Todd Harding Finds Family Roots at Harding Family Farm in England

It's hard to believe it's been over a decade since my wife and I traveled to Great Britain with her boss and his wife. Our main objective of the trip was to attend the 50th birthday party of a friend. Our ulterior motive was to discover my roots, the Harding family farm. My Great Great Grandfather John Harding left the farm in the 1800s, but it still bears his name today.

Hardings Farm lies just outside the tiny village of Purton Stoke in north Wiltshire, England. It's just 40 miles north of Stonehenge. We didn't let the occupants of the farm know we were coming, because we had no way to contact them. We just showed up. It was awkward at first, but after we told them we were, the lady of the house said, "Well, you will want to see this then". She went to the garage and pulled out a plank that had the message carved into the wood, "John Harding wrote this May 16, 1852".

I felt like Alex Haley on "Roots". We had found my roots. Had my ancestor not come to America after the Civil War, I may not exist today.