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Tuesday January 8, 2019
The Guest Speaker was a no show at this meeting.
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Tuesday February 12, 2019 ~ 2nd Annual Chapter Buffet
Guest Speaker: Scott Collins, 2019 President of the Georgia SAR
Topic: State SAR Society Priorities and Goals.
President Collins spoke about his new role as State President and outlined his
11-step plan to continue to grow, build and improve the State SAR Organization.
This also includes fortifying the State SAR database to account for every number assigned to an SAR member and their name association, where they were buried,
and if they have been given a grave marker. This will aide future genealogy inquiries and getting grave markers for every Patriot or Compatriot.
BIO:
- Owner at Collins/Moody & Company, PC
- Lives in Athens, Georgia
- Went to Athens Christian School
- Studied at Georgia Southwestern State University
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Tuesday March 12, 2019
Guest Speaker: William (Bill) Harrison Palmer
Topic: The Battle of Oriskany - one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War.
Bill currently serves as the Georgia Society Color Guard Commander, and as a Georgia Society district Vice President for Metro Atlanta.
He is still a member of the Button Gwinnett Chapter.
Bill was President of the Button Gwinnett Chapter in 2016, and Vice president the year before.
Information About Oriskany
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Tuesday April 9, 2019
Guest Speaker: Leslie Watkins
Topic: SAR Women - More Than Just Camp Followers.
Her presentation will be accompanied by a Power point presentation.
Leslie is a native Atlantan who now resides in Gwinnett County. She is married to Mike Watkins, a member of the Button Gwinnett Chapter and
a dual member of the Mount Vernon Chapter. Mike is a member of the Elijah Clarke Militia and Georgia Color Guard member. Leslie retired from a
32 year career in 2010, after teaching high school language arts, public speaking, and debate at Brookwood High School.
She is currently Honorary Regent/Corresponding Secretary - William Day Chapter, GSSDAR
She joined NSDAR in 2008 and has been a co-presenter of the SAR's Traveling Trunk Program since 2010, speaking to over 25,000 fourth grade students.
She served as the President and first Vice President of the Georgia State Society Sons of the American Revolution Ladies Auxiliary. She participates in
Patriot grave markings, battle commemorations, naturalized citizen ceremonies in Atlanta's District Court, and public speaking engagements. As a debate and
public speaking coach, Leslie was honored as a three-diamond coach of the National Speech and Debate Association and she's a member of the Georgia Debate
Coaches Hall of Fame.
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Compatriot John Wassell
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Tuesday May 14, 2019
Guest Speaker: Compatriot John Wassell
Topic: Rear Admiral Dr. Corydon McAlmont Wassell
Birth: Jul 4, 1884
Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, USA
Death: May 12, 1958 (aged 73)
Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, USA
Burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA
Memorial ID: 17142790
"Rear Admiral Corydon McAlmont Wassell was one of the first national heroes of World War II. His service for the United States in early 1942
earned him the Navy Cross and praise from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his story inspired a movie starring Gary Cooper."
He served in the Philippines, and under orders to evacuate, he persuaded a British army convoy to give the wounded men under his care, transportation to the coast.
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Rear Admiral Corydon Wassell
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Once aboard the ship Jannsens, it came under Japanese attack several times. "Dr. Wassell took virtual command of the ship, and by great skill avoided destruction in
the bays and little inlets." After a tense ten-day voyage, the Jannsens docked in Australia.
"Wassell became an instant international hero. Author James Hilton wrote a biography of him, called simply The Story of Dr. Wassell (1943). Producer Cecil B. DeMille,
hearing Roosevelt's fireside chat, acquired the rights to the book to make a movie of the same name. Starring Gary Cooper, The Story of Dr. Wassell was released in
1944. It was a highly fictionalized account, and Wassell later joked about the film being the only real cause of his fame."
"Rear Admiral Corydon McAlmont Wassell (center) with a group of Chinese air force officers. Wassell's service during World War II earned him a Navy Cross and praise from President Franklin Roosevelt and inspired a motion picture."
source: http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4842#
Taken at Bell Aircraft Corporation - Marietta GA; World War, 1939-1945.
