| Notes |
- NOTE 1./ As a historical time frame point of reference; In 1585, Sir Francis Drake, the English explorer, rescued the 1st English attempt at colonizing the New World. This was at Roanoke Island North Carolina
NOTE 2./ e-mail: Houston family genealogy from Sherri Shrat <> 12-18-06
We – are currently researching and trying to find Dr William Houston, (our immigrant’s ancestry) – We know he came from Ireland and was born in County Antrim about 1710-1715. He came with his Uncle (by marriage) Henry McCulloh, a Merchant and Land Agent of King George. Bob Epperson, one of our cousins has been doing a great deal of research on the McCulloh connection and we have just recently connected with Fletcher Freeman a descendant of Henry McCulloh who has provided us with some interesting info. Fletcher is an attorney and former J.P. from Dallas who lives and practices in MN now.
I need to back up here and tell you we also have a blood connection to Henry McCulloh that we are currently working on securing record proof of. Edward Houston (Rev War Vet) (son of Dr. William Houston) was married to Mary Miller. His brother Henry married Mary’s sister Sarah. Mary & Sarah Miller were the daughters of George Miller and __________ McCulloch. Their mother according to several historians was the daughter of Henry McCulloh. There is some historical error/conflict as to which daughter.
NOTE 3./
Historical reference for the time frame cir the time the Houston family had emigrated to America: (from the Ancestry Weekly Digest, 03 July 2004)
COLONISTS OPPRESSED
King George III succeeded his grandfather, George II, to the English throne in 1760 at age 22. At the time of his ascent to the throne, the French and Indian War still raged over territories in North America. The Sugar Act was passed in 1764, which taxed the importation into the colonies of sugar, coffee, Madeira wine, silks and other cloths, indigo, and pimentos. It also imposed fines on shippers who sold such commodities to the colonies.
The Stamp Acts, passed by Parliament in 1765, placed a duty (tax) on "every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper on which shall be ingrossed, written, or printed," for the
purpose of "further defraying the expences [sic] of defending, protecting, and securing" the colonies. The expense was enormous. A Stamp Act Congress consisting of representatives from nine colonies
was convened on 19 October 1765 and produced a Declaration of Rights that complained about the Stamp Act and other injustices imposed upon the colonies by Parliament.
The Townsend Acts were passed in Parliament in 1767 for the purpose of raising revenue to support the British army in the colonies. Import duties were imposed on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. The
Townsend Acts also provide salaries for some colonial officials so that the provincial assemblies could not influence them by withholding wages. Other particularly offensive bills authorized blank search warrants called Writs of Assistance, created three additional vice-admiralty courts which operated without juries, established a Board of Customs Commissioners headquartered in Boston, and suspended the New York assembly for a failure to comply with the Quartering Act of 1765 which dealt with providing quarters for British soldiers.
Parliament also passed the New York Restraining Act, which suspended the provincial legislature until it provided "his Majesty's troops... with all such necessaries" as required by British law. Colonists
protested these taxes by petitioning Parliament and boycotting these and other British goods. On 5 March 1770, Parliament altered the measure, and the duties on all commodities except tea were repealed. The tea tax, however, was the most lucrative and was retained by Parliament to show the colonies that it still had the right to impose taxes on them.
On 5 March 1770, a young barber's apprentice, Edward Garrick, apparently yelled an insult at a British soldier, Hugh White. The soldier responded by hitting the boy with a rifle. The boy called out for help and a crowd of more than four hundred colonists responded in a short time and began to throw snowballs and ice at the soldiers. The soldiers, egged on by more insults, ultimately fired shots into
the crowd, killing five men and wounding others. Although the soldiers were arrested for murder in what became known as the "Boston Massacre," they were all acquitted at trial. Colonists became more
afraid and resentful of the standing British army presence and some areas began organizing their own provincial troops in secret to help protect the populace.
The British East India Company controlled all the tea shipments into the colonies and colonial boycotts of their tea placed the company in jeopardy of going out of business. The colonial merchants had been
smuggling tea in from Holland. However, the British government was determined that the British East India Company would survive. In May 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which allowed the company to sell tea directly to the colonists. This action bypassed the colonial merchants and, in fact, made the price of tea cheaper than even the Dutch imports. The colonists demanded the removal of the tea tax and dockworkers refused to unload tea from the company's ships. The Governor of Massachusetts demanded that the dockworkers in Boston unload the tea. He also demanded that the people pay the duty on tea.
On the night of 16 December 1773, a group of men dressed as Mohawk Indians and calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, went to Boston harbor and boarded three ships. They incapacitated the crew and
guards and, over the next hours, conducted what has become known as the Boston Tea Party. They dumped forty-five tons of tea into Boston Harbor and escaped unchallenged. The Crown and Parliament were livid and retaliated with the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts. These included the following:
- The Boston Port Bill, which closed the Port of Boston to all colonists until the damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid.
- The Massachusetts Government Act nullified the original charter of the colonies and placed the British governor in complete control of town meetings. This act took control from colonists and, in effect,
stifled freedom of speech.
- The Administration of Justice Act stated that British officials could not be tried for capital crimes in provincial courts. They would be extradited to England for trial.
- The Quebec Act extended the Canadian borders to take over lands that had formerly been parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Outraged, colonial leaders organized and convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on 5 September 1774. Fifty-five delegates from all the colonies except Georgia attended and met until
late October. They sought to petition Parliament to right the wrongs imposed against the colonies, rather than advocating independence.
THE SHOTS ARE FIRED
The colonists' covert military organization had not gone unnoticed. On 15 April 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British military governor in Massachusetts, was ordered to destroy the rebels' military stores
at Concord. On 19 April, he led a large number of troops across the Charles River. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode through the countryside and alerted the so-called Minutemen of the
impending arrival of the British.
When Gage's troops arrived at Lexington Green, they were met by a group of armed colonial militia. A shot was fired and the British troops began firing on the small group of militia, killing eight and
wounding ten more. The militia retreated and the British continued on to Concord.
The Concord militia was more prepared--it flanked the retreating British troops, shooting at them from behind trees and bushes. The British had never experienced such guerilla tactics, and their morale
was severely damaged. The British casualties were very high. The Battles of Lexington and Concord mark the beginning of the full-fledged American Revolution.
NOTE 4./ Houston Family Scrapbook <<http://www.sherrisweb.com/HoustonSB.html>>
Our "Houston Heritage" is rich and colorful. I have traced our "roots" in this line back to Dr. William Houston born about 1710, County Antrim, Ireland. He is our Houston line's original immigrant. The family name Houston, pronounced "House-ton" (the English pronunciation) was used by our line, rather than the Irish pronunciation of "Hugh's Town shortened to Hugh's-ton". Some of the descendants in our line have adopted or gone back to the original Irish pronunciation.
Dr. William Houston, although he has not been officially recognized as a Patriot by DAR, was in fact a Patriot. His son Edward Houston my family's direct line ancestor has been recognized as a Patriot. I have joined DAR through him. If any of you would like to join DAR through Edward, please let me know. I can send you information to assist you. I am going to have Dr. William Houston recognized as a Patriot and added as a supplement to my membership, which will open membership to all our Houston cousins who are interested and not direct descendants of Edward
Our Houston DNA tests show that we are of Viking descent. (A Viking in our genetic woodpile) Apparently Vikings controlled much of Ireland and Scotland from 800 - 1100 A.D. This was prior to the common use of surnames. This is why we have a Scot/Irish surname rather than a Scandinavian surname for our Houston line. I am continuing with other family members, researching to find documented proof of Dr. William Houston's ancestry.
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1665 - Abt 1724 (59 years)
