I grew up learning all about my ancestors.  My mother's maiden name was Whitney, and she was quick to remind me that a great cousin of hers was part of the Geological Survey in California, and had Mount Whitney - the highest peak in the contiguous United States (at 14,494 feet) - named after him.  I was also distantly related to Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin.  Last year I became familiar with another branch of my family when I came into possession of a book written by Emery Stone in 1878, for his namesake cousin, Emery Stone Whitney.  Both the Stone's and the Whitney's hailed from a small place called Watertown, in Massachusetts.  They moved there from England in 1635, a mere five years after the town was founded, to practice their Puritan religion without British constraint.  As I read through the chronicles of the book, I discovered they were very influential in the town's government and social activities.  I just didn't know to what extent.

     When the opportunity to attend the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord presented itself, I jumped at the chance, for it afforded me the opportunity to do some research into the family history.  Watertown is located six miles west of Boston proper, almost the same distance south of Lexington.  Mitch, who accompanied me on my journey, and I went to the Town Hall of Watertown to see if they could help us out.  We had hoped to do some research at the Historical Society of Watertown, but it was closed.  The town manager's office suggested we try the town library, located next door.

     A quick note here about New England.  Over the years, being a native of a much larger state located west of the Mississippi River, I had a preconception about those living on the East Coast.  Although mostly accurate with regards to New Jersey, I was very surprised about the friendly attitude of everyone I met in Massachusetts.  If we had a question, people were eager and friendly to help us.  One lady, when we were hopelessly lost, dug out the phone book and made phone inquiries, then gave us directions to our destination.

     Anyway, we walked over to the library and found the Reference room.  I asked the librarian if she had any information on either the Stone or Whitney family.  She returned with several books, one set larger than War and Peace.  This was entitled Gregory Stone Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Dea. Gregory Stone of Cambridge, Mass., 1320 - 1917.  Thumbing through this book opened my eyes with every turn of the page.  At almost a thousand pages, there was no way I could copy the whole book, so I had to settle on picking and choosing key areas.  Ancestors were traced back to Walter atte Stone, born around 1285, and continued through 1917 and the tenth generation, which included my grandfather.

     My participation in the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington took on a whole new meaning when I read the following passage:

     As Dea. Gregory Stone was thus prominent among the first to protest in Massachusetts against government without representation by the governed, so a little over a century later are all his descendents found united in resisting taxation without representation; their convictions were as steadfast in that political crisis as had been those on theology of their ancestor Dea. Gregory Stone a century and a half earlier.  Of Captain Parker's little band of sixty men who stood on Lexington Common on the morning of April 19, 1775, and offered the first organized armed resistance of the American Revolution, at least twenty-five (including Capt. Parker himself) had in their veins the blood of Dea. Gregory Stone; and the Revolutionary Archives of Massachusetts show a total of four hundred and thirty-five soldiers named Stone from the then ninety-five towns of that state, the majority of whom were descendants of either Dea. Gregory Stone, or his brother, Dea. Simon Stone. (page 48)

     Another book, which was available for purchase (and I did), entitled Crossroads on the Charles, had a plethora of information on both Whitney's and Stone's.  A woman by the name of Lucy Stone became a champion of women's rights as well as those of Negro slaves.  In 1850 she called the first national women's rights convention in Worcestor, where her eloquence converted Susan B. Anthony to the cause (page 106).

    The Whitney's were also leaving their mark on posterity.  The same book mentions the Whitney Paper Mill, which prospered during the Civil War.

     In 1857 a mill employee invented a device to shape wrapping paper into a bag, and this crude machine revolutionized the packaging of American merchandise.  Grocers who had wrapped a pound of tea in a sheet of paper and tied it with twine now used the practical paper bag.  (page 112)

     So the next time you are at the grocery store, and the bagger asks "paper or plastic," you can proudly ask for paper and remember my Whitney ancestors.

    Another book I located was printed in 1898, and is titled Watertown Farm in Eight Generations; A Memorial of the Whitney Family.  Chapter 1 is titled "Who Carried the ALARM to Watertown, April 18, 1775?"  Glancing through this text I came across the following passage:

     Abraham Whitney of Watertown was thirty nine and a half years old on the 19th of April, 1775.  It is related that he brought the alarm directly from Paul Revere or someone he met in Charlestown Square in the darkness of the night hours, and aroused Watertown and the Barnard Company of one hundred and thirteen minute men who marched to Lexington the next day.

     All this has given me a new appreciation for my heritage, and changed the mood for my entire stay during the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington.  Now I did not post this page to blow my own horn, or taut my pedigree.  If you are reading this it is because you have an interest in history, family history specifically.  I found a wealth of information on the internet, and the library at Watertown was invaluable.  If you want to dig into your family's history, start with town records in their hometowns.  Older cities, especially those in the East, have a plethora of information.  I plan to return to that library, and spend many more hours pouring over just the three books I briefly glanced through.  It's a fun journey and I'm sure yours will be as pleasant an experience as mine.

Good luck on your own quest into your family's past,