Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:

"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the The Revolutionary War - and today our children learn much less! We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember:

Freedom is never free!

I am Larry Chesebro' and, with my wife, Nancy (Cagle) Chesebro', we began tracing our ancestors in December 1996. My CHESEBRO' spelling with the apostrophe after the "o" has been recorded and signed by our family beginning in the early 1800's and is so engraved on the gravestone of my 2nd great-grandparents in Stonington, CT.

My proven CHESEBROUGH lineage originates 1594 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. Nancy's proven CAGLE lineage originates 1684 in Oberöfflingen, Rhineland-Palatinate [Rheinland-Pfalz], Germany.

Our CHESEBROUGH research is an extension of the Cheesbrough One Name Study of Gerry and Freda (Cheesbrough) Lawson in Leeds, West Riding, Yorkshire, England.

While researching our families, we have come in contact with many people sharing a common interest. I welcome and share information with all people interested in their ancestral families.

We hope you will enjoy and find your visit worthwhile utilizing all the sections easily navigated from the menu to the left. Our new and much improved, special and unique section, Family Trees, now includes all our sources, statistics and reports.

Family Trees, produced by Darrin Lythgoe's The Next Generation of Genealogy Site Building (TNG), replaced our Family Files October 2004. Family Trees includes the most and best online genealogy features on the WEB including extensive search, optional languages, screen views and reports (descendancy, pedigree, individual and group),media, complete source citations, locations displayed on Google map screens with all Google Earth features, file downloads, private authorized user access, file update information, access log, and many more.

The COMPLETE FAMILY TREE is now our complete database with more than 94,000 individuals and can be fully viewed here. It is the source for lineages of all included individuals - for all surnames!

Google locations are being added daily as we correct GEDCOM description/location problems but locations of our lineages are nearly complete and can be observed beginning with Larry's Edmund Palmer Chesebro' family or Nancy's James Burton Cagle, Sr family.

The ORPHANS FAMILY TREE contains all the probable descendants or "cousins" of William Chesebrough we have not been able to connect directly to William - more than 2,600. Those individuals can now be easily identified with our extensive search features.

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