52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks:  FAVORITE FINDS  

 I was born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma, and now live in GA. We discovered that our Griffin family roots reached back to West Virginia. Through land records and legal papers, we discovered that in about 1820, our 3Gt Grandfather, Jonathan Griffin, lived "near the headwaters of Stony Creek" in what became Pocahontas County, WV.   We traveled to West Virginia, one recent summer, and explored the one lane roads up and down Stony Creek (which has stones, but no water in the summer).  Just soaking up the atmosphere where our Jonathan Griffin family may have once lived was a surreal experience. When we stopped to take pictures of an interesting cabin, we found we were blocking a farmer's way. Apologizing, we told him why we were there, "looking for the Griffin land." He said "I live on the Griffin land."     

No Griffins had been there for over 100 years, but it was their (our) land. We were home.  There was more to discover on that trip but I have to say that was one of my favorite finds.