My Great Grandfather R.H. Espy

On Monday morning when the phone rang, I was ready.  It was a conference call coming in from ‘somewhere near Issaquah’ which sounded pretty exotic in the first place.  The call had been set up by the tutor who was helping eighth grader, Bella, with a special project and I had agreed to a long distance interview – about my great-grandfather, R.H. Espy.

Bella had lots of questions – What kind of man was he?  Did I know any family stories about him?  Was the family still in the oyster business?  Did I live in his house?  How had Oysterville changed since R.H.’s day?

I shared a few stories – how he had resigned shortly after being elected sheriff because the County expected him to buy his own badge.  And that though the R. H. stood for Robert Hamilton, he didn’t go by ‘Robert’ or ‘Bob’ but by ‘Hamilton.’  And that his mother had apprenticed him to a tailor when he was ten.  That, at 19, he signed a promissory note for $50 so he could leave his indenture a year early and that he paid it back ten years later, walking from Oysterville to Pennsylvania and back here again.

Possibilities

I had some questions of my own, too.  Most importantly, how did Bella happen upon information about R.H. Espy in the first place?  “He’s mentioned in my Washington State History book,” was the answer.  Who knew?  And, how did she discover me?  She ran across my website, put two and two together and decided to make the contact. Wow!

Bella had two more questions for me:  “How does it feel to be a celebrity?”  “Do you consider yourself a pioneer like your great grandfather was?”  I don’t know that my answers (“I’m not.” and “Not at all.”) and my total delight at both questions were satisfactory.  But we ended our conversation with the possibility that Bella and her tutor will visit Oysterville in the spring.  I hope that happens.  When I think about it, Bella could be my great-granddaughter!  And how great is that!