British Isles Connection

I like British television.  I just do.  Anything based in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the many isles included, though you're not likely to see any TV shows based outside the "big four".  Netflix is a great source for Brit TV.  I have watched a number of series through Netflix.  And I own a movie that I love called, "The Secret of Roan Inish" based/produced in Ireland.

So let's talk history/genealogy!

My ancestors on my mother's mother's side hailed from Scotland, mostly, and from Ireland.  This we know from extensive genealogy work done by other members of her family.  My own grandmother was a member of the Daughter's of the American Revolution which requires you provide proof of such ancestry.  One of those ancestors was a woman named Jane McCrae (sometimes also spelled MacCrae - 1752-1777). In July of 1777, seventeen-year-old Jane, who was a loyalist, was awaiting the arrival of her fiance, David Jones.  He was a Lieutenant serving with the British.  She had traveled to Fort Edward in New York to await his arrival and stayed with another loyalist, Sarah McNeil (in some records noted as a cousin).  On the morning of July 27th, 1777, a band of Wyandot Indians fighting on the side of the British, staged an early morning raid on the outskirts of Fort Edward, where Jane was staying with Sarah McNeil.  The women were captured and Jane was scalped by one of them after being separated from Sarah.  There are several stories of why, but it appears to be speculation.  Jane became a rallying call to the Patriots who, upon hearing the story of this American woman's death, joined up to seek revenge, despite the fact she was, in fact, a loyalist.  The History Channel has a documentary mentioning her murder as a catalyst to the Revolutionary War.   Jane McCrae's grave is in Union Cemetery in Fort Edward, alongside that of Sarah McNeil who died at the age of 77 in 1799 and Duncan Campbell, a relative to Sarah McNeil through her first husband.  A monument sits on the site where Jane was killed which is across the street from the Fort Edward High School.  There is also a "Jane McCrae House" which was actually owned by Sarah McNeil and now is a private residence.

Painting "Death of Jane McCrae" by John Vanderlyn in 1804: 

Monument on the location of Jane McCrae's murder:

Current location of Jane McCrae, Sarah McNeil and Duncan Campbell, a relative of Sarah's through her first husband at Union Cemetery: