Hi List, This morning, as I gently and reverently turned the pages of the old Snavely Bible, a thought struck me. What do I really know about these people? Three bookcase shelves are sagging under the weight of twenty-five years of research. Once bare walls are now covered with pictures of farmers in their Sunday best sitting for some long forgotten dead photographer. And this Bible, its' first entry made in German nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, leather cracking, pages yellowing and browning at the edges, ink faded to a soft sable brown. Surely I must know these people by now. But they are all long gone, and nine generations separate me from that first faded entry. How can I possibly know a man who died in 1772? The thought turned over and over in my mind, and then the answer came. I do know him. I may not know what he looked like, or the sound of his voice, but I know a lot about what kind of man he was. I know that he was adventurous - he left his native land behind and sailed across an ocean to a new one. I know that he cared deeply for his family - enough to bring them to a place with a chance of a better life. I know that he was religious - his Bible proves that. I know that he was educated - he signed his name on ship manifests, not needing to use an "X". I know that he raised a family, saw his children born, and buried at least one of them. I know that he was a loving grandfather - two grandchildren are remembered in his will, children of a deceased, but much loved namesake. And I know that he wanted future generations to be proud of their heritage, for, with a bold hand, he lovingly entered the events of his life and those of his children into this wonderful old Bible, and saw to it that it was passed along, ending up in the hands of a many times great-granddaughter whose love of family history he could never have imagined. So, how do I honor this man, and all my other ancestors, both Pennsylvanian and Virginian? How do I honor so diverse a group of people? How do I honor the Snavely who died defending his farm from marauding Indians, and also honor the ancestor who died defending his moonshine still? How do I honor those who fought and died on both sides of the American Revolution? How do I honor those who fell in the Bloody Lane at Antietam or died in the hail of fire at Cold Harbor because they believed in a cause, and still honor those who gave the last full measure in order to hold the Union together? How do I honor my great-great-great grandmother whose grave stands among so many other Snavely graves in Paradise Cemetery, and also honor my great-grandfather whose grave stands alone on a windy hilltop in southwestern Virginia? Where would I place a monument to their memory, and is it possible to express a sentiment that would do justice to all that they were? No monument will suffice, but I can honor them by keeping their memory alive, and by passing that memory along to future generations. After all, I am the future generation that my many times great-grandfather was thinking of when he made those entries in his Bible over two centuries ago. He is challenging me not to let him down, for if I do, I will not only fail him and future generations, but all those generations which went before. Maybe, after nine more generations have passed, some distant descendant will read my family books, and again take up the challenge. Family history is, after all, an ongoing event. Diana Mason

What a beautiful tribute, Diana! You honor your ancestors just by being the wonderful, giving person that you are. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. God bless you! Sue ----- Original Message ----- From: <Jfmdbmlam@aol.com> To: <PACENTRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2002 9:44 AM Subject: [PACENTRE] Knowing and Honoring Our Ancestors > Hi List, > > This morning, as I gently and reverently turned the pages of the old Snavely > Bible, a thought struck me. What do I really know about these people? Three > bookcase shelves are sagging under the weight of twenty-five years of > research. Once bare walls are now covered with pictures of farmers in their > Sunday best sitting for some long forgotten dead photographer. And this > Bible, its' first entry made in German nearly two hundred and fifty years > ago, leather cracking, pages yellowing and browning at the edges, ink faded > to a soft sable brown. Surely I must know these people by now. But they are > all long gone, and nine generations separate me from that first faded entry. > How can I possibly know a man who died in 1772? > > The thought turned over and over in my mind, and then the answer came. I do > know him. I may not know what he looked like, or the sound of his voice, but > I know a lot about what kind of man he was. I know that he was adventurous - > he left his native land behind and sailed across an ocean to a new one. I > know that he cared deeply for his family - enough to bring them to a place > with a chance of a better life. I know that he was religious - his Bible > proves that. I know that he was educated - he signed his name on ship > manifests, not needing to use an "X". I know that he raised a family, saw his > children born, and buried at least one of them. I know that he was a loving > grandfather - two grandchildren are remembered in his will, children of a > deceased, but much loved namesake. And I know that he wanted future > generations to be proud of their heritage, for, with a bold hand, he lovingly > entered the events of his life and those of his children into this wonderful > old Bible, and saw to it that it was passed along, ending up in the hands of > a many times great-granddaughter whose love of family history he could never > have imagined. > > So, how do I honor this man, and all my other ancestors, both Pennsylvanian > and Virginian? How do I honor so diverse a group of people? How do I honor > the Snavely who died defending his farm from marauding Indians, and also > honor the ancestor who died defending his moonshine still? How do I honor > those who fought and died on both sides of the American Revolution? How do I > honor those who fell in the Bloody Lane at Antietam or died in the hail of > fire at Cold Harbor because they believed in a cause, and still honor those > who gave the last full measure in order to hold the Union together? How do I > honor my great-great-great grandmother whose grave stands among so many other > Snavely graves in Paradise Cemetery, and also honor my great-grandfather > whose grave stands alone on a windy hilltop in southwestern Virginia? > > Where would I place a monument to their memory, and is it possible to express > a sentiment that would do justice to all that they were? > > No monument will suffice, but I can honor them by keeping their memory alive, > and by passing that memory along to future generations. After all, I am the > future generation that my many times great-grandfather was thinking of when > he made those entries in his Bible over two centuries ago. He is challenging > me not to let him down, for if I do, I will not only fail him and future > generations, but all those generations which went before. > > Maybe, after nine more generations have passed, some distant descendant will > read my family books, and again take up the challenge. Family history is, > after all, an ongoing event. > > Diana Mason > > > ==== PACENTRE Mailing List ==== > The first permanent settler of Centre County was Andrew Boggs, in 1769. >