We all write our own stories. I lost both my parents within the past ten years and as a byproduct of their passing it became increasingly important for me to learn and discover the roots of my family history. Over the past few years, I have been digging through old records and attempting to meet distant relatives to learn more about my legacy. I have been accumulating what I can to eventually write a book to share and pass along to my children. For some reason, most of our parent's generation wanted to forget the past. Although not confirmed, I suspect their parents may have escaped bad situations before coming to the States that warranted forgetting. It was common to shed the past to assimilate and advance into the new American culture.
My Dad was an exception to a degree as a teacher and historian. He believed we needed to understand the stories of our past to build on our futures. As such he amassed a large collection of artifacts and historic memorabilia ranging from ancient Mideast and Judaica ephemera, antiquities, books, newspapers, and documents most of his adult life. On the personal family side, he had old photo albums and records from his family, however, most of the knowledge he had was oral. While he was alive, I didn't ask enough questions to my Dad or Mom about their ancestorial background. I am now trying to piece this together when I can.
In addition, to ancient times, Dad was also fascinated with United States History. One of his prized collections included documents and artifacts of Americana primarily from the Civil War period. My brother and I believed this period in U.S. History is fundamental to understanding the foundation of our country's values and felt this needed to be preserved. As a family, we agreed to donate several items to the museum where the history could be perpetuated and shared with current and future generations. We are thrilled that the Reggie Lewis Museum in Baltimore has been able to work with us to keep the collection together and create an Exhibit for the public. The exhibit is now open to the public through January 4th. Click here for more information.
Tomorrow evening the Museum will host Author Betty Kearse, who just published The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family. Like my Dad, this author will be sharing her history and has been assigned the role of the family Griot- the chosen one to carry on and share the history of her African American family and heritage. She is a descendant of President James Madison and her great grandmother Mandy, who was brought to this country in chains to be a slave. I am in process of reading her book and highly recommend it. There is so much to learn about our culture and the impact of the past in building the future. For a link click here.
Like Bettey and my Dad, it is important to understand our backgrounds and where we came from to formulate the values we want for our future. With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays coming up, I encourage readers to take advantage of family gatherings to ask questions and learn what you can about your own family roots. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to and will continue to do so on my end.
Wendy is a Realtor and freelance writer. She recently published her first book Coffee Connections: Finding Common Ground with My Daily Brew.
Addendum- After sharing this post with a real estate colleague, she shared that she had sold Bettye Kearse’s home about 6 years ago in my former home town and that I had helped do an open house for her. I reached out to Bettye as I now remembered this and the conversations we had. We are now further connected through formerly living in Dover, the Museum exhibit and being the story tellers for our families.
