Growing up, I had two very different experiences when it came to family history. Thankfully, I was privileged to have a few members on both sides of my family who reveled in remembering loved ones and special times.
However, also prevalent were those family members who stayed silent on kin long gone and days gone by. Entire lines of my ancestry were erased, it seemed. These missing branches left huge gaps in our family tree.
As I got older, the voices of these unknown ancestors seem to whisper in my subconscious, begging me to discover who they were and remember their accomplishments and aspirations. By finding them, I found myself.
Here are just a few of our ancestors’ stories.
Interesting how there’s a completion in knowing 🙂
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My father, the man who taught me a love for history, left us last month. Too soon. He was always the family historian, while my interests have been all over. Extensive though it was, his knowledge of our family story is gone to us now. But he left us with notes. Copious notes – boxes of handwritten narratives, and photocopied source documents. Your blog motivates me to take up the story, and turn it into something more permanent. Thank you for what you do.
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My sympathies on the loss of your father. What an amazing gift your dad left you– all those boxes of narratives and ancestral findings. Through telling your family stories, you will honor your father and the legacy he left to you. Blessings to you.
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You probably understand better than most. I’m looking forward to the project.
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You will cherish those notes for a very long time. It doesn’t ease the ache of losing a parent, or even a grandparent, but there’s a gratefulness that comes alongside the ache. Then the sharing. I’m so thankful to have my grandmother’s hand-written memoir, old letters and picture. Bless you as you sort and turn things into story.
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Hi KTC, I’m getting smarter and just figured out how to backtrack on some of my reader’s “likes” and noted that you just gave me 10 minutes of your valuable time to read my Giant Inner Tube story. I just wanted to thank you for spending some time with my work and hope it made you smile. You are welcome to wander around my collection any day. Have a great one. Gary
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I too am a descendent of the Thomas family. I found the article very interesting and informative.
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Welcome to my blog, John. From what line do you descend? I descend from:
Christian Thomas (1655 – 1708), my 8th great-grandfather
Hans Michael Thomas (1688 – ), my 7th great-grandfather
Hans Michael Thomas (1719 – 1784), my 6th great-grandfather
Jacob Michael Thomas (1747 – 1811), my 5th great-grandfather
George Thomas (1793 – 1857), my 4th great-grandfather
Solomon S. Thomas (1831 – 1910), my 3rd great-grandfather
John Luther Thomas (1857 – 1927), my 2nd great-grandfather
and so on…
For more on the Thomas Family, feel free to check out: https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/category/taylor-thomas-line/
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https://talesofafamily.blog/2018/12/07/hmm-questions-questions/#more-15119
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Ask and ye shall receive… Ann Marie Bryant (an amazing writer whose blog, https://talesofafamily.blog, you must check out) has asked me the following questions:
• What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?
• If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?
• What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Here are my answers:
• If time and money weren’t an issue, I would travel more. I have traveled to northern and central Italy (https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2018/08/08/ciao-italia/), northern France (https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/tour-de-france/), and many other places all over the world (https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/half-past-life/). No matter how many places I have visited, I always want to see more. But as Jim Croce said, “But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them…”
• I do not need a grand house, although I would love to have an immense library—two-storied with a spiral staircase—similar to those found at some English estates. And because I prefer living in the mountains far from other people, that would be where I would build my home… off the grid as much as possible (using solar and wind energy.)
• I think everyone should fall in love and have someone love them back at least once in their lives. As the Beatles said, “Love is all you need.”
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Aww thank you my friend
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