This week’s topic is to write about ourselves. But, writing about myself is a very difficult task. It is much easier to write about people in my family’s history whose stories I find fascinating. So, I compromised in a sense and wrote about the various people and things that got me interested in genealogy.
Sources Of Interest
Sources Of Interest
My genealogy interest come from several different people. First, Dad was a history buff. He loved history, especially American History with the Civil War as a particular interest. He had also listened to his parents and other older folks talk. So, he knew many of the old family stories and local tales, which he enjoyed sharing.
As the family historian of her generation, Dad’s oldest sister O’Ella was also a contributor to my interest in genealogy. I was amazed at how much information she had been able to collect WITHOUT the internet. She also loved history. And, as the oldest of my dad’s siblings, she also knew many family stories and was happy to have someone listen to her.
Mom, on the other hand, didn’t formally research family. However, he had lots of scribbled notes about the family and she kept photos and clippings about everyone.
She diligently wrote names on photos. Often this also included the person’s parents’ names, and sometimes even the names of their grandparents on a photo. She also talked about family stories. The hardest part with her stories was that her, her mother, and her sisters tended to intermix talk of family, friends, and neighbors to the point that it was often hard to figure out exactly who was related and who wasn’t.
Unfortunately, my maternal grandmother did not label photographs. However, she contributed to my interest in genealogy by showing me information from a woman who was putting together a family history book for her father’s family. She also shared with me things she had given the woman to add to the book.
I never really discussed family history with my paternal grandmother. However, grandpa and her kept many old letters, postcards, receipts, and other documents. Many have led to discoveries about the family that I would have likely never uncovered otherwise.
Key Interest
Key Interest
But, one the biggest contributors to my interest in genealogy were the open-ended questions. Stories that were incomplete or where no one really knew what happened intrigued me. For example, did my great-great grandfather McCracken have a past or had he just beamed down from an alien space ship into the state or Iowa? Similarly, the insistence by some people that certain things were true when it seemed unlikely that was the case made me want to search for the truth.
Plus, I am a bit of a detective and I like a good word problem. All added together, I was drawn to genealogy.
Looking toward 2024
The blog will continue in 2024 . . . So, stay tuned!