Sleuthing the Kirkpatricks

It has been a very long time since I have posted. I have been researching, but apparently haven't felt like blogging in a long time.

With that being said, I am meeting with a DNA cousin tomorrow and I brought a ton of unlabeled photographs to share with him in the hopes he might recognize some people. I have also been posting photos on the Kirkpatrick Genealogy Facebook page, hoping maybe someone there might know the people. Alas, it seems that there are many Kirkpatricks which came to this country in the mid-1700s, but mine came over in about 1831, and I have yet to meet a Kirkpatrick cousin from that larger group. Whereas my family stayed in Troy, NY, the rest of the Clan seems to have headed south and west.

BUT, the person I am meeting tomorrow is absolutely a Kirkpatrick cousin and from the Troy, NY area. So I know he is family.

I recently had an "aha!" moment when I realized that I recognized a house in the background. Guessing on the children, I assumed the photograph was from 1900 and I looked at the census for that address and sure enough, the people I assumed were in the photograph were all living in the house together at the time.

The first photograph below I know all the people.

Nellie Jane Kirkpatrick Lee with sons Herbert "Herb" and Horace "Harry"

This photograph was labeled - and I do know the house - Kirkpatricks after the porch and fence taken.

And this third photograph was the mystery. But based on the known children above, the 1900 Census, and other photographs of the house, I think this must be Martha Jane Wright Kirkpatrick holding Harry with little Herb standing in front.

As of a few years ago, the house looks like this:

The house has seen some better days.

This was a house in my family for generations. Through the census documents, one can see first that Charles and Nellie Jane lived there with her brother and sister-in-law, and Nellie and Oliver are in and out a couple times, and then Martha Jane's father is there with them for a while before his death, and then Oliver and Nellie raise their children there. Must have been a sad day when the house was sold and Olive moved with her parents Oliver and Nellie to Bronxville, NY.

Early Human Arrivals in North America

Not sure what that is a picture of.... Mastodon bones?

Reading the text, they don't sound so sure of themselves... so the Week is just reported that someone said this? Was this a slow week for news? Yet the editors highlighted the information.

Ah well.... sorta ties in with these previous posts here and here. More because of the work it takes to analyze this stuff.

A group of scientists has claimed that ancient humans may have settled in North America as long as 130,000 years ago—some 115,000 years earlier than previously thought. The controversial assertion, which is viewed with skepticism by most other paleontologists, is based on analysis of the fossilized remains of a mastodon, a long-extinct mammoth-like animal. Discovered beside a freeway near San Diego in 1992, the mastodon bones were scratched and broken into many pieces, surrounded by several large rocks that may have served as hammers and anvils. Researchers at the University of Michigan and elsewhere have concluded that the bones are 130,000 years old, and that they were opened when fresh by a Neanderthal or other ancient human relative using rocks to try to extract bone marrow. It’s widely accepted that Homo sapiens arrived in North America about 15,000 years ago, across a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska; the mastodon findings, if confirmed, would indicate that another hominin species somehow reached this continent much earlier. If that hypothesis is true, it would rewrite the story of human migration. Skeptics argue that there are more-plausible explanations for the bone fractures and markings, such as pressure from the sediment on top of it. Paleontologist Thomas A. Deméré, a co-author of the study, acknowledged that the findings seem “impossible,’’ but said, “People have to be open to the possibility that humans were here this long ago.’’

I am going backwards through my stack of The Week Magazines... here we have something from the May 12, 2017 print edition.

Humanity’s surprisingly young cousin

Ahhhh, weren't we just talking about discoveries like this the other day? Lots of food for thought here. Wonder what the final conclusion is going to be.

Another thought... whose job is it to lay all the bones out like that to photograph? And what happens when it's time to clean it up and put it away?

A distant human relative once thought to have lived millions of years ago may in fact have wandered the earth much more recently—and lived alongside early Homo sapiens, reports The Washington Post. Remains of Homo naledi were first discovered in South Africa’s Rising Star cave system in 2013. The species had a small brain—the size of a gorilla’s—and an ape-like torso, but walked upright like a modern human and had dexterous wrists and hands that could have made and used tools. Paleoanthropologists initially believed that this hominin emerged some 2 million years ago, based on its unusual mix of modern and primitive characteristics, putting it near the base of the Homo family tree. But tests have revealed that the species was alive between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago—not long before early examples of our own species, Homo sapiens, emerged. Fifteen Homo naledi skeletons were found deep in the cave system, leading some researchers to speculate that the species may have purposely buried its dead, an advanced behavior that so far has been confirmed only among Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. The findings suggest human evolution was a complex process, with species diverging and interbreeding—not a linear progression in which human ancestors developed bigger brains and walked more upright over time. John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist who helped lead the Rising Star expedition, says the next step is to “sort the relationship of these different species to each other and also their role in our process of becoming human.”

