FAMILY and THANKSGIVING… I continue to discover family that I never knew prior to relocating in November of 2009 to the big island. This year’s Thanksgiving with new found family proved to be among the most surprising and memorable occasions. Since I dug up my cousin Arthur Petersen Jr., a/k/a “Doc from the West” I met family and learned that I have hundreds of cousins throughout Virgin Islands and the United States, previously unknown to me. When I began researching my family ancestry at Whim Museum, with the assistance of Jerry Daward, I learned that my grandfather Theophilus James (1900) was the youngest of five children born to Adam and “Mama Frankie” James. I had no prior information that my grandfather was the younger, having four siblings and my grandparents never returned to St. Croix, after migrating in 1925 with my father to New York City. Consequently the discovery of this familial information was a profound revelation to me and it inspired the past four Thanksgiving dinners in STX with newly revealed family. This Thanksgiving was spent with a matriarch of the Hewlett family (Alisa), the niece of my beloved grandfather Theophilus. The dinner was highlighted with an unannounced visit by Governor elect Kenneth Mapp. Accordingly, I learned that the new governor is the cousin of Ronald Hewett (son of Alisa), on his (Ron) father’s side. On the other side Ronald Hewett, is my cousin from my father’s side (Alisa the niece of Theophilus). My surprise from seeing the governor elect however, did not overshadow my political nature and general curiosity. Needless to say, I enjoyed a sparkling, informative and enlightening conversation. In reflection I appreciate the contribution that Mr. Mapp made to my ongoing learning curve…
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 18:19:40 +0000
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