Where Did I Come From? The Importance of Finding My Ancestry

Where Did I Come From?

Since I was a little girl, I wanted to know my roots. Where did I come from? Who were my ancestors? I grew up with my mom and younger sister, but not my father. My father left when I was just a year old.  He never contacted us again. He just disappeared. We were not in communication with his side of the family, other than a one-time visit when I was ten years old. They also had no clue where my father was. Over time, we lost contact with them as well.  Therefore, the only family I knew was on my mother’s side of the family – all Italians through and through. What about the other half of me though? Where did those ancestors come from? My mother thought my dad may have come from German stock, but she wasn’t sure. Finding my ancestry was very important to me.

It was a struggle to find the answers I was looking for. I sort of felt like a step-child – only half-belonging.  We didn’t have DNA tests or the internet back then. All I could do was hope that one day, the answers would reveal themselves. Maybe my father would show up or a long lost relative, who could enlighten me as to my heritage.  None of that happened. However, in hindsight, the universe was giving me the answers and showing me all along.  I just didn’t know it.  My journey into discovering my roots was an exciting one for me. I hope you will gain something in the telling and that it will encourage you to begin a ancestral journey. Here it goes:

The Beatles Land in America

When the Beatles landed in America, I was barely a teen.They came from Liverpool, England. I had never seen a Brit before. Their British accents fascinated me.. Even though at first, I found the accent difficult to comprehend, I found the way they talked cool and sexy, and I wanted to talk just like them. So my friends and I tried to emulate the accent, but we couldn’t fool anyone. We were Americans and there was no doubt about it. We couldn’t learn that accent if a gun was pointed at our heads.

Our MG TD Roadster

As time went by, I became interested more and more in all things British. I dated a young man with an English 1954 red MG TD Roadster. The car was gorgeous and we got a lot of stares. It was fun until we were pulled over one evening by the local police. Apparently, a murder had been committed by someone driving a 1954 red MG TD Roadster, just like ours. Of course it wasn’t us. Then a few years later we were married. The car was costly to keep up and so the car was sold.

A True Britophile

As the years went by, I had a few British friends, whom I truly envied. They told me stories about living in England and I was mesmerized. I held on to every word and wished I was one of them. Why couldn’t I have been born there? They went back often to see family and friends and missed it as much as I longed to be there. Unfortunately, their jobs brought them here. Even though they invited me to come along, my demanding job and studies kept me from doing so. I must mention that I am proud to be an American and I love this country and the foundation it was built on. However, I felt an extremely strong pull towards England.

Mr. Darcy

Things started coming into focus in 2012. I rented the 2005 movie version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. To say that Matthew Macfadyen, as Mr. Darcy, captured my heart would be an understatement. I was in complete awe when he crossed that misty English countryside, completely undressed by 18th century standards, in an open, white, long-sleeved shirt, tan breeches and brown boots, and a long, flowing dark blue coat. It wasn’t just Matthew that captured my senses. It was also the beautiful scenery of the countryside and the stunning locations – Chatsworth House and Wilton House for Pemberley; and Groombridge Place for Longbourn. Here I was once again being brought back to England.

The universe decided I needed more of a nudge in that direction and a year later I met Matthew Macfadyen. It was a thrill of a lifetime. Those gorgeous blue eyes!!!  We’ve stayed in touch since then. But I digress! That’s another blog post.

Falling in Love with the English Countryside

As if I wasn’t already getting the hint from the universe about my ancestral home, the same year I met Matthew, one of my favorite author’s, Susan Branch, who is also a watercolorist, designer, and illustrator, wrote and illustrated a beautiful book called, “A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside. It was written in a diary/journal type format, so beautifully written about her visit to the English countryside. I loved the book so much that I read it from cover to cover a total of 8 times.  It magically had me alongside her through every hill and dale; and every English town and village. More than that, though, I was beginning to feel that England was my ancestral home. This is where my family was from. Susan just came back from another lovely trip there and she says another book is in the making. I can’t wait!

England: My Ancestral Home

Something happened that would change my life forever. I saw a video about CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s ancestral journey. He took a DNA test through Ancestry.com. A DNA test! I didn’t know it was possible. Was finding my ancestry this simple? For just $99, you can have the DNA kit sent to you and the results obtained in just a few weeks. All you have to do is spit some saliva in a tube and mail it back in the envelope provided. I did that and when the results came back, I was thrilled. Yes, you guessed it. My ancestry is British. I traced it back to 900 A.D. to Devon and Dorset. I also learned that my 15th great-grandparents Lady Christie Chantmarle, and Sir Robert Jordan, owned a beautiful estate, Chantmarle Manor in the 1300’s. It still stands in Devon. I can now call England my ancestral home.

The search for my heritage has an even happier ending. I have re-connected with my father’s family and throughout the past three years have gotten very close. My father has most likely passed. His family, to this day, has had no idea of his whereabouts. My ancestral journey would never have come to its conclusion if I hadn’t taken that DNA test and I believe that the universe was showing me the way all along. Finding my ancestry was everything I had hoped for and more. As I learned more and more about my ancestors, I discovered that I am also Irish and French.

The Importance of Finding Your Ancestry

Other than health choices, there are several other reasons why you might want to go finding your ancestry. Some of the reasons are as follows:

• Where did I come from? I believe everyone has the right to know where they came from. In finding my ancestry, so many unanswered questions were finally answered, such as, where did my blonde hair come from? Why did my family remain in a certain geographical location? Why do I love the Revolutionary War era and Colonial Williamsburg so much. The answers are that my grandmother had blonde hair; my family for several generations lived in Virginia because they were planters, and my 9th great-grandfather and his children, and their children served as representatives in The House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg and a few fought for our freedom in the American Revolutionary War.
• It provides connections that you didn’t have before. As an example, I had first cousins I didn’t even know I had; and now I have a connection with them and I feel very blessed. We’re able to share stories of the past and likewise gain answers to questions that we’ve pondered about for years.
• You learn of stories and tall tales that have passed down through generations. Stories, that you can share with your children, grand-children, and others. This is a way of informing them where they come from and who they are. When I was a young girl, I was prone to bronchitis and bed rest. My comfort came when my mom told me stories of her childhood, living in a small town in the Allegheny Mountain ridges  of Pennsylvania.  She was three-years-old when her father died and times were tough. It gave me a real sense of what it was like for her growing up. Finding my ancestry gave me additional stories that can be told for generations to come.
• Connecting with lost family members. This was most important for me. As I mentioned, I was able to track down my father’s family and reconnect with them again. I  have a lovely relationship with them.
• Connecting historical events to your ancestry brings history alive. I learned, after finding my ancestry, that one of my great-grandfather’accompanied William the Conquerer on his invasion of England in 1066.   and that another one was a prominent member of The House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg during The Revolutionary War. My 10th great-grandfather was one of the first settlers at Jamestown. His plantation abutted that of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. They were neighbors. It is often a surprise how history comes alive on your own ancestral tree.
• Preserving the family legacy is also important.  By collecting family photographs, stories, videos, audiotapes, artifacts, etc. in order to pass them down to your children and further generations, they have something they can share and give to future generations.
• Passing down family traditions and recipes from one generation to the next reminds you of where you come from. Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house meant homemade spaghetti and meatballs, baked chicken, and a mountain of Italian cookies for dessert. My grandmother has long passed, but this tradition and her recipes remain.

Finding my ancestry has opened up many doors for me and I hope to one day soon visit The English Countryside and see where it all began.

(Featured top image credit: Photo by Free Photos is available under the Creative Commons CCO 1.0 license on Pixabay,com.)