I am told that there are a number of my ancestors that have had a somewhat minor impact on history, the building of what we know today as the United States of America included.
My maternal grandmother’s maiden name was Parr. My mother was fond of repeating the story that we were descendants of Queen Catherine – King Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife.
While it is possible that a Parr is a part of our ancestry; it could not have been Catherine because she had no children.
But on the other side, the story goes that waaaaayyyyy back in the days before King Arthur, my ancestors were Danish royalty. But, in those days it was possible to BUY a title and call yourself anything you wanted.
What is known for sure is one of my ancestors fought alongside William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066.
When the early colonists came to the New World in 1607 to build a new home at Jamestown, one of the family was there. And in 1642 Captain Anthony brought a boatload of settlers to Virginia.
My mother’s family arrived in New York in 1633. Supposedly named for a lake somewhere in England, the name of Sherril is scattered all over the country. I often though it would be fun to go to one of those towns and introducing myself since my first name is also the family name.
To my knowledge, none of my ancestors have gotten their names in the history books, but as a journalist and a family member it would be nice to meet any number of them for a chat.
When I was in school, history was far from my favourite subject. All the teachers wanted was to make you memorized dates and laws. But once I began learning about the history within my own family, it suddenly became interesting and worth knowing.