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 American Immigrantsby Wilford WhitakerOne of the reasons I have enjoyed doing detailed Genealogical Research is that I have been able to "flesh out" and put names and faces into most of the significant events in American History. The noted builders, colonizers, generals and other leaders were great in their respective spheres, but without the "little people", the dirty, grungey, poor laborers, the dogged foot soldiers and the common men and women who did the hard, dirty work, they would have been nothing. It is those "homeless, poor, wretched masses yearning to breathe free" that I salute and honor. America is made up of Immigrants, even the American Indian is said to have originated elsewhere. And because we are a nation of Immigrants, we are a nation of diversity. And it has been so from the very beginning. Virginia was made up of aristocracy and indentured servants. Massachusetts was settled by people who had dissented from the state-sponsored religion of England and then set up their own dogmatic government and people immediately began to dissent from the new theocracy. That happened over and over again in the New World. The Dutch sent the West India Company to settle the discoveries of Henry Hudson along the Hudson River and settled New Amsterdam, and far-seeing individuals started dissenting from the autocratic rule of that company. And Roger Williams, Dame Moody, William Penn, and many, many more, set up their own colonies and brought their own beliefs and yearnings with them. And the Immigrants came, first a trickle, then a river, and then a flood. English, Germans, Swedes, Scots-Irish, Irish, Chinese, Jews, etc., etc. all left their homelands and came to America, and the opportunities it afforded. And diversity spread into every corner of America. I have had the opportunity to visity many cities and countries throughout the world and I have noticed one thing over and over again. If I moved to Japan, I do not become Japanese. If I moved to Germany, I do not become a German. If I moved to England, I do not become an Englishman, although most of my forebears were English. But when people, from every country, from throughout the world, moved to America, they became Americans. So we have Chinese-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc., etc. We are all Americans, with our multiplicity of ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. And America is the stronger because of it. But with all this diversity, we must learn to recognize and respect each other's differences. I believe Genealogy has helped me in this respect. It has helped me to listen to and to try to understand another's point of view, that may differ from my own. But isn't that what this country is all about? Someone once said something to the effect that if we neglect the study of History, we are bound to repeat the mistakes of history. Every war that America has been involved with, at home and abroad, has had its supporters and its opposition. And Woolseys participated in most of them. I'm sure that in the following Wars, there were probably more Woolseys involved than that I have found, but the following is what I have found to this point. (1) Even the MILITIAS on Long Island, in which four Woolseys participated for their mutual defense, were hotly debated. (2) The FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS were always contested as to the need for driving out the French and subduing the Indians. Five Woolseys were involved in these actions. (3) The REVOLUTIONARY WAR was a hotbed of patriotism and opposition. Loyalists (Tories) contested bitterly with the "rabble" who fought for freedom. There were two "Loyalist" Woolseys and Fifty-two "Patriot" Woolseys I have found, scattered throughout the country. (4) The WAR of 1812 was also contested by both sides in America, in which forty-seven Woolseys fought. (5) I have found two Woolseys in the fight for independence from Mexico by the Republic of Texas. (5) The MEXICAN WAR, which added much of the West to the area of America, including California and Utah, Wyoming, etc., had five Woolseys involved, including the brothers John Woolsey, from Illinois, and Thomas Woolsey, who enlisted in the Mormon Battalion from Iowa, sons of Joseph Woolsey and Abigail Schaeffer. (6) The BLACK HAWK WAR in Illinois, which included Abraham Lincoln and my ancestor George Washington Hickerson (who married Sarah Woolsey, d/o Joseph Woolsey and Abigail Schaeffer), saw two Woolseys creating havoc among the Indians of Illinois. (7) There could not have been a more divisive war than the CIVIL WAR, which tore asunder the very fabric of this nation. The Lincoln-Douglas debates helped Americans to focus on the reasons for separation and for holding the Union together. There were two hundred fifty-six Woolseys wearing blue for the North and gray for the South. (8) The UTAH WAR (also called the Black Hawk War, but not the same as above) saw one Woolsey fighting in it. (9) I found no Woolseys in the SPANISH - AMERICAN WAR. There may have been some but I have not found any Woolseys who participated in it. (10) In WORLD WAR I, in which American participation was hotly debated, there were fifty-seven Woolseys, and probably more were involved. (11) I have only found thirty-eight Woolsey who fought in WORLD WAR II, but I'm sure there must be many more who defended the world in that battle. And there was great controversy over America's participation in that, especially before Japan finally settled the matter on December 7th, 1941. (12) The KOREAN WAR had five Woolseys that I have found, but probably many more were involved. Another very controversial war. (13) In the VIETNAM WAR (also most contoversial), I have also only found five Woolseys, but, again, many more probably were in that. (14) I found R. James Woolsey, head of the CIA. (15) Are there other Woolseys involved in other Wars, Police Actions, Gulf Wars, etc., etc??  
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