Revisiting The Bridge

There are only a few things that I remember from the reunion back in 1987. Obviously, I remember a few of the faces and the fun at the gathering itself but one of the other things that has always remained in my mind was seeing the Natural Bridge. It is because of this memory that I wanted to return to the natural wonder now that I am quite a bit older and am able to appreciate the experience.

                                       

Of course, memories can be rather selective and while I retained an image in my mind there was little else about the brief time we spent there nearly three decades ago. Maybe it is because of this that I forgot all about the stairs leading down into the valley…

…and the massive trees that lined the path.

Once we got to the bottom and slowly made our way down the path the first sight did not disappoint…

…and after a few family photos and listening to a brief history about the formation and ownership of the sight we proceeded down the walkway for a closer look.  

From beneath the mammoth formation it was hard to believe the different roles that the bridge has played in history not just as a tourist destination (one of the first in the United States) but also as a functional formation for the production of cannon balls during the War of 1812 (molten lead was dropped from the top which naturally formed into a ball on the way down and immediately cooled and hardened upon hitting the water below).

Looking back you can see the deeper water where the ammunition collected.

From the other side the structure doesn’t have nearly the same visual impact but still possesses an impressive presence.

Walking further along the path there is another part of the experience that is of great personal interest to me, the Monacan Living History Exhibit. It is an unassuming presentation as you approach the site with the fence hiding much of what is behind the walls…  

…but once you walk through the entry the details are impressive. The recreated (albeit downsized) offers a unique glimpse into who Monacan villages looked during the time of first contact by European settlers (note that the Monacan are included on John Smith’s map of Virginia in 1612). Some of the structures include spaces that would have been used for meetings…

…cooking and weaving…

…as well as where people slept.

The overall ‘village’ was something to behold and the experience was only enhanced when I was able to speak at length with one of the tour guides who also happened to be a member of the Monacan Indian Nation. But that is a post for another day.

From the village we continued down the path toward the waterfall.

Along the way we came across the saltpeter mine which was also used during the War of 1812. This was a full service site at the time for the needs of artillery units.  

It wasn’t long after that when we reached the waterfall. Of all the ones that we have seen in our travels it wasn’t the most impressive but when thinking about what it helped to form it was well worth the additional walking.

Having walked to the end of the trail it was time to turn around and head back to the bridge. The weather was a bit questionable throughout the day both with heat and rain possible. However, the sky remained relatively clear and offered us a reminder as we approached…

…and back under we walked.

While there are many more memories that I will carry with me from this trip compared to the brief glimpses from years ago, I couldn’t help but take one last picture as we approached the stairs. Oddly enough, the impression is just as strong with the last glimpse as it was with the first. Hopefully, it won’t take so long this time around to return.

Preparing For The Drive…

While we have no idea where the time has gone, we are now finding ourselves scrambling to get everything together for our family vacation. The last time that we took such a long vacation was nearly three years ago so there are a lot of things that have changed since then. Things are completely different now that we have our son as in the past packing for vacation was never a real issue. Looking at the piles of stuff that needs to be packed, it is amazing to think that we will be able to fit it all in the car. I don’t think we have packed this much stuff since we left for Israel.

For the first time since I started with my current company, I am taking an extended period of time off away from work. Even when our son was born, I was out of the office but still working remotely. With the exception of a few phone calls and emails that I am most certainly going to have to take, I am staying far away from the world of work. It’s not like I am going to have the time to take care of things as our schedule is pretty full. Here are just a few of the things that we are going to be doing and places we are going to visit while in Virginia:

• Family Reunion
• Natural Bridge
• Caverns at Natural Bridge
• Eagle Rock
• Fincastle
• Various Family Cemeteries
• Roanoke
• Dixie Caverns
• Bear Mountain
• Monacan Museum
• Lynchburg
• Lexington
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Richmond

This is a trip that I have been looking forward to for years. This is the first reunion that I have been able to attend since 1987 and I have learned a lot about the family since that time. It is a trip 28 and 250 years in the making and I am excited to see everything again with new eyes and also to introduce my wife and my son to where our family comes from.