May 26, 2017 print edition of The Week Magazine.

Origins of Humans

Honestly, I have no idea how scientists do it... study one little fossil like this jaw bone and extrapolate to certain conclusions. I would never have the patience, so God bless them and their willingness to study these fossils. Can you imagine what these scientists fantasies must be like? Dreaming for a discovery like this in order to advance the science? Wouldn't it be miraculous if DNA were discovered....? Maybe we cold have Jurassic Park for prehumans... and then we could see whose tree was the oldest. Kinda like when scientists did a DNA analysis on Otzi, the man found in the Alps.

Scientists have unveiled what they believe are the oldest Homo sapiens remains ever found, a major discovery that potentially upends our understanding of when and where our species evolved. The fossils—a skull, bones, and teeth from five ­individuals—were unearthed in a remote area of Morocco, in what was once a cave. After using advanced dating analysis on stone tools and a tooth found at the excavation site, researchers determined that the bones are between 300,000 and 350,000 years old—100,000 years older than any other known Homo sapiens fossils. The individuals had a mixture of modern and primitive characteristics, with a face and jutting jaw nearly identical to that of a modern human, and an elongated brain case characteristic of early humans. Until now, it was widely believed Homo sapiens evolved from earlier forms of the Homo genus in a small region of East Africa about 200,000 years ago, then spread out across the continent and the world. This discovery suggests our species arose much earlier, and that the process took place over a wider area. “We did not evolve from a single ‘cradle of mankind,’” paleoanthropologist Philipp Gunz, who co-authored the research, tells The New York Times. “We evolved on the African continent.” That conclusion remains controversial. With no universally accepted set of features that distinguishes modern humans from our older ancestors, some paleontologists say the new remains are merely an example of early humans just before they evolved into Homo sapiens.

Taken from the June 23rd print edition of The Week Magazine.

Philadelphia Cemetery

I heard this NPR story on Mother's Day this year. Seemed appropriate for this blog.

Because it is the only green space for many folks in down town Philadelphia, they are enjoying and beautifying the 19th century Woodland cemetery on the grounds of the former William Hamilton estate, a botanist.




What caught my attention was that some (many?) of the headstones have eroded and the names can no longer be read. It makes me hope that fellow FAGs (Find-a-gravers) have recorded these interments for posterity. I pray that the paper records are intact and that they have been transcribed.

I was also interested in the discussion about the unmarried, former Civil War nurse. After doing some research on some of the people buried in the cemetery, the interviewee was speculating as to why she became a nurse and what was the role of her father, who lies buried next to her (or vice versa, as she lived until 70.) That is exactly the kind of thing that I want to do - imagine and write the stories of the child free women in my tree.

Take a listen here. It's only 3 minutes of your time.

Dental Plaque reveals Neanderthals' secret

Neanderthals are generally portrayed as simpleminded carnivores. But a groundbreaking new study of hominid teeth has found that some of them were dedicated vegetarians and may even have used certain plants as painkillers. Researchers analyzed DNA that had been preserved in dental plaque from three Neanderthals that lived between 42,000 and 50,000 years ago—two from El Sidrón Cave in Spain and one from Spy Cave in Belgium. They found that while the hominid from the grasslands of Spy ate mostly meat, including woolly rhino and wild sheep, some of the inhabitants of the dense forests of El Sidrón probably ate no meat at all, subsisting instead on moss, pine nuts, and fungi. “It is very indicative of a vegetarian diet,” study co-author Laura Weyrich, from the University of Adelaide, tells NPR.org. “Probably the true paleo diet.” The DNA analysis also suggested that one of the El Sidrón Neanderthals may have consumed poplar tree bark—which contains salicylic acid, one of the ingredients in aspirin—to treat pain from a diarrhea-inducing gut parasite and a tooth abscess. The same hominid’s dental plaque also contained traces of the mold used to make penicillin. Another surprising finding was that Neanderthals had mouth bacteria that was acquired from Homo sapiens, which suggests the species were either kissing or sharing food. The discovery, Weyrich says, indicates that relations between modern humans and Neanderthals were probably “much more friendly than anyone imagined.”

