Miles and Miles

Continued...
Margaret Lynn Lewis, her husband, John, three sons--William, Thomas, Andrew-- and daughter, Alice (or Margaret Lynn) traveled the seas to land in their new home in Virginia. Margaret briefly described her Scotish born offspring in her journal as she lamented the loss of her heathered homeland, but was soothed somewhat as she wrote:

"...for the blue heather, the eyes of my two boys, Andrew and William, and their sister, Alice, glad me more than acres of such. Poor Thomas, my eldest born, he hath a defect in his sight, but for all this, he looks into his mother’s heart deep down enough, leaving there--which is better than shade of blue heather-- sunshine. He is a noble lad."

And "poor Thomas", the one with defective eyesight, is my ancestor. More on that in the future.

Here is a brief excerpt from Margaret's journal on the new land:

"...The new settlement begins to look quite lively now, with the gardens around the cabins, the patches of grain and all. About thirty of our tenantry have clung to us, through evil and good report, and they are for the most part hale and efficient work-people..."

Ah, she must have felt some feeling of home as the gardens and family grew and her home took root. Margaret's words:

"…The broad prairie before our door at the front looks like miles and miles of gaudy carpeting, with its verdure and flowers. Our cow, Snow Drop, as the children call her, is fastened every day on the meadow border, by a tether many a fathom long. They drive her in when required for the use of little Charles, our new-world baby, and her white feet are continually dyed with the wild strawberries."

She paints a lovely portrait of a simple life with Snow Drop and her strawberry colored feet leaving imprints on the miles of "gaudy carpeting" surrounding them. I'll close for today with that impression and hope it taps me again as I wander through this cold, yet well-heated 3rd day of 2010.