Apparently NOT

I think it’s a good thing when someone tells you that they’re better than you are. I appreciate the time it saves me. That way, I don’t have to spend any of my pretty little time thinking about it or wondering – am I? or am I not?

See, there’s something about genealogy that you might not know. People who have been here the longest (aside from the Native Americans who usually get left out of this unique equation) are better than people who have come later. So, if you escaped Europe during World War I (1914 – 1918  ) you’re not as cool as people who came during the Potato Famine (1845 – 1852). See how that works?

It goes back almost precisely to Jamestown (1607) but Jamestown has been surpassed in I-got-here-before-you-snootiness by the relative latecomers of Plymouth Rock (1620). The Great New England. Published family histories about New England families are legendary. The “best” genealogical societies are in New England. Some of those “legendary” New England genealogies? They won’t include you if you were adopted because you’re not “really” from a pureblood New England family. These people put Lord Voldemort to shame. And even if you don’t buy into the nonsense, you are going to benefit from all of the research that has gone before you and the assorted glories of Those of the Tea Party are going to rub off on you.

‘Cause me? I thought I was from a New England family.

I recently checked out a book called A Long Deep Furrow: Three Centuries of Farming in New England. I was excited to be reading about agriculture! and crop rotation! and yields! and farm equipment! I was going to learn about the bread and butter of my ancestor’s lives. The dirt under their fingernails. The great and noble tradition of family farming.

I finally get the thing, examine the table of contents, and begin reading. Some stuff is good right away such as the difference between saying “subsistence farming” and “self-sustaining farming.” Yo!! Over here! I’m so cool I’m learning politically correct stuff about FARMING!

Then I begin scanning. Something is off.  The states of New York and Vermont keep not getting mentioned, chapter after chapter it’s Boston, Boston, all is Boston. Cape Cod. Yes, he name drops The Mayflower. Finally, I see a really terrific map of New England that breaks out the most important crops in various regional areas. Perfect! I’m going to be able to say what was being farmed in the region my family lived in during a particular time period.

Trick: present day states are outlined but not named. I pull up a GoogleMap of Albany, New York, near where my family lived, and grab and shift until I hit the Atlantic. I compare the maps.

WELL EXCUSE ME. New York is not a part of New England. As the last person to learn this I would like to thank Mr. Howard S. Russell, author of said book, for leading me on this road of discovery. I might reply that Lewis and Clark began THEIR Journey of Discovery in 1803 (I just learned this factoid, too, and it’s really the only come-back I have at hand).

I am left in the rather unenviable position of knowing for sure that I am not as cool as I thought I was.