THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
By Janet and Stuart Wilson
Visiting Ancestral Homes Takes Time But Reaps Rewards
How much farther can it be? Do you think we may have missed it?
These questions were on our minds and eventually on our tongues as we hiked along the Wisconsin lakeshore. We were following an ancient public footpath, ogling grand summerhouses on our right and glancing at graceful sailboats and vintage powerboats slicing through the water to our left. Just as we halted to reconnoiter our position, Stu looked up and said, “Hey, I think that’s it! Let’s have a look at that picture.”
Our travels are often informed, sometimes inspired, by our family history. Genealogy has been a hobby of ours for years and it often sends us down less traveled paths searching for evidence of ancestors. Even those who didn’t live in obscure places, invariably bring us to neighborhoods not found in most guidebooks. We seek out homes, businesses and cemeteries. And sometimes end up doing research in town clerks’ offices, libraries and local history museums.
That day on Lake Geneva, we found Janet’s great grandfather’s house, remarkably unchanged from the vintage photo we had found among her grandmother’s effects, save for the porch now enclosed with glass.
Connecting With Cousins Near and Far
We’ve connected with ancestors, even with living cousins, from New England to the Mid-Atlantic States to the Midwest–even closer to our California home. Janet’s mother was born in Iditarod, Alaska, but lived in Kodiak (which we visited last year) and Redwood City, California where she was Queen of the Rodeo as a teenager. We spent time in the Baranov Museum in Kodiak, which turns out to have been the trading post where her maternal grandfather worked from 1919-20...
The complete article can be found in the current issue of RV Journal, available at quality campgrounds, RV dealers, parts, and service suppliers. Subscriptions are also available for this quarterly publication.
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