FRONTIERSMEN COMPANION FELLOWSHIP HANDBOOK

Okefenokee

Chapter, GA

Frontiersmen Companion Fellowship Purpose

. *To develop an area of common ground between FCF

members and their wives/families and to give equal sig-

nificance to each other.

*To create an organization dedicated to building and

strengthening the families of FCF members by provid-

ing this opportunity to share in Christian fellowship and

frontier activities that involve the whole family.

*To show spirit of servant-hood, willing to give of time

and energy to support the Georgia FCF Chapter .

*To emphasize the importance of the family and the

need to share quality time together.

*To instill in each member of the family the values and

benefits of being an important part of the Christian

family.

*To give recognition to those women who have always

shared in and supported their husband's vision and

commitment to the Royal Ranger ministry.

*To build a support group of FCF wives who will contin-

ue to promote the Royal Rangers and FCF by support-

ing and upholding their husbands through prayer and

steadfast devotion.

Qualification for Membership

In order to join the Frontiersmen Companion Fellowship

you must be the wife of a Frontiersmen Camping Fel-

lowship member, “Born again," supportive of a local

church, the Royal Ranger ministry, and FCF.

In the event that a member becomes widowed her

membership will remain active.

Officers and Their Duties

President - Encourage membership in all things,

maintain contact with membership, develop ways and

means for perpetuating the chapter and is responsible

for the management of the companions and events.

Vice-President - Assist President in all things, preside

over the chapter records and meetings in her absence.

Scribe - Responsible for keeping the finances and all

the FCF chapter records.

Advisor - Act as board member. Be there for spiritual

advisor or for advice on events.

Historian - Build a record of the Companions through

pictures and stories.

Frontiersmen Companion Fellowship Pledge

We the women of FCF promise at all times to

support our husband's ministry through love,

prayer and dedication. We will endeavor at all

times to be faithful to God's calling and to

strengthen our Christian family by working hand

and hand to keep alive the spirit of FCF and to observe

at all times, the principals of the Christian family

Motto

To build and strengthen the Christian Family

Advancements for Frontiersmen Companion

Fellowship Members

There are two tracks through the advancements in the

Companion group. Earning advancements is never

mandatory but is offered as an optional opportunity for

those interested, to work through levels of advance-

ments similar to that of our husband's in FCF.

One way is to automatically advance with your hus-

band. As your husband advances, so do you. The oth-

er way is through the three levels of theme advance-

ments developed by the Companion group.

On the following pages you will read three stories

about extraordinary women. Each story corresponds

with an advancement that has several requirements.

No matter which trail of advancement you choose, you

will certainly enjoy the stories of these truly heroic ear-

ly American women.

Returned from his adventures to find his wife waiting

for him.

When intruding settlers pushed her hunter-husband

westward, she followed along. She and Daniel

closed their long life together in a new settlement in

Missouri, surrounded by children, grand children and

great grand children. Rebecca's "forever rest” began

in her sleep on March 18, 1813. She was buried in

her cambric apron. She was a true woman, with

great courage and patience.

came knocking at the door. Her uncle, James Bryan,

was standing in the doorway with the news that his

wife had died leaving six children, ages six to sixteen.

Rebecca insisted he bring the children to live with her

and Daniel. One family became two families over-

night. Rebecca's ninth child was born soon after the

Treaty of Sycamore Shoals was signed and Kentucky

was purchased from the Indians. In 1775, the Daniel

Boon Family and caravan started for Fort Boones-

borough, Kentucky, named after Daniel. Rebecca was

the first white woman to stand on the banks of the

Kentucky River. There Daniel built a cabin with a dirt

floor, a hole for a window, and daylight coming in be-

tween logs. Daniel also built her a loom that he had

promised her earlier.

Rebecca faced many challenges in the untamed land.

She had to mold bullets and load rifles at times of the

siege. She heard the screams of her daughter kid-

napped by Indians and saw a tomahawk raised over

her husband's head. She would guard the

cabin and children while Daniel hunted. She never

despaired when Daniel was reported killed, nor gave

up hope when the Indians later captured him. Boone

always

Mary Ingles Level- Exemplified the characteristics of

determination and the ability to succeed regardless of

the difficulties.

Requirements - Fill out application, pay yearly dues,

be a spouse of an FCF member, participate in a family

event, and know the pledge, motto, and purpose.

