Preface
We all have a lot of roots and branches. Unless you've done ancestry research before, you will have a hard time comprehending just how many branches are in your tree. This branch in particular is very important to me for a couple of reasons: First, the only great grandparent I had was Eliza Buttery Scott from Grand Bay, Newfoundland. (My great grandfather William John Scott of Little Bay East, Newfoundland, was gone before my Mom was even born.) Ask me to name ANY of my other great grandparents and I can't. In fact, in April when I started my research, I had to ask my Mom if Eliza (Gammy) was my grandfather's mother or my grandmother's mother.
Secondly,
this branch of the family seems to clearly reflect who I am as a person, and I never even consciously knew about my heritage until this past Spring--over four decades after my birth. This is my "semi-condensed" story.
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I know it sounds bad that I grew up not knowing my heritage, and it's not like my Mom never mentioned it--it's just that the information fell on young, deaf ears. And to be quite honest, up until a couple of years ago when I rented "The Shipping News", I thought Newfoundland was some country near Finland. No joke. (Great job, Canada Tourism and PR departments!)
People have always tried to fit me in various boxes. From “Southern Belle” to “Mountain Mama,” none of it really fit. I grew up in a log cabin in the mountains of (Asheville) North Carolina with a goat, 2 cats, 2 ponies, and 2 dogs—Old English Sheepdogs.
In the 70s in grade school my favorite books were the
Anne of Green Gables series. I remember looking at the photos of P.E.I. in the Encyclopedia in the school library on more than one occasion and thinking I would never visit since it was too far away. My family did a lot of camping then, and one year we went with friends on a road trip to Massachusetts, which was a big bore to me until we visited Cape Cod one day. I don’t know what town it was, but it was an old fishing village and I perked up. The setting of old shops on the harbor, and the smell of the sea was something I remembered when JFK Jr. died in 1999, and that is when my husband and I began yearly trips to New England, but more on that later.
As I mentioned, I never quite fit into the box anyone drew around me. The Royal Wedding of Charles & Diana sparked an interest in England, and when most of my friends went off to college in Tennessee, I went the opposite direction to England. If only I had known the history of my U.K. ancestors at the time—not that I know it now—still working on all of that!
Back to my childhood--which was a little unconventional--I grew up vegetarian, and the first time I remember eating fish was NOT in England, but on my first visit to the Florida gulf coast as an adult. GASP! When I visited the town of Seaside, FL, I fell in love forever. Nelson and I were married there in 1996. If you’ve seen the movie
The Truman Show, you will see
Seaside in its prime shortly after we were married. In the scene where Truman is going around the town square in his car trying to escape, you can see the gazebo at the end of the road where our ceremony was held. The house he lives in is right next door to one of the houses we actually rented with friends one weekend. We love it there because everything is just simplistic—white picket fences and pastel-colored houses. My only regret about the wedding is that I wore shoes.
Nelson and I share a love of fishing villages, seaports, lighthouses, and maritime stories (you should see my bookshelves!) We have no desire to travel further inland. In fact, the few times I’ve been out Midwest, I’ve been ill at ease. I get the shakes! HA Friends and family never could understand why we would go to the same places every year. We took trips to Maine—traveling as far as Bar Harbor where we felt like we were at the end of the world. HA!
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Top row: Camden, Maine
Bottom row: Maryland and Bar Harbor, Maine |
Our favorite places are Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, both of which seem to resemble NFLD in many ways. Nothing makes Nelson happier than eating a fish dinner by the sea. NOTHING. During our trip to Nantucket in 2002, Nelson took many photos that have been selling on istockphoto.com ever since. I actually saw one of them on a Nantucket travel website.
Our last airplane trip happened to be to St. Michael’s, Maryland in 2005. (After that, our lives got a little too complicated and less fluent.) Our last trip to the Florida gulf coast (a 6-hour drive) was in 2008. Below is the main harbor in Destin,
"The World's Luckiest Fishing Village." Destin claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida. It feels like home to us.
Our home is decorated “beachy.” So was our last house. Below is a photo of our mantel. My artist friend
Barbara Jaenicke painted and framed this oil painting as a housewarming gift in 2004. At Christmas, we bring out a lighthouse that lights up and has Santa in his sleigh rotating around the structure.
In my research of this branch of the family, I've found a rich heritage steeped in maritime history branching from not only Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but continuing into the heart of Massachusetts. There were fisherman and sea captains in both the Buttery and Scott families. It was common for men to leave Newfoundland and work on fishing schooners out of Gloucester, as did several family members. One sea captain lived in Boston. (Naturally, we are also huge fans of Boston and Gloucester.)
Now I'll pull in a stem of this branch to include my grandmother Vera Ida Mann who married my grandfather Lawrence Scott. I've found that her family was in the lumber industry and they built ship masts and did business in the Gloucester area. I've only briefly explored her branch of the family, but her mother came from Germany. I threw out some surnames and locations to Ramona, my German friend, and this is what she told me verbatim:
"The names and the cities, are mostly from the northern, northwest regions of Germany. FYI, they are all seaport towns. It explains why you (as do I) love the seaport, coastal areas so much (like Maine). It is in your/our blood."
I just find it fascinating how we apparently inherit more from our ancestors than a medical history, similar character and physical traits. My brother and I are polar opposites. Although my mother and brother got Gammy’s nose, Lee loves the Midwest, ethnic, spicy food, and isn't a big fan of the beach. He never wanted to visit England. Every year he does a bike tour across Iowa. Why? I have no clue, but my Dad’s side of the family is from Iowa!
How does researching your ancestry change your life? It gives you adventure. It gives you family you didn't know you had. It not only gives you clues to who you are as a person, but it also makes you appreciate and understand those relatives that maybe didn't make a lot of sense before. You learn more of what made them do the things they did. You learn how they survived in even more difficult circumstances than what you face now. It gives you pause. Not long ago they were here amidst us and now they are gone. Life is fleeting (no pun intended.) Today I walk a little taller with the strong winds of my ancestry pressing against my back. I'm not as embarrassed by my freakishly pale skin. I rejoice in the christian faith and knowledge that I will see them again soon and meet many of them for the first time face to face. Totally exciting!
