Family-History Pilgrimage: Day 8

Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 5:35 p.m.

We’ve stopped at a McDonald’s in Wales (now, there’s a phrase I never thought I’d write) to charge up the car again as we make our way to Dolgellau (doll-GETH-leh), our stop for the next two nights. We left Glasgow about 9:15 this morning, and we’ve been heading south ever since. Other than hitting traffic on a motorway near Manchester, the drive has been smooth. Just long.

Some of the length has to do with stopping to charge the EV. I’m being more conservative than necessary, recharging twice today before now, whenever the “tank” reached about 60 percent. But in the vast countryside between Glasgow and Wales, I didn’t want to push my luck in finding charging stations that would take my card. Topping off that 40 percent takes about half an hour. It’s a good exercise in patience on a long journey.

Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Bury St. Mary's.

Along the way to Dolgellau, we took a slight detour to Bury St. Mary’s, once a village and now a suburb of Manchester. My ancestor who left there for the colonies was James Spencer, a relation on my mother’s side, who was born in Bury in 1730 and baptized at the local church, St. Mary’s. We stopped at the church for some photos and to look for family headstones (the church itself was closed today, unfortunately). We found some Spencers, though none from my Ancestry.com tree. They may well be part of the family, but I can’t prove it.

And now, the charge is complete, so we’re on the road again….