My Ancestors

Here is a thing that few of my friends and family show interest in. That is not surprising. I was barely interested in the subject of my forebears until the late 1970s when I was approaching 30. My parents’ work on our genealogy got my attention. They did a lot of work, all of which I possess now and I have taken it further. I have learned of blood relatives and ancestors which include Charlemagne, William the Conqueror, Captain John Smith, Major General J.E.B. Stuart and Princess Diana. Who knew? But the more important question is, who cares? As it turns out, I seem to!

I recently discovered two more generations back into Denmark, of Damgaard ancestors. All of these were farmers and people of great families; at least in terms of size. Families with eight or nine children were not unusual. Many of my grandmother Damgaard’s siblings came to the USA eventually, well, except one, who went to St. Thomas from Denmark and lived his life out there. I am especially impressed with the story of my distant cousin Anne, who adopted her sister’s six children when she, the younger sister died. Three of these became Confederate soldiers when the Civil War broke out, and two were killed in battle. One is buried not twenty miles from where i grew up in Northern Virginia and I never knew this.

My father’s oldest brother disappeared completely from the family’s knowledge in 1934. They assumed he had died at sea. He had not. But he had changed his name for some unknown reason and lived out a life completely unknown to his birth family, including marriage and raising two daughters.

I love the stories of my ancestors. I will continue to explore…