From my travels, December 14, 2019.

I heard through Facebook that the Independence Seaport Museum was hosting a “Family-friendly” tailgating event in celebration of the fact that the 2019 Army-Navy game was taking place that day in Philadelphia. That sounded like a fun thing to do with my boys, and while I had visited the museum ships there several years ago, the boys had never been aboard any kind of historic ship before. No better way to spend a day!

The tailgating turned out to be a bit of a bust. I didn’t see any activities set up, and there was hardly anyone in the museum during our visit. At least we weren’t fighting the crowds, huh? We got combo tickets for the museum and the ships, and started our visit in the museum.

We spent about 45 minutes going through the exhibits in the museum, which were all very kid-friendly. There was a ton of hands-on stuff, too. My guys really enjoyed playing with the remote-control submersible that was in the lobby, as well as the nearly life-size model of a schooner (complete with a sail to raise), and the exhibit on the river as habitat.

It was also cool to see some local history highlighted that was not explicitly maritime in nature – the very interactive exhibit about Fort Mifflin was a nice introduction to that story. And that’s another place that I need to take the boys to explore soon.

Finally it was time to head outside for the main event: the ships!

Our first stop was the WWII-era Balao-class diesel-electric submarine, USS Becuna (SS-319). This was the very first warship that the boys had ever been on, and I think they both had a really good time. Neither one seemed to have difficulty moving through the water-tight doors, or through the confined spaces. I had downloaded a tour app that the museum provides on my phone, and that also helped engage the boys with what we were seeing. Isaac especially enjoyed the control room – all those buttons!

Next, we went aboard the Protected Cruiser USS Olympia (C-6). This ship is most famous for being Commodore George Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. She also brought the unknown soldier home following WWI. I believe that she is also the oldest steel-hulled warship still afloat in the world.

The boys noted how much larger and fancier this was than the newer submarine. I think that John especially enjoyed this ship – he took a couple of turns in the demonstation hammock aboard in the berthing area. We got to do the whole tour here, but weren’t able to go up on the deck because of the rainy conditions that day.

As we disembarked, the boys looked across the river to the massive Iowa-class Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) over in Camden, NJ, and told me that they wanted to visit that ship next. It was a really great day for my crew that set up some more adventures to come.

Just a few days ago – September 8, 2014 – was the 350th anniversary of the founding of New York.

Originally a Dutch settlement called New Amsterdam, the town decided to give up without a fight in the face of an overwhelming English expedition commanded by Colonel Richard Nicholls consisting of four warships, including Nicholls’ flagship: the frigate Guinea. James, the Duke of York, with the permission of his brother King Charles II, decided to send the flotilla to take possession of the Dutch holdings in North America. At the time the two nations were jockeying for the title of most powerful naval force in the world. In fact, this event would touch off a larger war between them.

Once the settlement was taken, it was re-named New York at Colonel Nicholls’ suggestion in honor of the Duke himself.

Apart from being one of the pivotal moments in the colonial period, the creation of New York also means quite a bit to the Skillmans: it is the event that brought the first member of our family to the western hemisphere.

His name was Thomas Skillman. The stories about him are varied and at times somewhat sketchy, but I’d like to explore them a little bit here.

Born in Surrey, England in 1637, at some point he joined the army in time to participate in the 1664 expedition to North America. The traditional family story (backed up by most sources) is that he was serving as a musician, but I’ve also seen him referred to as “Doctor”, implying that he was a surgeon or physician instead, but I don’t find this likely.

Soon after the conquest, Colonel Nicholls became Governor Nicholls. Thomas must have felt some kind of connection or loyalty to Nicholls, because he did not return to England with the rest of the troops, instead choosing to settle on Long Island in a village called Newtown, which was in the area that is now known as the Elmhurst and Maspeth neighborhoods in Queens.

His military service continued, as he was one of 25 men sent to Esopus, NY to seek revenge against a group of Native Americans who had attacked a colonial settlement in the Hudson River Valley. Though he was offered a plot of land in that part of New York for his service, he seems to have refused it, and was discharged in 1668, even being awarded “14 oz. of plate for services at Albany under Captain Lewis.” No one seems to have any idea about what he did to earn this distinction.

Returning to Long Island, he married Sarah Pettit in 1669. Sarah was born in Boston, probably in 1634. There is some debate about who her father was, but it seems likely that he was Thomas Pettit, an early Huguenot immigrant to the Massachusetts colony. Regardless, the couple settled in Newtown and lived there the rest of their lives, and sadly we don’t know much more about their life – other than the fact that they had at least 4 children.

Thomas probably died in 1697. His property was left to his wife, who transferred a portion of it to their only son, Thomas Skillman (II). So far as we know, all the American Skillmans – three and a half centuries worth of them – are descended from these two men.

Today is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie.

The Americans under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British squadron on Lake Erie, opening the way for a land invasion of Canada. It was the first time in history that an entire British Naval squadron surrendered.

The battle is famous for the flag that Perry flew aboard his flagships, the USS Lawrence (and later the USS Niagara) – a blue banner with the motto of his friend Capt. Lawrence who had been killed earlier – “DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP“.