THE FAMILY AND HISTORY

by Steve Wilkins

On September 4, 1862, a young man from Mobile, Alabama, enlisted as a volunteer in Murrell's Independent Cavalry (which would later become Company C, Murphy's Battalion of the Alabama Cavalry) in the army of the Confederate States of America. Charles meant to fight to defend his country in the war against his former nation. People in the Confederacy called it the War for Southern Independence.

Charles was thirty-two years of age. His father had been a probate judge in Mobile but he had died almost sixteen years previous when Charles was fourteen years old. He and the two other boys (Maniluis and Bushrod) had been both providers and fathers for their mother and sister.

It wasn't an easy decision to join up with the Confederate army. But it was right. Charles knew his father would have approved. His father came from sturdy, OLD, New England stock. I emphasize OLD New England, for that part of the country had changed a great deal since the first few generations of the family had settled in Salem and later, Boston, Massachusetts. It wasn't the same somehow. The people were different. They didn't believe or act like they used to in the old days. That's why Charles' father had decided to come South at the turn of the century. Said the South was more like the "Old country" used to be.

Enlisting was clearly the right thing to do. It was exactly what his grandfather Josiah (at the age of twenty-three) had done in 1775 when the British had invaded. It was the family tradition to fight for freedom and the rights God gave to them, no matter the opponent. It wasn't easy to take up arms against former countrymen, but if they were not going to allow Southern independence, then there was only one alternative. The time had come to fight!...

What you have just read is not fiction. It is the story of my great-great-grandfather on my father's side, Charles Ellis Wilkins. His grandfather (my great-great-great-great grandfather) was Josiah Wilkins who served in the Continental Army in the company of Captain Cyprian How during the first War of Independence. Josiah's great-great grandfather, Bray Wilkins, came to this country from Wales in 1628. He was a member of the second company of brave folk who sailed with Captain John Endicott to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

It is a blessed heritage and a story that my children will hear many times before they leave home -- and one I hope they will pass on to their children for many years to come. I only wish I knew more about my mother's side of the family.

In the providence of God, my fathers have had a role in quite a few of the notable events in our country's history (yes, even the Salem witch trials!). But my family is not at all unique. Your family may well have had a greater part in the events that have shaped our nation. Did they? Do you know?

In recent years I have been amazed over how disinterested modern Christians are in genealogical studies. Family history is often viewed as the religious obligation of the Mormons, or as an amusement of the rich and snooty. Genealogical study is thought of as the pastime of those with more time than they know what to do with ("Oh yes, my old maid great-aunt did some work on our genealogy one time!").

But what, you say, does this have to do with history? Much in every way! The neglect of family history has contributed in no little measure to the ease with which historians have distorted our past. Consider:

It used to be that history was not the sole province of professional historians. Nearly everyone knew the truth about what had happened in the past because they knew their family histories. "Great, great grandpa was there and here's what he did and said." In such a circumstance, it was almost impossible for men to do much to distort the historical record. Any historian with revolutionary designs would have faced quite formidable opposition if he had tried to monkey with the facts. Too many people had already heard the truth and it was most difficult for a writer to get away with lies. But it is not so today.

Today, there are high school students who do not even know their grandparents, much less their great-grandparents or further back. This has contributed, in no little measure, to the ease with which modern historians have been able to re-write our past.

When history becomes depersonalized, men lose a sense of "property" in the past. In losing these first-hand accounts from family members, this is exactly what we have lost. It used to be that people had a "stake" in history and felt a responsibility for it. Their family's reputation and accomplishments were important to preserve. Many would be upset over any perceived distortion. Today, because there are so few who know their past, this major check against misrepresentation has been removed. Those who still know their past are made to look like kooks and fanatics since they are so few in number.

One of the goals of our humanistic educational system has been to divorce us from the past. It has succeeded. It has done so by 1) discrediting our heritage through ridicule of its theological roots, 2) by de-emphasizing the family and making it irrelevant, and 3) by emphasizing the importance of the individual and the present. As a result, most people are utterly unfamiliar with their great-great-grandparents and, what is worse, they do not care to know them. Such information seems trifling and worthless.

This is always the case in a society where God's covenant is despised. To most moderns, God's covenant has nothing to do with history or their present condition. History has become irrelevant and meaningless. They see no connection between their existence and those who preceded them. There is no sense of continuity with the past and, consequently, they feel no personal responsibility for it.

This has been, in part, responsible for the radical rootlessness that permeates our generation. Because men have divorced themselves from their families, there is no sense of continuity, belonging, or purpose. The influence of history is ignored and thus, it loses its importance in the eyes of many. The present is all that matters. The loss of family history has greatly contributed to this.

Contrast this modern attitude with the emphasis of Scripture. Family genealogies play an important role in God's Word and in the history of God's people. Sometimes they stand as warnings to men of the evil consequences of impenitence and rebellion. Sometimes they encourage us to see God's faithfulness in maintaining a faithful and godly generation in the earth. Because God works in terms of His covenant with men, families and family lines are extremely significant.

Family history used to be a treasure to be passed on and entrusted to the children in order to teach them the powerful lessons of God's covenant faithfulness. It was important for the children to see by familial example that God honors those that honor Him and brings to nought all who rebel against Him. The "black sheep" of the family were not ignored. Both "black" and "white" sheep were discussed so that the children would learn the ways of God and fear Him for His dealings with their family. The loss of family history is a costly loss. It must be recovered.

A knowledge of our family's history will give to us a sense of God's majestic faithfulness through the years. It will impart to us again a proper sense of "place" in the small portion of time and space we occupy here on earth. It will restore to us the holy pressure of the covenant to "do our part" to maintain a faithful testimony for the Savior in our generation. It will remind us of the marvelous mystery and the vast complexity of God's providence. It will bestow upon us a seemly humility and a gratitude to God for our fathers and what He has given us through them (all which is too often absent in the lives of most in our day).

Obviously, we dare not take Pharisaical pride in our blood lines. Francis Bacon once remarked that those who take over much pride in their lineage reminded him of potatoes. Such people, Bacon said, clearly reveal that "their best parts are underground!" We must not idolize our heritage, but to despise it is Satanic. Look into your roots and rejoice over God's mercy and covenant lovingkindness!