Last weekend my oldest sister (Cyndi) and I made a quick trip into the upper reaches of South Georgia, back to the land where both of our parents were born (Jimmy Carter Country), to meet with a father and daughter -- white folks -- who may turn out to be family members.
Map of the Area:
We met at the Windsor Hotel in Americus:
It turned out to be a fantastic meeting, both Dean and Maxie were tremendous hosts and fun company. They drove us all around the area, all of us told stories from our past and became better acquainted with one another. I'll have more in a week or so, after I return from a week-long trip to Havana, Cuba (thank you, Cyndi!). Hopefully I'll have more then on that trip as well.
But I can tell you right now that I'm approaching this era of discovery (I've opened up an ancestry.com account) with a spirit of reconciliation and acceptance, along with a whole bunch of other feelings -- including excitement. I've known all of my life that people are people, and that most folks are good folks. We may find what we suspect; direct links between our two lines. There may be heartbreak and apparent cruelty, there may be benevolence, goodness, benign neglect -- who the heck knows? But we're going to try and find out what we can.
So, without further adieu . . .
Cyndi and Maxie on the porch of the old home that will soon become, the good Lord willing, an English Family Museum:
The Outhouse!
Barn dating back to the late 1800s:
Heartbreak in the Cemetery:
There you have it; as I indicated earlier, I hope to have more on this journey of discovery in the coming weeks. It may prove to be uniquely American, uniquely Southern, and uniquely Florida-Georgia all in one.
Later, Gators!
is there an english family museum now?
wle
Posted by: larry english | July 01, 2015 at 12:52 PM