After Chicago we drove three hours north-west to Moundville, Wisconsin. This is the village where one Thomas Jones lived after he emigrated from our village in the Marches. His brother was my ancestor, and it was Thomas' letter to another brother and which he wrote in 1880 but was kept in the family, which eventually connected us. It was something of a miracle as the American family thought Thomas was an orphan and the village parish registers had Thomas recorded wrongly.
Here I am standing in front of the house built by Thomas' son and where his granddaughter was still living in when the family re-connected in 2001. What we didn't know was that a Grand Reunion of Thomas' children had been organised with us as the great attraction! So we displayed tree charts and photos, a copy of The Letter and the emails that flew back and forth as the connection was made. I felt like the Queen to have people so keen to meet me. It was wonderful to meet so many cousins.
AND there's another reunion in a different place planned for the end of the month
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