Did you know I am an 11th generation New Worlder? Me either!
It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned about my genealogy, connecting me to several founding families of America. My parents weren’t into that stuff, and it was a random internet search that led me to find that my grandmother, Rose Calkins, came from an old founding family. It’s for her that I named my teaching studio – Rosalani Harp & Music Academy.
Our family, Hugh and Anne Calkins, landed on these shores in either 1638 or 1640. Their grandson Hugh II built a home in Norwich, CT with his second wife Lois Standish, granddaughter of Captain Myles Standish of the Mayflower.
The Calkins history is deeply embedded in our country’s history with this home, built in the “Colony of Connecticut” as land records were recorded at that time. Hugh died in 1722, long before the Revolutionary War when we became the United States. Our ancestors literally helped build our great nation.
Hugh II’s Norwich home was recently slated for demolition. However, the Norwich Historical Society and Preservation Connecticut have stepped up and will be working with the Calkins Family Association to bring Hugh’s home back to its original structure. The plan is to make it a public education center, research library, and museum staffed by volunteers.
I have not been to Connecticut, nor have I see, any of the well-known family sites. But if you live nearby Norwich, I can send you the address and you can stop by – well when we are able to move around again.
Did Hugh and Anne, or Hugh II play the harp? I’ll have to dig into family history to find out.