The McQueen family is something that is always on my mind, only because there is so much documented about my McQueen line, but none of it leads me back to the next generation…my 5th great-grandparents in the McQueen family. I may, however, have gotten a new clue. And, I have my brand-spankin’ newly found fifth cousin once removed to thank.
I was contacted the other day by J. Craven, who just happened to be researching his grandmother, and he stumbled across Digging Up Your Family. He sent me an email, and after a bit of confusion on my part it was figured that he is the 3rd great-grandson of Ann McQueen. Just to refresh your memory of my relationship to the McQueen family (including the unknown 5th great-grandfather):
Me
Virginia Marie Stalls (my mom)
James Paul Stalls, Jr (granddaddy)
Minnie Virginia Richards (g-grandmother)
Jerome E Richards, Sr (gg-grandfather)
Caroline McQueen (ggg-grandmother)
Peter McQueen (gggg-grandfather and Ann McQueen’s brother)
Unknown McQueen (ggggg-grandfather and father of Ann and Peter McQueen)
The great thing about his contacting me, besides gaining a new family member, is that he has pictures of his ancestors. I was also able to add new information to my tree. And adding that new information caused me to look into a few other people I have on my tree that I had kind of given up on after trying to contact descendants and getting nowhere. And when I looked into one person in particular, Arthur Lemuel Hardy (who would be Ann McQueen’s great-grandson), I found that a work of fiction, apparently based on fact, had been authored by him. And though the book was free on Google Books, I purchased it anyway (because I enjoy having paper books in hand). I read half of the book online, so when it arrived yesterday I was able to read the rest of it (it’s only 137 pages, so a quick read). The book is The Clutch of Circumstance by, of course, Arthur Lemuel Hardy. Apparently there are other books out there with the same title, but you can find this book to read online here or you can purchase the book from Amazon here.
After reading the book I learned several things:
1. Views on racial equality in parts of the South haven’t changed that much since the close of the Civil War, which is kind of sad.
2. Due to the dedication of the book, I assume that a large part of this “fiction” may hold more truth than would normally be thought had the dedication not been so…pointed. The dedication says: TO MY WIFE, WHOSE PITY FOR A HELPLESS BABE, AND WHOSE INDIGNATION TOWARDS AN UNNATURAL PARENT SUGGESTED AND INSPIRED THE STORY, I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME. Once you read the book you’ll understand.
3. I am pretty sure the “McQuinton” characters in the story are actually representative of “McQueen”. And because of that I am pretty confident that my McQueen line can be traced back to the Charleston, South Carolina area.
I’m excited to learn more of what my new cousin has and to be able to share more of what I have with him. And I am really excited to start researching the history of the McQueen families in Charleston!
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