Taken from the March 31, 2017 edition of The Week Magazine.

Emma Morano

This makes very sad to read:

The last surviving person born in the 19th century died at her home in northern Italy last week. Emma Morano, 117, was the world’s oldest person, and attributed her longevity to her genetics and her diet of three eggs a day—two of them raw—as well as her decision to stay single. Violet Brown, who was born in Jamaica on March 10, 1900, is now the oldest person on Earth.

I'm certainty glad I saw the blurb, though, letting me know of her passing. We met Emma here and here.

Rest in Peace, Emma.

I read this in the April 28th edition of The Week Magazine.

Small world, small world

I occasionally read a blog called Two Nerdy History Girls. These are a couple authors writing romance novels. I have never read any of their novels, but they do seem to enjoy the research. I occasionally contemplate writing novels with my family members as the protagonists, so these women are doing something very similar... and getting paid for their research, whereas my research is merely a hobby (dare I say passion?)

In any event, coincidentally, they mentioned the very same Morris family in their May 12th blog as I discussed in my May 12th blog entry! Ha! And they end their blog with "How small a place the 18thc world was!" Even today, with 6 billion people on the planet, we both mention the Morris family in our Blogger blogs! So, sometimes, still small.

Gouverneur Morris was the brother (or son?) of the signer of the Declaration of Independence. I created his tree is attempting to find my ancestor.

Can I mention another funny coincidence? I have been researching several Jerushas in my tree. Jerusha is clearly an old-fashioned woman's name. I find it exotic sounding. Here's the coincidence: watching this old house, episode 23 in their series on renovating a house in Detroit, their kitchen designer is Jerusha Kaffine. How many Jerushas have you met? I have never met a Jerusha. And then suddenly here she is. It's not like I am a regular viewer of This Old House - though I enjoy it tremendously. So, why did I watch it the night they introduced us to Jerusha?

Lewis Morris - a signer of the Declaration

Lewis Morris - taken from here.

I was scanning two file folders of my grandmother's genealogical information recently provided to me by my mother. In the files were many, many newspaper clippings of family marriages, engagements and birth announcements. What a treasure trove.

What caught my eye was a claim in the marriage announcement of one of my great uncles that he was descended from Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

My grandmother assembled a really nice book called "Our Heritage" which is broken down in to the four branches growing from her marriage to my grandfather. I never read in that privately published book that we had a Signer in the family. Given that the project was originally begun, I have often heard, to 'prove' that my great grandfather could be a member of the "Sons of the American Revolution", you would think that tidbit would be very important. As it is, that branch in the book ends with: 'no earlier trace of him can be found'.

So, I thought I'd approach the research two ways - build the signers tree and simultaneously see if in the internet age I can find 'a trace' of that missing father, William Morris. The clues I have are his name, Lewis Henry Morris, and the possibility that he was named after an uncle who was a captain sailing between Boston and the West Indies.

I haven't made a connection.

Though, in the signer's tree, there are many, many sons named Lewis Morris. Given my Lewis Morris ancestor was born in 1806/7 - he's probably not a direct descendant, maybe a nephew, though I have not found any connection as of yet. And I have not found anything about that William.

There is mention, though, of the Signer's family members being from Barbados. So maybe there is something there... I just haven't found it.

Here are the clues I do have:

William Morris was a sea captain in command of a vessel sailing between the West Indies and Boston, Massachusetts. It is believed that he came from the West Indies, as he named a son after a brother who was of the West Indies and who plied a ship for Robert Livingston of New York City. No earlier trace of him can be found. He married Margaret Jenkins, daughter of George and Mary (McHard) Jenkins, born May 7th, 1770, married June 7th, 1801.

So, maybe some time spent with Robert Livingston is necessary. Also, maybe a maritime museum or archive would be helpful.

Ok, wait, I took my own suggestion... Robert Livingston is associated with drafting the declaration.... This is a bigger investigation than I can address here.

