Grandma Rebecka and the Witches' Tree: (Abuelita Rebecka Y El Arbol De Las Brujas)

By J Froebel-Parker

The year 1692 is an annus horribilis on the American timeline which has been engraved on the hearts of men, inscribed in the annals of history, is remembered with sadness, and continues to admonish humanity about the ease with which those deemed as other can be persecuted and made to suffer. Rebecka Nurse, ne Towne (known to many as Rebecca Nurse from Arthur Millers The Crucible and the authors 11th maternal great grandmother) could claim Charlemagne, the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and the noble family de Ferrers among her ancestors, but nothing could save her from the gallows which had been made of the Witches Tree in the ancient Wampanoag settlement called Naumkeag, now Salem. Her own second cousin, Roger Conant, had founded Salem after leaving Plymouth (Plimoth), which all at her trial knew. He, in turn, had fought with Myles Standish (a relative of both his and Rebeckas) the governor of Plymouth and the authors 9th maternal great grandfather. This turmoil, envy, and perhaps even boredom, intertwine like the gnarled branches of the ancient tree which gives this story its title.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496946584

J Froebel-Parker

(Johannes) Froebel-Parker graduated from a small town Central School in Marathon, New York. He taught English as a New Language for almost 3 decades in an upstate New York Central School District, having previously taught English as a Foreign Language for one year at the Marie Curie Oberschule in then West Berlin in an academic exchange program sponsored by Akademischer Austauschdienst. He completed his undergraduate B.A, M.A. (German Language and Literature) and M.S. (Education) at the University at Albany in Albany, New York-USA. From the earliest age he was captivated by the stories of his maternal and paternal grandparents who shared with him their oral histories from both sides of the Atlantic. Via his maternal grandmother there are a number of ancient genealogical connections to Queen Victoria via the family "von Juelich-Kleve-Berg" hence to Tsar Nicholas II, Taritsa Alexandra and their children. He is fascinated by the interconnected nature of genetics and family lore leading to the very Froebelian concept of "Einheit" (unity). Indeed, the Kindergarten founder is quoted as insisting "Jedes Dinges Wesen ist Einheit" (Unity is the Essence of All Things). With his research about Anastasia Romanov and the woman aka "Evgenia Smetisko" he hopes to contribute to such a notion. He is the author of various other books based on characters from his "Ahnentafel" (family tree), many with Authorhouse.

Book preview

GRANDMA REBECKA

and the

WITCHES’ TREE

(Abuelita Rebecka y el Arbol de las Brujas)

J (Johannes) Froebel-Parker

AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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© 2014 . All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/17/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-4607-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-4658-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014918438

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

AGRADECIMIENTOS

Lauren Young

Consuelo Serrano L.

Manuel Briones Serrano

Gina Briones Serrano

Frank and Linda Bruno

Janis Parker, née Froebel

Roger and Elizabeth R. Parker

Duward Campbell

Yulie Carrazana-Markman

The Cathedral of All Saints (Episcopal)-Albany, New York, USA

Katherine Englander Cohen

Lisa Ehman

Evgenia Smetisko (aka HIH Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaevna Romanov of Russia)

The English Department of Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central Schools, Ravena, New York, USA

Don Perry (Rebecca Nurse Homestead)

Hildegard Lehnert (1857-1943)

The Costumer (Schenectady, New York)

The unknown mysterious visitor who silently awaited us one day in Topfield

GRANDMA REBECKA and the WITCHES’ TREE

(Abuelita Rebecka y el Árbol de las Brujas)

I shall never forget the last kiss my grandmother, Rebecka, gave me. She sat