Who Knew?
Year 73 for me on this planet. Yes, Covid 19 is here too but with exception of a trip to Florida in September, I remain very secluded on our 20 acres here in Kendall WA.
What makes this year even more special I was given a box of family materials that I didn't even know existed and its contents has provided me with a lot of information about my past and created a fair amount of uncertainty in my mind.
An extensive family tree exists on my father's side. I know very little about my mother's family.
The Navarre family established themselves in the Detroit area in the early 1700's having moved from Canada. They can trace their roots a few centuries back in France. I was always told as a kid that I had some illustrious ancestors and royal blood and if one pokes around a bit on the internet I suppose that's true. But as near as I can tell my grandfather was a farmer in Monroe Michigan.
A few years ago I submitted a swab to Ancestry.com and at first glance did not find anything interesting in the results. I was white and of Northern European decent. With all the interactions between the early settlers and the indigenous population in the Northwest Territory (Detroit area) I thought I would at least see some reference to Indian blood but no. (Apparently my Aunt Mildred was quite a looker in her youth due to high cheekbones thought to come from some inter-marriage with locals)
I did the Ancestry.com thing quite a few years ago and was recently notified of improvements in their DNA processing that could help pinpoint the geographical areas where my ancestors lived. I should say that over the years I was somewhat surprised that I never heard from any Navarres that may have matched as close relatives. I did hear from a few people that I assumed may have been related to me through my mother's side but no one that I recognized.
Given that the Navarre side of the family, according to my family history married almost exclusively with other French speaking families, I was very surprised that my latest report stated that NONE of my ancestors came from France. Very curious.
Aside from the Ancestry thing, it's going to take me quite some time to process all the info in the box I received and I've barely begun to separate the items into piles. There are photos going back to the early 1900's, baby books and newspaper clippings. Also all the letters I wrote to my parents when I was overseas in Thailand.
I am especially interested in the letters as they fill in some of the gaps in my memory about that amazing time in my life. I have now read them all and taken notes. Hopefully I can write about that soon.
