Thursday, December 10, 2009

“If it were you, would you pick up the weapon?”

But really, I could trace my ancestry back to Eve and it wouldn’t mean a thing if the only thing I wrote down were the begats upon the begats, if it were only their names and dates without any clues or mysteries. I love more than anything finding actual quotes, newspaper references, pictures. Or even the specific lack of an answer that makes it more interesting to imagine. Why did she migrate back to England when only two generations before her grandmother had fled from it? Why did he give his name as that on the census when he always went by this? Why did they never marry?

 

A third-great-grand-uncle, Sylvanus Fiske, had an inspiring view of traveling:

”I desired to see something of the world that I lived in. When the eighties arrived I began to see a chance, and followed it up for eight years... It was always natural for me to gather all I could of nature's fine things. In crossing the fields my pockets would fill up in spite of me, but my general work of gathering commenced about the time I saw that I would be able to see something of the world."

Source:
Our County and it's people [sic!]
A descriptive work on Genesee County, New York
Edited by: F. W. Beers.
J.W. Vose & Co., Publishers, Syracuse, N. Y. 1890

 

Meanwhile in the Netherlands, my sixth-great-grandfather had two stone posts erected in front of  his house. They bore the admonition:

“Who speaks about me and my folks, he goes to his home and he sees his own folks. When they are without fault, he may speak about me and my Folks.”

Jannis Butin has been described as a large man with a dark complexion. He was said to have had an iron mind; he was not easy to handle and sometimes he was in trouble with his neighbors. This may account for the admonition on the gateposts.

Source:

The Butins in America by Quist, Oval. Des Moines, Iowa: unknown, 1971, 58 pgs.

4 comments:

katherin said...

Hi!I'm monica.
And I'm katherin.
Dou you remember us!
Thank you for coming our class at restourant Bran marle.
If you have a lot of time,Why don't we go to nice KAITEN Sushi shop.

HereBeDragons said...

Wow! What great connections to ancestors. I love your quotes. My grandma is the read geneology buff in the family, but I really should learn more about the study.

Anonymous said...

Emily, I love you. this is your dad, god I love you. I love you, I had a dream about your last night and told darcy you had such a beautiful smile. Can I actually write to you like this, Skype is killing us here because we cannot see or hear your voice. Love your father. Jan. 15, 2010

Emily said...

Hi, Katherin and Monica!
We should definitely go out sometime. ^_^V