By far the most exciting, though not the closest, family connection in San Antonio is Nancy's distant cousin, Patrick Herndon, one of the heroes of the Alamo battle. Patrick's mother, Judith Hampton, was the sister of Nancy's 3rd great grandmother, Francis Hampton. This makes Patrick Nancy's 1st cousin 4 times removed and Johnathan's 1st cousin 6 times removed! The history of Texas online give the following bio of Patrick:
"HERNDON, PATRICK HENRY (1802-1836): Patrick Henry Herndon, Alamo defender, son of John and Judith (Hampton) Herndon, was born in Virginia in March 1802. His family moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1811. He married Pamelia (or Pamela) Smith in Fayette County, Kentucky on November 1, 1824. She died on February 5, 1825. He subsequently moved to Navidad, Texas. He joined the army at Bexar on December 1, 1825. On January 15, 1826, he became attached to Capt. John Chenoweth's company. Herndon may have been one of the volunteers who accompanied James Bowie to Bexar and the alamo on January 19, 1836. He died in the battle of the alamo on March 6, 1836."
All of the heroes of the Alamo are entombed in the shrine with an honorary placque that lists the names of those who gave their lives defending the Alamo:
"HERNDON, PATRICK HENRY (1802-1836): Patrick Henry Herndon, Alamo defender, son of John and Judith (Hampton) Herndon, was born in Virginia in March 1802. His family moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1811. He married Pamelia (or Pamela) Smith in Fayette County, Kentucky on November 1, 1824. She died on February 5, 1825. He subsequently moved to Navidad, Texas. He joined the army at Bexar on December 1, 1825. On January 15, 1826, he became attached to Capt. John Chenoweth's company. Herndon may have been one of the volunteers who accompanied James Bowie to Bexar and the alamo on January 19, 1836. He died in the battle of the alamo on March 6, 1836."
All of the heroes of the Alamo are entombed in the shrine with an honorary placque that lists the names of those who gave their lives defending the Alamo:
Other connections in the San Antonio area include Nancy's mother, Ruth, who lived in nearby Shertz as a teenager while her dad, Herbert Henry, was stationed at Randolph Field (now called Randolph Air Base). Herb was the base band director. Glenn has living relatives in Shertz, as well, so we hope to fit in a visit. This is a photo (borrowed from Baseball in Wartime blog at http://www.baseballinwartime.blogspot.com/) that shows Randolph Field as it was when Herb was stationed there.
3 comments:
I remember looking at that plaque as a boy, searching for "Ledbetter" or "Webb" (my mother's maiden name) or any other relative's name. Found none. But now, through Nancy, I'm remotely connected to someone there. Thanks.
Yes, I'm hoping to see my favorite cousin, Gilbert Gregorczyk, his wife, Evelyn, his mother (my aunt) Edith, and their family. G,E&E live in Shertz. Not too far away, my college dorm roommate, Jack Moore, lives in Austin. Don't expect to see him this trip. We shared a room at Abilene Christian College, Abilene, TX in 1959-1960.
It would be fun to visit Randolph Field, if it's still an active military base and is accessible to civilians...just a drive-through would be nice. When I was a boy, we had a semi-pro baseball team, the Plymouth Oilers, based in Sinton, TX and sponsored by Plymouth Oil Company. Randolph Field also had a team in our league. Daddy and I watched many night games at Plymouth Field, or whatever it was called. My favorite player was Steve Raypack (sp), a shortstop who could throw the ball accurately on a straight line from deep in the hole all the way to the stretching first baseman. Many times it looked like the runner was going to be safe, but Steve's rifle throw would get him out at the last instant!
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