What I do know, though, is that we have many people with the name Morris as a middle name - clearly nodding to that branch of the tree. (I hadn't really focused on that before; I guess I always thought it was just using the masculine name Morris.) I guess this question requires more investigation.

The source of my grandmother's information is Morris Genealogy and New England Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. My grandmother was not as helpful about where I can find this Morris Genealogy. (I already checked my local library, and nothing there.)

History Lessons - thoughts on the history of the Uighurs

I've been reading Peter Frankopan's new book entitled 'The Silk Roads: a new history of the world' and it had gotten me thinking a lot.  (I had written a previous post, but am still struggling with this Blogspot App, and I deleted it!)

Anyway, the current chapter is called 'The Road to Hell' and in it the reader is introduced to Genghis Khan. Mr. Frankopan's talks about the importance of the Uighurs. That their culture was so highly developed that Genghis Khan married one of his daughters to the Uighur ruler so that he might gain access to the Uighur scribes and bureaucrats. 

The only reason I bring this up is because the Uighurs have been in the news recently because they are being crushed by the Chinese. 

Do you think that the world would be a better place if we Americans (Westerners in general) understood the glorious history of other cultures? This 'tribe', or ethnic group, was highly organized and efficient, such that they were sought after, not crushed in the 12th century. Now we know nothing of them, other than being oppressed Muslims in China. (Wait, or is it just me who knows nothing about them?)

It's humbling to think about all the knowledge that is out there but is unavailable to me because I don't speak the language. Clearly our scholars are getting better at realizing and correcting for this deficiency...

I guess I am horribly naive. Glad somebody is doing the research and understanding the ebbs and flows of nations and empires. 

Recent Irish Immigrant buys real estate - Thomas L. Wright

Gosh, so pathetic.... I did this research a while ago, but never put anything into context. I remember being delighted while searching through the dusty tomes in the Troy City Hall or Recorder of Deeds or some such place - see, sad, I don't even know where I was. What a terrible researcher I am.

I know from directories of the time that he lived at 301 4th Street. Here is an image from Google maps of the house as it appeared when the Google car went through the neighborhood.



In book 139, page 497 I took the following notes:

Thomas and Jane Wright
sold for $1,700
West side of 4th Street between Adams and Jefferson
certain map of the south part of the city of Troy made by Jared S. Weed for the Warren Farm Company - 11.17.1847
as lot 67
25' wide
120' long



I see that Prospect Park was not given to the city of Troy until 1902, so should we assume that the Warren Farm Company owned that land where the Park currently exists? Was the Warren Farm Company also the Warren Family, as mentioned at the Prospect Park website?

Prospect Park is a city owned park centrally located within the City of Troy. One of three major parks in the City. The park consists of approximately 80 acres of land conveyed by the Warren Family to the City of Troy by deed dated December 23, 1902. Prospect Park opens each season in early April and remains open through early November.

I found an extensive biography of the Warren Family of Troy here. Obviously very well-to-do. They sound a bit like that other Oliver Lee mentioned in a previous post here.

What a time to live, eh? Obviously it was not easy, but don't these stories make it sound like it *was* easy to make a fortune?

More notes, though with less information...

Book 60, Page 129 (so isn't this an earlier purchase of property?)
Thomas Wright with
Francis M. Mann, John P. Cushman Jacob

(What could that mean? I think I may have looked those people up in the Troy directory and I *think* they were lawyers or some such, so maybe Thomas *did* hitch his wagon to other up and coming people in town.)

Book 111, page 165
Thomas L. Wright
West side of 4th street between Adams and Jefferson
Lot 67
boarded by an alley

What was I telling myself? My notes don't seem helpful, do they? Argh!

Credit Cards and Oliver Lee

I wanted to pull out another section of the previous blog post - another same shit, different day issue... This article was written in 1884. The author is talking about buying things on credit. Our modern day credit cards which allow a consumer to spread their liability around, rather than in this circumstance when one knew the proprietor of the general store.

About that time there was a large amount of lumber from the south east towns of this county and from portions of Cattaraugus County being hauled here for a market. There were several parties here paying cash for lumber most of which went to New England. Many of the parties who came here with lumber left half or three-forths [sic] of their receipts for it with the merchants for goods. At that time we had no rail road connection with Buffalo so that every woman that was in need of a calico dress or two or three spools of thread and a paper of pins could not very conveniently go to Buffalo to shop. Then four or five general stores were better supported and had a larger trade than one or two now have. Hence the system of doing business at that period was quite different from the present. Then every farmer and every man of any business who was regarded as any responsible was allowed to run a bill at the stores. It is a well known fact that many people are prone to purchase articles they do not require or could get along without when they can be bought on time. They do not appear to appreciate that a pay day is coming at some future period and may come when they are least prepared for it.

