The parable of the lifeguard

One day there was a lifeguard that appeared along the shore.  He had arrived with his family on an errand to help save the drowning souls in the waters along the beach.  The lifeguard came equipped with the skills needed, and immediately waded into the water to cast the lifeline.

English: Lifeguard Post, Hove Beach King's Esplanade is to the left whilst the piers can be seen in the background. The flags indicate the wind direction. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lifeguard waited for the chance to officially serve.  He decided to ask, and was assigned.  Unfortunately, soon people came forward to call the lifeguard to task.  He used different methods in search and rescue, and was asked to cease.

The lifeguard became frustrated.  Despite the souls drowning, he silently pulled a few to safety, and searched around for another beach.  He had promised his employer that he would save as many as he could, so he petitioned for beaches close by the place where he had moved his family.

Soon those responsible for the lives on the beaches close by learned of the credentials of the lifeguard, and he showed them all he had learned.  The knowledge of navigating the waves to steer souls to safety spread for hundreds of miles.

The lifeguard traveled further, but still yearned for the souls lost in the water along the beach where he lived.  One day, he received word that a beach was closing in a place where more family were drifting in the water and not able to see their way clearly to shore, so he left his family for a season to find people to help man this new beach.

He longed for family back home, but he found many who did embark in lifeguard training.  The future looked promising until the lifeguard received word that his family was now back home drowning and did not want to leave the water to join him where he now was.

Lifeguard at the Praia Grande ('Large Beach'). Porto Covo, west coast of Portugal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Returning home, the lifeguard faced the glares for leaving and accusations of folly.  He eventually stayed home or in the water rather than wander among the crowd along the beach.  The lifeguard safety net was still viable, and became a protection for the lifeguard himself.  He yet continued the craft of soul saving only to realize the soul who benefited the most was his own.

With a strong arm, he directed his family to safety.  They had been baited out onto the water by gifts and acceptance without duties - with favor without faith.  They could not stand alone among the waves that came rushing in.

What a blessing the employer had equipped the lifeguard and had provided opportunities along the waters of distant shores so the lifeguard could be strong enough to help his family wade through the murky water back to the safety of home.

The story does not end here.  Word has it that the employer has promised the lifeguard employment along the ultimate beach where beauty and work and friendship will not cease.  He has been promised prosperity and protection and that his family will follow him this time too.

Lifeguard jumping into action in Ocean City, Maryland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So if you are a steward along this new beach, be careful not to overlook the lifeguard.  He will be easy to spot.  You will find him already in the water and not sunning along the beach.  He will be pulling others to safety for that he has taken an oath to do.  Don't be offended, and be sure to sustain.  He is your servant, but you cannot employ him for he knows there is One who has already done so.

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Genealogy: My quest to find the living, Part 1

An extended family: Eastpoint, Florida (Photo credit: State Library and Archives of Florida)

I really enjoyed creating this resource because it brought back so many fond memories of discovering extended family. The resources and methods described here have helped me to learn more about my ancestors (photos and stories) through many extended family members that I have discovered. This will probably take up more than one post.

One of the purposes for me in researching extended family was to discover what they could tell me about my ancestors so that I could preserve history in books for my future posterity.  I have been able to publish several books, but I still have along way to go. 

I was very fortunate as a child to have heard the conversations between family members about the past.  I would wait for the discussion to break, and then I would interject my own questions that I anxiously wanted to have answered.  I did this without pen or paper.  My interest was so great, I would often look forward to the times the family would get together so I could learn more.  I hope every young person has the opportunity to hear family stories from parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. 

While young, I began asking questions of my grandmother when we were alone.  I wanted to know about her parents and grandparents. I questioned her about what life was like growing up on the farm.  I asked her about slavery and if she knew any stories of slaves in our family.  She told me that her grandmother was sold from her mother as a slave as a very young child.  She also told me that a grandmother was freed from slavery when she was a child.  

I did not think of asking the name of her grandmother back then.  I know now that it was either Martha Sims Talley or Elenia Coleman Chick.  My grandmother, Otis, would have known both of her grandparents well.  I have documented both of them on the census back to 1870 and on other historical records.

Otis Edna Tucker was very much a lady.  She carried herself as a lady throughout her life.  I  never saw her in anything but a dress. She was very careful to teach me what it meant to be "trifling" as she would say.  I have become like her in a huge way.  She grew up in a time where it did not take much for African Americans to be treated with disrespect.  She knew it was important not to give anyone a reason to disrespect her.  

She was the oldest, and helped out a great deal on the farm.  She even taught in a one room school house where some of her siblings where her students.  Her dad introduced her to Emory Wallace Vance, and little did he know they would later elope.

I have traced the Tuckers and the Chicks clear back beyond the 1700's.  Both of my great grandparents descend from slave owners.  Our records are intertwined within the records of the former owners and their children.  

It was through a family reunion during later years that a print of the photograph of the father of George Anderson Tucker which hung in their home was shared.  A photo of Martha, George's mother, hung alongside it, but it was destroyed in a house fire.

When I began researching, I traced my ancestors back as far as I could.  I wanted to learn more, and as I looked at all the names of their descendants I had recorded on extraction forms in my search, I wondered if there was anyone alive that could tell me more.

I decided to search each census forward to identify extended family that could still be living.  I branched out on several collateral lines. In the next article, I will share some of those census discoveries and how I learned about more members of each family group. 

Related articles

• Meeting extended family.

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