Can we talk?

Searching Your Roots

         I can understand why Indians want to get back to their roots, or why African Americans want to track their ancestors back to other continents. My background is kind of boring by comparison, but it's interesting to me. I hear or read of things my ancestral families did or things they survived, and I can feel connected to these unknown relations.

         Somewhere in the family tree was Meriwether Lewis. The family must not have known he was gay, but they were impressed by his fame or success and named a lot of nephews and distant cousins after him. My grandmother was a fifth cousin of Dwight Eisenhower on his mother's side. That means Russell Stover was a distant cousin. There were two obscure Scottish kings in my direct line, hundreds of years ago. In fact Macbeth, who would be really obscure if not for Shakespeare, was a cousin of one of them. 

         There are claims of Cherokee Indian on both my mother and father's side, but I can't prove any of it. The people who claim to know have all died. One story on my mother's side I did track down and proved all of the details except the Indian part. Indians didn't have birth certificates or church records prior to 1900, so it's hard to prove anything. Marriage licenses didn't always specify race.

         I discovered Swiss, German, Bavarian, English, French, and Channel Island ties. The only Irish might be a falsehood: another researcher claimed David, who arrived here with daughter Sarah, leaving his proper English wife behind, because the daughter belonged to his Irish mistress. But the fascinating stories are about the ones who sacrificed a lot to get here. They left thriving businesses, relatives, and their homes to sneak away rather than profess things they didn't believe. They refused to be ordered how to think, how to act, what religion to practice. Some were shot in the process of plotting their escape. This makes me proud, and I tell myself their rebellious, strong-willed blood courses through my veins. 

         I tracked down a Civil War casualty who was erroneously recorded in a book. I really felt accomplished when I uncovered the truth. But all these stories made me do historical research, too. I had to find out about Yankee prison camps, battles at Vicksburg, etc. I had to look at the vast movement out of France and Germany as recorded by English historians of the time. I learned what a Royal Housier was. I had to learn about the Basques, and a little geography, and changing borders of countries. So it was a good exercise for learning, as well.

         If you haven't looked at your family tree yet, I heartily recommend it. You might feel differently about yourself. Maybe not. I determined before hand that if I found out anything bad or shameful, I would still embrace it. It's part of me.