Nothing
600 Million Years Ago, the first amoeba appeared. After it split, the first half lived. Amoebas have infinite life spans. So the original amoeba may still be alive.
3.7 million years ago – Little Foot, most complete hominin skeleton – located in South Africa
160,000 years ago – Partial skull of Denisovan found in China dated this old
64,000 years ago – oldest Neanderthal cave painting
Bones
300 kya to 250 kya – First African peoples.
40,000 BCE – Native Americans.
24,000 BCE – 11,300 – Last Glacial Maximum (Ice Age) in North America.
8,000 BCE – Lenape Tribe – New Jersey
2,000 BCE Beginning of Spanish culture.
1314 BCE – Moses and the Ten Commandments. Timeline of Jewish History
374 BCE – Confucianism.
10,000 BCE – Beginning of continuous homo sapiens in England. First Britons | Natural History Museum
862 CE – Russian culture.
1185 – Giolber de Totehille. Early Tuttle in England. Tuttle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
1532 – 1534 – Henrician Reformation in England, Henry VIII. Anglican Church established. English Reformation
1562 – 1621 – Calvin minister – Andrew Willett. Willett History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
1635 – Planter – Puritan ancestors arrive in New Haven, CT
Hart Island
13.8 billion years ago – Big Bang
4.5 Million years ago – Ardi, (believed to be female) – the first Hominin skeletal remains was found in Ethiopia
Denisovans other groups…ghost lineage
Bones
340 kya – Homo Sapiens.
Earliest art
220 kya – First African people migrate.
26,000 BCE – Neanderthals extinction estimated.
14,000 BCE Native South American peoples in Chile.
3,500 BCE – Slave trading in Sumer in Mesopotamia. History of Slavery
1600 BCE – Chinese culture.
411 BCE – Buddhism.
33 A.D. – Creation of Christianity
Early Anglo-Saxon history (410–660) History of Anglo- Saxon England.
1060 CE – Early Burwell in Cambridgeshire, England. Burwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
1517 – Reformation – Luther published the 95 Theses, Edict of Worms (schism), 1521.
1559 – Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559, Puritans returned to England from exile in Europe. Beginning of Puritanism in England. Puritans – Wikipedia
1619 – American slave trading and slave holding begins.
1624 – The Dutch established New Amsterdam.
1664 – British take over New Amsterdam and rename it New York.
1729 – Carolina Province officially split into North and South Carolina when the crown took it over.
1775 CE – Zachariah Burwell signs Articles of Association in Philadelphia, PA.
1786 – 1787 – Shays’ Rebellion.
1807 CE – Marinus Willett (1740 – 1830) – Mayor of New York, NY
1811 CE – German Coast Uprising, slave revolt in New Orleans.
1846 CE – 1848 – CE Mexican-American War
1898 – Spanish-American War:
Clinton Edward Bell – contracted a disease in the war, died 1900, age 22.
April 1, 1917 – Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russians surrender World War I.
January 1918 – Red Army founded to fight the White Russians. (White Army)
1941 – 1945 – World War II (United States)
Sidney Joshua Kalmanowitz (Kaye) – Captain, Medical Administrative Corps, discharged November 15, 1946.
G.C. Courtney Navy.
Rufus Gwyn – Courtney line – Navy
Mary Ivey Courtney – Courtney line–1942 – Lieutenant WAVES
Marcus Vincent Courtney — Lieutenant. Army Air Forces, B-24 Pilot, January 1943 – June 6, 1944, killed in action.
Magruder H. Tuttle — Captain in the Navy, senior officer at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Long history in the navy.
Major Henry “Harry” W. Burwell. October 1942 – December 1945. Lieutenant Colonel.
Cmdr. George “Ernest” Burwell, Jr. Navy pilot, anti-submarine flying boat.
James Bell Burwell – Brigadier General, pilot. 1937
Henry Warren Burwell II – enlisted before the war started. Navy. Petty Officer First Class.
Clyde Morton Burwell. 1928 – United States Cavalry, then reserve officer. Active duty. Cannibalize airplanes for parts.
