Reliving My Early Years on a Genealogy Journey

In June of 2010 I accompanied my husband on a business trip. He was attending a convention at the Gaylord National on the banks of the Potomac River in Maryland. West is Virginia, with Washington DC located just a few miles north. I was on the phone with my mother who said “ you’re research other peoples history, why don’t you check out your own?” She suggested I take the water taxi across the Potomac to Alexandria, Virginia, walk to Columbus St, turn right and head to Christ Church. This was George Washington’s church. I was also baptized there August 1961 at the age of 3 weeks along with my brother Andy, 11 months older than I. She suggested I then walk 50 yards up the street to the townhome my parents brought me home from Doctors Hospital in Washington D.C where I was born so many moons ago.

This was a journey I had no idea I needed but since I am grateful my mother suggested the outing. I knew my early story, have seen photos and heard stories, but had never “walked the land”. There is a sense of place one gathers when walking in the places we, our ancestors, have been in.

Coming Home: My 1970s Alexandria Townhouse Still Stands

In February 1773 Christ Church was opened. Our townhome at 207 North Columbus Street was built in 1870. After a tour of the church, while taking photos of the townhome, a lady came out the front door, told me it was for sale and offered me a tour. I was overwhelmed by what a gorgeous home it was. I recognized several things all those years later. The living room fireplace, the wallpaper and shutters in the dining room and the back patio and gardens. I did not remember these places, as we moved when I was one, but from the photos and a color home movie of the patio.

Walking back to the water taxi to cross the Potomac once more, I was overcome with emotion. I was crying, very surprised how that experience affected me. I met my husband at the dock of the gorgeous Gaylord National. Val’s conference for the week was wrapping up so we headed into metropolitan D.C. to show him Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial, and everything else the National Mall had to offer, thankfully in air conditioning!

This experience informed my genealogy research by emphasizing to me the importance of those first few years, the places walked but not necessarily remembered. Have you ever revisited important locations from your early childhood? Share your stories below!