
My dad didn't really know a great deal about his ancestors beyond his father and grandparents. His mother immigrated from England when she was a young woman. For some reason she didn't speak about her family, at all. Dad had little to pass on about his grandparents, aunts and uncles in England. A lot of what we knew about his father's family came from a book written about the descendants of immigrant James Thornton, who left Ireland in about 1720. One of his sons was Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, we descended from another son. My dad's grandfather died before he was born. His grandmother, Jennie Clover, lived to be almost one hundred. Unfortunately, she was a bit of a dragon and was to scary to talk to, so he didn't know to much about her family either.
Dad felt bad about taking me away from work to take him to these appointments, but I didn't mind. I will never regret the time we spent talking about the past and going through his memories of his family. I wish we had more time, I keep thinking of questions for him, which now will go unanswered. I know that every time I find some new bit of information about my ancestors my first thoughts will be that I wish I could tell Dad.
If you are lucky enough to still have your parents around, take the time now to talk with them about their life. They may not remember everyone's name or birth date but if you want to know your family history there is no better place to start your research, and if you decide to write about your family, they will be your number one fan.
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