – 1833
• William I (?) – 1839
• Epraim S – 1841
• Abrahm C. – 1841
• John R. – 1845
• James L – 1848
• Larkin T – 1849

So, Findagrave.com is useful, and gave me the find of the night. This picture is supposedly of James Lennex Keaton, my great-great-great grandfather (I’ve also found spellings of “Lenox”). Not sure where how the photo was obtained, so I don’t know for sure if it is him or not. Either way, this dude is sporting a pretty badass beard and scowl combo.

My biggest concern is that James L.’s wife’s name is, I thought Martha Parmer, but he could have remarried, maybe Mary is short for Martha, or some other mid-19th century anomaly.

And now it’s 2:39 a.m., so maybe I’ll play with this more later.

Edit: I showed this picture to my great-grandfather, and he acted pretty excited about it. He confirmed that James was his grandfather, but said he never saw any of his grandparents (three of them died within a year after he was born in 1927, and the other, Louisa Lambeth Perkins, died in 1905). A guy he knew as a kid told him stories, and Grampa wishes he were still around. “I miss those old-timers.”

Using preimplantation genetic diagnosis to choose an offspring’s genetics is arguably comparable to supporting a second-wave eugenics movement. Its long-term social cost outweighs the immediate benefits. Families privileged enough access the technology wouldn’t halt inferior genetics outright; The discrimination would be slower and more subtle. As PGD children born with virtually no problems become more common, their superior capabilities would increasingly disadvantage naturally born individuals. Within a few generations, the essence of humanity could disappear. For these ethical reasons, I would refuse PGD for my children.

            The most realistic and highly accepted argument for PGD favors preventing medical conditions such as deformities and chronic disease. It eliminates the cost, risky treatments, and stress of caring for a child with special needs. Avoiding these things altogether is an attractive option. For instance, when I was 10 years old, I underwent spinal surgery to correct scoliosis. Because the spinal curve was developing so rapidly, I would have been unable to breathe on my own if the deformation were left untreated. Without modern technology, it’s unlikely I would be successful (or perhaps even alive) in later years. With PGD selecting against the genes that cause scoliosis the stress and cost for my family could have been avoided entirely. Thus, if I had the choice determining my child’s genetics, scoliosis is something I would not pass on.

However, the line between improving deficiencies and simply enhancing already functioning traits would be difficult to determine and even harder to regulate. Another example: my family has notoriously bad dental problems — too many teeth grow in too fast. Choosing the right genes to circumvent this problem would save my children some pain and cost for orthodontics (or, if left untreated, social cost like decreased chance for getting hired), but PGD seems like an extreme intervention. Then again, if I were already manipulating genetics to prevent more serious disorders, the line of thought might go, “what could be the harm in tweaking this as well?” Many people would feel tempted to use all the available knowledge to make many serious and cosmetic decisions concerning their child. And since cultures place different values on different traits, it would be hard to determine what is an enhancement and what is genuinely a repair.

Statistics make accepting imperfection harder. As Linda F. Hogle says in “Enhancement Technologies and the Body,” “A society using a concept of norms, where all people must fit somewhere along a distribution curve, differs significantly from a concept of the ideal, where everyone would fall short and no one is expected to have an ideal body.” Ideally everyone would have the exact number of perfectly straight teeth. The awareness of what’s numerically normal increases anxiety to sit on the peak of the curve.

American culture also imposes social anxiety to fit into our modern lifestyle.  Hogle points out that the ideal American body would need less sleep, be more responsive, and be able to work harder. To this I would add an ability to handle stress, and aversion to depression. Biological aversion obesity and diabetes would also probably be a popular selection. It’s easier than changing behavior.

Of course, as we learn more about behavioral genetics, those could be selected for as well. However, every advantage could have arguments against it, depending on culture and personal values. Bravery was the first positive trait that came to my mind. Isolating and selecting for an adventurous, confident spirit would produce an inarguably successful child. He or she would travel, try new things and speak up for himself or herself without fear. But this kind of character is more admirable when harder won. Naturally aggressive or confident people take more risks, which could be a disadvantage in the long run. People who gradually gain confidence over time possess greater empathy for meeker individuals and also seem to more greatly appreciate their accomplishments. My ideal child would also be intelligent, able to focus well, relate to others and have a baseline cheerful disposition. But those are ideals, and to expect perfection asks too much of any human. Overcoming challenges gives us the ability to understand others who are experiencing various stages of life, and improves our own moral fiber. Although PGD individuals would have the same (or somewhat longer, depending on the life span traits chosen) amount of time for experiences, without natural blocks, it’s hard to say what kind of significant formative experiences they would have — especially as those around them attain perfection.

When the medical technology becomes affordable, more people will naturally adopt its practices in attempt to catch up to the higher classes. Some might argue that society does this all the time. We improve our class status by purchasing better houses, food, clothing, etc. until the former standards of wealth become the new norm. Genetic advantage will likely go the way of current economic advantages, with wealthy individuals in developed nations setting the trend of PGD use, middle classes in those nations eventually catching up, and the impoverished in developing countries left behind at an even bigger gap than before. However, economic concerns are more cosmetic than what determines our physical and mental characteristics. These things tie closely to the nature of humanity, which is necessarily marked by diversity and suffering.

