Mayflower Memories (redux)

[madamesilverspurs]

We grew up hearing about our Mayflower ancestors. Dad's mother was big on that stuff, along with her ardent membership in the DAR. One of Dad's cousins eventually got around to putting a chart together for us. When Mom's brother decided to research the family tree on that side of the family and found some Mayflower connections, we got out Dad's chart for comparison. Uh frigging oh. Yep, seems that both sides of my immediate family claim a common ancestor. It took all of about 30 seconds for us to dissolve into laughter, deciding to accept that common link as 'splaining' some strange stuff in the family. And Mom wasn't thrilled with our delight in discovering a distant but distinct kinship to Sidney Biddle Barrows, the so-called "Mayflower Madam."

Years later I found myself in the university library reading the text of letters sent home by some of those pilgrims. It was a sobering experience. Tracing the lineage is interesting, but doing so without the whitewash imparts a far more honest view of history and my ancestors' parts in it, good and bad.

Anyway. For years, now, my personal Thanksgiving tradition has involved dusting off the turntable to play Flip Wilson's "Cowboys and Colored People" album (1967). The "Christopher Columbus" track is pure genius.




HAPPY THANKSGIVING DUers!

Reposted from this time last year:


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