The Stone Circle at Lochbuie
The monuments comprise a stone circle and two other standing stones, all of prehistoric date and visible as a series of upstanding stones. The stone circle and one of the standing stones were first scheduled in 1964, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present re-scheduling rectifies this. The stone circle is situated on level pasture at the head of Loch Buie at approximately 10m OD. The two other standing stones lie some 40m SW of and 115m WSW of the stone circle respectively, but within the same present parcel of land. The stone circle originally consisted of nine stones. One of these is now missing and its position has been marked in recent times by a small boulder. The circle measures approximately 12.3m in diameter and is composed for the most part of granite slabs, which have been positioned with their flatter faces set towards the inside of the circle. The tallest stone stands about 2m high and measures c.0.85m by 0.3m at its base. An outlying standing stone, situated 4.6m SE of the circle, comprises a pointed granite block standing 0.85m high and measuring c.0.6m by 0.3m at its base. The single standing stone situated about 40m SW of the stone circle stands about 3m high and measures c.0.85m by 0.3m at its base, tapering to a fairly narrow top. The standing stone situated about 115m WSW of the stone circle comprises a comparatively flat-sided monolith, aligned NE and SW. This stands about 2.15m high, although the top has been broken off in antiquity, and measures c.0.75m by 0.7m at its base. Stone settings of this type are characteristic of the Neolithic period and normally date to the third millennium BC. Three separate areas are proposed for scheduling, as marked in red on the accompanying map. These include the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to survive. The three areas are as follows:
1. The largest area is sub-circular in shape, centred on the stone circle and the outlying standing stone closest to the stone circle, and has maximum dimensions of 38m NW-SE by 33m transversely. Its NW limit is defined by, but excludes, the field boundary.
2. The second area is centred on the standing stone situated about 40 SW of the stone circle and is circular in shape, measuring 10m in diameter.
3. The third area is centred on the standing stone situated about 115m WSW of the stone circle and comprises a truncated circle, with a maximum diameter of 10m. It is defined to the NW by the field boundary, which is itself excluded from the scheduling.
PEDEN
THE PEDENS OF AMERICA
PEDEN,
I want to say there is no one prouder than I to be PEDEN. My research after 2004 was dedicated to our ancestors prior to coming to America and is extensive and will be seen in my book “PEDEN: Origins” when complete. My findings have proven them to be Honorable to God, Country, and Family and backs up a good majority of Eleanor and Lila's research. I have never spoken of this to anyone in over 20 years, but after I turned 60 this year some things just don't matter anymore to me especially in keeping my silence any longer in such things. I do not consider myself a part of the South Carolina Pedens Association other than my ancestors coming from the South Carolina Peden line, however the South Carolina Peden descendants need to hear this story:
The reunion had become stagnant after the late 70's early 80's. Ever since the days of General Westmoreland who was over the Pacific Fleet during the Vietnam War, came to the reunion in a Huey and landed behind the cemetery and spoke at the reunion. His mother was a Peden. The counsel had not been interested in advertising or working on attendance much less even considered a book update. Scippio Peden, who had been elected (self appointed) historian, had done no research or history at all. The reunion was producing about 50 in attendance at that time. My website “Clan Peden International” had reached many descendants that didn't even know the reunion existed and by the 1999 100th anniversary reunion I had brought 300 descendants to it from all over the US and the World. During the 1999 reunion session, I brought new business that it was time to have an update to the “Pedens of America” book. I proposed that it was 60 years 1900-1960 when Lila Peden Sprouse published the 1st update, so I proposed that we publish the next 60 years, 2nd update 1961-2022 in 2023. This would give us 20 years to gather data and research “No Further Record” lines. The vote was taken and passed unanimously, and I was elected over the project. At that meeting I got Rebecca Moss as 2nd in command and had her over the central states and she appointed 5 people under her for data recovery. Being over the project, I also took the eastern states and had 5 people under me collecting data. I can't remember who was over the western states which Rebecca might remember. For 5 years we worked tirelessly to find the missing connections in the book and collect data finding many lost lines.
