I'm a descendant of six generations of Bissells: John > Thomas > Thomas > Daniel > Fluvia. I feel this is one of my most interesting families because of their patriot activities. Did you know that Daniel (not my gr+-grandfather, but a cousin) Bissell was one of the three recipients of the Badge of Military Merit http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/reference/PurHrt.htm which Gen. Washington awarded to three enlisted men? Washington signed the order at his headquarters here in Newburgh, NY, and awarded the badges at the cantonement in nearby New Windsor. Incidently, the main group of Bissells were in Windsor, Conn. Karen Sullivan -----Original Message----- From: Betty [mailto:bbffrrpp@comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 6:59 AM To: MAMIDDLE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [MAMiddle] "Patriot's Day" and "Israel BISSELL" Hello, Since "Patriot's Day" will be happening next week in New England, I thought I would mention "a little piece of history" which I learned in the most unlikeliest of places during the past week ! For those of us who grew up just outside of Boston, especially in towns like Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, and Concord, we know about the famous "Paul REVERE," and most hopefully know about his associate, "_____ DAWES." I stood on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington or Lexington many times growing up .. either watching a parade or watching someone re-enact "Paul Revere's ride." So, I was quite surprised to find out there was another "rider" that night ! About 4-6 days ago, my friend put on one of the HBO channels * on Cable TV, and we caught most of a very funny show -- where an actor / comedian was teaching college students a "history lesson." We laughed many times about the very unique way this man was - teaching history ! * I learned a few things (not being a very good history student in school), but, one thing which I found most important to me - was finding out about .... Israel BISSELL !! As it turned out, Israel didn't get on horseback .. "to go tell every town" that "the 'Red Coats' were coming," .. Israel headed to .. Pennsylvania ! "He rode day and night for four days, six hours, ... covering 345 miles from Watertown to the City Hall in Philadelphia !" This is only one of many web pages I found which tells his story ! http://www.dwroth.com/frames/finearts/historical/bissell/bissell1.htm Just a Google search for "Israel BISSELL," (using quotes) will find more ! ..One note is that I don't remember seeing that surname mentioned on the Lists too often ! Is anyone researching BISSELL ? Plus, just wanted to remind researchers of all the activities in and around Boston next week: http://boston.about.com/cs/history/a/patriots_day.htm http://boston.about.com/od/artentertainment/tp/2006April.htm I think there are at least 3 states which celebrate "Patriot's Day" as a holiday; Virginia and Maine are the others, I believe ! http://www.patriotday.org/ http://www.shopsmithfield.com/ It's harder to find web sites which discuss "Patriot's Day," but Google search for "Patriot's Day, April" finds some of them ! Thank you for your time ! Betty (near Lowell, MA) * My friend and I didn't make note of the show on HBO, and we don't know whether it is "a series" or not ! But, if I can find it playing again, we will definitely watch it again ! I need another good laugh ! And, I need to learn more history ! :o) ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx