4/02/2012

I am the daughter of an April fool...

10



Genealogy is a trickster and a grand informant.  My earliest traceable ancestor on my father's side
immigrated to America from England to escape religious persecution.
He was a Methodist minister who settled in Woburn, MA.  The year was 1608.


Following this line, there were two men who fought together in the Revolutionary War...

my gt.-gt.-gt. grandfather and his son, both named Jirah.
I have copies of their war papers.  Jirah, Sr. was discharged in 1782, the document signed:

"By his excellency George Washington Esq., General and Commander of the Forces of the United States of America &c., John Trumbull, Secty.  By reason of wounds or disabilities received in service, he was placed upon the pension list, and was a pensioner June 1, 1813, "Rank, Private. Annual stipend, $60."

I can't quite fathom this...George Washington himself.

My father's father was named Lewis Napoleon...
seriously?


As for my own father,  I wish I knew more.
Born today, April Fool's Day, 1924...he would have been 88.
I remain trumped by my own genealogy.

But back to grandpa Lewis... he married a young gal in 1917 by the name of Fanny Mae Bowyer.
She was from Hereford, England (the trickster is going full circle!) and while I lived in the UK in the late '80's,
I visited the village she came from.
I found the headstones of her/my ancestors in the village graveyard and had tea with distant cousins.

Fanny Mae was fond of hand work (just like my maternal grandmother).  She knitted & sewed and sent me presents when I was little.
I don't know what all of this means except that genealogy is potent.
Ever present.
Layered.



10 comments:

  1. My father, who is still with us, and yours were born the same year. I love to listen to him talk of everyday things and values from when he was young. He enlisted in the Navy when he was sixteen and got away with it serving on a destroyer escort in the Pacific.

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    1. Love your dad's story, Deb...such a treasure that you can still have him with you.
      16?! cheeky devil ;>]]

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  2. My husband and I love to watch the shows on genealogy on TV. I have several boxes that are filled with the story of my husbands family. I suppose that as we age we become more interested in where we came from.

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    1. As time passes, definitely true for me ~ so are those boxes!
      I must check out those genealogy shows. That is a new series currently on PBS, I believe?
      Thanks for visiting, Mo'a.

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  3. I confess.
    I am not much for genealogy.
    As my tendency is sights forward.
    Rarely back.

    Except the backs of THINGS.
    Secrets revealed.
    In the how.

    hmmm.

    Potent. Yes.
    But portent too.
    Methinks.

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    1. I'm with ya on the backs of THINGS, too, Jen...the making...but I admit I am completely fascinated by genealogical research and the value there...human lineage. To sound corny, how we are stitched together. Definitely portent.
      You always give me one more thing to think about ;>]

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  4. very interesting history there, christi. i was reading about your genealogy intently, wondering what tidbits are in my own family history. the farthest back i got was to my (i think if i remember) gt gt grandfather who came to america from france in the mid 1800's. wish i knew more.

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    1. LISA! oh my goodness, it's been ages, hope you are doing well.
      I was very surprised when I discovered this history, especially the paperwork (public records) that can be gleaned from government archives. So many tiny details are available with even the most cursory of sleuth-ings! Also, have you ever heard of a movement called "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness"? If you Google it, and enter a region/location you are stuck on, there will be a good probability that there's someone in that area who has offered to do look-ups for free. For instance, I was stuck on a burial location for an ancestor in Woodbury Co., Iowa...and it was a GAGK person who found the records for me. They have local access to very small family history centers, ones that have to be visited in person (which most of us can't do). So I say, don't give up!
      Will pop over to your blog now & say, "Hi" there.

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