Obviously, this is just the short list but not a bad schedule for the week. This is what we plan on doing and seeing… that could easily change and we may see more or less depending on how the week progresses. And, as you have come to expect, I will be taking plenty of pictures and writing about our adventures in the southern commonwealth.  

I am open to suggestions of places that I may have overlooked so, if you know of any in the western part of Virginia (especially along Skyline Drive) I welcome them. While we may have a good schedule for the extended vacation, I really don’t want to stick to a hard schedule. This is a time for us to relax and spend time with family.

Planning For The Summer

Coming to a blog near you in July 2015!

Now that spring is here and the weather is beginning to warm, we are all getting a little antsy and wanting to get out of the house. It happens the same time every year and, even with the new baby, this year is no exception. So, with that in mind, my wife and I have begun discussing where we will be headed off to this spring and summer. This also included planning or this weekend which I haven’t got a clue about what direction to travel.

At this point we have some of the broad strokes in place beginning either this month and progressively extending those trips through July. April and May will consist of a few day trips to destinations unknown at this point. There might also be an overnight trip in May just to get our son used to this important part of traveling. So far we are thinking of places relatively close to home like Hershey, Gettysburg, or Jim Thorpe. All places that you have read about on this blog before. There are also loose plans for at least one trip to the shore during the summer as well.

Right now June could be a slightly longer trip as the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania will be taking place in Pittsburgh toward the end of the month. Given my experience last year in Erie, this trip is a definite possibility but it is probably going to come down to whether or not our son is used to the long car ride by that time and if he needs some rest before the family vacation in July. Hopefully we will be able to make it as it is an experience that I want to share with my wife and son especially with the presentation that is currently scheduled to occur during the meeting.

While everything else is pretty much in a fluid state at this point, the one thing that we have locked into our schedule is the aforementioned family vacation. For the first time since 1987, I will be heading down to the family reunion which will be taking place in Natural Bridge, Virginia. This is not your usual reunion where a few dozen people congregate to one place, this is an event where anyone who can trace back to the original ancestor that arrived in Philadelphia on 27 October 1764 is welcomed as family. I am really looking forward to attending and introducing my wife and son to family members from all over the country.

Even though the plans aren’t completely settled, it looks like it is going to be another active summer. We want our son to see as much as he can and this is at least a good way to start. Now all I have to do is figure out what I am going to present in July. Any suggestions for occupying an infant during a 6 hour car ride would be appreciated. Also, any requests from family regarding what you want to learn more about would be appreciated as well and considered for my presentation topic during the reunion.

Finding The Kelly Green Leaves

There are certain days during the year when everyone seems to assume the same nationality for one reason or another. Some people do it because they like the color green, some because they use it as an excuse to drink, and others because they just enjoy the atmosphere of the day. However, for many of us it is an excuse to look deeper into our roots. St. Patrick’s Day is probably the best example of this community participation.

Being Irish was not really something that was a focus for me growing up. In fact, nationality was never really something that was a focus for anyone in my family. We were all born in the United States, our parents were, our grandparents, and our great grandparents so the tether to the boat was quite long. It wasn’t until we really started taking a closer look in recent years (at least for me) that I became more interested and connected to the various heritages that I carry with me.

It started on my dad’s side as I still remember driving down to Virginia in the summer of 1987 and spending the long weekend at the family reunion. This was a little different than the typical reunion that comes to mind as each person in attendance could trace back to the original German/French ancestor that arrived in Philadelphia on 27 October 1764. Good luck trying to figure out how you’re related to each person.

We never knew much about all the other branches on my dad’s side but that has developed substantially over the past decade or so. There is far more than just German blood in that tree as there are lines across various parts of Europe as well as deep native roots her in the United States. However, while there is an assortment of nationalities, there is only a faint touch of Irish blood on that side.

Much of my Irish heritage comes from my mom’s side of the family and, growing up, we were never certain that some of our leaves were a vibrant Kelly green. Once we put a few pieces together and determined that the original surname was McKenna there was little doubt that the family’s arrival in the middle of the 19^th century was from Northern Ireland. Tracing your Irish roots back to the potato famine isn’t very unique but at least now we know.  

Like my dad’s side, my mom’s side of the family is also an interesting mix coming from various parts of Europe. And just like the German blood is thick on one side, the Irish blood is thick on the other. Actually, given the tendencies of each, it might be pretty watered down. So have a drink… you may find out one day that you’re Irish. Sláinte!

