Kings Chapel Burying Ground, Boston Mass.
While touring Boston our family decided to venture to a nearby burying ground along the Freedom Trail – Kings Chapel Burying Ground.
As we began walking around this burying ground, contemplating what life may have been like for the people buried here, we made an effort to find some personal connections. As we walked, I instructed each of the children to find a headstone and I’d do the research to find out if/how we are related to that person.
As with most headstones, we are distantly related – 8th cousin 4x removed, etc. Each of the children would choose a headstone, then I’d look it up. It was incredible to see how the children each gained some sense of ownership and pride in knowing they’d “found” a family member.
Then came our son Abraham. He was 7 years old during this trip to Boston. Abraham is a special child. He is quiet, often not by choice. He has extremely high anxiety which triggers a rare condition called selective mutism. It’s often difficult to get him to participate in much of anything, even family things, when there are a lot of people around. But, he LOVES connections. He takes great pride in the friendships he is able to build and he’s very motivated to take ownership of what he perceives as his…including his family.
So, as we were strolling through this burying ground, when we came to a headstone with the name “Abraham” on it, he was particularly interested. That’s HIS name, and there must be some connection. Seeing his excitement having found a headstone with his name, I quickly pulled out my phone and began the research.
We all gathered around this headstone, marveling at its age and the stories this person must have. They probably knew many of our founding fathers, perhaps this Abraham was friends with Paul Revere himself. And then to think of his posterity. Who were they, do they know they have this connection to Boston? Probably not.
I fully expected that the results would come back as a far distant cousin many times removed. I was wrong. This wasn’t just any Abraham. Standing there, with my family gathered round, I read our relationship to this Abraham and my eyes began to water. I felt an incredibly deep connection immediately. I watched my sons face carefully as I read to him that Abraham How is my own 9th Great Grandfather. Not a cousin, not removed in any way, a direct line. That means Abraham How is my son Abraham’s 10th Great Grandfather. He lit up with a huge smile! The connection was made, and it’s been permanent. After looking a bit more our line connecting to Abraham we noticed that my 8th Great Grandfather is named Israel, the middle name of one of my other boys! Fascinating!
Since finding that direct line to Boston our son now regularly tells people his favorite place we visited on our 14 month tour is Boston. When asked why he will often tell people it’s because that’s where his family really comes from. He’s taken a huge interest in Boston, and in particular Kings Chapel Burying Ground, and of course, his 12th great-grandfather’s headstone. He even asks how we can help preserve that headstone.What an incredible experience that was for our whole family. We have since become big fans of Boston and even discussed moving there.