Pilgrimage
I just got back from a week of vacation. I spent the time visiting my Grandma and Great Uncle in Haines, Oregon. Part of the reason for my visit was to go through a document that we had recently found: the journal of my Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Thomas Stewart, recording her experiences of coming to Oregon in a covered wagon in 1896. I was able to transcribe the entire journal and begin some historical work on the text. At the same time, I was able to do a bit of genealogical and other general family history research.
I found: 1) my family was passing through Denver in a covered wagon almost exactly 110 years before I graduated from seminary there, 2) President Richard Nixon is my 7th cousin twice removed, 3) my grandfather was a WWI veteran in the Canadian Army. I was also priviledged to take possession of several family heirlooms including some wonderful antique woodworking tools.
It's really hard to explain what the experience was like. It felt like a bit of a pilgrimage through time, walking in the steps of my ancestors. I've always felt a bit culturally homeless, like I didn't know much about my family history. Now I feel like a have a great sense of place.
I found: 1) my family was passing through Denver in a covered wagon almost exactly 110 years before I graduated from seminary there, 2) President Richard Nixon is my 7th cousin twice removed, 3) my grandfather was a WWI veteran in the Canadian Army. I was also priviledged to take possession of several family heirlooms including some wonderful antique woodworking tools.
It's really hard to explain what the experience was like. It felt like a bit of a pilgrimage through time, walking in the steps of my ancestors. I've always felt a bit culturally homeless, like I didn't know much about my family history. Now I feel like a have a great sense of place.
posted by david at 4:18 PM
3 Comments:
David - that's awesome. I'm glad you had a good trip.
We went to Hillsboro UMC last Sunday (Gwen's church). It was great.
Talk to you soon. I'm trying to figure out how to display the content of RSS feeds as content in your website. Not quite working yet...but I'm still trying.
Wow-- you got a lot done in just a week! And it sounds right satisfying. :)
All's well here, except that Chun Woo's having a hard time adjusting to day care, poor little worm. :/
Mary Ann
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