No coincidences!

I've written multiple times about coincidences and serendipity, which frankly, I don't believe in. I know these wonderful events happen for a reason - a glance in just the right direction, opening a book to just the right place, a person in the right place at the right time. That happened during my recent fall break, when I went with my friend Sue to Massachusetts, where we wallowed in history, including some family history. We drove down to Plymouth to find the final resting place of her ancestor the Reverend Chandler Robbins (1738-1799), who was interred with his wife Jane (Prince) in Plymouth's Burial Hill Cemetery. The cemetery itself is chock full of history - it was the location of the first fort the Pilgrims built, as it gives a spectacular prospect out over Plymouth in every direction.

As we drove up the hill to the cemetery, we noticed a beautiful stone church adjacent to the cemetery. Sue wondered aloud if we could take a peek inside, and I hoped so too!

As we turned right to find a parking place, Sue decided to drive around the block behind the cemetery, but as it was a one way street, we had to just drive around the other way and come in by the church again. As we parked in front of an old black pickup truck, Sue went to conquer the parking meter app and I looked around. A gentleman came running up from the church shouting "You're not going to give me a ticket, ah ya?" (accent included). No, I reassured him, we weren't the meter maids, we were just trying to take care of paying the meter. He and I got to chatting, and I mentioned my grandmother was born in Plymouth, her name was Mary Guidetti. "Oh," he said, "she must have worked for the Plymouth Cordage Company!" Impressed by his knowledge of Plymouth history, I told him that she didn't, but her father and uncles did. Then he told us he had been a firefighter in Dedham, Mass. Dedham? Well, didn't I have several generations of family who lived in Dedham? I told him so and mentioned Wenz and Vautrinot. His jaw dropped and he grabbed my arm. "Mary Wenz?!? I LOVED Mary Wenz! She WAS the American Legion!!" Mary Wenz was my Mom's first cousin - their fathers were brothers. And after speaking for a few minutes, he had me talked into donating Mary's father's photo album to the Dedham Historical Society.

Philip Wenz fought in World War One and was invited back by the town in France they had liberated. Phil was a photographer and labeled the photographs very carefully. I have always wanted it to go to a good home where it can do some good.

As it turns out, Nick is also involved in the refurbishing of the beautiful old stone church, the First Parish Church. The building we saw is the fifth church built on the site, the first constructed in 1648 (the original fort on Burial Hill was also their first gathering place for church services). So, we not only got that peek, we got the cook's tour!

Inside the foyer was a plaque commemorating the ministers of the First Parish Church from 1606 to 1922. Included in the list was Sue's ancestor Chandler Robbins!

Coincidence? Serendipity? You be the judge...