My mother’s ancestral link to the Revolutionary War did not go back far.
Her great-great grandfather William Handy was a Revolutionary War soldier.
The line of descent:
Elinor Handy Smith, my mother (1918-1973)
her father Ralph E. Handy (1893-1947)
her grandfather Henry T. Handy (whaler; 1845-1916)
her great-grandfather Joshua Handy (1813-1887)
her great-great grandfather William Handy (1762-1852); the Revolutionary War soldier
All of the above named Handy males, with the exception of my mother’s father, were mariners. They all lived on Cape Cod.
William Handy joined the Continental Army in June 1780, when he was just shy of age 18. He enlisted in Massachusetts. Records indicate that during his service he was in New York state and New Jersey.
Total eclipse! No sun, no moon!
All dark amidst the blaze of noon!
Oh, glorious light! No cheering ray
To glad my eyes with welcome day!
Why thus depriv’d Thy prime decree?
Sun, moon, and stars are dark to me!
I have been listening to some music today, mostly Handel, including a bit of “Samson,” an oratorio.
Handel composed “Samson” right after “Messiah.” He wrote “Messiah” in 24 days! He wrote “Samson” in about a month!
The libretto of “Samson” was based on John Milton’s “Samson Agonistes.”
It is my opinion – perhaps a minority one – that “Samson” is just about equal to “Messiah,” if not in fact equal.
It evokes such an emotional response. Raises goose bumps.
Listen to “Glorious Hero,” for example.
My mother majored in Fine Arts at Radcliffe College. She had quite a few art books from her college days that my siblings and I used to peruse.
There was a reproduction of a painting in one of her art books: “Samson and the Philistines” by Carl Heinrich Bloch, which was painted in Rome in 1863. It made such an impression on me. The painting shows Samson, in captivity, grinding grain on a treadmill. I couldn’t stop looking at it.
So did the Biblical story of Samson itself, which I knew from Sunday school.
