Meriwether and Me: A Short Aside from Megan

Mount Shasta

Meriwether and Me: A Short Aside

Due to Alicia recovering from surgery these next few weeks, you all are going to be hanging out with me, Megan.  So be prepared for my musings on the trip, dating, Alicia, and everything.  And though, if I had my rather, I would exist entirely in a Princess Bride/Doctor Who mash up universe, perhaps I can entertain you until Alicia’s triumphant return. – MP

When in Portland, I had the great pleasure to meet my second cousin Mason for the first time.  Due to some generational weirdness in my family, even though we are the same number of generations from our shared ancestor, he was about forty years older then myself (I once did a did a family genealogy for 5^th grade and got failed because I missed a generation.  But yes Mrs. K, my Grandfather was born in 1905, and my Great-Great Grandfather in 1823.  I may be one of the youngest people alive only four generations removed from the Civil War). Despite our 40 years, we are still family, loosely held by blood, history and our families sprawling oral history.

Mason and my Uncle Hugh are the keepers of the family trees; long spiraling things full of intrigue, loss of homeland, wife desertion, wife regaining, attempted murders, actual murders, westward struggle and the eventfulness of me.  Many of the stories I have heard at least once, but one had been left out up to this point. One fact I thought especially interesting considering the journey I was embarking on:  As it happens, Meriwether Lewis was my many, many greats uncle.  And yes, if you are going to pick a member of the Lewis and Clark partnership to be related to, you may not instantly go for the probably suicidal, certainly off his rocker one.  But when you are about to head off on a cross-country adventure, there is some peace in knowing your ancestor was the inventor of the American road trip.

Follow