User:SwedishConqueror

I'm a young man from the Mid-Atlantic, and I am currently a college Freshman. I can't believe it! I'm going to school just outside of Washington, D.C., and I'm majoring in Political Science. I enjoy history, novels, and, obviously, politics. I'm kind of in-between on the political scale, but I'd say I lean towards the Democrats, even though I agree with some of what President Bush does.

I have recently read:


 * A Tale of Two Cities, perhaps the most inspiring novel I've ever picked up and one that will be with me for the rest of my life
 * 1901: A Novel, an interesting alternative history book about a German invasion of the United States in the summer of 1901.

Also, I'm of Swedish heritage and am very proud.

I have a developing interest in Latin America, particularly the ongoing situation in Cuba. I really hope that Fidel Castro is out of power for good. I feel that the United States should initiate a direct military intervention in Cuba, culminating hopefully with the eventual annexation of the island and its restoration to democratic government through the election of a colonial governor under the United States. With our influence, Cuba can be safe and propsperous as it once was in the days before Theodore Roosevelt granted it its independence in 1903.

Short of that, I at least wish for our forces to assist the Cubans in an orderly and successful transition to democracy.

I am a great proponet of benevolent American colonial rule, and believe that the surrender of our colonies in the early 20th Century was a colossal mistake (not that it was able to stop the great American military machine from triumphing in two World Wars).

The United States used to own: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Panama Canal, the Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and virtually Liberia. The vast majority of these nations enjoyed a more affluent and stable existence under American government than they have since experienced independent of it.

We currently control Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and a number of smaller territories. These colonies are profoundly better off for our influence and protection.



Jehu Eyre (January 10, 1738- July 23, 1781), born in Burlington, New Jersey and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was an American businessman, French and Indian War and Revolutionary War veteran, and member of the influential Eyre family, which played a major role in the American Revolution and the early Republic.

He was married to Lydia Wright Eyre. The couple wed in on December 28, 1761, when Jehu was twenty-three years old. Jehu's brother Manuel, also a major player in the Revolution, had married Lydia's sister Martha on January 8th of the same year. .

A close friend and confidant to future President George Washington, Eyre first fought beside the man in the French and Indian War, when Jehu served as the Chief Engineer and Director of Artillery for the Province of Pennsylvania. Eyre and Washington were both participants of the July 9, 1755 Battle of Monongahela, when forces under British General Edward Braddock were defeated by combined French and Native American units.

Of the carnage there, Jehu Eyre later wrote:

"When we came to the place where they crossed of the Monongahela, we saw a great many men's bones along the shore. We kept along the road about 1 1/2 miles, where the first engagement begun, where there are men's bones lying about as thick as the leaves do on the ground; for they are so thick that one lies on top of another for about a half a mile in length and about one hundred yards in breadth." 

From the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Jehu Eyre was an adviser to George Washington, and served under the General at Valley Forge during the 1776-1777 winter. He and his brothers were commissioned by Washington to build vessels for the independence effort at the Eyre family's shipping yards in Kensington, and provided some of the first ships in the Continental Navy. The earliest gunboat of the American Navy was built under the supervision of the Eyre family. Christened "Bull Dog," it was launched at Kensington on July 26, 1775.

That year, Jehu Eyre mustered his workers into a force for the defense of Philadelphia known as the "Kensington Artillery." .

On December 25, 1776, Jehu Eyre accompanied Washington in his famed Crossing of the Delaware, a resounding success and a critical battle that saved the Revolution from being snuffed out in its infancy.

At the battle of Brandywine, Eyre fought heroically with his artillery company to halt the seizure of Philadelphia, but his efforts would be unsuccessful. Following the British invasion of the city in 1777, the naval works at Kensington were destroyed, to be rebuilt after the conflict's conclusion by Jehu's children and grandchildren.

Jehu Eyre died of malaria in 1781, and his diaries were later published as The Memorials of Colonel Jehu Eyre.

Eyre's siblings were also heavily involved in the Revolution, and his and his brothers' descendants would remain powerful business leaders for several generations after the war ended.

His remains are buried in the prestigious Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

References in Modern Culture

 * An illustration of Eyre can be found in the book A History of American Privateers by Edgar S. MacLay

Things to Add in the Future

 * Manuel Eyre mentioned with Thomas Cadwalader in the personal correspondences of James Monroe:


 * Benjamin Eyre paid 53,561 pounds to build the frigrate "General Greene" for the Continental Congress during the Revolution:


 * Eyre and Massey as one of the world's largest shipping companies, 1803-1845 (the time at which Manuel Eyre, Jr. died):


 * Eyre and Massey was importing sugar from the East Indies in 1826, and a dispute over duties led representatives of the firm to appear before Congress's House Commerce Committee, with the Secretary of the Treasury himself eventually becoming involved:


 * List of cities with which Eyre and Massey traded:


 * Grant by Eyre and Massey for $100.00 in 1843 to the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind:


 * Mentioned in the papers of Henry Clay:


 * Manuel Eyre mentioned in the papers of the Lewis and Clark expedition (I have no idea why):


 * In 1759, when he was only twenty-one years old, Jehu Eyre was commissioned by the King's army to build boats for the navigation of the Ohio River.