[Emphasis mine.]

This Oliver Lee was a shrewd businessman, wasn't he? As I was reading this account all I cold think of was the HBO show "Deadwood" and the guy who owns the tavern/bordello, Al Swearengen. From the television show's website, they describe him thusly:

The proprietor of The Gem Saloon was six months ahead of everyone else in Deadwood, and he runs the town like a corrupt riverboat captain. He knows every move that every person in town makes, anticipates problems and eliminates them. His girls aren't exactly the class of the town, but he controls the most successful bar and whorehouse in all of Deadwood—bringing in $5,000 a day in 1876—and anybody that threatens his sources of income may well end up fed to Mr. Wu's pigs.

How would we view Oliver Lee? I mean one hopes he was a kind and generous man who helped everyone, but what if he were more like Al Swearengen? History is written by the victors... could this article, being written 50 years after the circumstances, be written by a beneficiary of Oliver Lee's legacy? Man, do I have a pernicious mind? To think ill of people... maybe I should imagine that everyone is sweetness and light... A cheery attitude makes for a much rosier picture.

I mean, at what interest rate? Did Mr. Lee have thugs to break the legs of those people who couldn't pay when the bill came due? (Ok, I have to confess, I am writing this blog as I read the article. I see that perhaps I hit the nail on the head... wouldn't you say that there is a bit of a defense going on in this next paragraph? This just makes me laugh out loud!)

Mr. Lee was always liberal in giving credit to his customers. He generally gave them to understand that at the end of six months or at least once a year that their account must be settled up, and then if they were unable to pay and the party was responsible, a note on interest was taken. When customers paid no attention to the notice that their accounts must be settled, the accounts were generally placed in the hands of a collector. From this fact some of this class endeavored to create the impression that Mr. Lee was severe on those who were not in condition to pay, when in fact all he required was for them to live up to their agreement or the conditions under which they obtained credit. It is a fact that cannot be denied that it would be far better for all parties if the system of credit was entirely wiped out and all parties were compelled to pay for what they purchase on the receipt of the goods.

Hahahaha! Collector - that's a polite term, right? Severe? Hahahaha, he was probably a cruel brute! Live up to their agreement! Yes, the law is on his side. I reemphasize: Same shit, different day!

Follow Up to Mr Lee's story

I pulled these paragraphs from the article from August 15th. Man, same shit, different day... They were not Syrian or Iraqi in 1835, but groups of migrants moving from one location/country to another for a better life... getting charged all sorts of fees so they can get on transport.

There are but a few people of today who realize [sic] the great revolution railroads have created in travel and traffic, but even fifty years ago travel by lake steamers, especially in the spring, was immense. At that period there was no railroad running west of Utica in this state. The canal was the great artery through which the travel passed up through the state to Buffalo. There it was changed to lake steamers. Whenever steamers were prevented by ice from leaving Buffalo until after the opening of the canal, that city soon became full to overflowing with strangers, all anxiously waiting to proceed on their journey westward.

There were three or four spring seasons between 1835 and 1840 when Buffalo bay became packed with ice so that it completely blockaded that harbor until long after the opening of the canal. At each of these periods boats from western ports came as far as this place where they remained, two or three days or long enough to pick up a number of passengers for their trip west. As soon as it was known in Buffalo that there were boats here waiting for passengers the crowd would start. Animals that could hardly travel and vehicles of every description were brought into requisition for the purpose of conveying passengers and baggage from Buffalo here.

All prices were charged, from three dollars to ten dollars a person, in accordance with style of conveyance and the person’s amount of ready cash. Some individuals who had remained in Buffalo until their funds were nearly exhausted were compelled to make the distance on foot and often those who had paid a high price for conveyance were compelled to walk a large portion of the way or be left alongside the road. They were compelled to be content with having their baggage brought through safely. As soon as one crowd got away from Buffalo their places were usually taken by newcomers. This tide of excitement and travel was kept up for two or three weeks. During the time it made business lively here at this end of the route.

