Milford, CT
I can’t remember what age I was when I first peered up at my dad and asked him where we came from, but since that day I haven’t stopped searching. People laughed at me. They promised that with a fatherless grandpa, the quest for my heritage would yield nothing but a dead end. For years I hunted in vain, looking for one tiny fact to match a faceless name. Then a clue from a generous stranger and eventually a prison record complete with mug shot opened the door to a world of discovery.
Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Friendly looking guy, isn’t he?
My personal journey led me to Milford, Connecticut, where a significant branch of my family settled along the Wepawaug River and established a town that stands to this day. Andrew Sanford, the first in my surname’s line to immigrate from England, removed here after tragedy struck in Hartford. Both he and his wife were accused of witchcraft during the Connecticut Witch Trials of 1662. Only he survived.
Until I undertook the journey, I didn’t comprehend what a meaningful role travel can play in the study of genealogy. Instead of reading a dry list of names on a family tree, I got to traverse the soil my ancestors once worked, run my fingers over the bark of the trees they saw on their daily walks, even visit some of the buildings that existed during their lifetimes. As I gazed down at an original stone employed in an ancestor’s mill, I imagined him there, living in a new and mysterious land. I knelt before the grave of Andrew Sanford’s son, moved to tears by the idea of him losing his mother so senselessly at only nineteen years of age. I stood in awe to realize that each of these forgotten lives had legacies living on in all of us.
Just like any kind of history, genealogy awakens with travel. If family history is an interest of yours, I strongly recommend following your clan’s roots to their places of origin. Most towns have historical societies that are more than willing to assist you in your journey to discovering your past. If you’ve already done extensive research, burial spots should be listed in your records. If not, free sites like findagrave.com provide searchable databases, an excellent resource for any researcher. And, of course, you might also encounter a true piece of living history along the way—fellow descendants and family members. In small communities, it’s not unheard of for generations of a clan to live on in one place, maintaining family homes and businesses. What a special treat to interact with actual relatives and perhaps unearth more information on your lineage!
We jet across land and sea to ogle paintings that are splashed across the internet, to feel the cold marble of buildings pictured in thousands of books, to walk in the footsteps of giants we already know like old friends. So why not experience our roots in the same way—for ourselves? Your family history will come alive like never before if you do. Then you’ll have something special to share with your children when they gaze up at you and ask the same question I did those many years ago.
