Broadhurst of Ashby de la Zouch

This is the history of the Broadhurst family that had its origins in the medieval market town of Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire, England in the middle of the 17^th Century.  Broadhurst is an old English name.   We have traced its origins back to its earliest appearances in England in the medieval period.  

The literal meaning of the Broadhurst surname is “dweller in the broad woods.”   Hurst comes from Old English, the Anglo-Saxon word hyrst, which carries the connotation of “woodland” or “heavily-wooded land.” 

The surname Broadhurst appears in several different places in England.   We do not know if all those with the surname originated in one place and are descended from a single “Adam” Broadhurst, but we doubt it.   It is both reasonable and likely to suppose that the name arose independently in different places, although for those inclined to pursue this issue it is now possible through DNA analysis to settle that question definitively.  

While we know the names and relationships of our Broadhurst ancestors back to the middle of the 1600s, the earliest ancestor in our line about whom we have more than just names, dates and places is my great-grandfather Colour Sergeant James Broadhurst, a British soldier who enlisted in the 17th Leicestershire Regiment of Foot [e.g., infantry], left England for a duty post with the Regiment in Canada, married while he was on station at Camp Hill in Nova Scotia, and eventually left His Majesty’s military service to begin life as an immigrant settler in Canada. Anything like a real history of the family begins with him. We have information about his military service, his later occupations and residences, and his children (whose relationship to me is that of “grandfather” and "great" aunts and uncles).

We know a bit about James' father John Broadhurst and John's extended family in England.   We have some names, places, relationships and key dates of ancestors a few generations earlier than James but as we go back much further in time our facts are less certain and our data is more speculative than proven--and in any event is not really history so much as a list of ancestral names and dates.

This book can be obtained at Amazon by clicking here.

Childhood Remembered: The War Years and Beyond

Childhood Remembered – The War Years and Beyond is a collection of stories from the author’s childhood growing up in Washington, D.C. from the mid-1930s through the 1950s, a time of innocence and naivete that is very different from the pseudo-sophisticated world of today. There is intrigue, historical detective work and mystery as the author uncovers some of his mother’s and stepfather’s secrets.

The origin of this memoir was a series of “Grandpa Stories” told to his young grandsons at bedtime that proved more interesting to them than the traditional bedtime stories told to children because they were real stories about the boyhood of their grandfather.  After the young boys were past the age when their grandfather read them stories in bed when he was visiting them he concluded that these stories should be expanded and retold as autobiography and social history for anyone interested in an era long gone. [click here to see at Amazon]

Stories, Folk Tales and Legends From The Bible

A request from my daughter several years ago to help her find an appropriate book for my ten year old grandson, who had expressed an interest in learning about stories from the Bible, led me to search diligently for a book that did an adequate job of presenting the stories as they were written, without trying to gloss over inconsistencies or ignoring the context of the story and therefore missing the point, or without an underlying theme or assumption that these stories were about actual events of the past. I was not successful. The few collections of bible stories for children that I could find were educationally useless, historically inaccurate, and unhelpful for understanding these culturally important stories in their literary and historical context.  Having found nothing useful for my grandchildren, I resolved to fill that gap.  The result of that resolution is Stories, Folk Tales and Legends from the Bible.    The paperback can be purchased from the publisher <here>.  Those who have a Kindle (Amazon e-book reader) can download it <here > (free for those with Prime accounts).   To read a sample of the stories or to learn more about this book click <here>.

I expect the book will find a place in the homes of Progressives and Humanists, both adults and teens alike, and in various Fellowship youth programs. It will make for some interesting discussions. Be warned: biblical stories are not for young children.  There is a lot of “X-rated” material in the Bible (rape, incest, murder, adultery, homosexuality, etc.) and I have not glossed over it to make it acceptable to parents of young readers.

The Gospel of Christian Humanism

Just Published: The Gospel of Christian Humanism – Christianity without God will appeal to skeptics, agnostics, non-theists, liberal Christians or former Christians who have difficulty with the mythology and the concept of god in traditional Christian theology but find the life and ethical teachings of Jesus compelling as a way of life and a basis for ethics, as well as traditional Christians who are interested in a different perspective on Christianity. The author argues that Christian Humanism is essentially Christian, is justified on historical grounds, and is consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the early Church Fathers so far as we can determine with reasonable historical and literary accuracy.  He argues for an approach to Christianity based on rational inquiry, human freedom, individual conscience,  and a commitment to the values taught by Jesus as a guide to ethical decision-making; and further that these values are not only compatible with Christianity, they are fundamental to a proper understanding and interpretation of it.  

The author discusses the concept of Christian love (agape) as selfless love that affirms the dignity and worth of others as the guiding principle applied by the Christian to ethical decision making.  Agape underlies the commitment to work for justice even against one’s own interests by standing with the powerless against the powerful, fighting for human rights, caring for the stranger in need, feeding the hungry and comforting the dying. The author concludes with a discussion of the application of Christian love to particular issues such as economic justice, the social safety net, abortion, immigration policy, the elderly, and the worker.

Available as an e-book on Kindle at Amazon and as a paperback.