20 Years Since 9/11
Most people remember where they were and what they were doing when news spread about the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers of NYC and the Pentagon in Washington, DC and the plane downed in PA. Those were several days that are hard to forget. It began on a Tuesday morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Everyone was ‘glued’ to the television sets, most in total disbelief.
Yes, those of us who go through those days, remember what happened, even 20 years later. But will you remember 25 years, 30 years, etc. from now? This is the time – now with the 20th anniversary to write down just some of your memories and feelings. Review some online information to refresh your thoughts. Also, watch any of the television specials aired also to refresh your thoughts.
I know the added event I was a part of due to the attacks. One year after 9/11 the names of passengers was printed in the newspaper, who were on the second plane that crashed into one of the Twin Towers I spotted a familiar surname and location. It was ‘Kershaw’ from Mass.; full name Ralph Francis Kershaw, age 52, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. Having done extensive research on the Kershaw side of my family, especially in Mass. and England, I did not recognize the given names.
Eventually, I was able to locate Ralph Kershaw’s niece’s website dedicated to her uncle. I contacted her to learn of their family lineage to see if there was any tie-in. As it turns out, her family had no knowledge of their Kershaw lineage, just Ralph’s parents.
So I suggested that she sent me the names, locations and dates of those Kershaw family members she did know and I would take it from there. She did that and I began the research. Within a few months, I was able to locate quite a bit, including who was the first of her Kershaw branch to come from Yorkshire Co., England to Massachusetts in the 1890s. I located their Kershaws several generations back in Yorkshire. I see why there was no tie-in with my Kershaw branch—my family had been the whole time in Lancaster County, just north of Yorkshire. So there were matching links with the two Kershaw branches.
I supplied the niece with all my findings. She and the rest of the family were thrilled, they had not known of their family background. So interested now, several members, including Ralph’s brother (the niece’s father) made a trip in the Fall of 2005 to Yorkshire Co. to visit where the family had lived. They were very grateful for my work and for giving them information about their family.
So that segment of the aftermath of 9/11 was important to me and Ralph Kershaw’s family.
Write down for yourself and your descendants anything you especially remember about the events of 9/11 and the days-weeks and months afterward.
Photo: Second plane -US Flight 175 crashing into the second Twin Tower.
Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:
The Historical Times Illustrated
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