Floyd Norvel Blackwell, Jr – Courtney line by marriage – Navy.
George Ernest “Buster” Burwell III — Hospital Apprentice, First Class, 6/10/43 to 5/17/46
1950 – 1953 – The Korean War.
Clyde Morton Burwell. Colonel in the Air Force.
Magruder Hill Tuttle (see above.)
Sam Austin Hartley – Courtney line.
Lloyd Williams.
1663 – The Carolina Province was officially founded by eight Lord Proprietors.
1665 CE – Thomas Willett – First Mayor of the City of New York.
1756 CE – 1763 CE French & Indian War aka the Seven Years War.
Noah Tuttle served 1757.
1776 CE to 1783 CE – Revolutionary War
Lucius Tuttle served 1776 – 1777.
Isaiah Tuttle served in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, “The Jersey Blues,” dates.not known, but he got a Revolutionary War pension.
Zachariah Burwell, Sr. served in the 2nd New York Regiment, 1778 – 1779.
Zachariah Burwell, Jr. died at the Battle of Cowpens, 1781.
Robert Bell – served 1777 – 1784 1st North Carolina Division.
Jordan Sellers – guard duty in SC, till 1783.
1791 – 1794 – Whiskey Rebellion.
Zacharia Burwell, Sr. – with Washington’s troops to quell the Whiskey Rebellion.
1807 CE – Launch of Fulton’s first steamboat in New York. Went to Albany from the East Side, then up the Hudson.
1812 – 1815 – War of 1812
Benjamin Eli Burwell – July 23, 1813 – August 1, 1813.
1861 CE — 1865 CE – American Civil War
Benedict Marcus Tuttle – 1st Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry Company
James Courtney – volunteered for the Confederacy at 50 years old.
Andrew Hull Courtney – lost a leg at Gettysburg.
1863 – Ellen’s great great uncle Andrew Hull Courtney lost his leg at Gettysburg fighting for the Confederacy.
Henry Clay (Uncle Clay) Courtney –Enlisted July 15, 1861, killed at Spotsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864.
1864 – Ellen’s great great uncle Henry Clay Courtney was killed at Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, fighting for the Confederacy.
Alonzo Etheridge Bell – Captured at Fort Hatteras, 1861. Kept a diary as POW.
Kenneth Raynor Bell – sergeant, 32nd NC Infantry Regiment, the Lenoir Braves.
1914 – 1918 – First World War. (1917 – 1918 United States, 1914-1917 Russia):
Isaak Chertok-Chertoff – Tsarist army.
George Ernest Burwell – Navy pilot.
Robey Keener Courtney (“Boodle”) 1917 – 1919 5th Marine Regiment, wounded at Belleau Wood. PTSD.
November 7, 1917 – Bolsheviks take power in Russia.
RTR
1947 – The Russian Tea Room
1955 – 1975 – Vietnam War.
Magruder Hill Tuttle (see above.) Also see newspaper clipping from September 1957 (no date on clipping) when he was assigned command of USS Philippine Sea (CVS-47).
Harry Courtney Tuttle. Chief Warrant Officer, helicopter pilot.
Robert Ervin Tuttle – Death – 8 May 1968, Quang Nam, Vietnam.
We all come from somewhere. Our own past swirls around us, fog like, mysterious, unknowable. The deeper we get into the telling of our own tales the more the past tugs, nips and bites.
All my life I looked forward, but in my late fifties I found myself looking back to the stories that made my world and the worlds of my ancestors. This is our project, Old Bones Odyssey. Like my Puritan ancestors who arrived in the colonies in 1635 on a ship called The Planter, we’re embarking on an odyssey. Like my Russian Jewish grandparents who came through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century, we’re setting sail for parts unknown. We’re exploring American history through a small portal that takes us into my genetic and philosophical family tree. Each of us comes from a fascinating jumble of people. Each life traces a map that leads us to today.
Our aim is discovery. To gain a deeper understanding of our world and our country right now.
Old Bones Odyssey
We’re creating a different kind of family tree: a philosophical one, made of ideas, thoughts, beliefs; accepted, rejected, swallowed whole, discarded, maintained, nourished and destroyed.
