genealogy

I have this thing with genealogy. I LOVE it -- I love the combination of history, family, and the connection to ME. It is a time-consuming hobby, and can get pretty expensive pretty quickly (sounds a lot like another of my hobbies -- scrapbooking LOL).

Sometimes I work on family files and history a LOT; others I don't touch it for months. Strangely, I am currently in a wave of genealogy that I really didn't start. I sent some Family Group Sheets out several months ago to a family member I was previously unaware of. She promised to fill out the information I requested and have her children do the same. Months went by (this is not unusual in the genealogy world; you must be incredibly patient in this hobby) and I heard nothing. Then I got a sheaf of papers in the mail from one of the daughters who said she found the papers on a counter in her parents' house. Apparently they had forgotten all about them. Now I have received more, and I have all this new information to enter into my software program.

As if that weren't enough the little LA trip yielded some family facts, research for that trip led to correspondence with a distant cousin in Alaska and knowledge of another generation or two on that branch, Rob's aunt died and the obituary lists all the names of her descendants (complete with the heretofore unrevealed last name of a 1 year old great-granddaughter -- all I had previously from them was the initial "C"), AND my mom just sent a copy of a newspaper article about a guy named Lee Dirkzwager (that's pronounced -- oh hell, it's Dutch. Pretend you have marbles in your mouth when you say it and it'll be close enough). Lee is related to us on my dad's side of the family.

I've added some links to genealogy sites on the web. I also have a "Top Ten" list for new genealogists that I'm willing to share if anyone wants it. Just post a comment. If you're stuck or need help with something, I am always willing to help or point you to someone who knows what they're doing. I am still an amateur, after all. But it is a LOT of fun.

In the 6 years I've been doing this I have found 2 ancestors who served in the Civil War, one of whom was with General Sherman on the march to Savannah; the patent my great-grandpa Art received in 1915; the unmarked grave of my grandmother's infant sister (which now has a marker, thank you very much); and priceless stories of the lives of the people who have made MY life possible. How amazed would they be to look at me with my beautiful children, my air-conditioned home, my electric stove, my washing machine and dryer, my 2 desktop computers and my husband's laptop, my cell phone .... the people who left their homes and families for the chance at a better life were tough. The conditions they faced were harsh; the land and the weather were unforgiving; the work was never-ending. But they did it and because of them I (and all of us) live in a very different world than they did.

We stand on the shoulders of giants -- we owe it to them to at least know their names.