genealogy helped me....

[MarieC]

- to know more about my ancestors - some fascinating things discovered (and some frustrating brick walls!)

- to learn more about parts of the world where my ancestors came from

- to create a website

- to make some wonderful friends - mostly here on Rootschat!!!

- to find a couple of very distant cousins (I need to find more!)

MarieC

[KathMc]

- to become more efficient on the computer

- meet new people and make new friends, both long-lost relatives and those who have helped me through my research (although I haven't actually met any of them in person  )

- to learn a lot geographically and historically

- to help me become a tad more organize

- to spend a lot of time on the computer 

[lcsnor]

To remember to label the family photos and to ask about those from years ago that aren't labeled now and whose subjects could be lost forever.

[Jack J.]

Learn to appreciate the hard ships & heartaches of our forefathers.
Imagine  your children or spouse  dying prematurely or watching them as died from diseases that are easily cured or prevented today.
 My wife's grand-father took 39 months to die from Lou Gehrig's disease in 1910 at age 33. My great- grand-parents lost a son during the American civil war at age 20. The second son right after being discharged  after surviving Gettysburg & being a prisoner of war in Richmond Va. for nearly a year. was drown at the age of 25.The third( my grand-father) was discharged after spending almost a year in Andersonville prison, Ga. A terrible hell hole of a prison.
  Some of the least wealthy people in this country live better than most of our forefathers.
  Consider that the average person died at age 47 in this country in 1907.

[Springbok]

Learn patience by trawling through pages of Census returns to find a missing "rellie"

Appreciate keeping an elderly brain alert.

Meeting on line people who share a strand of ones genes(and how awesome is that)?

Wondering how it was possible that five or six  large families could live in one city building.

Enjoying the chat line , just listening or throwing in one's two pennorth.

To know that time is running out and ones children are going to be devastated to lose me ,so I feel that my researches will give them something of a continuity to hold on to.

Spring

[mich b]

Well I started off laughing at (and relating to) all the lessons learned from searching for our ancestors, but by the time I got to Jack J's anecdotes I was losing the will - afterall I've read quite a few of my ancestors death certificates-maybe I'll just end it all now!
Incidentally some lessons I've learnt are that; I'm not organised at all (but I need to be).
That hindsight is a wonderful thing. (Why didn't I ask my Grandma and G-Granddad more questions and write the answers down?)
I've learnt to cut and paste and to retrieve photo's and scans from files I never knew I had.
I've learnt to ignore the kids when they're hungry and I'm about to have a "breakthrough" (yeah right)
I've learnt a new meaning for the word FRUSTRATION!
But, like you've all said we're still here coming back for more. I'd love to find just one cousin or relative, but its looking less likely.

Michelle 

[mich b]

BTW Spring,

I went to school in Bulwell Nottingham.

Our school had a carving, in the Bulwell sandstone, over the door of a Bull with its head  stuck in a well. Legend has it that's how Bulwell got its name.
The school (Bulwell St.Mary's) and the carving are still there.

Those were the days!

Michelle 

[Jack J.]

I didn't write what I did to discourage anyone. Those were just my thoughts of how lucky most of us are to not have these horrible things happen to us, We also have a much easier life than our ancestors. The thing that impresses me is that they overcame all those things and more. Most of my relatives lived into at least their seventies. I was in the same situation as Michelle when I started. I think the best thing anyone that is searching for their roots can do is get exposure. Put queries on every place they can. Explain who you are and who your looking for. There are a number of nice people out there looking for the same people you are. Somewhere someone has the answers you need.
  Good luck Michelle, Sorry, I didn't mean to discourage you.

                                             Jack

[mich b]

Hi Jack,

You haven't discouraged me at all, unfortunately I've got a very dry sense of humour which is not easily carried over in writing.
The people I've chatted to and whose information I've read all seem lovely.
So Genealogy has also helped me... find a whole bunch of really great individuals. 

I managed to get 3-free days on Ancestry.com and after wading through about 70 - 80,000 names I found yet another spelling of my surname. 

Oh happy days!

Cheers Michelle