In the past year I have learned that quite a few of my ancestors came from an area of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia called Petite Riviere. That would be the infamous Drew family (only because they are causing me all kinds of grief sorting them out) and the Sponagle family. And countless others.
Countless others - really?
Well, every time I add a wife or husband to the family, yes, I add -sometimes only mentally - their families. (I don't want things to get out of hand, you know). I wonder how many people each of us is truly related to. Maybe I don't want to really know - my head might explode. So, yes - countless others.
I made a wonderful discovery a few weeks ago about Petite Riviere - it has a Facebook page! I cannot express exactly how I feel looking at all the photos posted there, and the comments from some of the 1822 friends of the Facebook page. Wonder, gratitude, connection, completeness, universality, family... the list is long, and grows with time.
Paul Harmon started the page in order to share his extensive collection of photographs of Petite Riviere and neighboring towns. I wonder if he realizes just how incredibly important this page is to me? While I haven't seen old pictures of my family members (that I am aware of) the possibility remains. It is fun to read the comments and see the surnames that I recognize from pages of early Nova Scotia census reports.
A trip to Petite Riviere has made it's way to the top of vacation destinations for next year!
I have some German and Scottish ancestors from Lunenburg. Our trip there a few years ago was one of our best vacations ever! The town is beautiful, and we took a sail out on the harbor one sunset and got some great shots of several nearby villages from the water. We actually stayed in an ancestor's house, which is now a B&B. You'll love it!
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