Sacagawea Level- Who, while serving as a guide for

the Lewis and Clark expedition, assured their success

by teaching them how to live off the land, find food and

survive in the wilderness.

Requirements - Learn a trade, have a costume, know

the pledge, motto, emblem and participate in a second

family event.

Rebecca Boone level- Followed her adventurous hus-

band all over the new frontier, endured loss, spent time

along on the frontier, and even raised the six children

of her aunt along with her own nine children. Hers was

a life that exemplified pioneer women of her era.

Requirements - Spouse must be applying for Wilder-

ness level, she must have an all night prayer vigil while

her husband attends his all night vigil. Must participate

in two other family events and demonstrate a trade.

Mary Draper Ingles 1732-1815

Mary Draper Ingles was truly a heroic figure. She

was born In 1732 in Philadelphia, PA to George

Draper and Eleanor Hardin of Ireland. She and her

family moved to Draper's meadow in Virginia and

in 1750 she married William Ingles. They were the

first white couple married west of the Allegany

Mountains.

Mary and William had two sons. They lived at

Draper's Meadow next to Mary's brother John and

his wife Betty. Mary's mother also lived there.

They were married August 14, 1756. The marriage

was a good match, for Rebecca was almost as handy

with a rifle as her husband. Their first home was with

Daniel's parents. Before long all of the Bryans' and

Boones' took part in raising their cabin on Sugar Tree

Creek. The cabin had one room, one door, two win-

dows, and a puncheon floor. Shortly after they moved

into their new cabin, their first child was born.

Now for the first time of many, their family was forced

to move because of Indian troubles. They found a

small home in Culpepper County. There they remained

until 1766. They sold their Sugar Tree Creek home

and drove to the head of the Yadkin. There they built a

second log cabin, a replica of the one on Sugar Tree

Creek.

In 1773, Rebecca, now the mother of eight children

went with her adventurous husband on the trail to

Kentucky. It was on the early part of the journey that

Indians killed her son James. The family then settled

on the Clinch River in North Carolina, where they

stayed for almost two years. Rebecca was very much

grieved over the death of her son. Nothing seemed

quite real. She must have work to do so they she

would have no time to think or brood. And then work

Rebecca Boone 1739-1813

Rebecca Boone was born in Virginia in 1739. She

was the daughter of Joseph and Alee Bryan. Rebec-

ca was one of eleven children. At the age of 16, Re-

becca began work on a cambric apron, which she

would wear over her first woman length dress to the

wedding of Mary Boone, a best friend. Mary was the

sister of Daniel Boone, who later was to become Re-

becca's husband. It was at the wedding feast that Re-

becca met Daniel Boone, a volunteer under Major

General Braddock and his British regulars.

Indians had killed her father on a hunting trip in Ken-

tucky. On July 8, 1755, while William Ingles and his

brother-in-law were in the fields working, Indians at-

tacked the settlement. They captured Mary and her

sons, George and Tommy, Betty Draper and some oth-

er settlers of Draper's Meadow.

William Ingles and John Draper were in the fields when

they heard the Indians, but were without weapons.

They later followed, but were not able to find them.

They spent the next months continually looking for

Mary and Betty. They established a ferry called Ingles

Ferry to help the settlers have an avenue to escape

from the Indians in the future.

Mary would never return to Draper's Meadow. The cap-

tives were taken into totally uncharted territory where

no white person had ever been. It was a hard and gru-

eling trek with some killing of the settlers along the way.

Mary kept her wits about her however, and made notes

of different landmarks so that she could escape and get

back home. She made knots in a rope belt she wore

around her waist for

Each day of the journey so that she would know how

long they walked. There were French trappers at the

Indian village and Mary made blankets and shirts for

the Indians and French in exchange for being allowed

to keep some blankets for her sons. Eventually, Mary's

sons Tommy and George were sold away from her.

Mary knew that the only chance she had to get her

sons back was to get back to Will and tell him where

they were.

Mary escaped after several months. She and a German

lady, who had been captured on a raid in the Pennsyl-

vania area, began their walk back to Virginia. Along the

way they encountered incredible cold and hardship.

When Mary returned home at 23 years old she had lost

all of her teeth and her hair was snow white.

Mary had made a trip which no white man or army had

so far made. She had done this without food or clothes

and under the worst of all conditions. Because of what

she had seen and accomplished, Mary was able to help

the army chart this territory.

