Connections

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
― William James 

A lot of people who know me do not understand why I research my family history. It's kind of a nerdy hobby, but I love it. Time and time again, I realize that I am connected to so many people and so many places. It changes the way I see my family, and also the way I view the world.

In 2016, I took a trip to the U.K. with my daughter Jennifer. We carefully planned every stop, and one place on both of our lists was Lindisfarne. I mean, who doesn't want to walk where Vikings walked? Holy Isle is a tidal island. You can only drive to the island when the tide is low. We had to plan for this, which even affected the day we left for our trip. But we made it.

It was a beautiful place and we had a great time exploring. We even climbed down to the sea floor to get this shot. It was one of our favorite stops.

A few months after we returned, I learned that our Scottish Cowan ancestors may have originally come from Lindisfarne/Holy Island. I have not verified this and may never be able to, but I do have to wonder why we liked it there so much. Do memories of places stay with us in our DNA? Are we naturally drawn to places? 

Today I was again reminded of these connections. While browsing through baptism records from the Old Cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri, I came across this entry:

I don't read French, but I know enough to see that Louis Blanchet, son of Louis Blanchet and an Osage woman, was baptized in October. His Godmother was Catherine Maréchal, my 5th Great Grandmother. Louis Blanchet (the father) was the founder of St. Charles, Missouri. I will admit that it's pretty awesome to know that my ancestor was friends with someone whose name is still known. What's even more awesome is to know that I myself have a connection

to Louis Blanchet.

On a cold weekend in November, 2010, Jennifer and I participated in our third archaeological excavation at the home of Louis Blanchet. His home is pictured in the background, and my daughter is hard at work digging around some big tree roots that made for a difficult dig. Little did I know at the time that our family had a connection to Louis Blanchet. Funny how things happen. We could have done something else with those weekends, but we didn't. 

I am fortunate to be living in the same general location as my French-Canadian ancestors did

almost 300 years ago. We can visit the old stomping grounds anytime we want. 

My granddaughter Rose has seen the reconstructed French colonial church on Main Street in

St. Charles. We've also taken her to Fort de Chartres, in Randolph County, Illinois a few times. Quite a few of my ancestors have lived here, visited here, or at least knew people here when it was a French military outpost in the middle of nowhere.

Rose singing in between the doors in the main gate of Fort de Chartres

Rose climbing in the foundations of the barracks

My daughter Kristin and Rose enjoying some frozen lemonade, just like our

French ancestors did at Fort de Chartres

(not really, but they would have enjoyed it)

Someday I hope to show my descendants how they are connected to people and places by those who came before us. I want them to know they have deep roots in America, and even deeper ones in other countries. I want them to know that they should treat everyone with kindness because they could be connected somehow, "in the deep."  I want them to grow up to realize that they are not only Americans, but citizens of the world.