“Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d,
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d,
From wandering on a foreign strand!”
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) from ‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’
Reflection: Although written about Scotland, these sentiments surely strike a chord in the heart of any wanderer, whatever land may have borne him (or her). And while my own native land (and yours, I am sure) has its faults, I still think fondly of my experiences there, and I long to return, if only for a short while.
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Family History research in England 