There are many other reasons to start climbing your family tree. Is this a new interest and you’re curious to see what you can find? Are you trying to solve a specific family mystery? Are you seeking living cousins? Maybe your goal is to research the family tree for the sake of posterity, and you hope future generations will benefit from your research.
When I started out on my journey, I knew very little about my ancestry. My fathers’ family has a lot of estrangements and a lot of fantastic stories, what little I had heard, I wasn’t sure I could believe. My mothers’ family was nonexistent beyond my Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents. Then at a family reunion, my Grandmother introduced me to her family in photos – dozens of people I’d never heard of. This is when I learned that my mother’s ancestors came from Ireland on one side and Italy/Austria on the other. I wanted to know about their journeys, what motivated them to leave everything they knew, and then what they did once they arrived in the United States.
Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about my ancestors and their lives. I’ve mourned for the teenager who was murdered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve cheered for the women who followed the beat of their own drummer, owning land and having careers in eras when most women had virtually no rights or choice over their own lives. I’ve encountered scoundrels and upstanding citizens, and a lot of people right in-between. I’ve gained insight into the human condition from all of my family members – whether they’ve been inventors, farmers, house-wives, nurses, soldiers, or made poor choices and had run-ins with the law.
Genealogy is a lot of things:
Addicting. Fascinating. Frustrating. Time Consuming. Addicting. Overwhelming. Inspiring. Rewarding. Oh, and did I mention addicting?
Is it time to learn about YOUR family? Join me Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 6PM PDT for a FREE class on how to get started. And please invite your friends! Genealogy is always more fun when we have someone to share our finds with!
