Background

Heidi Kühn descends from a fifth-generation McNear pioneer family rooted in both Sonoma County and Marin County, whose legacy was planted in Northern California during the formative years of American westward expansion. Her ancestors helped cultivate the agricultural and civic foundations of the region—stewarding land, establishing community institutions, and contributing to the early economic development of what would become one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. Their story reflects the resilience, vision, and public-spirited leadership that defined California’s pioneer era.

In tribute to the 250th Birthday of America, Heidi is honoring her family’s enduring heritage and sharing the story of her deep roots in Petaluma and San Rafael, California—communities shaped by the same values of courage, stewardship, and service that continue to guide her work today.

Scottish Origins and a Journey to the American Colonies
The McNear family legacy traces back to generations of seafaring visionaries who journeyed from Old Kilpatrick in Dunbartonshire, Scotland, to Wiscasset, Maine in the 1730s—among the early settlers who helped shape the American colonies. Their voyage across the Atlantic required courage, faith, and an entrepreneurial spirit that would define generations to come.

John McNear, born in 1701, lived an extraordinary life that embodied the resilience of America’s earliest pioneers. He endured the hardships of frontier life and narrowly escaped captivity on two occasions during conflicts of the colonial era. His first footsteps were taken on soil that was still known simply as The Colonies—land that would later become the United States of America. Living to the remarkable age of ninety-six, he witnessed the birth of a nation and stands as a testament to endurance, faith, and fortitude.

A Sacred Resting Place in Early New England
He was laid to rest in Damariscotta, Maine, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, whose parish was organized in 1796 and whose historic brick structure was built in 1807 and consecrated in 1808. The church—recognized as the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church building in New England—was constructed through the efforts of Irish immigrant businessmen James Kavanagh and Matthew Cottrill. Brick was made across the Damariscotta River and hauled over the frozen river in winter; lime for the mortar was imported from Ireland.

Designed by Nicholas Codd, the church retains its original pews, floors, and altar, and houses historic artifacts including a bell cast by Paul Revere & Sons and the altar used by Bishop Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus at its consecration.

A Personal Pilgrimage to Ancestral Ground
In 2012, I visited this sacred site with my father, Robert Scott Thomas. Without maps, we found ourselves winding along rural New England roads, guided—so it seemed—by memory and ancestry until we arrived at the quiet cemetery south of Damariscotta Mills. There, carved boldly into a weathered stone, were the words: John McNear, 1701–1797.

Standing in the brisk Maine air, joined unexpectedly by a priest who shared the church’s history, we felt a profound connection to the courage and faith of those who came before us.

The Enduring McNear Pioneer Spirit
This lineage of perseverance, faith, and frontier resolve lives on. From the shores of Scotland to the founding years of America—and now to a global mission of restoring land and cultivating peace—the McNear pioneer spirit continues: rooted in courage, guided by faith, and committed to building a better world for future generations.

A Family Legacy of Women’s Education
My grandmother, Lucretia Tufts McNear Thomas, spoke proudly of our ancestral connection to Tufts University, which began admitting women in 1892, and to the founding of Jackson College for Women in 1910—established to expand rigorous academic opportunity for women at a time when such access was far from guaranteed.

She reminded us that progress is shaped by those willing to invest in the education of daughters as well as sons. For generations, McNear family women were given the name Lucretia as a living testament to the belief that women should be educated, empowered, and prepared to lead.

That legacy continues with me—my own middle name is Lucretia—carrying forward the conviction that when women are given knowledge and opportunity, they help illuminate and strengthen the world.

Echoes of Liberty: The Liberty Bell Connection
Another branch of the McNear clan migrated south to Philadelphia. Andrew McNair, a Scottish Mason, served as custodian of the Continental Congress and the official ringer of the Liberty Bell from 1759 to 1776.

In an era before modern communications, the ringing of the bell served as one of the earliest public signals to gather the people. That story held special meaning for me many years later as a young reporter for CNN in 1989.

When the Declaration of Independence was formally announced, Andrew rang the Liberty Bell thirteen times, echoing the biblical inscription engraved upon it:

“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—Leviticus 25:10

Soon after, an anonymous poet wrote in Andrew’s honor:

For aloft rang that high steeple,

Set the bellman old and gray;

He was weary of the tyrant,

And in iron voiced his way…