Grandfathers' Grandfathers

I have seen some of my family tree and read with interest the dates of birth and death and marriage. I have been dreaming about recording some of the more personal information about my ancestors. What were their lives like? What type of people were they? These questions were also on the minds of my relatives in Green Bay and they had begun to find some answers.

We drove out to Green Bay to visit my Grampa and we were invited to go on a Heritage Tour by my Uncle Don. My Aunt Sue and Uncle Don had been researching our family tree for the past few years and generously put together binders full of information they had discovered. There were easily hundreds of hours spent documenting this research and then copying it. My brother Will and his family were also visiting GB and my parents were going to be there the week later. We were to be the first beneficiaries. Will, myself and Emma got the first tour. Uncle Don picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the place were the first Jauquet in America made his home. Pierre Jauquet immigrated to the US from Belgium in 1856. According to the Belgium records he left with his wife and 4 children. In their research they found the deed for the purchase of 40 acres in Namur, WI in 1860. We drove out to the site and saw the house that Pierre Jauquet built. Research provided important detail, but walking the land and climbing the worn steps provided a more visceral experience. My Great, Great, Great Grandfather cleared these acres, cut these logs and placed them to provide shelter for his family and 3 generations to follow. He worked this land to feed his family and make a living. He came from poverty, but sacrificed, became a land owner and through hard work set the foundation for his Great Grandson, my Grampa. Jauquets still own and farm the land and the owner opened the house for us. They lived in it up until 50 years ago but the sturdy hand hewn logs are still in good condition.

Our tour then took us through 3 generations on both my Grampa's and Grandma's sides. We visited the homes they built, churches they attended, and their places of burial. My grandmothers family donated the land for their church and graveyard. And my grandfather's grandfather donated an amazing stained glass window for their church. They were obvious people of faith and fortitude. After coming to the US with very little, I could see their pride in the homes they built and lived, with circular windows and decorative brick. They worked hard and I got the sense that they didn't take the good fruit of their labor for granted. I feel blessed to have received these gifts: the binder of info and pictures, the tour and stories, but mostly I feel blessed to know I am fruit of my grandfather's grandfathers.