Still My People

A few days have passed since I found George Illegitimate's baptismal record.  I am still upset, but I am thinking clearer about the situation.  I realize there are many leads to follow up on, and I have a lot more research to do.

When I started researching my family the goal was simple, find out who "my people" were.  What were they like?  What were their lives like?  I wasn't looking to find kings and queens, or the rich and the famous.  I was looking to find the personalities that shaped my family.  I was looking to find pieces of me.

As you might have guessed, I started my family tree researching the Blanchard's.  At first their lives appeared simple; a couple kids living with their mother in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  As I continued my research I discovered some more family members, and it wasn't before long I found a Canadian connection.  When I started my Canadian research I stumbled across Stephen Smith Blanchard, born 1815, Truro, Nova Scotia.  I ignored him.  I did some more research, but I wound up back at Stephen Smith Blanchard.  I found out Stephen's family could be traced back to the American Revolution.  Being an American History major, I have to admit this intrigued me, but I still doubted Truro Stephen was my Stephen.  So I continued my research.  I found a marriage record and a census record.  These documents supplied my Stephen's middle initial, S.  Wow! I was related to Truro Stephen.  He was my people, his family were my people, and my people were involved in a very cool time in American History.

This is why I became so upset upon finding George's baptismal record.  It appeared my people weren't my people.  All my time and energy was wasted on someone else's family.  Of course, now I realize that was ridiculous.  Whether or not I am blood related to them, the family that left Canada and moved to Brooklyn, New York was George's.  They called him brother.  They lived with him, celebrated birthdays and weddings with him.  They made him a godfather to their children.  In every way important, they were his brother, and he was theirs. 

So I have decided that while George might not technically be a Blanchard, and multiple people I trust have pointed out he still might be, he is still very much connected to the family I have come to know and love.  They are still my people.