I accidentally found this blog this morning, Ukok's Place. Of course, there are no accidents with God, right? It is the blog of a 30 something British mom who is a convert to Catholicism. The reason I think it is neat is because my patron saint, St. Margaret Clitherow, was a British mom who was a convert to Catholicism and one of the 40 English Martyrs, (she is pictured on my right sidebar). My ancestry is primarily English, with a bit if Scottish and Irish thrown in for good measure. My mom's family are the Herricks of Southampton, NY (a sister city to Southampton, England) and the first English settlement in New York state (as you can see by looking at the town's seal pictured below with the cute little pilgrim). The Herricks arrived in Southampton, NY in 1653. One of our ancestors is the English poet, Sir Robert Herrick (pictured below). In 1869 they opened Herrick Hardware. It is the oldest family owned and run hardware store in America. Pretty cool, eh? Andrew's middle name is Herrick, in honor (and now memory) of my mom. Anyway, I was baptized in the First Presbyterian Church of Southampton (pictured above) which is also the first Presbyterian church built in the United States. So, I found it quite fitting, when I converted to Catholicism, to pick as my patron a convert and mother from England. It's interesting how things can come full circle...isn't it?
~Peace,
BTW, the picture of me at the top of
my blog was taken in a wheat field in
Southampton, NY (20 years ago!)
