In the Beginning

            “You have all your things ready, sugar?” the kind woman with the wispy gray bun and deep blue eyes asked her eight-year-old granddaughter.

            “Yes, Ma’m. I’ve got my Bible, my black pen, my pencils and my pencil sharpener. ”

            “That‘s good,” the grandmother spoke encouragingly as she placed two tall glasses of ice-cold coca-cola on table.  “So let’s just see where we left off last time.  Let’s look at what you have so far.”

            The little girl opened her black leather-bound Bible to the center, where the Family Tree Pages divided the Old Testament from the New.   She ran her long, olive-toned index finger down through the names she had last recorded. When her grandmother observed that the tracing had stopped, she began the discussion.

            “Okay, now beginning with yourself, go all the way back in time ‘til you get to the last name you recorded.”

            “Beginning with me, I know my father’s name and my father’s mother’s name because that is you, Grandma!  So Ida Louise Craine nee Vincent is the name of my paternal grandmother.  Paternal means my daddy’s family.  Nee means maiden name.”

            Gazing down at a recently recorded date of death, the little girl looked up with misty eyes.  “I am sorry that your mother just died, Grandma.  I know you loved her.  I loved her, too.”

            “I know, sweetie.  It’s all right.  That’s why it is so important to remember as much as we can about our loved ones, so that they still live on in hearts and minds forever.  Now, do you have her whole name written down?”

            “Yes, Ma’m.  Her name was Lena Victoria Vincent nee Batchelor, but her husband called her Doll.”

            “Now who was that sweet lady’s mother and father?”

            “My great, great-grandmother was Matilda Bluford Haddock who married James Early Batchelor.   Joseph Caswell Haddock was Bluford’s father. His wife was Mildred “Milbry” Barnes Haddock.  That’s as far as I know.”

            “Well, that’s pretty good note taking!  Make another line for the next level.  Take a sip of your drink, too.  It’s easy to see why they call August the dog days of summer, ’cause it sure is hot.  Now, let’s see where were we?  Oh, yeah, Bluford’s grandfather was called Adnil, but his real name was Admiral.”

            “Grandma, did you say, Admiral?  You mean he was an admiral?”

            “No, sugar, his name was Admiral.”

            “Grandma, why would somebody name a baby Admiral? That‘s like a title or something, right?  It just doesn’t sound like a baby‘s name.”

            “Sometimes, Sugar, people name a baby to send a message.  Like your mama and daddy named your little brother, James, after my husband.  They wanted to honor James Otis Craine.  In World War II, some people came home and named their babies after friends they had met in the army.  What do you think the Haddocks were trying to say by naming a baby Admiral?  What do you think they wanted you and me to remember?”

            “Something about the oceans or ships?”

            “Well, that’s what I’ve always thought.  And that is precisely what you and I are going to find out.  ‘Cause when we find out things like that we learn the real history of our family, but that means we also learn who we really are. What I want you to know is that Haddock is not just an old railroad station between Gray and Milledgeville; it was the plantation home of a great family.  And that family had something to do with the oceans!”