The Genealogy Chest

At the top of the stairs in my parents home sits a William & Mary styled chest made of crotch figured black walnut trimmed in cherry.

It is set on massive turned "bun" feet, characteristic of that style (late 17th to early 18th century). My dad built the chest in 19-- especially for his mother. In delicate script across the top of the chest my brother Bruce carved the inscription, "The Works of Grace McDonald Kunkel." The contents are fascinating.

My grandmother became interested in family history early in their marriage and began tracing the lineage of three related families, the Deweys, the McDonalds and the Kunkels. Her work was extensive, all done meticulously on a typewriter—without the luxury of a computer or word processor.

My Dad continued her work following her death in 19--, and through the last ___years of his life. His research was not all accomplished seated at his computer though. He made several trips to New England, where he visited libraries, the homes and churches associated with our ancestors and cemeteries.

How he loved old cemeteries! Our oldest son Jamie, then years old accompanied his grandparents on these exciting excursions back in time. Without asking him, I would say they are no doubt among his fondest memories. When they returned home, they were elated with the discoveries they had made— as explorers who had just uncovered an unknown route—and they had. Dad was now able to trace the family back even further, to the very first settlers in America.

The Deweys, who were one of the first families to settle in Windsor, Connecticut can be traced directly back to William Bradford the Puritan, governor of who --------------- -The family was filled with preachers, as Dewey of Bennington, Vermont.
One of the most colorful to me was the circuit-riding preacher, Timothy Dewey. (add names of children) The tracts he distributed to spread the gospel throughout ......, which were kept in his saddlebag, are tucked away in one of the genealogies in the chest. That makes him very real to me. Jonathan Edwards, ...Northhampton, Massachusetts can also be traced through a branch of my great grandmother Jackson.

The Kunkel family originated in Darmstadt, Germany. Our ancestor John Henry (Johan Hynurich) Kunkel , in the company or two brothers, Michael and David, was one of thousands of Hessian soldiers hired by England to fight for the crown against George Washington and his army. When they arrived they found they were people of their own so they refused to fight. Each was sold to a different landowner, two in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia.

I love the opening page of "Our Kunkel Family in America" genealogy. It is not dry and tasteless, a foretaste of endless lists of meaningless names and dates so typical of many genealogies. It is very characteristic of my Dad—he was a master at making the ordinary extraordinary, but it was not contrived. He was truly able to see beyond the surface, dig down deep and strike those chords that set us apart as "human".

(Introduction to Genealogy)

Dad made me promise though, that I would not continue the work—he loved it and yet hated it. It became an all consuming endeavor, but the fifty year combined effort resulted in probably the most complete and interesting family genealogy of its kind.

But that is not all the chest contains. My dad would open the drawers filled with scrapbooks and albums, memorabilia from years gone by and shake his head.

"Every second of my life is recorded in these books!"

And he was right. From the day he was born, every event, every report card, every invitation to every party, from first birthday through college, including names of all who attended— it's all in there; Locks of hair, patches and buttons from clothing, articles written by and about him; achievements, advancements, accomplishments.

It is all there!