Is genealogy in the genes?

[Pinetree]

If it's a genealogy bug should you be able to get a prescription from the doctor ....

I think my OH would agree with this bit of your message - I don't think he has inherited the genealogy gene 

Pinetree

[simonwpb]

Does anyone get upset if they discover a branch that is "the last of the line" ?

Simon

[Christopher]

Does anyone get upset if they discover a branch that is "the last of the line" ?

Simon

What an insensitive question, Simon

You can kind of get upset if you are the last of the line

Christopher

[simonwpb]

Sorry if I said something inappropriate.

My tree has some lines that ended, which saddened me at time of discovery. Just wanted to know if I was too sentimental a genealogist.

[Springbok]

If you didn't feel any rapport or empathy  with your relations and what you learn  about them, then there would be no point in carrying on.

Just a list of names and dates. it is the fascinating snippets which may get the interest of other family members too.(Eventually and fingers crossed)!

Spring

[Pinetree]

My tree has some lines that ended, which saddened me at time of discovery. Just wanted to know if I was too sentimental a genealogist.

I am a very sentimental genealogist Simon.  All the infant deaths for example I just can't imagine how the families coped.

I also shed a tear when I discovered my Gr Grandfather as a 9 year old orphan in the workhouse, a fact my Grandmother never mentioned but maybe she didn't know.  I think that's what motivates me too - finding out what people went through in their lives not just who they were.

Pinetree

[MarieC]

Simon

It's an excellent point that you made!    I too am a sentimental genealogist.

I have a little family, not in my direct line but close to it.  He was a brilliant scientist, knighted eventually for his work, and she a brilliant novelist who apparently was admitted to a mental institution towards the end of her life.  They had one son who showed promise of being brilliant also, but who was killed at Gallipoli in World War I.  I nearly shed tears every time I think about them.  What a sad thing.  What a wicked waste of a brilliant young man.

MarieC

[stoney]

Well, when I started researching my family tree in 2001 I was already aware of a family member (mothers uncle) who had written books in the 1930's about various things to do with life in the Scottish Borders.

It was only when another family member passed me one of his books that I'd not read before, that I discovered he had been a keen genealogist, too!

When another genealogist (from "across the pond"!) saw my enquiries on another message board, they put me in touch with somone who turned out to be my mother's cousin - the son of the above author!

So, I would think there must be something to this notion of genealogy in the blood - either that or we're all just plain nosey about our family's affairs! 

[simonwpb]

This question certainly made me think...

My maternal grandparents never knew 3 of their 4 parents and consequently family history was anecdotal at best. My grandmother had intense curiosity about her ancestry, which I can safely say I inherited from my mother.

My paternal grandparents had less contact with their relatives than a couple in a witness protection program. Although to be fair my father had some curiosity as to his roots, he never met any extended family members. My genealogical research has found little interest in contact from this side of the family except for one person 3 generations removed.

Therefore I conclude as a sentimental genealogist that curiosity about your family history is in the DNA!