I knew Ann Schaefer slightly. She lived for a few years in my condo complex. She was always smiling, ever generous, but perfectly willing to speak her mind at an owners’ meeting when she thought something was amiss.
Last year she moved to an assisted living home in Wilton. Last week I read her obituary. She was 90 years old.
I learned she was a descendant of some of the earliest settlers of Fairfield County — ship captains, fishermen, farmers and large landowners.
Ann Schaefer's great-grandfather fought the British from behind stone walls.
Her great-great-grandfather, William Allen, fought in the Revolutionary War. Her grandfather, Charles Wilson Allen, fought in the Civil War.
Her grandfather!
Reading about Ann’s family made me realize what a young country we are. At the same time, I thought about the long heritage Westport enjoys.
Plenty of folks here today retain ties to the founding of our town. We don’t always see them, and we certainly don’t celebrate them.
But we sure ought to think about them. And not just when they die.
