Webinar: I Can’t Tell a Lie with anecdotes about George Washington with Jim Bish [11 Dec 2024]

James “Jim” Bish is the author of I Can’t Tell a Lie: Parson Weems and the Truth about George Washington’s Cherry Tree, Prayer at Valley Forge, and Other Anecdotes. He grew to adulthood on a cattle and horse ranch in Nebraska where at an early age he was fascinated with stories from his grandmother about his ancestors who homesteaded the area in the 1870s. His genealogy and history pursuits identified ancestors who earlier lived in nine of the thirteen colonies with at least fifteen who served in the Revolutionary War. Those historical quests led to a career in education and history. After graduate school, Bish moved to Virginia, and there, spent almost forty years researching and teaching local, regional, and Virginia state history, where he encountered and examined many of the colonial Virginia families which became the foundation for this work.

In 1989 Bish helped to organize the Prince William County, Virginia Historical Society, known as Historic Prince William, where he served as the organization’s first president. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Historic Prince William. Jim later served Prince William County as member of the Prince William County Historical Commission. He currently operates History Happened Here Tours and also volunteers with the National Museum of Americans in Wartime Experiences’ Voices of Freedom Project and the Museum of Culpeper County, Virginia where he also serves upon their Board of Directors.