A Family Tree Blog

An Old Growth Oak                                 Vol. 1        Issue 1

A Family Tree Blog                                   March 8, 2020

By Richard D. Nurse

Prior to taking our first trip to Europe, my wife and I had our DNA tested through Ancestry.com. We both were aware to a point of some of our ancestry. Actually, my wife had more knowledge about her family tree than I did. Her mother’s maiden name was Van Ryan, which was the Americanization of her Grandfather’s proper surname which is spelled Van Rijn, which is how Rembrandt’s’ name is spelled, and purportedly to whom there is a blood connection.  No, I am not giving away the secret just yet, you will just have to keep reading future issues of this blog. Her surname was Fisher, and his lineage goes back to colonial times. He is also a descendent of the Nimes family which is well known for being victims of both the massacre and kidnaping of, and forced march of the children from Deerfield, Connecticut to Montreal Canada during the French and Indian War.

My last name is Nurse, at one time the rarest Anglo surname in America. I am also a first generation American, as my father was born in London, Ontario, Canada. My true grandfather gave is life fighting for Canada, at Vimy France during WWI. My Grandmother, a war widow, originally from Tones in the United Kingdom, by way of Cardiff Wales remarried and American Citizen, making my Father and his Uncle American Citizens, when they crossed back into the United States. While my knowledge of my mother’s childhood, had always revolved around her mother dying of Consumption when she was twelve, and how her father had placed her and her younger brother into a foster home, knowing that he would not be able to provide for them as a single parent. It forced her two older brothers to make do as best as they could living with their father in 1926.

We received our DNA results shortly before we left for Europe to celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary, by taking a river cruise on the Rhine from Basel Switzerland north to Amsterdam. The initial results bore out most of the family lore with regards to where our forbearers had lived. I say initial results, because they have been revised and refined on multiple occasions since we received them over two years ago. This was to be expected, for as Ancestry’s DNA database continues to grow, the ethnicity percentage become more exact, and new matches are added to your list.

I began with my own surname of Nurse as I began to build a family tree. I, like my brothers, was looking for confirmation that Rebecca Nurse, who was burned at a stake during the Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials was in fact a blood relative. A story that we had long been told to be true. As with my wife’s possible connection to Rembrandt, I am going to hold off revealing what I have discovered regarding Rebecca Nurse.  A present I have seven trees in various stages of research. The title of this blog “An Old Growth Tree” is also the title I have chosen for the final tree that will combine the four trunks that make up our family tree.

A final thought to ponder as I bring this issue to an end. Why is it that we construct our family trees with the living being at the base? While those with all the knowledge and stories reside far up and out on distant branches.

© March 8, 2020

Richard D. Nurse

All Rights Reserved