When I do genealogical research I see those behind me,
who have lived before me, the present, those who are here, and those in front of
me, children, grandchildren, their children, and their children. I want to
leave something for them, something that will be a remembrance of their whole
family. This remembrance will be a collection of family names, stories, records,
and ramblings.
You may be asking, “Why does this person take her time
to research these people, and write about them?” I will try to answer that question. Researching
these people or family is a fascinating hobby and if you look at it from a
counselor’s view, “It feeds the soul.” I am a retired counselor. Yes, there are
other ways to feed the soul, and I have pursued other ways; however, this one
gives me great pleasure, a feeling of connectedness and continuity of family
ties. I can put life into perspective when I go to the areas where they lived
and I read about their family and their occupations. And I appreciate more than
I did before the conveniences of the era in which I live in.
When researching family, I have a better understanding
of my ancestors and their descendant’s way of life, the events of their era; diseases,
disasters, and wars they lived through. For
me, researching family gives me the opportunity to know my relatives. I can reconnect
with the ones that I actually knew when I was growing up, and I find new
relatives and cousins. If I am fortunate, my research will connect me with new
living cousins and reconnect with “long lost cousins.”
Family stories are fascinating, and every family has
family stories that are passed down through the generations. It is interesting to hear the stories;
however, being a person who doesn’t just believe what I am told, I work to
prove the stories.
Some of the research takes me into unknown interesting
areas such as the unknown family lines that connect to the family. Once I
started researching family, I found connections to families such as Kelly,
Slay, Wideman, Baker, Howard, Young, and Teal who are ancestors on my paternal
line. I wasn’t aware these familial
lines because no one ever mentioned them; however, being a persistent person I
persisted in digging deep into those families and found their connections to my
father. The journey has been fun along the way. It is amazing how these
families all seem to tie together in certain areas and moved together, and
settled in the same area.
My research has taken me to my father’s biological
father’s family back to the 1790s Virginia. The family members that I knew
personally, I especially feel close to because of the memories that I have of them;
the visits, the family reunions, the traditions, and the stories.
I think of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren,
and I want to leave something that would be personal, something that will
enrich their lives, and something to give them a feeling of a family
connection. A gift to them, a sense of belonging and knowing where they came
from.
Genealogy research is all about our ancestors and
their descendants being real people with the same needs, wants, feelings and
faults as we. They had the same likes, dislikes, personality traits, talents,
and they lived and breathed just as we do. Therefore, researching family is a hobby where I research real people who lived life as we live, who had names, stories, records, and ramblings, and each family's collection will be passed down to
the next generation. ■
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| Image from Google Images The house is located in Lowndsboro, Alabama |
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