Not until the 2003 Reunion, 3 ladies related to Lila Peden Sprouse, who said I had done more for the Clan in the past few years than anyone had done since Lila in 1960, nominated me for President. Now I had never considered the presidency but had long wanted to be historian because the person in that position had not done anything to advance our history, but that position was taken and not much chance of it coming vacant anytime soon at that time. The clan body elected me President in 2003. Now I didn't realize it at the time, but this didn't sit well with Scippio Peden, the Historian at that time, at all. So, I was told, he didn't like any of the council positions going out of local hands as it never had been at that time, and I was from Georgia. By June 2004 I had fulfilled all my duties as President except for presenting at the 2004 Reunion. The first of June we got a call from school that my Stepdaughter was ill, so we went to get her, and we found out she had collapsed in P.E class with dizziness and was still sick at her stomach and dizzy. So, we took her to the hospital, and they said they couldn't find anything but told us to get an MRI done. Luckily my sibling worked for Open MRI, so we took her. I held her hand and prayed the whole time as she was so scared. The test showed a mass in her brain but was inconclusive. They recommended us to take her to St. Jude. As we prepared, I called Scippio to inform him of what we were facing and that I may have to get someone to speak for me this year at the reunion. In my lifetime I don't think I have ever had such a reaction to a tragic tale. He was literately outraged and threatened: “If you are not at the reunion “I” (take note of that) “I” will not only strip and replace you as President, “I” will take the Book update from you as well”. All I can say is that I was shocked and proceed to tell him: “I'm sorry, but if they put my daughter in the hospital, I will not leave her side”. He hung up on me. This was the only time anyone from the counsel had contact with me as I heard later through the grapevine that within a week, he had me replaced by James H. Rogers Jr. as President and the book update given to Mark Paden all done illegally under Clan law as I was nominated and appointed as President and the author for the 2nd Pedens of America update in session by the Clan body so only the Clan body could remove me. Yet I was stripped by Scippio Peden, Historian of the Counsel. Period. You can verify this in the Clan Session records. God is good so on a praise report, my daughter's tumor was found benign. As for me, between my daughter's condition, dealing with Scippio, work, and trying to get the plumbing installed myself in our house so we could move in before the rains came, I had a major Heart Attack 2 weeks before the July 18, 2004, reunion so I couldn't have made it there anyway as I was in the hospital myself.
All I can say is the South Carolina Peden Clan counsel made me feel ashamed to be a part of them as they allowed Scippio to do what he did. Therefore, needless to say I never went back to the reunions, and I had been attending for many years. However, I have been to the cemetery many times. Recently to put up markers for TA and Jane Peden my 3rd Great Grandparents who only have field stones at this time. As for the 2nd update to “Pedens of America”, Mark Padens “The Pedens of South Caolina” is a product of his own creation and not an update to The Pedens of America by Eleanor M. Hewell and Lila Peden Sprouse. Even though the counsel (Scippo) gave it to him, it is not an update. The only updated line is his own. Most other lines only go to the 1800s much less than the 1st Update had. My line which the “Pedens of America 1961 1st Update book has my father in it, Mark Padens book ends at my Great Great Grandfather. His excuse, it is Book 1 of others. It's been 10 years. Do you believe he is going to produce Book 2 which he has our database we collected to update the lines? The worst part of it as it references Eleanor Martha “Ella” Hewell's original book and Eliza Meares “Lila” Peden Sprouse 1st Update but mainly just critiques it. The majority of which is his research which consists of documents related to the 1st generation and basic historical data of the times and the first generations relation to it. Lots of Revolutionary war references, military records, and land grants. The majority of his proof relies on DNA evidence he has collected. However, if you actually talk to any Clinical Geneticist, Genealogical DNA research is a joke to them and is worthless past 4 generations. 1 generation legally. Therefore AncestryDNA, HeritageDNA, and others are just a sham to make more money. Why people invest in this nonsense is beyond me. Someday yes, the technology will be reliable but not today. The actual “Proof” is no more “Proof” than Family Traditional Research such as Eleanor's and Lila's. The only true 1st Hand Proof (1HP) is in recorded documents as it always has been. Many genealogists and I to include geneticist have protested the liability of "DNA Proof" in research for years as it has been used to debunk previous research that has no more "proof" than what was tried to be debunked. Even to the point of trying to debunk documented evidence as the DAR has currently tried to do. We are currently in litigation with Genealogical DNA companies to have the word "Proof" or any references