Nov. 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 11

DARYL LOTT daryl’s

DARYL LOTT daryl’s deliberations The Blood in our Veins Genealogy is one of, if not the, fastest growing hobbies in the United States. People, especially senior adults, want to make connections with their long-gone ancestors. Vast improvements in digital libraries and collections allow for arm-chair family historians to create a lasting legacy. In the USA, we’ve had issues due to literacy. Not because people couldn’t read and write, but the opposite. In illiterate cultures, young people memorize their ancestral lines. Their ancestors are revered, and the information is passed from one generation to the next. The Bible is full of genealogical passages based on the memorized recollections of Hebrew people. As literate cultures came into being, people relied more on pen and paper. Records were kept in family Bibles, journals, and public records. The art and practice of memorizing one’s DARYL LOTT ancestry passed into the dustbin of history. I suppose that’s all well and good, but the people of the South had a disadvantage. Wooden public buildings inevitably became kindling in massive fires that consumed the written records. Sometimes, these fires were started by open flame light sources, and other times, lightning strikes and storms caused the destruction. In one particular case involving my family, General Nathaniel P. Banks, US Army (and former Speaker of the House), put my family’s courthouse to the torch in Rapides Parish, LA. Not to worry, General Richard Taylor, CSA, avenged my family’s loss and ran General Banks out of Louisiana. General Taylor’s father was the President of the United States, Zachary Taylor. See how your family’s history ties into the national story? But we lost family records. To this day, if you go into the Rapides Parish Courthouse in Alexandria, LA, 126 The Blues - November ‘24

and you’re looking for old documents, the clerk will tell you, “The Yankees burned down our courthouse.” Like it was last week! Sometimes you run across a note or scrap of information that gives you a hint of the lives your family members led. Among the census lists, military papers, and journals, a simple court record jumped out at me. In the “Lowdens County (GA) Court of Ordinary”, there is an estate notation. My Great x3 Grandfather left his son a “pocketknife.” I’ve wondered if the son accepted his windfall and treasured it. He would go on to fight for the Confederacy. I wondered if he kept his father’s estate in his pocket as he served as a 2nd lieutenant. I know he owned no slaves, so I wondered why he fought. Yes, the Civil War was caused by slavery, but the reason each man, North and South, picked up a rifle was probably unique. Most American senior adults live in a genealogical era where there are nine generations from the American Revolution until now. That means my Great x 5 grandparents were present at the Revolution. I have 256 G x 5 grandparents as lineal ancestors! And so do you. If I look down the line to my grandson the numbers are staggering. The two generations added to mine means my grandson has 1024 G x 7 grandparents in the American Revolution era. It is estimated that there are over Thirty Million descendants of the Mayflower pilgrims alive today! Ultimately, we are all connected to a common pair of ancestors. That’s just the way it works. As you read history books about historical events, be sure to consider your own family. The blood that runs through your veins is no less grand than the royal blood of the crowned heads in England. A friend of mine recently released a book about navigating loss and grief, it targets moms who lost a son or daughter. One piece of priceless advice in the General Richard Taylor book concerns a “Legacy Letter.” This is a letter one writes in their own handwriting, telling future generations what made the writer tick. It includes family stories, but mostly it’s the writer’s story. It focuses on the things that are really important - not the usual stuff that makes us all angry or happy. It’s the “good stuff,” like inheriting a pocketknife. Questions, Comments? Daryl- Lott.Texas@gmail.com The Blues - November ‘24 127