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descendants would, in perpetuity, be educated tuition free at
Georgetown. There is a scholarship waiting for you at
Georgetown, Grandma would say, if you can find it.
To dream ... the impossible dream...
To reach ... the unreachable star...
G
ENEALOGICALLY
S
PEAKING
Thanks to Grandma’s stories which were often
preceded with begat, begat, begat, we knew the names of
our Thomson great-grandparents: James McLean Thomson
and Jessie Slye. That’s it. That and vague memories were the
starting point and the guide for the quest.
This is my quest, to follow that star ...
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far...
T
ILTING
W
INDMILLS
The quest itself directed my decisions on which
family line to follow. Since it was a Thomson family story my
early efforts concentrated on the Thomson surname. That
journey took me from St. Louis, Missouri to Franklin County,
Pennsylvania to Corkerhill, Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland. The
unfolding story was fascinating. There were amazing aspects
to our Thomson heritage we never even suspected. But the
quest was for Georgetown. The Thomson line was a tilted
windmill. It did not take me to Georgetown.