ancestor veneration: my mom @lindamariebunt has been doing genealogy work since I can remember

She would take me to cemeteries when I was little where we would search the grounds until we found our people-- maybe do a little grave rubbing if we couldn't read the inscription, talk about how they were related to us, and imagine the time when they lived

Back then she would be in the library basement looking over microfilms to find names and dates. She would ask older family members about stories passed down to find a clue to point her in the right direction toward the next in line

At a certain point she ran into a terminus because there was less and less access to info

Everything changed when things went online

She was able to trace our maternal great grandmother's side back to North Andover in the 1660s. Our family participated in the Salem Witch Trails-- multiple members of the Barker line were accused and confessed to consorting with the devil to avoid being hanged

Last October we decided to visit their burial site and today I went back

There are two babies, both brothers named Joshua. One died at 3 weeks old and the other at 2 years old. Aside from our more popular family member, these were the ones I wanted to spend my time with

Being a mother who has lost a baby has really changed every fiber of me. I still can't imagine Sarah Barker losing two boys, one after the other, and continuing on to have more children

The strength and faith and duty and love is something I'm only beginning to understand

So under the shade of a huge pine lie the bodies of both boys, headstones side by side

We four collected pinecones, moss, bluejay feathers, flowers, leaves, needles, and bark to make them a little altar to let them know that our people are still here, thinking about them-- almost 300 years from when they lived and died

Taking the strength of my line as a sign and reminder that this is where I come from, these are my people, and this is the history my babies are/will be born into