 * Information on George Eyre and his ancestors, including connections to the Chamberlains and Plantagenets, among others:


 * Manuel Eyre was a member of the Pennsylvania Committees of Correspondence: This also includes detailed accounts of the actions of Gervaise Eyre and the other Eyres during the colonial and Revolutionary eras. This confirms George's descent from Gervaise; George's parentage of Jehu, Sr.; Jehu, Sr.'s parentage of Jehu, Jr.; and Jehu Jr.'s parentage of Anne (alternately known as Anna Marie, Anne Marie, Ann, or some variant therein).


 * Anna Marie Eyre married Amos Heller:


 * Eyre family's contributions to Philadelphia during the Revolution and early Republic:


 * Details of Eyres' shipping exploits during the Revolution:


 * Anne Eyre had a son named Franklin, who was approximately 16 years old in 1870, placing his date of birth somewhere near 1854:


 * Franklin Eyre was married to Gertrude:


 * Leroy was Franklin and Gertrude's son:


 * Gervase Eyre sold Hope Estate to raise money for Charles I:


 * Gervase Eyre was the great-grandfather to George Eyre:


 * Details of Manuel Eyre, Jr.'s influence in politics:


 * George Eyre married Mary Smith, daughter of the Hon. Samuel Smith of Burlington, New Jersey, in 1729; the Eyres also had indentured servants and/or slaves (unclear):

Manheim Murders
The Manheim Township Murders refers to an infamous multiple homicide that took place in Manheim Township a suburb of Lancaster, located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the early morning hours of May 12, 2007.

The Murders
Shortly after two o'clock in the morning on May 12, 2007, twenty-year-old Maggie Haines, a college Sophomore home for the summer from Bucknell University, awoke after hearing strange noises coming from the second floor of her family's home.

Upon going upstairs to investigate, Miss Haines found her father, Tom Haines (50), dead, and her mother, Lisa Haines (47), severely wounded in the couple's bedroom. Mrs. Haines instructed the girl to go to the neighbors' house and call the police.

By the time law enforcement officials arrived on the scene, Tom and Lisa Haines, along with their sixteen-year-old son Kevin, had all been stabbed to death.

Tom Haines died of stab wounds to the chest, while Kevin Haines was stabbed in the chest and neck.. Mrs. Haines's cause of death has not yet been released.

At this point it remains unclear if the murderer was still in the home at the time that Maggie Haines fled. Miss Haines is currently in protective police custody at an undisclosed location..

None of the Hainses' possessions were taken during the crime, a fact which has further fueled speculation as to why the family was targeted.

The killer apparently entered through an unlocked back door.

A Frustrating Case
One of the most disturbing aspects of the case has been the near total lack of evidence or leads of any kind.

At this point, investigators have no motive, no murder weapon, and no suspects.

The county coroner for Lancaster County, has said that police are "not coming up with anything. No motives. No people. I mean, we're down to interviewing kids at school."

The coroner, Gary Kirchner, further went on to call the slayings "gruesome. They're awful. They're bloody. They're unbelievable.".

Kirchner also said that the murders were "another level of horror."

Police Sergeant Thomas Rudzinski recently issued a statement saying: "We continue to look for information on the family members, any background information, anything of importance about this family, or about the homicides, we are very interested in hearing," he said. "We are still trying to work up a victimology on each of these victims -- their backgrounds, their interests. Anybody who has any information that they think might be helpful should get in contact with us."

Tips can be called in at any time at (717)-569-6401. Any prospective caller has the right to remain anonymous. A $1,000.00 reward is being offered for any information whatsoever.

Public Fear
Manheim Township residents have been warned to lock their doors and keep on as many lights as possible, with the explicit declaration from county officials that "a psychotic killer is on the loose.".

Manheim Township High School has increased its guidance counselor staff to help calm the student body of 1,750.

Meanwhile, Select Security, an area home-alarm company, has seen its business increase by 800% since the killings.

The scene that has unfolded in Manheim Township is reminiscent of a Hollywood horror movie, right down to the all-encompassing cloud of suspicion that, without any serious suspects in the case, has fallen over virtually the entire town.

"The killer of our loved ones might be in the audience today," said Tom Brown, a relative of the Haineses, at their memorial service on May 18, 2007, in Otterbein United Methodist Church.

Arrest
On June 16, Alec Devon Kreider, 16, a classmate of Kevin Haines was charged with the murder of the three victims. According to police reports, he confessed to his father, who then called the police. He was arrested on June 16 around 5 o'clock pm. 

Secession
       

http://www.archive.org/stream/pennsylvaniamaga03histuoft/pennsylvaniamaga03histuoft_djvu.txt