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It is a hobby that never ends. You will NEVER complete it once you start, and soon you find that you have to set some kind of realistic goals. You will also have to find a way to deal with the absolutely massive amount of information you will discover.
....
True, you keep wanting to know what's around the next corner.
I recently read genealogy is the #1 hobby in America. Hmmm........wonder why is that?
I did a little research into my family tree, found my great-grandparents, ok, so, then, so what? So now I know their names.
Not to knock anyone's hobby, but what is the excitement all about? I mean, you can only "discover' ancestors once, then what? make scrapbooks out of them? I'm just wondering what there is to it that involves people so much......
I started because of that darn Ancestry.com commercial! I put in my name and my parents names and I didn't get one damn leaf!! So I asked my sister for other names and some dates, then I finally got ONE leaf. I'm HOOKED!
I was following those little leaves and going back and sidewards through the tree, when I realized I wanted to know more. I didn't want to just know their names and where they lived and died. I want to know what their lives were like. I want to know how many kids they had, and what they did for a living, I want to know their addresses and who they worked for. I love the feeling you get when you finally find something you have been searching for, you just let out that big YAHOO!!
That "YAHOO" makes you want to move on and find the next person or event.
It most definately isn't for every body.
I have been doing genealogy since LBC (Long Before Computers) and to me it's like playing detective except more personal. I find a clue, follow it to it's end, or it branches off and starts another, etc. etc.. And often I'm asked to help others. It keeps me off the streets and out of the bars.
what kind of help can you give to others? I am at so many brick walls! LOL
Not to knock anyone's hobby, but what is the excitement all about? I mean, you can only "discover' ancestors once, then what? make scrapbooks out of them? I'm just wondering what there is to it that involves people so much......
Well, when we have family get togethers, while the current generation is gossiping about one another, I'm spreading the news about people who've been dead a hundred .. sometimes two hundred years: "you know, I think g-g-g Uncle George is gay. He had a short marriage, divorced in 1898 and never married again. He didn't even try to court any other women though he is one of the best catches in town. All the society page news I read about him talks about his flair for decorating and how the newly married matrons of the town come to him to get tips on putting together their new homes. And how about our step-g-g-g-g Grandma Affadilla? Boy, she's a pistol! Did ya know that there was one episode during her time of working the Underground Railroad that she was almost caught transporting a bunch of slaves hidden under the market produce in her wagon? Yup, some slave catchers came across her trying to get her wagon out of a mud hole. Cool as ice, that woman. She merely got down and politely asked them to get behind her wagon and shove. And they did! Boy, she got a laugh out of that."
I'm sure the events of the times those people lived were mundane to them; expected even when it involved being attacked by Indians or migrating to an unexplored part of the country; but they are interesting today. I get home from work, shedding my office clothes and savoring natural light after being stuck under fluorescent bulbs all day, and look forward to a few hours of research on these people. We live in a more sterile - certainly a safer - time. I like bringing the stories of the lives of those people into the present and savor the knowledge that I am connected to them.
Last edited by silverwing; 09-23-2010 at 09:50 PM..
Genealogy research helps many people find their heritage, discover what their ancestors did for a living and where they were living. [url=http://www.family-genealogy.com/Genealogy.html]Family trees preserve your ancestors information and genealogy.[/url]
Now you are starting to understand. That shiver down the back moment came to me while researching my family and discovered not only did my great great grandfather fight in the Civil War, but I found myself looking at a photo of a man I never knew. Finding out facts about ancestors more than just their names and dates of birth is what does it for me. To see that this man lived in VA, fought in the Revolutionary War and was given Bounty Land in KY for his service. Than stop and think what year this was, there were no highways, he had to travel through the mountains on horseback, possibly bringing his family in a covered wagon over a mountain trail through Indian country. Some of us can't even deal with a cross country car ride with our children. Our family did not start with our parents.
.. but I found myself looking at a photo of a man I never knew.
Heh. I recently found a picture of my g-g-g-g grandfather that someone had posted on the Findagrave site. I made a copy and passed it around to family members. Most repeated comment: "damn! so that's where the big ears in our family came from!"
Quote:
Than stop and think what year this was, there were no highways, he had to travel through the mountains on horseback, possibly bringing his family in a covered wagon over a mountain trail through Indian country. Some of us can't even deal with a cross country car ride with our children. Our family did not start with our parents.
Knowing that ancestors had to literally chop down trees to build their own homes; grow food with very utilitarian tools; that your female ancestors faced each pregnancy with the thought that she (or the child) might die ... gives one pause at how trivial your own daily gripes are
...Knowing that ancestors had to literally chop down trees to build their own homes; grow food with very utilitarian tools; that your female ancestors faced each pregnancy with the thought that she (or the child) might die ... gives one pause at how trivial your own daily gripes are
I recently found a few photos of my father's family and I have no idea who most of them are. It really sucks!! There are 7 in his family and I know of only one that is alive, and his memory isn't that good. I am hoping to send copies down to him and maybe he can tell me who at least one or two of them are. It really stinks that you find photos and have no idea who they are other then they are related to you in some way, maybe. So now, I write everyone's name on all the pictures! That way if someone in the future finds them, they will have an idea who they are, if the photos are still around then. LOL!
I know there are professionals who do genealogy, but I can't imagine it, because a professional wouldn't know all the family stories. In just talking to my aunt she mentioned a line that I didn't know about, tied into one I had just started looking into....
I guess he'd get there eventually.
But anyway, MaryLee -- for me I find it fascinating to put myself into history. And since I can't time travel (No TARDIS, darn it) I use my ancestors to do it for me.
I'd think it would be difficult to make a living as a "full time" genealogist. For most, the endeavor is most definitely a hobby. How many people interested in history, for example (outside of teaching school) can make a living at it? Very few, I would bet. Museums and government institutions employee only so many historians / archivists.
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the leaves made me do it!
I recently read genealogy is the #1 hobby in America. Hmmm........wonder why is that?
