We’re going on a Treasure Hunt: Questions
We’re going on a treasure hunt and we discovered…..Questions!
It was time to say goodbye to our fun in the sun, with compass pointed to Saratoga, NY and then back into Canada for more French research. It was at this time of decision that the invitation came. “Is there a ferry to Long Island?” This thought produced some quick research. Yes there was a ferry, but I inwardly resisted. “I don’t want to go to Long Island! What would be the point? All the museums to visit will be closed.” Who was inviting me? It could only be 3rd great-grandfather, Herman Bayles, whose rich life and deep roots on Long Island I had yet to discover. I turned on a youtube video of Port Jefferson, our docking place, and hoped to answer the question, “What will we do today?” A Bayles Boat Shop! Of course when we arrived, it was closed. Monday is a slow day on Long Island. We turned to leave when a car pulled up and a man, a volunteer, jumped out offering to show us inside and answer questions. We learned that the Bayles family, still today, has a presence on Long Island, encouraging and supporting the tradition of wooden boat building. Now the questions began to flow faster. What were the circumstances surrounding Grandpa Bayles’ change of direction in leaving the island and family trade? What did I know about his wife, his mother? In Family Search memories, I found a journal of his wife, Juliette Homan. There she recorded….”moved to Setauket to live, I there attended the Presbyterian church until April 1841, I joined the Church of Latter Day Saints. The first Elder I ever heard preach was Mr. Sparks from Connecticut.” At that Presbyterian church cemetery we found the graves of many family members, but one stood out, that of his mother Mary. Her death date in October of 1841 brought an understanding. Grandpa Bayles found answers to life questions of why we are here and where we are going in the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This brought him great comfort in his grief during the death of his mother that year. In 1842 he and Juliett left a comfortable Long Island for Nauvoo, Illinois, eventually settling in Parowan, Utah. He could easily invite me to change directions that day. He, alone, had received an invitation to leave family tradition, and his footsteps West connect me to the life I love in Idaho!. Thank you Grandpa for a story not on display in the museum.
What family tree questions are entertaining your thoughts?