Accompanied by a woman and infant, the response of

the tribes was curiosity, not aggression. Not a single

member of the party was lost to hostile action. Sacaga-

wea and Charbonneau remained in North Dakota when

the expeditions returned to Missouri in 1806.

While Lewis' journals make very little mention of Saca-

gawea, Clark carefully detailed her contributions to the

success of the journey. Lewis and Clark named a river

"Sacagawea" in her honor.

A dispute has raged for nearly a century, concerning

Sacagawea's fate following the expedition. One account

states that Sacagawea died of a fever at age 25, and

even Clark's account of the members of his expedition

mark her as dead. Native accounts, especially Shosho-

ne oral history, have Sacagawea marrying again, having

a number of children and meeting up with her son, Jean

Baptist in Wind River, Wyoming. This woman died at

age 96, and was buried in the white cemetery at Ft.

Washakie as a final show of respect for her efforts on

behalf of both Lewis and Clark, and her own people. A

monument was erected in her honor at her gravesite.

Sacagawea proved to be an invaluable guide. She led

the way to her own country, which she had not seen for

many years. Her knowledge of the terrain and mountain

passes saved weeks of travel time. When food was

scarce along the trail, Sacagawea taught the men how

to gather nuts, berries and other edible plants previous-

ly unknown to them. When the expedition encountered

a tribe of Shoshone led by her brother, Sacagawea ob-

tained food, horses, and additional guides, which al-

lowed the explorers to continue.

Sacagawea was legendary for her perseverance and

resourcefulness. With her infant son bound to her back,

she rescued Captain Clark's journals from the Missouri

whitewater when their boat capsized. If she had not,

much of the record of the first year of the expedition

would have been lost to history.

Her contributions far exceeded the expectations of both

Lewis and Clark. Sacagawea and her infant served as

a "white flag" of peace for the expedition, which was as

much a military expedition as a scientific one. They en-

tered potentially hostile territory well armed, but under-

manned, compared to the tribes they met. Because no

war party was ever

Not long after her return, Mary and Will found them-

selves alone at a fort. Will had taken Mary there be-

cause she had such a strong feeling the Indians were

going to attack again. She was right and the Indians

did begin to attack. There were so many of them that

they began to run out of ammunition and so Mary

made the bullets as fast as Will could fire them.

Mary and Will had four more children following her re-

turn from Indian captivity. After 15 years with the Indi-

ans, Will and Mary were able to ransom Tommy back.

Mary and William continued to contribute to the estab-

lishment of this country. Will was a Colonel in the revo-

lution and all of their children went on to contribute

equally as well. Thomas was a close friend with Thom-

as Jefferson and two of their daughters married Gener-

als in the army. William died in Virginia on April of

1782. Mary lived to be 83 and died in February of 1815

at Ingles Ferry in Montgomery Co., Virginia. Mary's

courage and fortitude in all she went through continue

to remind us of the strength and courage it took to

found this country.

Sacagawea 1786-1884

(Note: This is not a portrait of Sacagawea, as none ex-

ist, It is a depiction of the time period in general.)

It is believed that Sacagawea was born around 1787 in

Eastern Idaho. As a young girl of about 10 or 11, she

was captured by a raiding party of the Hidatsa tribe and

taken to their camp near the border of North Dakota.

She was later sold into slavery with the Missouri River

Mandans. Eventually she was sold (or possibly won in

a bet) to a French-Canadian fur trader named Tous-

saint Charbonneau.

During the winter of 1804, Lewis and Clark's Corps of

Discovery camped at Fort Mandan in North Dakota,

where Charbonneau was also spending the winter

with his wife. Sacagawea was about 15 years old and

six months pregnant. She gave birth to a son, Jean

Baptist Charbonneau, at Fort Mandan on February 11,

1805.

Charbonneau was hired to guide the two and a half

year Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific North-

west, due to his knowledge of the country where he

trapped. Toussaint was also conversant in French

and Hidatsa.

Sacagawea, who spoke both Shoshone and Hidatsa,

was recruited as an interpreter through Toussaint. He

was specifically instructed to bring Sacagawea with

her son. The presence of a woman and baby would

establish the peaceful nature of the party. Also a na-

tive translator and negotiator with knowledge of the

languages, customs and tribes of the country were es-

sential.

Leaving North Dakota and traveling through present-

day Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon,