CUANZA NORTE
Monday was my day off and I spent a little time reconstructing a distant relative’s family. As a genealogist, I have to follow any clues but cannot jump to conclusions without proof. I knew three facts about her: She was named Annie Moore, born in Brooke County, Virginia in 1825, and married William Henderson. Both are common names and hard to verify. One online source I found said she died in 1847 in Tebe, Cuanza Norte, Angola.
I figured that had to be an error, so I checked for a William Henderson in Arizona in the 1850 census (assuming there was a transcription error and ‘Angola’ actually should have been ‘Arizona’. No luck. So I googled “Cuanza Norte, Angola’ and was surprised to find there was such a place in Africa. World travel in 1847 was usually one way: “Go west, young man”. With the absence of records from Africa, I assumed I had hit a dead end.
Then I noticed that her next older brother, John Moore, was an ordained minister in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Although I’m using imagination here, I suspect William and Annie Henderson were missionaries to this primitive African nation, where she died. I find no record of her husband, either.
And that got me to thinking: We spend our lives on this spiritual journey. Some leave their mark and are remembered for their labors. Yet some make great sacrifices and are soon forgotten. Only treasures stored in heaven will last.
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