On one side, the women were Daughters of the American Revolution. My mother's family - the Coxes - can trace itself back all the way to Bishop Richard Cox of Ely Cathedral in England in the 1500s. After a stop in Ireland in the 1600s, ye olde ancestors finally made it to Virginia in the 1700s. My mother's dad, Granpa Charlie as we knew him, was a Son of the American Revolution. I guess it's not surprising that he temporarily cut my mom off when she married a Black guy. What would the Bishop say?!
On the other side, we've got Billy, the slave. Billy escaped. I don't say he ran away because that sounds cowardly and condemn-able. He escaped, which seems like the smart thing to do when conditions are a lifetime of "12 Years a Slave." Anyway, Billy made his way to Canada, married a nice French-Canadian girl and started a family line where twins and freckles pop up every other generation. Blame Canada.
Many, many generations later, the Bishop and Billy met, in the form of my parents, Sarah and Spencer.
 |
| Bishop Cox rocks 16th-century shoulder pads |
 |
| My great-grandfather, grandfather and dad (the baby) on the family farm |
So what do you get when you combine a could-be Daughter of the American Revolution and a coulda-been-a slave?
 |
| Me in Morocco |
Posts