Sorry for the abrupt ending; there’s certainly more to say.

I’ll keep all the back posts here.  I guess that’s part of my family history, too, all the potpurri of thoughts I had and art I made.

To start off this new chapter, here are a couple of links I’d like to bookmark so I don’t forget.  They’re from a genealogy.com forum, and it discusses the Lambeths.  Louisa Lambeth is my great-great-great-grandmother.

Daniel Lambeth and Nancy Miller Lambeth’s Children

Reference to the “Lambeth Family of North Carolina” book, which would likely indicate Daniel and Nancy’s origins, since 1850 Census Records show that’s where Daniel was from (Nancy Miller Lambeth is from Tennessee).

Arcadia Valley

Back in March, my friend Trey and I went to the Arcadia Valley Region to see The Mississippi Sawyers and visit the awesome trifecta of state parks and Fort Davidson Historic Site.  I took a hard look at Taum Sauk for my class, but didn’t get a chance to blog about Johnson’s Shut-Ins or Elephant Rocks until now.  Here are a few things I observed on March 20th and a few questions I raised.

Geology and Water

This first video is a pan from the very start of the Shut-Ins trail.  You begin to see small exposed chunks of rhyolite, which hung on after sedimentary rock was worn down after years of water erosion.  An interpretive sign explained that this part of the trail will someday become like its neighbor downstream, but the “changes are imperceptible to generations of visitors.”  I’d like to know just how many hundreds of thousands of years it took for the main part of JSI (see below) to go from this sandbar state to what it is now.  Also, let’s imagine that urban development were to rush into Arcadia Valley (ecotourism, huge influx of bluegrass fans, World’s Fair — hey, you never know).  If a lot of pavement and buildings were to get built in the watershed that feeds the East Fork Black River, its water load would increase.  Would increased water volume severely advance the rate of erosion?  Would speed or rate of flow?  Does flow rate increase with volume?

Aquatic Wildlife

This next clip takes a pan of JSI’s main drag.  A video can’t do it justice.  The the grandeur of the valley, the size of these rock formations, the sound of the water and its cool spray all contribute to the experience.  It was pretty cold when we went, so we didn’t splash around.  I wonder what kind of aquatic wildlife can handle this fast-moving water and the labyrinth of rhyolite.  Fishes?  Frogs?  Hopefully this summer I can get back there and investigate more.  I’m also curious about how many other such shut-ins there are in the state and the nation.  I think one of Dr. Weaver’s books about Missouri natural wonders listed at least 20.

Vegetative Restoration

JSI isn’t just about the water.  Trey and I also hiked the Scour Trail, which leads up to and follows the area that a 2005 reservoir break scoured. Look at the full-size image of this photo, and you can see the giant boulders that the water carried down to what is now the Black River Center.  How many trees did this uproot, or did they all withstand the flood?  How quickly did it take for those grasses to fill in around the stream?  Surely, if the land were stripped to its bedrock, it would have scoured out all of the grass seeds and roots as well.  I’m interested in the process of vegetative restoration.

The mystery of felled trees

These uprooted trees on the trail were more curious than the scour itself.  They’re on the other side of the hill from the stream, so it seemed like it wouldn’t have been the reservoir break.  We also noticed a lot of trees down along the highway.  I felt really vexed about what caused this, but I’ve found the answer: it was the May 2009 Southern Midwest Derecho!  Click the link; it’s fascinating.  Basically this area was part of a 15-hour “inland hurricane” that struck three states and induced winds up to 106 miles per hour.  Holy cow!  Mystery solved!

Where: Costa Rica When: June 2008 Camera: Canon Powershot A550 ——————————————- When I visited San Jose, the city was holding a CowParade public art exhibit. Dozens of artists had decorated cows, placed throughout the city, in ways that were sometimes beautiful, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes expressed a poignant social or political message. I made it my mission to look for these cows wherever we went. This cow, wit … Read More

via Vandrelysten – Aching for the Distance

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,000 times in 2010. That’s about 10 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 30 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 68 posts. There were 44 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 38mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 20th with 42 views. The most popular post that day was Angry Beaver of the Day.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, blogger.com, oneyearintexas.com, and last.fm.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for black background, ogham, bonfire, dogwood, and nick cave.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Angry Beaver of the Day February 2010

Bonfire Background January 2009
1 comment

We Can’t Afford to Ignore It January 2010

Does the USA have a cuisine? February 2010
2 comments

Unicorn Haiku February 2010

The crack of lightning comes first. Then the first pats of rain. It hits the pavement, pummels leaves of grass, and falls down glass windows. Within a few minutes, it rushes off the sidewalks and next to the curb, seeping under candy wrappers and plastic bottles and ferrying it to the storm drains. They drop. They rush to Hinkson Creek. Motor oil follows, and chemicals, and a thousand unnamed contaminants that accompany development.