User:John Askey

Born in Pennsylvania in 1964, with six siblings, I was raised in a Christian family associated with the group known as the "Churches of Christ", from the Restoration Movement of Protestantism (Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, etc.). I attended Northeastern Christian Junior College (now merged with Ohio Valley University, West Virginia) where I earned my A.A., then Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, TN, where I earned my B.A. in Mass Communications, broadcast emphasis. (Both schools are affiliated with the Churches of Christ.) I am not in full agreement with the practices of the "brotherhood" as they sometimes call themselves, but I am sympathetic to the historical vision and values of this group of Christians.

Although my background is in radio broadcasting, not journalism, and I am not a researcher, I have some strong interest in journalism and communication. My hobby as a radio DJ faded as I left college, but my desire to make a difference for my God in print and other media has remained.

My ancestry includes a Scots-Irish heritage, with one ancestor having fought in the French and Indian War (Captain Thomas Askey), and our historic name is "Erskine". Our genealogy in the United States is well detailed, and considerable content is available on MyFamily.com and other sources. Family lore says our name "Erskine" was granted about 1040 AD in Scotland. There are several family reunions for the Askey clan in Pennsylvania, two of which have been meeting continuously for a handful of decades if not longer. (On my maternal side, the Baughman clan is going to celebrate a Centennial reunion in a few years, without missing a single year.)