The writer in me seeks to preserve the past and make it accessible to others. The reporter in me wants to get the facts right through research rather than repeat distorted family myths. My English ancestry provides me with a natural interest in genealogy and history. And the Latin in me aims to correct inaccuracies, discriminatory views and undervalued contributions of my Hispanic relatives and culture. (Many people today don’t even know there’s difference in being Hispanic or Latino/Latina.)
My maternal relatives came with the Conquistadors in the 1600s to settle the then-frontier of New Spain near Santa Fe, New Mexico. My grandmother Desolina Perea’s family served in public offices under three flags: Spain, Mexico and the U.S. Francisco Perea, Pedro Perea and Jose Francisco Chaves (whose mother was Dolores Perea) were among the earliest Hispanics to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. I remember my grandmother telling me about how Francisco was at Ford’s Theatre on the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. (He was seated near the orchestra pit and witnessed John Wilkes Booth jump onto the stage.)
It’s been both irritating and eye opening to discover that many non-Hispanic experts in New Mexico pass along preconceived ideas about early Hispanics that are woefully untrue and discount reality. Instead a prairie-type, barefoot concept of Hispanics with primitive religious superstitions abounds. I once heard a docent at a government historical site tell onlookers that early Hispanics in New Mexico only had one chair in a home for a priest to sit on while they remained on the floor. (Which makes no sense. I guess the European Spaniards forgot how to make chairs?) Another time while researching my Perea relatives’ ownership of a bilingual newspaper in the 1800s, an esteemed local historian (originally from another state) scoffed at me: “Nonsense, your relatives already knew English and Spanish. There was no need for them to have a bilingual newspaper. Most people didn’t speak English then so they didn’t need it either.” She was wrong. The “Native” newspaper was published in 1879 in English/Spanish in 4 pages on Saturdays by the Pereas & Urbano Chacon, editor. Benico F. Perea sold the printing operation a year later. I know many Hispanics in my home state who prefer to adhere to the custom of passing down oral family histories. (They say, “So what if others get it wrong as long as we know the way it was. If I want to know anything about the past, I’ll ask my family. “) I don’t understand this mentality either. Thus one of my focus areas is to write accurate historical accounts of Hispanics.
On my dad’s side, the Fletchers were early Virginia settlers and multi-generational Masons. My great-grandfather Harrison Fletcher volunteered at age 14 to fight for the Union in the Civil War and participated in the defense of Washington, D.C. He fought at the Battle of Monocacy in Maryland and in Virginia with the Confederate “Gray Ghost” John S. Mosby.
Exploring my dad’s family history is a source of adventure into early America and England. Through his lineage I became a Daughter of the American Revolution and member of the Descendants of the Founders of New Jersey. I’ve been learning about Quakers since my forefather Henry Ballinger, his wife and father Thomas Harding (a London box maker) were early followers of George Fox. Henry arrived in New Jersey in 1678, while the Hardings sailed in a few months earlier with William Penn to form Quaker colonies in America. From Henry Ballinger came future generations who contributed to American history.
- James Ballinger Jr.—Revolutionary War patriot from Virginia who supported Gen. Nathanael Greene’s Army during the Battle of Guilford Court House.
- Franklin Ballinger—Kentucky abolitionist/judge who freed his slaves and moved to Iowa.
- Col. Richard Henry Ballinger—lawyer/newspaper editor who started as a clerk in Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois law office then joined the Union Army, serving with Gen. Ulysses Grant at Vicksburg and becoming Colonel of the 53rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry.
- William Pitt Ballinger—distinguished Galveston judge among the first to pass the Texas bar and nicknamed “Nestor of the Texas bar”. (Ballinger, Texas was named after him.)
- Richard Achilles Ballinger—pioneering Seattle judge/mayor who wrote Washington state codes/statutes before becoming U.S. Commissioner of the General Land Office and U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
- Webster Ballinger—eminent Denver editor/lawyer.
- Willis Jerome Ballinger—leading economist for the Federal Trade Commission, lawyer and newspaperman from Washington, D.C.
- Edith Ballinger Price—noted author/illustrator and historian from New Brunswick, N.J., who started the Brownie Scouts program affiliated with the Girl Scouts.
One of my forefathers Capt. John Aylett fought for the Crown during the English Civil War. Before King Charles I hid in a tree to evade capture, he bestowed an English rose on Aylett’s Coat of Arms since it was the only way he could repay him for fighting Cromwell’s soldiers.
Capt. John fled capture by sailing to Massachusetts and then Virginia. From colonial America, he was a cavalier working secretly to place King Charles II to the throne. As a reward, Capt. John was placed in command of the king’s fighting ships in key naval battles with the Dutch. Ever the adventurer, Capt. John turned privateer and died in an explosion on pirate Capt. Henry Morgan’s ship during a meeting of captains to plan raids on the Spanish Maine.