Of love found, simmering hatreds, adoration, ancient feuds, hidden desires, religious wars, long buried resentments, deep seated enmities, loyalty, transcendence, harsh disappointment, disillusionment and hope.
We’re all made up of philosophical family trees with ideas dangling off the branches. Call it a Thought Tree, an Idea Tree, a Dreams Lost And Found Tree. The beliefs of my ancestors are intriguing to me. The good ideas. The bad ideas. How they lived and what traces are left in the family I knew growing up. What vestiges of these ideas are still running through the laws and minds of our country creating the context of our current version of America.
The Whole New Universe
Where does a story begin? Like an endless matryoshka doll. Wherever we start we want to know what came before.
It’s the toss of a coin. How your life plays out. Adventure, ruin, comfort, hunger. Wild seas, deep deserts, cruel cities, new worlds.
These seekers’ songs are stories of leaving home, being on the run, longing for a new home, a safe place where you can rest your weary soul. And keep your children safe.
Ellen C Kaye – Lead Vocal
Ethan Fein – Guitar
Diane Monroe – Violin
Andrew Drelles – Bass Clarinet
Koa Ho – Upright Bass
Perry Cavari – Drums
Jackie Presti – Backing Vocals
Soara-Joye Ross – Backing Vocals
Our world is hidden
We are hidden to ourselves
To each other
But the sparks of light
Lie in wait
Inside us all
Seams of gold
A lovely porcelain bowl
Made of earth and dust
Passed down from hand to hand
From life to life
Home to home
Seams of gold
In a window sill
Lit by the sun
A breeze blows by
Generations come and go
Seams of gold
Winds blow in from the cold
Made of smoke and dust
Passed down from hand to hand
From life to life
Heart to heart
Seams of gold
In a window sill
Broken in two
The years sweep by
Generations come and go
Veins of gold fill the cracks of what’s been shattered
Veins of gold are the scars of who we are
Only hearts can see what’s hidden
Only hearts can see the light
Shine a light
Shine a light on the broken pieces
Shine a light
Shine a light on the hidden scars
Shine a light
Shine a light on what’s forgotten
Take the broken pieces
And change the world
Seams of gold
A spirit flows through the bowl
Made of flames and dust
Passed down from hand to hand
From life to life
Home to home
Seams of gold
In a window sill
Lit by the moon
The world blows by
Generations come and go
Seams of gold
More precious now than before
Made of shards and dust
Passed down from hand to hand
From life to life
Heart to heart
Seams of gold
In a window sill
Lit by the stars
A dream flies by
Generations come and go
Sparks of light
Burning up inside us
Hiding deep
Way beyond our sight
Only hearts can see what’s hidden
Only hearts can see the light
Shine a light
Shine a light on the broken pieces
Shine a light
Shine a light on the hidden scars
Shine a light
Shine a light on what’s forgotten
Take the broken pieces
And change the world
Seams of gold
Tell the story you know
Made of fire and light
Passed down from hand to hand
From life to life
Home to home
Seams of gold
In a window sill
Lit by your soul
Our lives blaze by
Generations come and go
Seams of gold
Seams of gold or our broken peoples
Seams of gold
Seams of gold for our broken world
Seams of gold from the light that shines within us
Seams of gold will repair the world
Shine a light
Shine a light on the broken peoples
Shine a light
Shine a light on the broken world
Shine a light
Shine a light on the broken pieces
Your seams of gold will mend the world
Find the light
Find the light in the broken pieces
Find the light
Find the light that will change the world
Find the light
Find the light that lies within you
Take the broken pieces
And change the world
Be a mender
Of a broken world
© 2023 Ellen C Kaye and Ethan Fein. All rights reserved.
