Joe in fla
Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2011
- Messages
- 127
Not exactly shooter's but plenty of gun related ancestors.
I'm related to the Rigdon of Leech & Rigdon, manufacturers of handguns for the CSA.
My step father was direct descendant of Oliver Hazard Perry who earned the title "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory against the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. The US Navy now has a class of frigates named after him. OHP was also the older brother of Commodore Matthew C. Perry who compelled the opening of Japan to the West at gunpoint in 1854. My step-father's father was also the commander of the USS Panay when it was attacked by the Japanese air force on the Yangtze River in China in 1937. This incident later became the inspiration for the movie 'The Sand Pebbles'.
I'm also related to Colin Kelly who was one of the first Americans to die in WW II. He was a B-17 pilot and he stayed at the controls of his aircraft so that his crew could bail out after it had been shot down after bombing a Japanese cruiser on Dec 10, 1941. He was nominated for the Congressional Metal of Honor but they only awarded him a DSC.
I'm related to the Rigdon of Leech & Rigdon, manufacturers of handguns for the CSA.
My step father was direct descendant of Oliver Hazard Perry who earned the title "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory against the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. The US Navy now has a class of frigates named after him. OHP was also the older brother of Commodore Matthew C. Perry who compelled the opening of Japan to the West at gunpoint in 1854. My step-father's father was also the commander of the USS Panay when it was attacked by the Japanese air force on the Yangtze River in China in 1937. This incident later became the inspiration for the movie 'The Sand Pebbles'.
I'm also related to Colin Kelly who was one of the first Americans to die in WW II. He was a B-17 pilot and he stayed at the controls of his aircraft so that his crew could bail out after it had been shot down after bombing a Japanese cruiser on Dec 10, 1941. He was nominated for the Congressional Metal of Honor but they only awarded him a DSC.