Every once in a while, my son and I like to hit the road and just wander. Early last week, we wandered over to eastern Tennessee and up into Virginia. We spent most of that time driving and talking, but managed to squeeze in a few visits to some historic sites, which is our favorite tourist destination.

One of my goals on this trip, other than to spend time with my son and see cool historic sites, was to gather information for the [ETA: genealogy] newsletter I edit. August marks the 230th anniversary of the creation of the State of Franklin, a short-lived secession of the residents of four counties from what was then the western portion of North Carolina. John Sevier served as the governor of "Frankland" and was a large contributor to other notable events in the era.

I find the late colonial and early republic time periods to be particularly fascinating, although I've never worked out why. Perhaps it's because these rugged individuals faced such great hardship, and yet managed to endure in spite of the odds facing them. After all, this infant nation tackled the largest and most well-trained army in the world and emerged victorious, which is a notable feat in and of itself.

If there's anyone who romanticizes the past, it's genealogists, which makes absolutely no sense given the deep level of research into historical records that's needed to solve difficult genealogical problems. As hard as I try not to, even I have this problem, but I try to temper it by remembering something Elizabeth Shown Mills says (paraphrased): The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.

Would that more people could get that through their heads.

As a setting for future stories, eastern Tennessee offers some excellent sites, from Bristol Motor Speedway to the rolling farmland of Greene County, and it's all steeped in history. I have no particular stories in mind, but it's such a lovely place, I think I'd very much like to one day incorporate the area into my writings, either fiction or non-fiction.