Ellen C Kaye – Lead Vocal
Ethan Fein – Guitar, Five String Banjo
Diane Monroe – Violin
Koa Ho – Upright Bass
Zach Mullings – Drums
Jackie Presti – Backup Vocals
These ghosts say:
I can’t save you now
But I can tell you how
How to live a life
That’s brave and free
I can tell you what I cared about
I can tell you what I regret
I can tell you to remember me
Forget me not in the fog of war
Lost in memory
I’m all that’s left
That’s left of time
My thoughts are the bones
I leave behind
I feel it burning right through me
The past is lighting my way
Though all is dark around me
This lantern guides my way
The ghosts are talking right through me
Their light shines across my mind
Troubles and doubts pursue me
But their wisdom fills my mind
These walls can talk
These walls are alive
These wall tell stories in their very bones
There’s things worth fighting for
Things worth dying for
All our loyal hearts are true
I hear their words ripping through me
Their thoughts are tumbling down
Ancient stories surround me
What’s lost can now be found
It’s the heart of things that matter
What’s buried deep and gone
The weight of time pulls on me
But dreams live on and on
These walls can talk
These walls are alive
These walls can tell us who and what survived
These walls can cast a brighter light
Burn bright all through the night
Burn until the day is new
Spinning straw into golden light
Burning bright all through the night
Burning bright till all our days are new
Ellen C Kaye – Lead Vocal
Ethan Fein – Guitar
Koa Ho – Electric bass
Zach Mullings – Drums
Jackie Presti – Backup Vocals
Soara-Joye Ross – Backup Vocals
Old bones taking me back
Old worlds taking me back
Resting on the souls of long ago
Old dreams taking me back
Old loves taking me back
Carrying us on wings of days long past
Trees with leaves
for dreams
A dance that never ends
That only you can know
From the roots to the sky
Sylvan slippers, rings of time
In the gloaming of this world
Back where memories lie
I keep longing for
Old bones taking me back
Old worlds taking me back
Resting on the souls of long ago
New roads leading me home
New hearts leading me home
Setting sail for ancient lands unknown
Trees with leaves
for dreams
A dance that never ends
That only you can know
From the roots to the sky
Sylvan slippers, rings of time
In the gloaming of this world
Back where memories lie
I’m just dreaming of
Old bones taking me back
Old worlds taking me back
Resting on the souls of long ago
New roads leading me home
New hearts leading me home
Setting sail for ancient lands unknown
Lyrics – Ellen C Kaye
Music – Ethan Fein
Producers – Ellen C Kaye, Ethan Fein, Bill Moss, Alan Joseph
Recording engineer – Bill Moss
Copyright (c) 2023
© 2023 Ellen C Kaye and Ethan Fein. All rights reserved.
Ellen C Kaye – Lead Vocal
Ethan Fein – Guitar
Andrew Drelles – Bass Clarinet
Diane Monroe – Violin
Koa Ho – Upright Bass
Zach Mullings – Drums and Congas
We dangle on a thread
Inside the galaxies mighty web
And the ghosts of all that came before
Echo down the empty halls
Of lost causes and ideals
That were never
as real
as the stars we follow
Distant thunder shakes the earth
Telling tales we’ve never heard
Ancient stories half forgotten
Back where dragons slumber
Cave walls rock from side to side
We hold them up to stay alive
Time is shifting, ever drifting
Keeping us fate’s rider
Running through our blood
Coursing through our brains
Setting our little worlds on fire
The past is never past
All that was still exists
From orange dust to ancient ashes
From Achilles to sea anemones
Black wings brush against our skin
Fires smolder deep within
Paintings seeing far beyond us
Capture what we’re dreaming
All that we have ever known
The double helix of our souls
‘Cross the earth, they leave us bread crumbs
Feed us while we’re sleeping
Running through our blood
Coursing through our brains
Setting our little worlds on fire
The past is never past
All that was still exists
From orange dust to ancient ashes
From Achilles to sea anemones
Futures of the universe
Faint and distant, close at hand
Weightless, searching, endless seeking
Oracles of starlight
Star-stuff flows from sun to sun
Shaping worlds we’ll never own
Iron stars that dance within us
Dying in our making
Running through our blood
Coursing through our brains
Setting our little worlds on fire
The past is never past
All that was still exists
From orange dust to ancient ashes
From Achilles to sea anemones
Golden rays
Take us home
Take us home at last