Many thanks are in order; most of all from the information that I have shamelessly repurposed from dedicated fellow researchers, so generous with their time and insights, which I never could have collected myself. As an “armchair genealogist” – perhaps “laptop genealogist” is a better term these days – I just hope I don’t overlook anyone (though I’m sure I will). Just to be perfectly clear, there are no doubt errors and lapses of scholarship in these articles, and they are no one’s fault but my own. I leave it to others, if so inclined, to continue to look for corroborating or correcting sources that are still emerging as more of the past becomes indexed and open to everyone.
From Jim Sulcer in Colorado I first learned of the connection back to Matthias Selzer that opened up a defensible connection to Shenandoah and the colorful wars of the revolutionary period, and completely re-energized my passion for the subject. I enjoyed meeting Jim and his wife in Denver, the highlight of a “business” trip there in the 1990s. Jim also generously credits Huston Taylor of Alabama with whom I corresponded and for much of his starting point on the southern branches of the Seltzers.
I owe a huge debt to my cousin “Gordy” Sulcer who graciously entrusted me with a trove of Thearle and Baker family photographs and correspondence. That not only gave a huge boost to my writing about Charlotte’s side of the family, but also has already been a boon to others researching the Thearles and their relatives. I have done my best to deserve the honor of keeping them.
I am happy to recall many pleasant hours spent on Skype with Robin McWilliams, an avid Thearle historian, as we pored over dozens of Thearle family photographs to figure out who is who – Robin you are the best at that and it was a lot of fun.
Donna Gear Loper, who publishes the Gear Family Association newsletter, has been a great friend and supporter of this project. She first contacted me after I posted a question about the Thearles on a website that happened to mention to the Gear Bible in my keeping in an off-hand way. Unstinting with her time and energy, going well beyond the boundaries of her “own” family interests, she also acquainted me with her fascinating account of the doomed voyage to the gold rush fields of my great-great-grand-aunt Virginia Gear Carrington.
Donna’s excitement about the Gear Bible turned into a great story on the Gear newsletter, and we had a wonderful afternoon here in Santa Clara as Donna visited the “relic” personally along with the charming and wonderfully nomadic researchers Ken and Jan Tilton, who are Thearles.
Thanks also to Gene Meier for many emails delving into the business interests of Harry B. Thearle, who was connected to his deep research on 19th century rotunda panoramas, which I look forward to reading.
I’d also like to give a shout-out to the tremendously helpful staff at the Mary Baker Eddy Library Research Room, who gave me a priceless inside look at Dr. Sulcer’s private and professional struggles and his personal relationship with one of the great religious figures of the day.
For the serious and detail-oriented researchers out there who may have stumbled onto this – let me apologize in advance for any errors, failures to document sources properly or any other lapses in scholarship. For example, I may have been influenced in my thinking by family trees on the Internet, try as I did to find multiple hard sources for every fact. I suspect I am not alone in this sin, and I claim all mistakes to be mine. I’ve come to realize that it’s better to share what information I have, not wait for perfection, and leave the best paper trail I can for others who may continue or validate the research in the future.
