Welcome to a brand-new year of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge! This week’s topic is a fun one: I’d Like to Meet. The trouble, as I told my mom, is I’d like to meet all my ancestors, so it’s hard to pick just one. Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies, and I sometimes daydream about going back in time, dressing up in clothing of the day, befriending my ancestors and learning all about them. Imagine – all my brick walls would be gone, all of my questions answered. I’d even like to meet my asshole ancestors, like Stephen Dumaresque Turner and Hatevil Nutter so I can smack them upside the head and tell them to do better. My mom said, “What if you do it about more the one ancestor? Like a tableau with different people from different time periods.” I was thinking Back to the Future when I should have been thinking Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Thanks, Mom! So please step past my DeLorean and instead join me in my phone booth as I collect a few of my ancestors.
First, I’d travel to Mount Vernon, Maine in 1870 and pick up Charles Henry Turner, my 3rd great-grandfather. He was 63 in 1870. Through newspaper articles, I already feel like I know enough about his job as a compositor, but I’d want to know more about his personal life. Does he remember his parents at all? What was life like at his grandmother’s house after the death of his parents? What about life at his aunt & uncle’s home after the death of his grandmother? Can he confirm that he was married and had a child with his first wife before he married my great-great-great grandmother? Where did his son live? What is my great-great grandfather Eugene like? Why did one newspaper in New Orleans refer to Charles as a swindler? Is he still in touch with his sisters and their families in Massachusetts? How did he meet his wife, Lucy?
Then I’d swing by Waterville, Maine in 1860 and pick up my great-great-great grandmother, Jane Felker Shaw, my brick wall. She’s about 49 in 1860, and 3 years away from her death. Where was she born and who were her parents? What happened to them? Where have she and her husband been living? What is her life like?
I’d go to Westbrook, Maine next in 1905 and pick up my great-great grandmother, Georgianna Duchesne Laviolette, age 45. 1905 is the year she married and then annulled her 2nd marriage. I want to hear the story directly from her. I’d also like to know more about her family, what her marriage to my great-great grandfather Adam was like, and I’d also ask about her sister-in-law Annabelle Laviolette, who was supposedly quite scandalous. While I had her with me, I’d ask for some help identifying some photos full of mystery ancestors too.
My next stop would be Boston, 1767, to meet my 20-year-old 5th great-grandmother, Ann Dumaresq Turner. She was a society lady from a well-known, wealthy family. What an interesting life she must have led! What was Boston society like for a young, newlywed in 1767?
Finally, I’d grab Jacob Wolf in 1845 in New York. In 1845, he was 44 years old and had been in the United States for nine years. He was a carpenter from Germany. Life as an immigrant in a large city was likely challenging. Vital records in New York City were not as extensive as one might expect in the 1840s. I’d ask plenty of questions about his family – his wife and kids as well as the siblings and parents he left behind in Germany. Is his life better in America? Is it different than he imagined it would be?
It’s a shame time-travelling DeLoreans and phone booths aren’t a thing because it would be incredible to travel back in time and meet my ancestors. I could fill in all my research gaps, plus it would be interesting to see what kind of people they were. Would we have things in common? Which ancestors would I choose as friends? Meeting them would certainly be a most excellent adventure!
Комментарии