Travel
For 2023, I’m writing responses to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Days prompts provided by Amy Johnson Crow on her ”Generations Café” website and Facebook page.
My family history is full of stories of travel. Few of my families stayed in one location for more than a generation – and many families moved multiple times. This is such a dominant feature of my family narrative that I wrote a poem about it a few years ago. Here’s what I wrote:
To the movers To the people who couldn’t stay where they were, either because where they were was awful or because they couldn’t be who they were meant to be where they were The movers were alike in only one way – they moved Sometimes they moved alone More often they moved with family or community Sometimes they moved and took status with them Sometimes they moved and left status behind Sometimes they moved and created status where none had existed before Sometimes they moved and thrived Sometimes they moved and failed But if they failed they moved again And tried again And sometimes failed again And then they moved again They weren’t tied to place They weren’t tied to people They were tied to impermanence Sometimes they moved because poverty drove them Sometimes they moved because opportunity lured them Sometimes they moved because tragedy stalked them Sometimes they moved because life bored them But whatever the reason, they moved They moved, and then moved again And again The objective was movement, not destination They were the movers They were my ancestors To the movers
In general, my ancestors have been in America since the 17th century. I have focused only on my direct ancestors, and they fit a lot of movement into those years.
My paternal grandfather’s surname was Arnold, and people in the line that stretches back from him lived in 20 counties in 11 states.
My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Ellefritz, and the people in the line that stretches back from her lived in 29 counties in 12 states.
My maternal grandfather’s surname was Workman, and the people in the line that stretches back from him lived in 29 counties in 13 states.
My maternal grandmother’s maiden name was Anthis, and the people in the line that stretches back from her lived in 12 counties in 9 states.
I am an anomaly in my family history; I have lived my entire life in Virginia, and have lived in only seven houses (in two counties) over 76 years. I don’t recall any ancestor who moved as little as I have.
The poem is priceless. Thank you.
My family is just the opposite. They got to Sandusky, Ohio, and stayed for generations. My dad was the first member of the family to move out of Ohio, but was on the leading edge of those leaving the Midwest for more southern climes. Such is American family history.