All italics and bold lettering are mine. It just seems to parallel some experiences going on in the world today - though on a much smaller scale. I should imagine the anxiety and frustration and fear are all the same.

Nellie Jane and the Red Cross

Seems that Nellie Jane did her part to help the War effort. I wish I knew what it was that they were sewing. I wonder what she might have done to help during The World War, other than worry about Herb. (I hope I didn't transcribe some hint in Herb's letters but not remember it right now.)



I wonder if Nellie Jane was a good sewer, or if, like me, no matter how hard she tried, her stitches (were necessary for the cause), but crooked and uneven. Was she ever found weeding a Victory Garden? Did she cultivate worms? Did she worry about germs? Would she think her grandchildren are spoiled and obnoxious? Or would she be fiercely proud of her grandson who accelerated his time in high school so that he might serve in the Navy? Was she thankful that he was still a little young to be in the throes of the fighting?

Furniture left to the Lees in Kate Clexton's Will

What hints can we take from this article? First off, weird that this is published in the Troy Record newspaper. I guess the value of estates is public information, but still... now we know that the Lees have some furniture that someone thought was significant enough (significant, but not necessarily valuable... admired?) to bequeath. I wish I knew what/which pieces they were, as then maybe I could ween some of "the Tyranny of the Heirloom" pieces I am now contemplating reupholstering! But, if they have lasted this long, I should save them - better than the crap made in China we buy nowadays, right?

We know this is Nellie Jane because her daughter is mentioned directly after her. Too bad I have not written anything about Margaret - though she is mentioned in Herb's letters.



But who is Kate M. Clexton? Merely a family friend? A neighbor? Could she have been a relative?

Doing a search on Ancestry.com she pops up in a tree created by Garth Burger, though I can't see anything. His information suggests she neither married nor had children. In 1865, at the same age as her cousin, 11, she was living with her aunt and uncle in Albany, NY. She was either born in Missouri or Indiana. By 1910 she is living alone - or at least as the head of household - and working in the Collar business. Of course this was a huge business in Troy and Olive worked for Cluett-Peabody her entire life. We find Kate again, as a collar worker and living as the head of household, in Troy in 1925.

In the 1940 census, she still lives as the head of household, though she no longer claims a profession. She does have a little more education than others on the same page - she claims 2 years of High School education.

So, was she gay? Was she fiercely independent or was she always sad she never had kids? Did she fight for women's suffrage as a young person? Was she so beautiful that she had so many suitors that she couldn't decide? Was she living in sin with the a man she met at work?

After contemplating my questions, I suspect she was a family friend. I can't find her in the Findagrave database, unfortunately. I just sent a message to Garth. Hopefully he will respond and have lots of information about his relative Kate Clexton.

It Wasn't All Bad... Virginia McLaurin

To think of the things she has seen. I hope someone is writing it all down!

All her life, Virginia McLaurin has dreamed of the day she’d meet the nation’s first black president. The 106-year-old’s wish was granted this week [in February], when President Obama invited her to the White House to celebrate Black History Month. During a meet-and-greet with the president and first lady, the sprightly centenarian was so overcome with joy that she began dancing with the Obamas. “I am so happy!” she squealed, waving her cane in the air. “A black president, a black wife—and I’m here to celebrate black history!” Asked by President Obama for her secret to a long life, McLaurin replied, “Just keep moving!”

Taken from The Week magazine, March 4th edition.

Book Idea - Coureurs-de-Bois

I'm reading Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization edited by Hirsch and Logsdon. I just started it, but so far, very good. It is a series of essays.

The first essay, by Jerah Johnson, mentions coureurs-de-bois, young men/boys who were sent to live among the indigenous peoples in order to learn the language and customs. I should think a novel or story from the perspective of these young men about the formation of current day Louisiana would be good. And vice versa, as young Indian men went to France. (Mostly this trading of young men occurred with the French settlements in Canada.)

Taken from here

The essay has been very helpful to understand the French policy which explains some of the backstory to what we descendants of the English settlements call the French and Indian Wars. I certainly know about them, but never really understood why the French and Indians were fighting together against the British. 

I don't recall the story of The Last of the Mohicans, but I suppose there might be some overlap in the story context, but with an English sensibility, which I believe was markedly different than the French approach to policy in North America.