I hope everyone had a Happy Easter and enjoyed your weekend. As some of you may or may not know this summer I am going to meet my parents in England and we are going to go roaming around the UK. Now, before I even get started, I AM going to count any "countries" that we might go to towards my goal of visiting least 30 countries...I know some of you might say that technically Scotland or Wales are not by definition countries and they are both part of the UK, well any of your protests will fall on deaf ears! HA! So, I am going to add their flags and if anyone has a problem then they can just deal with it! HAHAHA!
So, to say I'm excited would be an understatement...I think about it pretty much everyday and have been trying to find some cool places and sites to see, but let me tell you all how this future journey even came to be.
For years I have seen some names of my relatives on paper, genealogy sheets or whatever and they were just that...names of mostly old dead people I had never seen nor read anything about. They were as real to me as Casper the Friendly Ghost or some other fictional character. I never really cared much to know any of them and for years I didn't really think much about it at all. Well, for some unknown reason a few years ago I became a little serious in looking up especially the Holyoak family history. No offense to Mom's side of the family, but for some reason it seemed much easier to track the Holyoak name, maybe because of it's uniqueness. I figured pretty much anyone with the same last name as me had to be related at some point! So, I found a cool website holyoak.org I thought it was pretty fun to find something with my name on it, and so I signed up as a member. Well, I poked around a little and not much else. I think about that time my dad had ordered a family history book called Holyoaks: From Kings Norton to the Everlasting Hills. This book was the history of the Holyoaks from George (my great great great great grandpa) and his wife Sarah. I was quite excited to check out the book the next time I saw my dad. I really enjoyed reading some about the family and knowing a little about where I came from and a little about some of those "names" I had seen before.
Well...everything kind of settled back and I didn't think about it much for a while. After time had passed I checked the website again and got in touch with the administrator, Chad Nichols via an e-mail. He referred me to another site that he runs called eancestry.org I couldn't believe it the first time I saw this site, it was amazing. I know Chad (my awesome 5th cousin! HA) has spent uncountable hours on this site. I couldn't believe it as I kept going back, further and further into my family history I was in awe. 1800s. 1700s. 1600s! The dates just kept going. I saw churches where people were married and christened. I saw old black and white photos, now I could attach a face to a name. I saw records of my family coming onto the American shores in the 1800s. I read stories and knew details about people. It was an incredible experience and for that I'd like to thank Chad for his time...that was probably the experience that really got me excited about learning about my family. So...fast forward to just a few months ago, one night I was home and flipping through the channels and I saw a show come on. The name is "Who Do You Think You Are?" People (some mostly B rate celebs) are on there and they try and go to places where their family lived and find out things about their past. It hit me while I was watching that..."why don't I do that?" So, in a half joking, half serious e-mail to my parents I said "why don't we meet in England and see some places where our family lived?" I know it isn't easy to meet sometimes even for a Sunday dinner, much less for me to fly from Korea and Mom and Dad from the States and meet in the middle...but, I was very happy when they e-mailed back and said "let's make it happen!" It's kind of the best of both worlds for me, I get a chance to see my dear parents AND I get to travel and see somewhere new as well as walk some of the same places where my family once walked, farmed, worked and loved. The best part is that quite a few of Mom's family are also from England, and actually quite close to Dad's...so, we should be able to find a lot of places and see a lot of things from both sides of the family. Most of Dad's family are from around Birmingham area...Yardley. As I've read more about my family I thought "I sure wish I would have had a chance to talk to some of them and hear about their lives" things that made them happy, hard times, things they learned, wisdom they could pass along...all those kinds of things. So, this weekend the weather was nice...I was out for a walk and I thought "I should write them a letter!" Now, I know they are all passed away, and so, on the one hand this is quite silly, and on the other I think a fun chance to share some thoughts and ask some questions. I have not lost it, and I do realize they can't answer...so please don't worry about my sanity! HA!
OK...now, I know this post doesn't pertain to some, and maybe others of you have stopped reading already, but...if you ARE interested, I want to share my line with you, back to my 10th great grandpa, and then give you a little info I found out on a few of them.
I will start with me and move backwards (I'm not going to put my birthday or dad's just in case some weirdos are trying to steal our info! HAHAHA! Also some of the old dates might be christenings and not birthdays)
Ben E. Holyoak
Wilford N. Holyoak
James Otto Holyoak 9/15/1908
James Nehemiah Holyoak 4/26/1872
Nehemiah Green Holyoak 11/25/1848
William Holyoak 4/12/1825
George Holyoak 1/17/1799
Isaac Holyoak 3/4/1763
Thomas Holyoak III 1/1/1724
Thomas Holyoak Jr. 6/4/1699
Thomas Holyoak 10/13/1667
George Holyoak 4/6/1634
Henry Holyoak ??