Summer Travel Pit Stop

Giving the camera and travel journal a little rest before resuming our day trips.

The past couple of weekends my wife and I have just been tired. By the time the work week has come to a close neither one of us is in the mood to do anything and we are lacking the energy to convince ourselves otherwise. With all that we have been doing lately it really isn’t a surprise but it would be nice to get back to the routine of our weekend day trips. Now just isn’t the time, we need to take a break and just be for a little bit.

After all, we have 7 more weekends left in the summer and a list of places we have yet to visit. So far, we have a few commitments already made and trips roughly planned to Knobles, Indian Echo Caverns, Winterthur, Milford, and a few other places. A bit different this time around is that we will not be alone on a few of these little adventures with a number of family members and friends joining us in our travels. And, no surprise, there are a few Masonic commitments that I will be attending as well. It should be a pretty busy summer from here on out.

At the same time we are already beginning to plan the adventures for next summer including an extended trip to Virginia to both enjoy the family history and to explore a place where I haven’t been since the family reunion in 1987. Can’t say I remember much but I do recall having a great time and with all that I have learned in recent years, I am looking forward to seeing everything through a completely different lens. Plus, it is another place that my wife has never been and I always enjoy bringing her places where she can experience something new. This trip will be in addition to our little Masonic excursion to Pittsburgh.  

Anyway, that is next summer. Beyond those two trips we really don’t have anything planned beyond the fact that we will try to visit the places that we don’t get to this summer. So, I guess we better get moving again or we are going to have too many things to do and places to see next summer and not enough time to get to all of them. Just look at our work situations, if the difference between last summer and this one has taught us anything it’s the fact that you never know how much your life can change from one year to another. Life is meant to be lived now not put off for the future or else you will just be stuck in a cycle of perpetual planning.

*As a side note, if you want to read some posts from someone living for the moment go visit my friend Nadine's blog about her walking the Camino in Spain! She has some amazing photos too!

I’m Still A Green Dot Bastard

Green Dots in 1992

As has been made evident in the past week or so, I am actively working on my family tree. I have been working off and on for about a couple years now and I am glad every day that I started on this project. With that in mind, there are some days/weeks/months that I want to pull my hair out and I have had to take breaks here and there on the research side but, overall, it has been satisfying to see the colors being filled in on many of the leaves.

When it comes to genealogy, everyone has gaps and mysteries in their family tree and mine is no different. They are the most frustrating and rewarding aspects of this kind of personal research. You can spend days trying to answer one question and not find a darn thing. However, when you find that missing piece of the puzzle buried deep in the pages of a book or in the far corner of a database it is an amazing experience.

Sometimes you just have to collect all the records, all the facts, lay them out in front of you and figure out how everything works together. This was the case when I had to put my mind to work and figure out where the third generation came from in my family. Who was Jacob Teaford’s (III) mother?

My earliest memories of learning about my family history go back to the Teaford family reunion in 1987. This is not your usual family reunion as this encompasses all branches of the tree. Anyone who can trace back to the original ancestor that came to the colonies on 27 October 1764 is welcome. Each of the six branches was assigned a colored dot on their name tag which also contained the numbered lineage below their name… I was a green dot with a question mark making us all green dot bastards.

With greater access to records in the digital age (most notably through ancestry.com) I have been pulling bits and pieces together to add to the hard copies of other, more obscure documents, which sit in a binder on my shelf. Combined with the work of previous generations and the smaller items I have been able to find I finally came up with a plausible scenario… I think I figured out the mystery. Based on the evidence, most notably minor sections in court documents, it seems likely that Jacob number three was born out of wedlock and cared for by his father and grandparents. So, we’re still bastards but at least I am comfortable in eliminating the question mark.

Of course, this was only the first of many questions that are throughout my tree and, sometimes, I wish I was still working on the first. There are many gaps in the digitization of records and I am nearing the end of the line when it comes to the information that is available online. I guess it’s time to put some miles on the car and get some dust on my hands. Who’s up for a road trip?

What mysteries are in your family tree? What questions have you been able to answer? What tips do you have when it comes to finding the facts?