Who Knew I'd Have Such Big Shoes to Fill

Self-portrait of Charles Robert Leslie, 1814

UPDATED – I remember back a few years ago I got a phone call from my brother, Lee. My sister-in-law, Margo unearthed some more family history on our mom's side. You see my dear sister-in-law is a genealogy goddess. She has a fantastic passion for finding her roots. Her family would take vacations trouncing throughout the south going to libraries (before the internet), old cemeteries and knocking on doors of distant relatives.

One of Margo's greatest genealogy accomplishments was proving her mother, Fran's lineage to the Revolutionary War. Margo and Fran received their certificates from the Daughters of the Revolutionary War in the spring of 2012. Fran passed two days after she received her certification.

Margo was hot on my mom's family, the Leslie family tree. We know our Great-grandpa, Charles Leslie had served in the Civil War. But she found out his father, Robert Leslie, our Great-Great-grandpa was the Regiment Commander of the 159th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

If that wasn't cool enough she tracked even further back. This is where it gets really good. Margo was able to trace a distant cousin, a fine artist named Charles Robert Leslie 1794-1859. Not just any artist but a Royal Academy two silver medal award winner. His work hangs in some of the most prestigious art museums in Great Britain; Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and the Wellington Museum. Here's a link to more info on C. R. Leslie: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Robert_Leslie 

He was also known for his writings. His Handbook for Young Painters, a volume embodying the substance of his lectures as professor of painting to the Royal Academy, in 1855. I located the book at Google Books: http://bit.ly/2LgJYhN. Yes, he was an educator, too. Some of his writings are still for sale at Barnes and Noble.

By now you probably figured out what the 'L' in Dale L Popovich stands for. Back when I was a young boy, I asked my mom why she and dad gave me a girl's middle name. She explained it was her maiden name, a good name, a family name of hard-working, god-fearing people. Be proud of your name. Now, if my mom were alive today I would say mom your right I'm proud to have Leslie as my middle name. I'm still pinching myself – what an amazing honor – men of courage and great artistic abilities. As my wife, Marilee said 'Dale not many people have such beautiful artistic heritage. You have some big shoes to fill."

Here's a sample of my distant cousin's work – enjoy.​

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