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I'm a history buff, so understanding how my family came here, and then I eventually got to the point I am from that fascinates me.
You don't know who you are, without understanding where you've been. I guess the same can be said for your family. I mean, could you imagine how history could have been changed if Hitler had discovered he had a Jewish family history? Not saying he did, just that things might have been dramatically different.
I've seen some racist men change their tune when they find out that great great grand dad was out fooling around with the slave girls.
Why do some care about anyhtign while some don't. people are diferent is all.That's why not everyone like to even do the same things ;buy the same cars ;want the same house.
If one is going to pursue an interest in his roots, one must also be circumspect about the results of the search. I have recently learned through DNA that I had a GreatX7 Grandfather who was a friend and neighbor of George Washington, and left 3,000 acres of land and 17 slaves in his will.
However, considering that I had over 500 Gx7 Grandparents, Old Terisha (who lived to be 92) was a pretty tiny contributor to who I am. The only reason I know about him is because, unlike all the others, he follows the male surname all the way down. The rest of my ancestors were simply a motley assortment of unidentifiable rounders, from whom I inherited 99.8% of my genes. Assuming three kids per generation, Old Terisha has about 20,000 Gx7 grandchildren living today, and so do each of my other 500 Gx7 grandparents, which means ten million people's family tree will cross mine in my generations, 30-million in the three generations currently living. That's one tenth of all Americans, related to me. I might have gotten some of the calculations wrong, but you get the idea.
If one is going to pursue an interest in his roots, one must also be circumspect about the results of the search. I have recently learned through DNA that I had a GreatX7 Grandfather who was a friend and neighbor of George Washington, and left 3,000 acres of land and 17 slaves in his will.
However, considering that I had over 500 Gx7 Grandparents, Old Terisha (who lived to be 92) was a pretty tiny contributor to who I am. The only reason I know about him is because, unlike all the others, he follows the male surname all the way down. The rest of my ancestors were simply a motley assortment of unidentifiable rounders, from whom I inherited 99.8% of my genes. Assuming three kids per generation, Old Terisha has about 20,000 Gx7 grandchildren living today, and so do each of my other 500 Gx7 grandparents, which means ten million people's family tree will cross mine in my generations, 30-million in the three generations currently living. That's one tenth of all Americans, related to me. I might have gotten some of the calculations wrong, but you get the idea.
So maybe Hulk Hogan got it wrong calling everyone "brother", but I've got a cousin who calls everyone he meets "cousin", and I guess he is at least right 1/10th of the time.
I can understand wanting to know a bit about your where you came from - But to what extent?
Like most people in the USA my roots are from poor people - And that's why our parents and grandparents came here. To improve their lives.
And, many were forced to come here - Literally driven out of their countries.
I think most of us think more about the here and now - Our own lives, where we are going in life, and what type of world we will leave our children.
In a way I can understand that African-Americans may want to get an idea of more specifically what country their ancestors came from - But, I imagine if you trace the slave trade routes, you can get an idea of that.
Almost all of us here came from some sad background. And, as someone else pointed out on these pages, looking at history, almost everyone has some form of slavery or indentured service in their roots. - right up to the early 1900s.
The Irish came to escape absolute famine (from their land and crops being taken away), the Eastern Europeans escaped literal slavery under communism, the Jews escaped from communism, facism and extermination, and there were others also escaping ethnic cleansing, right down to the Asians (including South-east Asia) that escaped absolute poverty and famine.
And most seem focused on the here and now, their futures and their childrens futures.
Not many see a value of looking back, other than in a general way to remember why we are here, and why we want to keep our freedoms.
You know its funny. I have always had an interest in history yet I couldn't care less about my family history. I think a person should know about their parents and grandparents at least for health reasons but other than that it doesn't matter. We are the people we are regardless of ancestry.
vanity pride and ego primarily. i suspect geneologists get paid & are in it to make money, so the chances that yours came over on the mayflower or were royalty are excellent. DNA tests can be a real shocker.
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