Genealogy, ancestors and family trees
October 8, 2008
While listening to the eulogy delivered at the celebration of my Grandmother’s long life, my mind wandered to my childhood and her stories about family history. I wondered if Grandma’s vivid imagination made our ancestors seem more exciting than they were.
Our family history was stories told by my grandmother. My parents had died before my interest in genealogy had surfaced. I realized that I had a limited time to research family history from relatives and pass the family stories to my grown children.
I resolved to start right away gathering genealogical information. When my deceased Gran’s service ended I had some ideas. I had not read anything about how to set out on this genealogy journey. I knew one thing -I did not want to spend hours accumulating masses of useless information.
Neighbors and friends who had lived in the same small town as my Grandmother were in attendance at her funeral. One such nonagenarian, still living alone in the house beside my Grandmother’s, had known her for more than 50 years. His children had heard the same stories of life in the good old days. I was sure he could enrich our family tree search.
To start building up a list of family history resources, I talked with many people. It was relatively easy to gather anecdotal information as we had lived in the district for four generations. The records of births, deaths and marriages seemed a great starting point for documentation.
I was determined to collect as much family information as possible and a detailed organization system was essential. I was delighted when I got my great-great-great grandmother’s birth certificate from a tiny church in Wales that kept impeccable records.
The search for a family’s history can span many years and require hours of diligence and persistence. It may involve travel abroad. Your life will inevitably become far richer by researching and knowing your ancestral past. Tracing your family tree can be frustrating but intensely rewarding.
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