52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2018: Week 1 Start

Í'm going to start this 2018 Challenge to respond to 52 weekly writing prompts about my ancestors. I don't usually do this because I never complete challenges in any part of my life. (Stubbornness?) But my cousin Carin has nagged and encouraged me to start. So starting I am with the aptly named first challenge.

Week 1: Start

Dave and Lynn Dosch family with Katie, Michael and Christie

Who am I? Where do I come from? The older I get, the more I’m intrigued by these questions. I want answers for myself but I want my kids to have this information about who they are as well. I think I see this as my gift, my legacy to leave them when I am gone.

I am lucky. I grew up in close proximity to my extended family and never thought twice about it. I thought everyone had Sunday dinners with their grandparents, spent Thanksgiving with hoards of uncles, aunts and cousins, visited 5 families on Christmas day to wish them a Merry Christmas (and play with their new toys!) But by my teen years, in spite of having this swirl of relatives around me, I was mostly interested in escaping the “smallness” of my world to explore places far away. Looking back 70 years later, I regret the time I lost with close relatives. Hintz family reunions in Alicia Park were so much fun!

Oshkosh City Museum

Running around the Oshkosh Public Museum with Miller and Beutler cousins, playing cards, and (yuk!) gathering black walnuts from Grandma Sullivan’s tree was all part of the fun of being on High Street.

747 High Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Grandma Sullivan's home; Pat Hanson talking to a renter in 2010. The house is owned by the University and is rented out as rooms.

It’s funny, I discovered an interest in my heritage when I was farthest away from home, living in Germany. My Dad knew he was from somewhere in Germany, but he thought the town no longer existed and didn’t seem interested in his German roots when he came to visit us in Germany. Husband Dave’s family, on the other hand, had a single clue – the name of a Swedish parish – and were very interested to find Lorna’s family. So when they visited, we traveled for a week to Norway and Sweden and, miracle of miracles, came face to face with family records in the church and then in government archives back to the 1600s.

Anderson family departure from Hassjo parish church

Not only that, but we found a living relative in a nearby town. I was blown away by the idea that you could actually trace your ancestors. The seeds of genealogy research were sown at that time, but only much later, when we finally moved back to the Midwest in 1992, did I begin to seriously consider the heritage of my children.

I dabbled at first, joining Ancestry and putting what I knew on that site. Lorna’s information was easiest to access. Her brother had done family group sheets (a list of a married couple and their children with birth, marriage and death dates). And Lorna is a great story-teller with a huge store of family history. Like my family, the Wilsons (Lorna) and Dosch’s had large extended families who gathered for birthdays, anniversaries, and homecomings. These families mostly stayed within close geographical distance of each other, so I came to know many of them over the years.

As I approached retirement, I had more time to explore. And by some lucky star, we decided to retire to Wisconsin and moved back to the state where I grew up and felt most at home. This hobby of genealogy suddenly became a passion.

Lots of things started to fall into place. I found Greg Sutherland online at Ancestry. I was 18 the last time I saw him. The Sulli Cuzzins got back together thanks to Facebook and plans for a Chicago reunion in 2011. Stories and photos continue on that family site to this day. I began to explore the Sullivan ancestry for my Mom who was beginning to show signs of dementia. I knew we were Polish and Irish, but not much more. Neither did my Mom to my great sadness. But bringing together my Mom, Aunt Monica, and Uncle Gerry at the reunion gave them all so much happiness and animation. And I met cousins I had only known by name. I re-met cousins I hadn’t seen since my teen years.

Sulli Cuzzins reunion in Chicago, July 2011. Siblings Gerry, Patricia and Monica seated in front row. Gerry's grandkids in front and assorted Sulli Cuzzins behind.

I found a place where I definitely belong, with people who make me smile and feel comfortable. And I began to accept that I am who I am because of the genetics, the history, and the nurture of these families. And that’s OK!

We made a trip to Williamsburg with my Mom in 2012 and stopped in Jamestown Tennessee on the way back for a fabulous visit with Greg, Susan, and best of all, Mom's sister, Bernice Sutherland.

Sullivan sisters: Bernice Sutherland and Pat Hanson, 2012

My Mom was so excited. And I realized how genealogy had led me back to my family. What a cool thing.

When my Mom died in 2013 (and Bernice just 3 weeks earlier), I coped with my mourning by diving into the Sullivan family history. For 3 months, I spent all day, every day doing Sullivan genealogy. It let me think about my Mom and not about her death. It created a legacy of family that I could hold on to even in her absence.

The web of family I have uncovered, both living and deceased, sustain me, define me and provide solid footing for me as I accept a new role as a family elder. I do not stand alone, but am supported by my cousins and my family whose nurturing is now part of my soul. I hope I live long enough to do justice to their stories.