Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Brave Defender of His Country's Rights

Capt. Robert "Robin" Hanna, my sixth Great-Grandfather, defended
our country in the American Revolution. Born in Prince Edward Co.,
Virginia, December 10, 1744, he attended William and Mary College
and had a close and enduring friendship with Thomas Jefferson.
Capt. Hanna represented Little River District, South Carolina in the
Fifth General Assembly (1783-1784). He was also a deputy surveyor
for the surveyor general and surveyed a great deal of acreage on the
North and South Carolina border.

His tombstone, Sims Cemetery, Franklin Co, IN, inscription reads:

In Memory of
ROBERT HANNA
Was born Decr 10th 1744
And departed this life
The 24th of January 1821
He was A brave defender
Of his Country's Rights
And lived and died an honest Man


Each man must for himself alone decide what is right
and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which
isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide
against your conviction is to be an unqualified and
excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country,
let men label you as they may.
~Mark Twain

20 comments:

  1. Excellent post Willow. I am especially interested in the war for indendance. Thanks for sharing the story, and the quote by Twain.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful ancestry you have, Willow. How fortunate to be able to know their names too. Mine are lost in the mists of time.

    And then, to visit their grave? It must have been quite moving to be at the grave of the man who lived so valiantly, and to know that you are related.

    Your Philly tour is uncovering many layers; each of your posts on this trip is so varied, I'm really enjoying sharing in it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I dropped by, Willow, to thank you, Willow, for dropping by Nick’s Bytes. Of course, since you tested out as 100% psychic, you knew that I’d visit.

    [:-)

    I am quite impressed with your blog and intend to return.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a nice tribute to Robert Hanna. I had forgotten that they called him Robin or that he was a friend of Jeffersons. Happy Memorial Day, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Willow, you are quite the family historian..very interesting post. I'm like Lavinia..bits and pieces of our ancestry surface now and then. Nice quote by Twain.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice photograph and interesting information. I can't get photos of my revolutionary war soldier relatives as they are buried in New England. Oh well. I am stuck with my great grandparents. LOL

    Thanks for the visit.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I find this fascinating, I devour history, one of my favorite places, William and Mary, and Moticello. How fortunate for you to have such a devoted and honest ancestor.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just noticed the new pic of Willow Manor on your sidebar. It's a storybook house, beautiful, gracious, love the ivy covering. You are so lucky to live where you do.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Willow - thank you for sharing your ancestors with us - this is so fascinating. So I take it you are the official family historian?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice ancestry you have there Willow. I wish I knew more about mine. I like this photo too. Happy Memorial Day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the photo. It prompted a conversation between the professor and me about a Civil War era cemetery in our town, as he shared its history with me and upon viewing your photo I am itching to ramble around in that shady place with my camera.

    Fascinating history behind your sixth great-grandfather! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Willow, this is a lovely post and a great quote by Mark Twain. It's wonderful how you're honoring your family by passing along their history this way. Ancestry is so fascinating...

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a beautiful post, Willow. And Mark Twain is one of my favorites--he always had such a wonderful way of putting things that just made sense. Lovely photograph, too. Very fitting for today.

    ReplyDelete
  14. How wonderful to know your ancestry so well and have this amazing picture.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Willow,
    Great post and pic. You are so full of family history. Thanks for taking the time to surface all of this wonderful information and history concerning our ancestry. You're the best!
    The Bach

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a fascinating post, Willow! How very interesting and wonderful you can trace your family back that far. That's rather rare-- and with a photo to boot! Ttank you for posting. Very apropos for Memorial Day too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your Great Grandfather was a good and honest man who was blessed and lived a good long life... it must be in the genes --- he would be proud of his great granddaughter - Willow-

    Great post,
    Joanny

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kee, I would love to contact you, please give me an email address.

    It's always fun to connect with distant cousins out there!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kee, I'm psychic, but not that psychic! :):):)

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)