to the word removed from their websites. Also rewording their sales pitch to accurately describe the process and its outcome. "When it comes to ancestry, DNA is very good at determining close family relations such as siblings or parents, and dozens of stories are emerging that reunite or identify lost close family members (or indeed criminals). For deeper family roots, these tests do not really tell you where your ancestors came from. They say where DNA like yours can be found on Earth today. By inference, we are to assume that significant proportions of our deep family came from those places. But to say that you are 20 percent Irish, 4 percent Native American or 12 percent Scandinavian is fun, trivial and has very little scientific meaning. We all have thousands of ancestors, and our family trees become matted webs as we go back in time, which means that before long, our ancestors become everyone’s ancestors. Humankind is fascinatingly closely related, and DNA will tell you little about your culture, history and identity." By Adam Rutherford top US geneticist for Scientific American on October 15, 2018. Current DNA evidence is 100% accurate to 1 generation. That number drastic reduces with each generation to virtually worthless at 4 generations. To say you descended from anyone by DNA evidence before the Civil War without documented evidence is worth about as much as your Great Grandmothers Family Research. Not saying it is not as important as any evidence none of it is "Proof". My point being, Mr. Padens critique of Lila Peden Sprouse's Peden origin story in the 1st update 1961 of “Pedens of America” saying there was “no proof” to her statement then backing his statement up with DNA evidence that our line was not connected to the Reverend Alexander Peden's line and that none of the other early Peden migrators to America were connected to the South Carolina line. Yet Eleanor, Lila, Lizzie, Jessie, and even Henry C. Peden author of Pedens of Virgina and Kentucky among others including mine, disagree with Mr. Paden's statement as the Reverend Alexander Pethein changed the spelling to Peden when he was in college which was the first occurrence of that spelling of the name. My research concurs with Lila's as you will find in my book Peden: Origins. So, when you refer me to Mark Paden for answers, you now understand why I quote “Thanks, but I have no use for Mark Paden”. To add I turned in the database file with genealogies that the 2nd update book committee collected from 1999-2004 plus all that I had gathered 2004-2011 after the birth of my 2nd son and sent the file to Mark Paden. While I was quarantined in 2020, I finally took a look at Mark Padens book and in disappointment after seeing, it had nothing to do with an update to the Pedens of America. If you notice in the CONTENTS page not one reference was made to Eleanore or Lila. So, I decided to carry on with my work from 1999-2003 to complete the 2nd Update. The true 2nd update. I contacted Mark Paden for a copy of my database I sent him as it was on my Clan Peden International website when Geocities filed bankruptcy and shut all its websites down without warning. I lost everything on it including the database. Mr. Paden has never sent me a copy to date. However, being the family historian I am, I never stopped collecting data. I may not have all I had back then, but I have enough along with submissions we will do fine. So how much advertisement of the Clan, the Reunion, the history do you find on the net? A family council of the descendants of immigrants to America before the revolution, set up in 1899 at the first recorded reunion that continues to this day 123 Years later. Yet no publication or up to date resource exists. Not even a website. The one place I made a difference in 1998. Interesting.
Now then my purpose for this letter is to echo what I said in the 1999 Reunion counsel session that it is time for an update to the “Pedens of America” book. OUR BOOK. Therefore, I will pick up where I left off in 2004 and finish the research and collection of data on all lines 1961-2022 as it was proposed. I will ask Rebecca Moss to help me coordinate others as we did before. She may even have a copy of the database as I have not asked. My original website “Clan Peden International” is now located inside the Clan MacPhaidein website renamed “PEDEN” under the Family Pages Tab. There you will find how to re submit your lines for the true update. Now then “Pedens of America” by Eleanor Martha “Ella” Hewell was published in 1900 and she passed away 20 May 1929. Books are Public Domain 70 years after the death of the Author so this book there is no problem. The 1st Update to “Pedens of America” published in 1961 by Eliza Mears “Lila” Peden Sprouse and she passed away 27 April 1992 is 30 years ago. I don't think there will be a problem since Lila's family nominated me to do it, but legally using her words may be a problem as the South Carolina Pedens Association claim the rights to this book. I don't know yet if they actually do legally especially with it being fully available word for word online and book companies reprinting it, we will see. Genealogies cannot be legally claimed so I can produce that. At any rate I will be completing the 2nd Update to the “Pedens of America” book as I was appointed to do in 1999 for the 2023 publish date. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
TGPSR