Some of them obviously are too old to know much about, but there are a few I'd like to share just a little bit about. Probably the most remarkable of them (at least that I can read about) is my great great great grandpa, William Holyoak. My grandfather lived an incredibly difficult life, and after reading some of his history, it makes me feel ashamed that I ever complain about my life. At 21 years old William married his sweetheart Martha Green. A few years later she gave birth to my great great grandpa, Nehemiah Green Holyoak. Three days after Nehemiah Green's birth Martha passed away. William left Birmingham and moved away to Leamington, where he became a leather tanner and plasterer. His son Nehemiah Green stayed with his parents. He later remarried and soon after headed to the USA from Liverpool, England in January 1850 on the ship Argo. Most of the journey to the US was smooth sailing, although there were reports of some people getting cholera and also as the ship neared Cuba it almost dashed against the rocks. When William arrived in the States he said he had .25 in his pocket. He and his new wife Sarah moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. While there Sarah gave birth to two children, both of which died. By the spring of 1856 he had saved enough money to make the long trek across the plains. Now, his parents and son had by this time also made the voyage across the Atlantic on the ship Windermere and arrived in the US in April 1854. I'm not sure if he made the trip to Utah with his parents or not...that was a little hazy. I don't think they did...but regardless, his mother passed away on the plains in Hamilton County, Nebraska and he also lost two sisters, Martha who died in 1854 in Jackson County, Missouri and Ann who died in Wyoming the same year. In time he migrated to Parawon, Utah and settled in there. In time William served as the mayor of Parawon on two different occasions from 1883-1886 and also from 1894-1895. He planned a city park and spent a lot of time working to make the area beautiful. He and his wife lost a few more children and before he passed away seven of his eleven children had died before he did. He passed away March 28, 1914 and from what I read the schools and all the businesses in Parawon closed the day of his funeral. What a tough life he must have lived. There is more I could share, but mainly just wanted to share some of Willam's life with you. He seemed like a really amazing man and reading and knowing more about him now brings him to life in my mind, he's not just a name with two dates, he was my grandpa. So, I am really excited to go to England and see the places where the Holyoaks lived...I am very proud of my name and proud to be a Holyoak. I come from a long line of good folks and hope I have always lived up to the family name. Who knows if I'll ever have kids...maybe so, maybe not. I am really glad that my brother has a dear sweet son Derek that at this point can at least pass on the family name! I'd like to write my short letter now to my grandpas...just some of the things I wish I could ask and could share with them about me.
Dear Grandpa Holyoak,
I'm writing you this letter since I never had a chance to ask you some of the things I'd like to know now. I never had the chance, or in some cases was too young and foolish to ever know that at some point in my life I'd like to know some of these things, if for nothing else more than just some amusement. Grandpa Otto, what was my Dad like when he was a boy? I know he is a fine man now, but I'd like to know what he was like when he was young. What things did he do that made you angry? What did he do that made you just want to hug him and never let him go? I know you lost your first daughter when she was young, how did you deal with that? Grandpa Nehemiah Green, how was it growing up with your grandparents? What kind of games did they play with you? What do you remember about your time in England? Did you ever miss there once you reached the dry deserts of Utah? Grandpa William, how did you live through all of that and always stay positive? To lose so many people your first wife, seven children, your Mom and sisters on the plains...what kept you going? How did you not just want to give up? I've had some hard times in my life too, but nothing compared to that. How was it being a mayor in an old west town? Did anything scary ever happen there? Were you ever fearful for your own life as you crossed the plains to Utah? Were you scared on the ship ride to the US? How did it feel to leave everything behind that you had, knowing that you would never see those things again?
I hope all of you are proud of me...I've tried to live a good life. I have failed at times. I have failed miserably. I have been down, I've been sad, I've felt like just giving up, but like you I just kept trying. I've tried to be a good son and a good person. I have seen many fun and intriguing places, I've lived abroad. I've tried (unsuccessfully I might add) to learn a new language.
I feel lucky and blessed to have a chance to see some of the same places you all once lived...I hope I can feel your spirit there. I hope I can feel you as the wind blows on my face and I see some of the same flowers you once loved so much. I hope you know I am thankful for you all and your sacrifices so that I could be here today.
I love you all and would like to dedicate this song to you,
Ben
