The Ott One Out
Most modern societies are patrilineal, so. most of the ancestry information is focused on the male line. When I started this journey, I was no different. I focused my research on finding the great ones, the lost ones, the ones who helped build a nation. However, I soon realized that my family has very few heroes. Most grew up working in orchards or coal mines, marrying too young, dying too young, raising children, and trying to build a home. So, my research began to focus on the women, especially the rebellious ones, the disgraced ones, the instrumental ones who must be present to create a complete narrative. I want to record their sins and accomplishments before oral history loses them forever.
I am one of the lost ones. My grandmother, Essie Thornsberry, used to call me the truth teller. Even as a child, I was unfiltered, calling things out for what they were. I find myself adrift. My family won't face up to the world they created and take responsibility for how things turned out. I was the only one of my kind, an Ott/Hefner mixed with Geddis/Thornsberry. Embracing my life as one of those disgraced ones hasn't been as empowering as I would have liked. But being the odd (Ott) duck of a dying dynasty has been tragically delicious.