A local resident has a personal familial reason to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States. Having a lifelong interest in history, Fort Mitchell resident Brandt Coleman researched his ancestry and discovered he is a descendant of the Frederick Tanner family from Germanna in Virginia, patriots who fought in the American Revolution. Brandt’s relatives (Frederick, Christopher, Jacob, Abraham and John Tanner) were members of the Culpeper Classes from Virginia and among other campaigns, fought with General Washington at the Battle of Yorktown. Coleman is most closely related to Frederick Tanner. Frederick served as a Private in the Virginia Militia, specifically recorded within the “Culpeper Classes” under Captain Mark Finks. After accumulating the required genealogy and military service documents, Brandt submitted them to the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution where they were certified and accepted. Since High School, Coleman has been a member of the Boone County Kentucky Sons of the American Revolution. Two of his relatives, Jacob Tanner and Christopher Tanner were lost in the Battle of Yorktown and are buried at Williamsburg Governor Palace Revolutionary War Cemetery in Washington’s cemetary. Brandt was fortunate enough to be selected for a Government of Ireland Higher Education Authority International and UNESCO scholarship to study archaeology and cultural resources management at University College Dublin in Ireland. There he acquired a MSc in World Heritage Management and Conservation. In 2022 Brandt was selected for The Presidential Management Fellowship Program (PMF) and was hired as an archaeologist and cultural resources specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in California. Battlefield archaeology and American history hold a particular interest to him. He became very focused in learning more about his rich historical heritage and the area in Virginia to which his family is so connected. During his PMF tenure, Brandt was fortunate enough to do a Presidential Management Fellowship Detail at Shenandoah National Park and at Colonial National Park in cultural resources management. During his time there he did museum work at Massanutten Lodge, Rapidan Camp, and Byrd Visitor’s Center. As a Certified SCUBA Divemaster, Brandt trained with the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center (SRC), conducting underwater cultural research in the harbor at Petersburg National Battlefield- City Point Unit. He also worked at the Historic Germanna Excavation (where the Tanner family first emigrated) and was also able to experience archaeological work excavating the Travis Site at Jamestown. After the American Revolutionary War, Frederick migrated and settled in Florence, Boone County, Kentucky where he married Mary Maria Rouse in 1772, and they had a large family of at least 19 children. If you travel Boone County, you’ll recognize the Tanner influence, most prominently, Tanner’s Lane. If you’re a golfer, you’ll notice a plaque dedicated to Frederick and Maria near the first green at World of Golf which was the original homestead and burial site. Brandt continues his work in archaeology and cultural resources with the U.S. National Park Service at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Brandt is a graduate of Beechwood Schools, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University Archaeology Field School, Universität Bayreuth in Germany, University of Jyväskylä in Finland and University College Dublin in Ireland.
