Returning Home

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. While partially completed drafts sit in my dashboard (true to neurodivergent form) truth is I had to put Sacral Canvas aside for personal life reasons.

Disclaimer: I do plan on keeping commenting off going forward. The comments were uncalled for, based on assumptions that reflected the character of those who made them, and I do not want to put myself in that situation again.

Packing Up

A month ago I arrived in Salem, Massachusetts. It has been a wild ride in more ways than one. I packed as much as I could fit in my SUV and hitch basket and off my daughter and I went. We didn't know a (living) soul upon arrival.

My quip with fellow locals has been "You don't move to Salem. Salem tells you to come."

Me and Miss Bee

The Bloodline Returns

My direct ancestors lived in Salem circa 1600's. This includes maritime families such as the Ornes, Harvard graduates such as Sewalls, and judges and attorneys such as Cushings. I recognize a lot of the street names in Salem.

The last direct ascendant to live in Salem was my 4th great grandmother, Elizabeth Orne Cushing. She was the daughter of Thomas Cushing IV and Catherine Sewall Pynchon Orne. (I can't sometimes with these names! laugh)

In 1822 she married Luke Baldwin II of Boston, and they settled in Roxbury. Around this time the Midwest was expanding. Baldwins were a military family as well as merchants. After Elizabeth passed, Luke II and his sons Luke III and William Pynchon (my 3rd great grandfather) headed to Iowa. Luke II became one of the pioneer businessmen of Marengo, Iowa, and both of his sons fought in the Union in the Civil War. Eventually, William settled in upscale Chicago and Oak Park. His granddaughter, a college-educated woman in the 1920's, made her way to Wisconsin.

It had been 203 years, but the bloodline returned to Salem's soil.

And boy have the ancestors been loud since I got here!

My 3rd great grandfather, Col. William Pynchon Baldwin, circa 1860's with fellow Union vets. He is on the far left.

Full Circle

I, a witch with an entrepreneur spirit, Harvard aspirations, and anarchist viewpoints returned home.

I will be sharing my journey as well as ancestor's stories as I heal the family tree and ancestral trauma. I am so happy to be picking this project back up and hope you enjoy the journey, too!

Blessed be.