I’ve mentioned before that I spring from some of the the oldest European stock in South Carolina history. How old? As old as it can get. It’s a mere dozen direct steps from Dr. Henry Woodward (who in 1666 became the very first permanent English settler in South Carolina) to my daughter.

Generation One: Doctor Henry Woodward married Mary Godfrey and begat:

Generation Two: Colonel Richard Woodward, who married Sarah Stanyarne and begat:

Generation Three: Mary Woodward, who married Reverend William Hutson and begat:

Generation Four: Major Thomas Hutson, who married Esther Maine and begat:

Generation Five: Mary Woodward Hutson, who married Judge Charles Jones Colcock and begat:

Generation Six: Congressman William Ferguson Colcock, who married Emmeline Huguenin and begat:

Generation Seven: Marion Woodward Colcock, Sr., who married Sarah Hutson and begat:

Generation Eight: Henrietta Colcock, who married Lafayette Calhoun Cheshire and begat:

Generation Nine: Henrietta Cheshire, who married Delmas Glynn Waters and begat:

Generation Ten: Linda Ann Waters, who married Colonel Charles Ross Smith, Jr., and begat:

Generation Eleven: Lieutenant John Eric Smith, who married Lieutenant Marcia Kathryn Brom, and begat:

Generation Twelve: Kathryn Linda Smith

That’s why I think it’s important to take her to places like Stoney Creek Cemetery. There’s value to knowing who your people were.