My Ancestral Story

While exploring my family heritage I discovered my 10th great grandmother was Penelope Van Princis. When she was a young girl in the 1600's she left Europe with her new husband, a group of people and was headed for Gravesend Long Island, which was called The New Amsterdam. They were joining a small group who had already settled in the area, peacefully. The ship they were on had been on the ocean for several months sailing when it steered off course. The ship ran aground in a natural undeveloped wilderness area which is now known as the Atlantic Highlands New Jersey. The Native American people  who settled the area over 10,000 years prior called it Turtle Island. The ship was wrecked and Penelope and her husband were unable to settle on Turtle Island for they were considered invaders. Little did they know there had been much unrest in the area due to the fur trade and the Kieft war. There was an attack 

with great violence, Her husband did not survive the attack and she severely cut and mangled, crawled into the hollow of a tree. Penelope was wounded, abandoned and all alone in a new world unbeknownst to her. She had to find strength in order to survive, the only option was to go within, and find a safe place. People who learn to tap into their internal resources stay close to their intuitive self, remain rooted to the earth, grounded in nature can find their resilience.