Friday, January 22, 2010

Ode to My Family History

This month's Carnival of Genealogy topic is to create a poem that tells our family's history that could be used as an introduction to a book or video. Not an easy task, although Bill from West in New England, Leah from Random Notes and Jasia from Creative Gene have all done a terrific job.
With help from my family and friends, who constantly have to listen to my babbling about my family research this little poem was created.


Footprints in my family history...


They sailed across the pond
from England, France, Poland, and Germany.
To name a few, they include;
Hanaway, Guinee, Wozniak, and Sawicki.

Many settled in Delaware and Pennsylvania
before migrating to Ohio, Indiana, and west of the great Mississippi.
They were millers, farmers, teachers, and bakers
Protestants, Jewish, Catholics, and Quakers.

They have fought in many wars,
spanning many generations.
Serving as soldiers and sailors-
Witnessing the birth of this great nation.

They are my grandparents, parents,
aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Through them I am a granddaughter, daughter,
sister, aunt, cousin, and mother.


Honor our ancestors memories, their stories live within all of us.
Each of us holds a special place on our eternal tree.
These are the footprints of our family history,
Now start your journey by taking that first footstep....

5 comments:

Bill West said...

Good job!You are a poet and didn't know it!

my Heritage Happens said...

Very nice poem!

I have awarded you the "Bloggers Best Friend Award" which you can pick up at Heritage Happens here: http://heritagehappens.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggers-best-friend-award.html

Taylorstales-Genealogy said...

Thank you both for your kind words regarding my little poem!

Thank you Cheryl for awarding me the Bloggers Best Friend Award! I have always enjoyed reading your blog!

Leah Kleylein said...

Wow, great job! This is really good!

Joan said...

Pam,
Footprints -- footstep, oh, how nice that is, and a perfect way to end a perfect poem. Thanks

The Family

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Genealogy Pox, author unknown

WARNING: GENEALOGY POX IS VERY CONTAGIOUS!

SYMPTOMS: Continual complaint as to need for names, dates and places. Patient has a blank expressions, sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind, except feverishly looking through records at libraries and courthouses.
Has a compulsion to write letters. Swears at mailman when he doesn't leave mail. Frequents strange places such as cemeteries, ruins, and remote desolate country areas. Makes secret night calls and hides phone bills from spouse. Mumbles to self. Has strange, faraway look in eyes.

NO KNOWN CURE!

TREATMENT: Medication is useless. This disease is not fatal, but gets progressively worse. Patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogical magazines and be given a quiet corner in the house where he/she can be alone.

REMARKS: The unusual nature of this disease is that the sicker the patient gets, the more he or she enjoys it!