Family stories

My younger sister e-mailed me yesterday regarding some genealogical questions about one particular branch of our maternal ancestry. What is fascinating about this is that it's the same branch of the family that has been very much on my mind of late, and since my sister lives 6000 miles away in Europe, well, I regarded this as more than just coincidence. I think that despite distance, people who are related can think about each other and can think about the same things at the same times. At any rate, it also got me to thinking a lot about old family stories, some of them having been passed down orally through the generations, some of them doubtless apocryphal but making for good tales nonetheless, and some of them the result of direct memory of actual people, places and events. Fortunately, most of our maternal ancestry genealogy and stories were collected by our mother and put down in a little booklet that she put together for us. A lot of the stories were ones passed down in letters or from our grandparents memories or from other sources. We sure have had an interesting family, coming from such far flung places as England, Ireland, Wales, either Haiti or the Dominican Republic (it's hard to say which part of the island our family actually came from - I'm inclined to think Haiti myself because of the fact that it was once a French colony and most of the family who came from there were either Breton or French, and I can't imagine our French family living on the Spanish part of the island, personally, but then, that's just me). They settled in places like Virginia, Alabama, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Louisiana, Texas and perhaps other places as yet unknown. But I think it's terribly important to be able to have these stories available to pass down to future generations. I'm glad we have at least some information on the who, where, when, and even a bit of why. There are some downright colorful stories of spurned lovers, failed marriages, alcoholics, mill workers, slave owners, Irish immigrants, New England Yankees, photographers, shop keepers and much, much more. It's all quite fascinating and in some instances, sad, but it's our family history, for good or for ill. I just wish we had such a comprehensive history like that on our dad's side. We have a few interesting stories that have been unearthed, but nothing like the collection of tales we have on our mom's side. These are real treasures, and I hope that they survive the future generations to be told again and again.

CSI: AKRON-CANTON

Last summer there was a spectacular crime that made national news. A white 9 months pregnant woman in North Canton disappeared from her home and a whole lot of people turned out to find her. In the meantime, the woman's mother found the daughter's two year old son at home alone and had been so for something like two days in a soiled diaper. To make a long story short, eventually a black cop who was her lover led police to her body which was found in a local Akron park where I have hiked a few times. Turns out he killed her, but in his testamony at the trial, he said it was an accident and he didn't mean to kill her. This cop, by the way, had children with several women and was still married with a wife and family of his own. My co-workers call him a "playa", ghetto-speak for someone who plays around behind his wife's back with other women. Anyway, today was the big day for the verdict, and everyone at work was on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what it was. So here's what we heard on the radio: Not guilty of aggravated murder in the case of the woman, guilty of murder in the death of the woman, guilty of aggravated murder in the death of the fetus, guilty of gross abuse of a corpse in the case of the woman, guilty of gross abuse of a corpse in the death of the fetus, and guilty of burglary for entering the home of the woman by force. Apparently they bought the excuse of the accidental death of the woman so he was found not guilty of aggravated murder in her death and got just straight murder instead. So now comes the sentencing hearing to find out whether he will get the death penalty or life in prison. This story has been prominently featured in the papers daily and quite the topic of conversation around offices and coffee shops everywhere in the area. I don't know why people are so fascinated by these kinds of true crime stories, but people lap this stuff up. It's just all so sad, in my opinion. People's lives have been ruined by one criminal act and a lot of people have been affected. Crime touches more than just the victim. It touches the families of both victim and perpetrator. I just don't think people realize how much. Well, the story continues as the sentencing hearing approaches. And people will continue to discuss this as the stories keep appearing in local newspapers.