Ansons retrace grand-sire’s steps to the CNMI

From left, Kirsty Anson, Douglas Anson, and George Anson pose in front of the late Commodore George Anson’s sketch of a proa at the NMI Museum in Garapan. (JUSTINE NAUTA)

George Anson, the eighth-generation namesake of the late Lord George Anson, who visited Tinian in 1742, is retracing the steps of his grand-sire and that modern-day journey has brought him, his wife, Kirsty, and their son, Douglas, to Tinian and Saipan last Jan. 11 to complete his great-grandfather’s route in 1740 from England to Tinian.

The CNMI leg of that journey is being handled by Pacific Development Inc., with the help of an agent from England, said PDI managing director Gordon Marciano. “It was important that we communicated with Tinian because that’s where it all started,” he said. “It’s all about family heritage and family history,” said Anson. “Everybody has their own family stories that they hear about for generations, things that happened to their family, and we’re no different. It’s just this happens to be a little more documented.”

According to Anson, with his 60th birthday coming up, he and his wife made the decision to tour where his late great-grandfather, Lord Anson, had sailed during his time after being with the Royal Navy.

Not only was the late Lord Anson on a mission to find gold and silver, but they also had the duty as seafarers, which are to map the world and record what they saw in the different cultures. In the case of the late Lord Anson, he had with him an artist named Percy Brett, who did a technical drawing from the front, side and above of a flying proa, which the Ansons will see today, Jan 15.

The second oldest pocket globe that used to belong to Commodore George Anson will be presented in the NMI Museum in Garapan. (JUSTINE NAUTA)

“We have been everywhere and we felt welcomed by the people here and I know that there’s been a lot of things that have happened on the island over the centuries here. But the fact that the local population here continue to welcome people and make them feel at home…says volumes of the type of people that are here,” said Anson.

Last Jan. 12 marked the first day of the Ansons’ tour of Tinian, where they visited historical sites where his great-grandfather had settled.

On Jan. 13, the Northern Marianas Humanities Council and the Northern Marianas Historical Preservation Office presented the Ansons with a keepsake of Lord Anson’s stay on Tinian, according to Marciano, followed by a tour of historic spots on Saipan last Jan. 14.

If you’re interested in following them around the island or seeing what prehistoric sites they have visited, visit www.ansontours.com.