Roots

It is often noted that the folks who live in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, etc., try to listen politely as Americans go on and on about their ancestors who hail from any particular country. I know it must be horrendously boring and slightly grating, but I've come to understand something that perhaps needs to be more clearly understood from those living in the "old country." You see, unless those of us born and raised in the United States are genetically Native American, we aren't really from the United States - not genetically or even culturally to an extent. In a way, that means so many of us have the interest or have felt the pull of countries we may not have known prior to visits or family tree research. In short, we are seeking our identities. I knew where my family came from prior to immigrating to the American colonies or, for more recent immigrants, the United States. Throughout my life, I always felt a strong pull to Britain. They say that there is a gene that we all have in our makeup that is a "homing gene." For some, it is something they can tune into or find by accident when they find themselves in a place they don't know, but their genes know. That always was the case with me. 

I have been working on my genealogy several years now. It is fascinating. I knew some of the various
lines and where they came from, but I had no idea how they intertwined and where they went. I've been able to take some of my lines back to the 10th century. My living in Scotland must have been written in my DNA, because where I thought I had a large proportion of ancestors from Scotland, it turns out that my Scottish ancestors outweigh any other nationality but a huge margin. Through my fourth great-grandmother, Sarah Stewart, the granddaughter of a Scotsman from Edinburgh and whose father was born upon the ship transporting him and his family to Massachusetts, I have found that, following only along direct maternal and paternal lines, I am a direct descendant of the progenitor of the Stewart line. I knew I had the names Murray and MacGregor, but I had no idea that I was also a Stewart. I'm also a Drummond, a Lennox, a MacDougall, a Gilchrist, a Buchanan (direct descendant from the first clan chief), etc. Clan histories are quite thorough, so it is easy to get the lines right. The same can be said for royal links.  I just wish it were as easy to follow the lines of my equally important but less noble ancestors. To date, perhaps my most joyful discovery is that I am the 24th great-granddaughter of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Catherine has happily shared with her friends that she is the 21st great-granddaughter of Robert the Bruce. I think we are where we should be. Hell, Banquo of MacBeth fame is a many-times great-grandfather!

My cousin David is interested particularly in the Knights Templar and Freemasonry links. I was delighted to discover that our 14th great-grandfather is William Sinclair, founder of Rosslyn Chapel (seen here). Our link with that history, quite literally, is carved in stone. By the way, on almost every Scotland-centric page I follow on Facebook, I always recommend that people visit the chapel. It is stunning and an easy day trip from Edinburgh. 

As I explore each branch of the family tree, I find more surprises. I also find stories of what humble people accomplished. What remarkable people and how brave were those who came to a new country seeking a new life. 

My third great-grandfather on my mother's paternal side immigrated from Moffat (where Chris and I lived for a time) to the United States in the early 19th century. He came with little but was able to make a living as a successful farmer. The opportunities given to him in his American home in Bovina, New York, accorded his children an education and opportunities that found one son a highly regarded federal judge (my great-great-grandfather, pictured here) and another son an educator who was respected in not only the United States, but in Japan where he founded the public school system (David Murray, after whom my grandfather was named.) This was the promise that brought my ancestors to the United States. But their beginnings in Scotland imprinted on my DNA and in my soul.

My goal is to take every branch of the family tree back to the 11th century, if possible. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be possible in all the branches of my family tree. My maternal grandmother's line is less clear on her father's side. I've been able to get back as far as my great-great-grandfather, but it stops there. His wife is equally anonymous. I find it so frustrating. I want to know about all my ancestors, the great, the good, the lowly, the mysterious, every one of them. No matter how far removed, by miles or years, I believe that I carry a little bit of all of them in me and they live in me and all the other hundreds or thousands of descendants. It is a fascinating journey and I find it exhilarating and highly addictive.