One of the few things I can remember my grandmother telling me about my ancestry was that I was a descendant of Walter Palmer. I was only twenty-two years old when my grandmother died, so I must have been in my teens when I heard some of the details of my family history. None of it made an overwhelming impression then, but now, more than twenty years later, I wish I had paid more attention. I wish, too, that I could share some of the information I've discovered during my past three years of genealogical research with my grandmother. I don't know whether she knew that she had, not one, but six lines of descent from Walter of Stonington, and that both her parents had Palmer ancestry.
When I became thoroughly engrossed with researching my family history, my mother sent me her treasure trove of old bibles, books, photos and papers. Amongst these was the huge and beautiful, but well-worn old bible of my great-great-great-great grandfather, Asher Palmer of Griswold, Connecticut and Exeter, Rhode Island. Asher Palmer was the great-great-great-great grandson of Walter Palmer. That is, there were as many generations between Asher and me as there were between Asher and Walter!
I'm sure that as I delve more deeply into my family history, new and interesting facts will unfold. So far, I've discovered people who I like very much. I've learned of a great-great-great grandmother who lost children to disease, brothers to the Civil War, and who, when her husband died at age 63, went on to purchase and run her own farm where she remained until she died at age 91. I've discovered the poetry of a maiden great-great-great-grandaunt, whose words tell so eloquently what life was like in her day and what the lives of her relatives -- my ancestors -- were like. I've looked through photo upon photo of the people who make up the stories that I will attempt to share with you here.
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My New England AncestryContact me, Sally, at
cscox@gci.net
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