| General Fiction posted April 26, 2024 |
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A letter to my great(x5) grandmother
Dear Chloe
by gansach
April 25, 2024
Dear Chloe Fitts Henderson,
Greetings, my dear grandmother (times 5). You will be surprised to hear from me, I think, though I have always felt a connection to you. You married my grandfather, William Henderson, and thus were brought into the line of my mother's family, and your children carried on our line which leads to me.
It took Dad, Mom, and I quite a lot of untangling to discover who your ancestors were and where they came from in our genealogical sleuthing. Even though Dad is no relation of yours, we have him to thank for all the spaces filled on our family tree. Intrigued by the family history in the documents and letters I inherited from Mom's Aunt Olive, he began to unravel the many threads of her family tapestry to compile a thorough history. They even traveled the country in their investigations and visited your resting places in Oxford, Massachusetts.
But you will be even more surprised to hear that I, by modern but roundabout means, have in my possession an item that once belonged to you. You will marvel at how it came about.
Times have changed since you were born on April 19, 1781. We now have a means of instant communication called the Internet which can be accessed through devices called computers and cell phones. Messages and news in your time were delivered by horseback or by friends traveling through the area and, sometimes, taking months to arrive. Post offices were a new idea and just getting started. You will scarcely credit this new way to communicate which uses the air waves and objects called satellites flying through space around the Earth. We can now contact anyone anywhere in the world instantly. And out of it--even men on the moon! Yes, that has happened, too.
Thirteen years ago, I received a message on my Facebook account. Facebook is a site accessed through the Internet which makes it possible to connect to and share news and photographs with family, friends, and others around the world. This message was from a woman named Stephanie who lives in Michigan, a state that didn't exist in your day. Can you believe that the United States of America, which had just come into being when you were born, now has 50 states and covers a large portion of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific shore?
Stephanie wanted to know if I was related to Raymond (Dad). While cleaning out her mother's house, she found a spoon collection which her mother had purchased from random antique stores. One of the silver spoons was engraved with "Wm. & Chloe Henderson 1799". Being interested in genealogy, Stephanie checked the Internet (which also can provide information on almost anything) in case you were part of her family history, but she couldn't find a connection. But she did find you and William and that Dad was researching the Henderson/Fitts family and looking for information.
Stephanie checked Facebook and, though Dad wasn't on the site, my name and account came up, so she sent me the message.
Since you and William were married on January 6, 1799 in Sutton, Massachusetts (when George Washington was still living!), I knew the spoon must be a part of your wedding silverware set. Once I verified my connection to you and Dad, Stephanie kindly shipped the spoon to me in Wisconsin (another state that wasn't around in your time). She said it made her happy to reunite it with its rightful family. And Stephanie and I have remained friends, keeping in touch through Facebook.
I was so excited to receive this piece of our family history. When I touch it, knowing your hands and William's have touched it many times in your lifetime together since you were married 56 years, I feel a deep connection to you both and also to our nation's early history. It is thrilling!
And this was all made possible by the progress achieved over the nearly 150 years since your birth!
I think you would be pleased to know this small token of your life is now residing in a special display box, with the Henderson family crest, beside a newly engraved piece of wedding silver belonging to my mother and father. It reads "Raymond Sacharski & Jean Henderson, May24, 1947". This is a treasured keepsake for your granddaughter (times 5) to be passed on to your descendants. You and William will not be forgotten.
Thank you, Chloe!
All my love,
Gail
Letter to an ancestor contest entry
April 25, 2024
Dear Chloe Fitts Henderson,
Greetings, my dear grandmother (times 5). You will be surprised to hear from me, I think, though I have always felt a connection to you. You married my grandfather, William Henderson, and thus were brought into the line of my mother's family, and your children carried on our line which leads to me.
It took Dad, Mom, and I quite a lot of untangling to discover who your ancestors were and where they came from in our genealogical sleuthing. Even though Dad is no relation of yours, we have him to thank for all the spaces filled on our family tree. Intrigued by the family history in the documents and letters I inherited from Mom's Aunt Olive, he began to unravel the many threads of her family tapestry to compile a thorough history. They even traveled the country in their investigations and visited your resting places in Oxford, Massachusetts.
But you will be even more surprised to hear that I, by modern but roundabout means, have in my possession an item that once belonged to you. You will marvel at how it came about.
Times have changed since you were born on April 19, 1781. We now have a means of instant communication called the Internet which can be accessed through devices called computers and cell phones. Messages and news in your time were delivered by horseback or by friends traveling through the area and, sometimes, taking months to arrive. Post offices were a new idea and just getting started. You will scarcely credit this new way to communicate which uses the air waves and objects called satellites flying through space around the Earth. We can now contact anyone anywhere in the world instantly. And out of it--even men on the moon! Yes, that has happened, too.
Thirteen years ago, I received a message on my Facebook account. Facebook is a site accessed through the Internet which makes it possible to connect to and share news and photographs with family, friends, and others around the world. This message was from a woman named Stephanie who lives in Michigan, a state that didn't exist in your day. Can you believe that the United States of America, which had just come into being when you were born, now has 50 states and covers a large portion of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific shore?
Stephanie wanted to know if I was related to Raymond (Dad). While cleaning out her mother's house, she found a spoon collection which her mother had purchased from random antique stores. One of the silver spoons was engraved with "Wm. & Chloe Henderson 1799". Being interested in genealogy, Stephanie checked the Internet (which also can provide information on almost anything) in case you were part of her family history, but she couldn't find a connection. But she did find you and William and that Dad was researching the Henderson/Fitts family and looking for information.
Stephanie checked Facebook and, though Dad wasn't on the site, my name and account came up, so she sent me the message.
Since you and William were married on January 6, 1799 in Sutton, Massachusetts (when George Washington was still living!), I knew the spoon must be a part of your wedding silverware set. Once I verified my connection to you and Dad, Stephanie kindly shipped the spoon to me in Wisconsin (another state that wasn't around in your time). She said it made her happy to reunite it with its rightful family. And Stephanie and I have remained friends, keeping in touch through Facebook.
I was so excited to receive this piece of our family history. When I touch it, knowing your hands and William's have touched it many times in your lifetime together since you were married 56 years, I feel a deep connection to you both and also to our nation's early history. It is thrilling!
And this was all made possible by the progress achieved over the nearly 150 years since your birth!
I think you would be pleased to know this small token of your life is now residing in a special display box, with the Henderson family crest, beside a newly engraved piece of wedding silver belonging to my mother and father. It reads "Raymond Sacharski & Jean Henderson, May24, 1947". This is a treasured keepsake for your granddaughter (times 5) to be passed on to your descendants. You and William will not be forgotten.
Thank you, Chloe!
All my love,
Gail
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