About the Collage

The background for the collage is a piece called World Map Faded by David Niblack and it can be seen at www.imagebase.davidniblack.com, a great resource for free images.

I chose a world map as a background because I have DNA cousins in far flung corners of the world, and because my own genetic make-up can be traced to at least four continents (Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe).  My ethnicity estimates from ancestry.com are included in the collage, indicating just how truly diverse my background is.  I like the term Mark Tyson used on his blog, Tyson Family Roots.  Like him, I consider myself a universal citizen.

The following items are included in the collage (with some overlap):

Baptism certificate listing my Godparents, with two of their signatures
Bird carved by my maternal grandfather
Birth certificate with my long since given up given name
Civil war enlistment card for my father's maternal grandfather
College graduation announcement for my mother
Painting of a train by my maternal grandmother, included to honor my paternal grandfather
Painting of my mother's paternal grandmother and namesake, done by her mother
Photo of a May festival
Photos of my brother and I as young children
Photo of my father's maternal grandfather's final resting place
Photo of my maternal grandfather's paternal grandfather's tombstone
Portrait of Daddy Joe
Portraits of my maternal grandparents on the occasion of their engagement (I think)
Portraits of two of my three Godparents 

I look forward to changing the collage as I gather more information (and images),  but these are some of the people and things that inspire me now in this special task of Answering the Ancestors' Call.