Hi Folks! The following was sent to me from another list Im on. It kinda hit home with me, so I thought I would share it with the rest of my Greene/Green "cousins" ( surely Im related to somebody out there? Doesnt anyone have a Charles FM Greene b abt 1848-50 in VA and whom had his children in NY in their ancestry? Anybody?) Enjoy the poem, I did. Sue Pawley trottr@icanect.net > It was the first day of the census, and all through the land > The pollster was ready.. A black book in his hand. > He mounted his horse for a long dusty ride > His book and some quills were tucked close by his side. > A long winding ride down a road barely there > Toward the smell of fresh bread wafting through the air. > The woman was tired, with lines on her face, > And wisps of brown hair she tucked back in place. > She gave him some water as they sat at the table, > And she answered his questions as best she was able. > He asked of her children...yes, she had quite a few; > The oldest was twenty, the youngest not two. > She held up a toddler with cheeks round and red. > His sister, she whispered, was napping in bed. > She noted each person who lived there with pride, > As she felt the faint stirrings of the wee one inside. > He noted the sex, the color, the age... > The marks from the quill soon filled up the page. > At the number of children, she nodded her head, > And he saw her lips quiver for the three that were dead. > The places of birth she "never forgot." > Was it Kansas, or Utah? Or Oregon.. Or not? > They came from Lithuania, of that she was clear, > But she wasn't quite sure just how long they'd been here. > They spoke of employment, of schooling and such. > They could read some, and write some, though really not much. > When the questions were answered, his job there was done, > So he mounted his horse and he rode towards the sun. > We can almost imagine his voice loud and clear, > "May god bless you all for another ten years!" > Now picture a time warp, it's now you and me > As we search for the people on our family tree. > We squint at the census and scroll down so slow, > As we search for that entry from long, long ago. > Could we only imagine on that long ago day > That the entries they made would affect us this way? > If they knew, would they wonder at the yearning we feel > And the searching that makes them so increasingly real. > We can hear, if we listen, the words they impart > Through their blood in our veins and their voice in our heart. > > Author unknown. > > Compliments of Sonoma County Genealogical Society, > Santa Rosa, Ca. www.scgs.org/scgs.html > > > ==== GEN-NYS Mailing List ==== > Have you considered joining the Rootsweb Genealogical Data > Cooperative? >