my epworth genealogy
Have you ever been perplexed by the preponderance of genealogies in the Bible? Why are they there? In Genesis 46:8-26, Jacob is taking all of his children and grandchildren to Egypt at the behest of his son Joseph who is a trusted counselor of the Pharoah. This has been a time of famine, and due to Joseph’s discernment, Egypt has had more than enough stored up to provide for their own population. They are able to bring all of Joseph’s estranged family to Egypt to provide for their needs as well. But why list all of their names?
It got me thinking about being in this Epworth summer community. It is a legacy from my grandmother and grandfather who brought their three children here in the 1930s. I thought I should write my own account of the descendants of those two people who have arrived here summer after summer:
Here is the list of Mary and Eldo Wagner and all their descendants who lived in the land of Epworth Heights. Jim was their firstborn and his children by his wife Lola were Elizabeth and Nancy. Elizabeth married David and had a son Samuel, who was stillborn, a daughter Meredith and a son, James Courtland. Meredith married Benjamin and had three sons Campbell, Warren and Everett. Court had two daughters, Charlotte and Chloe by his wife Kimberly.
Mary and Eldo had a second son, William who had three daughters by his wife Toody. The first daughter, Janet, had two sons with her husband Chris: Jesse and Zachary. Jesse had two sons with his wife Mira: Rio and Makai. Zach had two daughters with his wife Aisha and their names were Sarai and Caia. William and Toody’s second daughter, Susan had two daughters, Meghan and Robin with her husband Thomas. Meghan married Andrew, also of the land of Epworth, and they had three children James, Ann and William. Robin married Brian. William and Toody’s third daughter was Barbara. With her husband Stanley she bore three children: Casey, Haley and Stanley Tobin. Casey had one daughter Lilian with her husband Jeremy. Also part of her family were two children Bo and Ava, born to her wife Holly. Tobin married Janine who bore him two children, Amos and Sage.
Mary and Eldo’s last child was daughter Martha who married Kelsey McKay. Together they had two children, John who lived to the age of sixty-three. Their daughter Mary had one daughter with her first husband Keith. She later married Joe who became like a father to her daughter Kelsey. Kelsey married Jack and had a son named Arthur.
All the people belonging to the Wagner family and coming into the land of Epworth totaled fifty-five.
Why would I make you wade through all those names, of people you will never meet or know. Because ALL of them, every last one, has had a deep and profound effect on my life. They are one reason why I keep coming to this place in Michigan, year after year after year. And every one of us feels very lucky and deeply blessed to be here and to be involved in one another’s lives. We guard our community fiercely. Because in addition to this family, there are hundreds of other families here that we have grown up with. Shall I tell you the names of all their descendants as well?
When you are slogging through the reading of the Biblical genealogies, remember that every one of those souls played a role in the account of the peopling of God’s kingdom. No one is insignificant. Maybe you will even meet some of them in heaven! And you’ll be able to say, “I read about you!”
Love, Liz
