Tomorrow, the United States celebrates its 250th birthday.
I wanted to somehow honor that and my ancestors for this week's Family Friday post so I took a look at the tree and found that my 6th great-grandmother, Abigail West, was born on July 31, 1776, in Hopkinton, Rhode Island—just 27 days after the Declaration of Independence.
I've known for a long time that I had early colonial and Revolutionary roots, and even more importantly, Abigail's great-great-grandfather (my 10th-great-grandfather) was George Soule, who arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620.
Think about how much changed in just four generations.
George Soule arrived in a struggling English colony on the edge of an unknown continent. His daughter, Susanna Soule, belonged to the first generation born in Plymouth Colony. By the time William West and his son Thomas were raising their families, the colonies had grown into established towns with churches, schools, mills, and local governments.
Then came the summer of 1776.
Thomas and his wife, Susanna "Annie" Colgrove, were 44 & 45 years old when Abigail was born. They had already raised ten children and buried two infants. Thomas had spent his entire life as a British colonist. His youngest daughter would become part of America's first generation.
No one knew what the future held. The Declaration of Independence was only weeks old. The Revolutionary War had barely begun. Whether the colonies would actually become a new nation was still far from certain.
Abigail later married Rev. John Colby. Together, they became among the early settlers who helped establish the community of Sardinia, New York. By the time Abigail died there in 1818, she had witnessed the birth of a nation, the adoption of the Constitution, the election of its first presidents, and the country's early expansion beyond the original thirteen colonies.
History often feels like a series of disconnected events in a textbook. Genealogy reminds me that it wasn't. It was lived one family at a time.
For my fellow genealogy nerds, here's my direct line, just 8 generations from Independence, and 12 from the arrival of the Mayflower:
• Tiffany Ring (me!)
• My mom, Kathi
• My grandma, Beverly
• Donald Claire Copeman (1908–1963)
• Arthur Levenous Copeman (1888–1967)
• Mahala Elvira Colby (1858–1944)
• Urdix Stillman Colby (1830–1908)
• John L. Colby (1800–1845)
• Abigail West (1776–1818)
• Thomas West (1732–1797)
• William West (1681–1758)
• Susanna Soule (1642–1736)
• George Soule (1595–1679) - Mayflower!
One of my favorite stories from this branch of the family comes from Abigail and Rev. John Colby's son, Deacon John Colby. If you'd like to read about his memorable encounter with a deer... and then a bear... you'll find it here:
The Deacon, the Deer, and the Bear
https://tiffanyring.net/stories/the-deacon-the-deer-and-the-bear
Happy 250th birthday, America! 🇺🇸
