Why Lydia goes to Boston...
History has always been incredibly important to our family. Both my mother’s side and my father’s side of the family have always passed down stories of their family’s triumphs and struggles, which has always fascinated me and created in me my love of history.
This love of history and my belief in the significance of personal family history formed the basis for A Girl for all Time®. So I thought I’d share some of my own story, my own family history, with you because it explains why Lydia, our first Girl to head to America, goes to Boston.
For me, bringing Lydia to Boston has a special significance rooted in that love of history and the stories my parents always told me about our ancestors. My direct link to Massachusetts and Boston is through my paternal side of the family - as a matter of fact of our family arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 - Edward Winslow was a Separatist and along with his brother, Gilbert, signed the Mayflower compact. Among many other accomplishments, Edward also co-wrote the historic Mourt's Relation, which ends with an account of the First Thanksgiving and the abundance of the New World
If you read the Wikipedia entry above on Edward Winslow, you can see that several names keep appearing; those of Edward himself and also Elinor, an 8 year old girl who travelled with her siblings in Edward’s care on board The Mayflower. We still in our family carry on those names. My own full name is Frances Elinor Cain. Winslow, Edward, and Elinor are still names that my family uses to christen our newest members!
Our paternal side of the family is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which is an organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in War of independence. The requirements are stringent: anyone who can prove “lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence is eligible to join the DAR. She must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage and death, as well as of the Revolutionary War service of her Patriot ancestor.”
My Patriot ancestor is Col. David Leonard, killed on 4th July 1777 at Lake George NY. Because my family places so much importance on personal family history, we have documentation showing our family line all the way back to Col. Leonard – and further still back to the early 1600s. One day I hope to spend some time further researching our family tree and adding to our story, and look forward passing it down to my own children.
Raising my children in the UK, it has been fascinating watching them grow up English, with a definite English perspective on not only world history but also American history. So for me, being able to bring Lydia to Boston, is the perfect way to explore both sides of the Revolution and share with them some of those stories that I grew up with.
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