What makes genealogy, the study of ancestors, fascinating? I believe it’s funny and ironic stories of our forefather’s lives that could never be made up. Recently, I was surfing the internet for my 8th great grandfather, Edward Palmer, born about 1623, whom emigrated from England. I found information on a most unusual website: BostonPoliceMuseum.com.
From the website: “1639 – Edward Palmer was employed to build stocks; when completed, he presented his bill for his services. The bill was thought to be exorbitant, and Edward Palmer got placed in his own stocks and was fined five pounds.”
My g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g grandpa was the first person in New England to suffer punishment in his own stocks! In retrospect, this is humorous. However, it shows life was not fair; much like life today.
Genealogy has taught me to love history. Most of my ancestors immigrated in the 1600s. They had hard lives. Some fought Indians. Two were hung advocating for religious freedom. A few, embarrassingly, had slaves. One ancestor was accused of being a witch in Salem, Massachusetts, while another was the accuser.
I had ancestral grandpas in the Indian wars, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish American War, world wars I & II and Korean Conflict. I even had a couple who were pirates. And notably, the poet, James Whitcomb Riley, wrote about my 4th great grandfather’s distillery. Gathering genealogy information is like putting together a fun, priceless, dynamic, historical novel.
~ Karen Wente is an instructor and column writer for Larimer County Genealogical Society. Visit our website at www.lcgsco.og or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com.lcgsco to learn more about genealogy and our events.