When I was growing up, I was always told that I descended from John Savage, a Revolutionary soldier who fired the first shot at the Battle of Cowpens, and from James Savage, a Confederate soldier who was killed at the Battle of Boonsboro, MD.

My research (and that shared by others) has allowed me to confirm both of those family stories.

I was also told that I was related to numerous other individuals, but was seldom given adequate explanations as to exactly how we were related.

My research (and that shared by others) has allowed me to clarify some of those relationships. Evidently, some of the stories that I had been told when I was a child were judiciously and/or conveniently edited.

I quote from the character Mrs. Gardner in the television series "American Gothic" episode entitled "Ring of Fire":
". . . the secret history of the South is hidden in blood.
Genealogy.
Family."

And from the character Julia Sugarbaker in the television series "Designing Women":
"This is the South, and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring them right down to the living room and show them off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask which side they’re on."

It is my sincere hope that my research will assist others in their efforts to uncover their perhaps-secret history and to bring out their possibly-hidden relatives and show them off.

When I was growing up, I was always told that I descended from John Savage, a Revolutionary soldier who fired the first shot at the Battle of Cowpens, and from James Savage, a Confederate soldier who was killed at the Battle of Boonsboro, MD.

My research (and that shared by others) has allowed me to confirm both of those family stories.

I was also told that I was related to numerous other individuals, but was seldom given adequate explanations as to exactly how we were related.

My research (and that shared by others) has allowed me to clarify some of those relationships. Evidently, some of the stories that I had been told when I was a child were judiciously and/or conveniently edited.

I quote from the character Mrs. Gardner in the television series "American Gothic" episode entitled "Ring of Fire":
". . . the secret history of the South is hidden in blood.
Genealogy.
Family."

And from the character Julia Sugarbaker in the television series "Designing Women":
"This is the South, and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring them right down to the living room and show them off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask which side they’re on."

It is my sincere hope that my research will assist others in their efforts to uncover their perhaps-secret history and to bring out their possibly-hidden relatives and show them off.