Relative Discovery
I had a dream the other night, that I was on a road trip with my father. He has been dead for almost 30 years. It is interesting how the sensation that is generated by dream scenes can linger long after the dream is over and consciousness has returned.
When I logged in to my email account yesterday morning, I had 4 new messages from Jim Hays. He provided some family data that he recently collected that reveals our connection through a shared great-grandfather. Our grandfathers were brothers. It was fascinating to be revisiting the names of ancestors with the fresh sense that I had just been with my father, especially since it has been so long since I have really been with my father.
One night, back in the second week of January, I discovered a phone message at home, where Jim first introduced himself and the possibility that we shared ancestors. What an invigorating surprise that was for me. I called him back that night and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to visit and verify our connection.
Jim’s grandfather is John W. Hays, Jr., so I naturally have a heightened interest in that branch of the family tree. We are hoping to find an opportunity when Jim is in town to get together at our house and explore our shared interest in ancestry and the collection of items we have each amassed.
I need to dig out the box of things I have from the time Cyndie and I drove up to Canada to the birthplace of John W. Hays, Sr. We were lucky enough to stumble upon a man who volunteered to drive us out to see the farm property that was owned by my great-great-great grandfather, John Hays. I remember laughing when the man told us that John Hays’ son Stephen really did marry the girl next door, because back then, that was pretty much the only choice in such a rural farming area.
That was in the vicinity of Hawkesbury, Ontario, somewhat between Ottawa and Montreal. We explored an area there which included Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal. We visited the county seat, I believe it was, and were privileged to read and get a copy of the hand-written will of John Hays, the man 5 generations back from me. That is also where we found the land records and evidence that the family of Stephen’s wife, Judith Waite, owned the adjacent farm.
The art of genealogy, of collecting all the data and putting it together in a logical representation of the family, is a lot like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. It can be hard to find all the pieces, and sometimes they appear to fit, but don’t belong. Unfortunately, with genealogy, the pieces are rarely, if ever, all contained in one convenient box, ready for assembly. This is a puzzle where the bulk of the work has to do with bringing all the pieces to the table. In genealogy, that can be a task that is, often times, impossible to fulfill.
Relative Something 
I enjoyed your dream and how it fanned out. What I still find uncanny is how so many ‘names’ – call them what you will – have also been important in my life. To give just two examples: Hawkesbury – was the surname of my childhood best friend, Roger and his father. Ontario is where my sister lives with her family. Yes, so much of what you ARE resonates with me, my friend.
Ian
February 10, 2011 at 8:30 am
I like that. Did I already tell you the story about wanting to call Julian by the nickname, “Ian” since it was the last 3 letters of his name. I started using it when he was very young, and as he got old enough to tell me so, he asked not to be called that. I was surprised, but obliged.
Later, he had a change of heart and told me that it would be okay if I used that name for him, but by that time the pattern of nicknames had already evolved and we never got back to using Ian.
johnwhays
February 10, 2011 at 10:02 am