(Left) Corydon McAlmont Wassell, 1884-1958.
source: https://soar.kennesaw.edu/handle/11360/149
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Compatriot Bob Sapp
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Tuesday June 11, 2019
Guest Speaker: Compatriot Bob Sapp
Topic: The Faces of the Declaration of Independence
BIO:
Robert "Bob" Sapp joined the Piedmont Chapter in February 1995 at the invitation of Merrill Law.
Merrill Law and Bob were members of Computer Genealogical Society of Georgia.
Bob's made his SAR membership through ancestor patriot Jonathan Ogden of Maryland.
Bob has fifteen patriot ancestors identified, one of which is Charles McIntire who served with the Virginia Continental Line at Valley Forge.
Bob began his aeronautical design career with Lockheed as a draftsman and through 36 years of service participated in the wing design for C-130, C-141, C-5 and L-1011 aircraft.
He also participated as Engineering Program Manager for the C-141 Stretch program.
Bob married Joyce Currier in their hometown of Washington, NC. They were married for 63 years and have four children, four grand children, and three great-grandchildren.
Bob has served as Piedmont Chapter SAR as Registrar, Vice-President and President. He served as Georgia Society SAR Genealogist and as Georgia Society President and Georgia Society SAR Registrar for six years.
Bob, in addition to membership in SAR, is a member of Clan McIntire Association, Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge, St. Andrews Society of Atlanta, Society of Colonial Wars,
First Families of Maryland and an inactive member in Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. (Bob has great grandfathers that were on both sides of the War)
He is a member of Georgia Genealogical Society, Cobb County Genealogical Society, Computer Genealogical Society of Georgia, Harrison County (WV) Genealogical Society, New England Historical and Genealogical Society and National Genealogical Society.
Bob has been active in Piedmont's Color Guard, Speakers Bureau and Youth programs. As a member he principally speaks to Elementary School students on causes of the Revolution and the
Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. Other subjects on which Bob speaks are "The Making of the Constitution", "Women of the Revolution", "Flags of the Revolution", "Paul Revere", "Dr. Joseph Warren",
"Genealogy and GPS" and "History of the Sons of the American Revolution".
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In Militiaman Uniform
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Tuesday September 10, 2019
Guest Speaker: Compatriot Tom Chrisman
Topic: 'The Immortal Words of Horace Greeley's Great Great Grandfather'
The topic is about colonial migration. Tom is our Chapter Registrar & Genealogist and is the SAR recipient of the Liberty Medal in 2018 for his
efforts recruiting and processing applications for new members in the SAR.
BIO:
- Resident of Atlanta since 1968.
- Married to Joyce Waller with 2 daughters.
- AA, BA, Emory University.
- Postgraduate work at Georgia State University in Counseling & Behavioral Therapy.
- Counselor for a mental health center.
- Retired in 2015 after 45-years working in healthcare.
- Specialized in lasers, microscopes, and navigation systems used in microsurgery.
- Genealogist focusing on research beginning with the founding of Jamestown in 1607.
- Member in 30 hereditary societies including colonial and medieval societies.
- Member, Georgia Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists.
- Holds a 2nd degree black belt in Karate and equivalent rank in Tai Chi Chuan.
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Tom received his SAR Liberty Medal in 2018 |
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Jeff Clemons
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Tuesday October 8, 2019
Guest Speaker: Jeff Clemmons
PR & Communications Specialist with Georgia Power
Topic: 'Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery'
In 1884, several leading citizens purchased 577 acres to open Atlanta's Westview Cemetery. The rolling terrain, part of which was a site in the Civil War battle of Ezra Church,
became the final resting place for more than 100,000 people. Prominent locals buried here include Grant Park namesake L.P. Grant, author Joel Chandler Harris,
High Museum benefactor Harriet High, Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler Sr. and Havertys founder J.J. Haverty. The cemetery's Westview Abbey mausoleum is one of the
nation's largest, with more than eleven thousand crypts. Throughout its history, Westview dabbled in other business ventures, including a cafeteria, a funeral home and an
ambulance service. And for decades, the cemetery's Westview Floral Company sold flowers to lot owners and local businesses, leading to its own advice column in the
Atlanta Constitution. Author Jeff Clemmons traces the complete history of this treasured necropolis.
