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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Ancient Cemeteries and Genealogy






As I have posted previously, I am extremely interested in our family history and genealogy.
After joining an ancestry website and doing some investigating I've found many of my hubby's family when they first arrived in this country....well, it wasn't America yet, it was the "Colonies".
This man, David James (1660-1739) would be my hubby's paternal 6th great grandfather (that means 9 generations ago) and he came to the colonies seeking religious freedom as he was a Quaker.
He and his wife and new born child (hubby's 5th great grandfather) arrived from Wales in Oct 1682, on board the ship "Bristol Factor".
David James was given "city lots" in 1683 or 1684 but eventually settled in Radnor, PA.
David James name is on the map of the State House grounds on Chestnut St. in Philadelphia.
After finding some of these people I became interested in finding out where they were buried and from there is was a short jump to going to ancient burying grounds or searching them out on the internet.
The above photos are of the church grounds and the headstone where David James is buried....this cemetery is near the Valley Forge Campground where General Washington and his troops wintered during the Revolutionary War.
Some people feel that this is a bit macabre but I am always excited to come across a new cemetery find.
Love to hear from you!

4 comments:

The Catnap Cottage said...

That is too cool - My husband's mother traced his family tree back to England. One day I want to figure it all out, I only know a couple generations back! Nice post!!

Cottage In The Sun said...

That is so exciting. I have been trying to figure out where my grandmother's parents are buried - no one seems to know, but I will find it someday. I am only the 3rd generation on my Dad's side and hope to visit Sweden some day!

Anonymous said...

I find it very interesting....the old church is beautiful

Lana Manis said...

Lenore ~ that's so interesting! My dad's side (Voiles) is said to come from Wales in the 1700s, though I haven't traced it that far yet. I was obsessed with researching family history years ago... till I lost all my info when I switched computers and my backup disks failed.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Have a lovely day! :-)