Down the Rabbit Hole and Up the Family Tree

Let me begin with the story of how all of this was set into motion. Remember from the last blog post that doing the family tree thing was just... well... not my cup of tea. It wasn't what I was interested in at all.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE AND UP THE FAMILY TREE

Four years ago, my Granny called me and told me how a family member was working on our family tree and how that family member discovered some interesting and unexpected information. Since Granny sounded interested in it, I was. But, that was the only reason.

After all, before my family member's search, here is what we knew: We knew that Granny's side was here in the U.S. for only four or five generations or so and my grandfather was the second generation. Therefore, we were relatively new to the United States.

Well, we have discovered since how what we thought we knew was not entirely true.

Granny brought to my attention, at this point, how we had a family member by the name of Bryan, Brian with a 'y' she said. At any rate, Bryan Penny lived in Elizabeth City, Virginia in 1670. "How close is that to where you live now?" She asked with hopeful anticipation.

Huh? Pardon? That sure caught my attention as I shrugged my shoulders. We were on the phone, so she couldn't see me.

"Do you know where that is?" She asked me before I could respond. Her excitement and curiosity was more than evident at this point. I couldn't let her down.

"I don’t have any idea. But, give me a moment. I can find out." My heart picked up its pace and I had the sense I just fell down a rabbit hole, but wasn't sure why.

Thank the Lord, I was at my desk so it was easy for me to do a quick Internet search and lo and behold, I discovered where I lived was what was once called Elizabeth Cittie, not to be confused with modern day Elizabeth City in North Carolina. "Granny, you won't believe this... It's right where I live."

We both chuckled.

"Well, isn't that something?" Granny asked, but it was more of a praise than a question.

My husband and I lived in the Tidewater area of Virginia, also known as Hampton Roads, near the cities of Hampton and Newport News, just north of Norfolk and across the bridge. We lived on the peninsula and had for about a year at this point.

The history in this part of Virginia is out of this world. It is a history lover's dream and it will make anyone who didn't like history like it. I was the latter, once again.

When we moved to the area, we had no idea about the true history, or the extent of the American history, in this place. Little did we know, but we woke up that first morning of our move in the true birthplace of the United States of America. Therefore, this only added to my intrigue.

Could our family have ties to Jamestown or to the battle of Yorktown in the American Revolutionary War? Just the thought seemed incredible to me. It was also the very thing that made me want to do more research.

"That's quite the surprise. So, no one knew we have been here in the States that long?" I asked as I searched online.

"It is a surprise. We had no idea." Granny sounded as excited about the prospect as I did.

"Huh. It looks like he was in Norfolk, which is about forty-five miles south and across the water and tunnel from here. It's where the Naval Yard is located. From what I can see, he was born there and died there."

"That is close, isn't it?"

It is... It looks like I need time to do some more research. How much has she gotten done with the tree?"

"Some, but not a great deal."

"Well, Granny... give me some time and will let you know what I discover."

That was all it took. I became obsessive over the next two weeks in order to get the most for the free access I had during that time and I bought one month of a subscription thereafter.

Sure enough. We had family members as Yorktown in the American Revolutionary War and at Jamestown a stand at last count, we had sixty-five members of our family executed at the Tower of London. Never mind the U.S. presidents and signers of the Declaration of Independence. There, also, have been numerous kings, queens, and emperors from several countries. All of which are interesting, but it's the lives of the more simple folk I tend to be most interested in. Who were they, what did they do, what was their life like, and what was their faith? It makes me quite curious.

It's the history I can learn from that also makes me even more intrigued. I cannot wait to explore American History through the eyes of my ancestors. It makes history real and come alive for me. And I hope it does the same for you.

WAS THE USA STARTED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION?

This is a question we will address as we learn the history of the USA from the history books and from my family tree.

REMEMBERED

Every person has thousands of stories over their life. I wish I had time to tell several stories of each individual so we could do what should be done. Every person has lived. Hence, they should be remembered. Granted, from some stories we can learn what to do from but from others, we can learn what to do. But, they should be remembered nonetheless. The more stories that are remembered, the more we learn the truth about history and what really happened and why.

Let's look back and see what brought the United States of America into existence, why, and how, and see what we can learn from and apply today.

Let's learn the stories and remember.