We recently had dinner with neighbors, and the wife spoke to me about her heritage and researching familial lines. She was excited and passionate about it, so I filed it away as something to look into. A couple of weeks later, I decided to fire up Geni again and see if I could buy some help. "Geni, I'd like to buy some family members for $200, please." :) I took the plunge and bought some extra data storage, too, as it seemed I needed it if I wanted to save names and profiles farther back than two generations.
I'm telling you that it has been SO worth it! Until I paid for services, my knowledge of family history only went back to grandparents on my dad's side and great-grandparents on my mom's side. We had NO idea where we came from, though 23andMe gave me some insight into that with regards to regions abroad. I quickly made a command decision to only include parents for my lineage focus as siblings were taking me down unnecessary rabbit holes.
Probably because males get so much attention in regards to "carrying on their genes," I found myself more interested in the women in my lines. I wanted to know more and more. One woman in England had 14 children, each 2 years apart, and she had the first child when she was 21. Her daughter, Townsend, was the 13th child and born when her mother was 47. Townsend was 14 when she married, and her mother was 61 at that time. I can only imagine that her mother was DONE being a mom and taking care of kids- as she still had another at home after Townsend. Townsend delivered a boy before they married, a daughter and then another boy who continues my line. Dr. Edward Davenport was born in 1626, and Townsend died the following year. :'(
I can't help but feel so empowered learning these facts and thinking about these people's lives and stories. For me to be here today, ALL of these people had to survive, procreate, and keep those children alive until childbearing years! My line, obviously, survived the black plague, dysentery, and countless other deathly fates, and I am here today because they persisted, endured, and mustered strength to keep going. Now, I'm sure there's a little luck in there along the way, and I'll take it! It's humbling to think about being such a small part of a huge line of people who were there at the beginning and have continued on since. I feel like I bear this responsibility, however small, to keep going for them and not let it end.
So, before I had my self-pity party on Monday and into part of Tuesday, I was walking around so proudly. I felt like I had the strength of ALL of those men and women inside of me. I had conquered their fears with them, I raised babies alongside them, I worked, moved and learned with them, and I fell in love generation after generation. I'm sure there was misery, heartbreak, disappointment, and despair. But, you know what? They got through it enough to get me here today. I am the doctor, the reverend, the farmer, the mine worker, the soldier, the justice of the peace, and homemakers. I am English, Irish, Welsh, and German- so far. :) I come from a long list of survivors. Amazing.
I walk with a tsunami of hope, strength, and love behind me ready to lay anything to waste that gets in my way. I am filled with this strength thanks to discovery- also thanks to the suggestion of a woman who kindly invited us to dinner after meeting on a hike. Knowing this information at my age makes it especially sweet and meaningful, and I am eager to research each line until its end. For you to read this, it means you come from survivors, too. So, carry that with you and go on and be your badass self!