BIO:
- Jeff Clemmons lives in suburban Atlanta.
- He has a degree in business administration from Reinhardt University and a degree in creative writing and theater from Georgia State University.
- He created and leads walking tours of the Midtown and SoNo districts and Westview Cemetery of Atlanta for the Atlanta Preservation Center, and serves on the board of the APC's auxiliary group, CIRCA, which offers its members private tours of some of metropolitan Atlanta's most interesting historical structures.
- He is the author of two histories - Rich's: A Southern Institution and Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery.
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Steve Scurry
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Tuesday November 12, 2019
Guest Speaker: Steven Scurry
Topic: 'The American Indian experience of the early years of the American Revolution'
He'll describe the growing tensions in borderland America as the British colonial order broke down.
Focusing on the Georgia/Muskogee region, we look into how Indian leaders stove to secure their interests during this very dangerous conflict.
BIO:
"Steven's interest in the land was fostered by early ventures into the old relics of southern landscapes.
Often mediated by family oral traditions, they left a lifelong appetite to understand the radical changes that have transpired here.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, he's still enrolled in earth and cultural studies and is a frequent speaker on the Oconee War -- background and issue --
slowly bringing this historical event back to its central place in Georgia and southern history.
He's co-founder of Nowhere Archery, a field school for students to learn the art of traditional archery where he promotes a special regard for the Beloved Land."
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Compatriot Bob Sapp
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Tuesday December 10, 2019
Guest Speaker: Bob Sapp
Topic: "Paul Revere"
- Beside being a silversmith, what other occupations was Paul Revere engaged?
- How many rides did Paul Revere make?
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- 1st - Longfellow's poem of 1861 took liberties with the facts.
Paul Revere's Ride - by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Bob continued...
- His father, a French Huguenot born Apollos Rivoire came to Boston at the age of 13 and was apprenticed to a silversmith.
- He married Deborah Hitchborn, a member of a long-standing Boston family.
- Rivoire anglicized his name to Paul Revere.
- Their son, Paul Revere, was the third of 12 children and eventually the eldest surviving son.
- At 13 he left school and became an apprentice to his father.
- Paul Revere enlisted in the provincial army during the French and Indian War.
- He was commissioned to second lieutenant in a provincial artillery regiment.
- He returned to Boston and assumed control of the silver shop in his own name.
- On August 4, 1757, he married Sarah Orne. He and Sarah had eight children.
- He met up with Joseph Warren in 1760, who became the Grand Mason of N. America. Warren was an American physician who played a leading role in Patriot organizations in Boston during the early days of the American Revolution, eventually serving as President of the revolutionary Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He was a major influence on Paul Revere.
- 1773 - King George sent 3 ships to Boston Harbor with 348 cases of tea. The Boston Tea Party occurred because American Patriots strongly opposed the taxes in the Townshend Act as a violation of their rights.
- Revere rode to New York and to Baltimore to get colonist to refuse tea ships to enter their harbors.
- The Suffolk Resolves - A declaration made on September 9, 1774 rejecting/boycotting goods from ss.
- Revere set up a warning system (lantern in North Church steeple) to warn of British troop movements.
- In 1775, a spy revealed to Gen. Gage of colonist plans. Gage sent troops to capture John Adams & John Hancock in Lexington.
- Joseph Warren sent Revere out ahead of British to warn them and the militia of approaching troops. Prescott also accompanied Revere. Revere was captured along the road. Prescott got thru.
- Revere was stopped along the road for questioning. When the British heard the battle in Lexington & Concord, they left.
- Half the British regulars were killed or wounded an they retreated to Boston.
- Revere returns to being a Silversmith after the war & dies in 1818.
Bob Sapp's SAR Medals
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