The Family Tree

Today on my email, my cousin in Wales told me that he sent something about the family tree. What perfect timing!! It was in the box today!

He had a picture of all the relatives! They were very tiny!! I am going to have to get a magnifying glass just to read all of the dates and name (either that or remove my glasses and bring it up to my eyes and get a headache!).

I could find my great great grandfather's name who was born in Wales in 1822. Then I saw all of the cousins. It was great!! All of them live in Wales.

We are the only "Welsh Americans" among them. When my grandfather was a very young boy he worked in the coal mines (or gold mines) of Wales to help support his mother and sisters, as his dad died at a very young age. My grandfather was a visionary, I believe. He had a dream of leaving Wales and coming to America. He left his home country at the age of 19. His original plan was to work in America and then move to Australia. But his life story didn't happen the way he planned it. He came to Kansas to see his aunt (who was also from Wales) and he worked in and around the area of Emporia. He eventually came to a small town called Florence as there was a rock quarry he worked in. The owner was also a Welshman by the name of Lewis. He started going to the Methodist church there and met his future wife, my grandmother.

Eventually they were married and were planning to have one child. It is a good thing that plans change. I know that God had a hand in changing those plans. Eleven years after my uncle was born, my mother came along. If she wouldn't have been born my grandparents would have never been grandparents. My uncle and his wife didn't have any children. My brother and I are the only grandchildren through that line.

I never met my grandfather as he died 10 years before I was born. He had cancer of the stomach and was only 58 years old. I never met my Welsh cousins either, but have written to this older cousin for quite a while now. Thankfully, we both have email and can keep in contact a lot better. When he dies unfortunately we will lose that communication between the lines. I'm not sure if any of his family care about family history as much he does.

Through my Welsh grandfather there has been a total of 2 grandchildren (my brother and me), 4 great grandchildren (our children) , and 4 great-great grandchildren (my brother's grandchildren), all of living in the U.S. The rest of the family tree relatives all live in Wales.

I am thankful for Grandfather for immigrating to America but most thankful for God who allowed my mother to be born.