what makes us suddenly start researching our ancestors?

[Flipster]

I think in my case, her dreams went sour. Her mother apparently was an absolute scream according to my mum, not at all prim and proper!  Her dad, on the other hand, was a horrid man. Its only recently having read letters sent to her in WW1 from her favourite uncle (killed in the war) and WW2 from her youngest brother (killed in that war) that I have started to at least understand her abit.  As I said to my mum, I dont condone or forgive her behaviour, but I think I can see where it all started to go wrong.
A clairvoyant told me once my spirit guide was an old lady dressed in lilac standing behind my right shoulder driving me on...this nan always wore lilac! I asked if there was a knife in her hand  If so, I wasnt being driven on, I was running like heck!

[cardiff Irish]

There wasn't one person in my family who could tell me about my G Grandparents.I wanted to find out who these people were ,where they came from and what happened to them? When I did find out I must admit I felt a  bit emotional. I came across a piece in a S Australian F&LH article. Some may find it cheesey......... for me it explained a lot.I'll repeat it for those who haven't come across it........
We are the chosen.My feelings are that in each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again.To tell the family story and to feel somehow they know and approve. To me, doing genealogy is not a code gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all that have gone before. We are the storytellers oof the tribe.All tribes have one. We have been called as it were by our genes.Those that have gone before cry out to to us:tell our story. So, we do.In finding them,we somehow find ourselves.How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count.How many times have I told the ancestors you have a wonderful family you would be proud of us? How many times  have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I  and why do I do the things I do? It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen. The bones here are the bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh.It goes to doing something about it.It goes to pride  in what our ancestors  were able to accomplish.How they contributed to what we are today.It goes to respecting their hardships and losses,their nevergiving in or giving up,their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their own family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a nation.It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.That we might be born who we are.That we might remember them.So we do.With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us. I telll the story of my family.It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take the place in the long line of family storytellers. That, is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and put Flesh on the bones.

[Wendy Mc]

Mine is a similar story and yes I too seem to be 'the one' in the family left to piece it all together. The journey so far, has been frustrating (most of the people who could help have already gone to God), rewarding, exciting, tiring, satisfying and more. I have been lucky enough to find living relatives, even met some, but most of all it's the friendships that have been formed just through giving and receiving help and having the same strange interest in this stuff. Some of these people I know will be with me forever on this journey and that makes it all worthwhile.


Nice one Cardiff.



Wendy


.

[Flipster]

Cardiff,
Loved it, says it all, not too cheesey either! Started my day off nicely...Thank you.

Flipster

[KarenM]

Cardiff

That was really nice. 

For me, it started out when I found out the my last name really wasn't the real name.  My great-grandfather changed it upon coming to Canada.  My dad found out in 1969.  I did not find out till later and then I was young and didn't have any questions.  Now, I am trying to place all my lines, the problem is, is that I get a little bit of information, but then I get greedy and want to know more.  It's neverending!  Now that I am married, I have my husband's last name, but it's not really his either since his father was adopted.

Karen

[RachelK]

I'm sure I've replied on one of these 'why genealogy?' threads before, but nevermind. You'll just have to cope with me repeating myself because I think you've all come up with some interesting points.

Cardiff, I've seen that piece from an article on another site and I think it's a great way of expressing why many people probably trace their tree. I agree whole heartedly.

I felt the same need to fill the void that Bryan mentioned. My family either didn't talk about their past, or on my mum's side, didn't KNOW about their past. Funnily enough it also relates to the bitter old lady syndrome that Ros, Flipster and GalaxyJane were talking about, my own Nan being one of them!

I personally refused to beleive that someone could be such a negative, horrible person without reason, so I wanted to find out why she was like that. I don't think anyone else ever bothered to wonder why. Thanks to researching, turns out she had good reason. Not a very stable childhood.

Like Flipster said, it doesn't excuse a person's behaviour, but it gave me some insight into how my Nan's mind works and made me more able to understand. I just hope I don't end up as one of those types of old lady!  LOL

[possum_pie]

Well I was never interested in my history.... at least until they were all gone!!  I used to envy my friend with her exciting Irish heritage.... now I realise I am more Irish than she was!!

I started asking a few questions one day and trying to piece it together and realised that everyone knew so little!!  The detective in me set out.... my grandad tried to do this about 35 years ago and got nowhere.... I'm sure he's watching me now and helping....

.... andI've had the spookiest experiences since I started.... I think my ancestors are trying to help me.... discovered my great grandparents are buried about 200 yards from my house!!  Left the computer one night with a pad of scribbles cos I couldn't understand where three of the kids had gone between censuses - put the pad in the cabinet.  Went into the room next morning and there was the pad with ' died of meninigitis, aged 6 years' and 'died scarlet fever aged 7 years' written down....

[RJ_Paton]

It may have something to do with the genes .... I have come across 4 other very distant relatives also searching and we are all offshoots of the one main line. in all of our cases descendants of other lines have shown absolutely no interest.

Re understanding .... I don't know if I am any closer to understanding any of them but there are several I would love to have known and several others I wouldn't admit to knowing 

[Dimps]

My family's search began when my grandmother reached retirement age (early 1960s).  Apparently, there was no proof of her existance.  Her mother had always told her that when she was born (1902), there was no legal requirement to register births.  Tosh, of course.

Back then, tracing family history was difficult.  The powers that be accepted other evidence (plus an affidavit, I think) and she was eventually granted a pension.

My mother attempted another search in the late 60s or early 70s - to no avail.  She started again a couple of years ago and that is when I became involved.  My grandmother was born in a workhouse and no father is recorded on her birth certificate.  The man who she had thought was her father married her mother a couple of years after she was born (and at the time of her birth, he was living at the opposite end of the county).  However, as far as we are concerned he was her "real" father if not by blood.

We have a couple of candidates for the 'blood' father but, short of surrupticiously pricking people with the same surname with a pin and doing DNA tests, I don't think we'll get very far.

And in the long run, does it really matter?  As far as my grandmother was concerned, the man she knew was her father and, my mother thought was her grandfather.  As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, there are so many illegitimacies that we are probably all taking the wrong routes somewhere along the line.

Anyway, to get back on topic, this is what got me started.  That, an interest in history and a penchant for research.  Oh - for heaven's sake, I'm nosey!!!

Deborah