My sister received an email from our grandmother’s sister’s
granddaughter via Ancestry.com. Apparently, Ellen found my sister because she’d
gotten her DNA done through Ancestry. I contacted Ellen and that spurred me to get
back to working on my genealogy—something I’ve done sporadically for about
forty years. Even less so since I’ve been writing.
I remembered Ellen’s mother (my dad’s cousin). I think she
came to my wedding. Since that was back in the dark ages, though, I’m not positive. 😉
As I looked over my family tree, I was surprised by how much
I didn’t know about my generation: their marriages, children, and
grandchildren. My sister is the family connector. She calls cousins, visits our
sole surviving uncle and our dad's cousin, generally keeps in touch. She never married and, perhaps,
this is her way of maintaining a family.
Somewhere in my office (that needs organizing) is a box with
wedding invitations, birth announcements, etc. I have all the info I need to fill in the info, just
not at hand. One thing I was pleased about is Ancestry’s privacy policy. Living
members are hidden from the public. Yay! Originally, I was afraid to add them for
privacy reasons.
A couple of days ago, Betsy Ashton wrote about being keeper of the "box." That's me. I have letters from my grandfather to my grandmother when they were courting. I need to scan them so my brothers and sisters can read them. Same with old pictures.
A couple of days ago, Betsy Ashton wrote about being keeper of the "box." That's me. I have letters from my grandfather to my grandmother when they were courting. I need to scan them so my brothers and sisters can read them. Same with old pictures.
I’ve always thought it was important to know where I came
from. Not for inheritance sake, like my grandmother and her cousins thought.
Hubs joined Ancestry to organize all the “stuff” he’s collected and stories
from his mother, dad, and aunt. He’s stuck on his grandfather. According to his
aunt, the one time her sister asked about his family, Grandfather teared up and their
mother forbade them to ask again. Too bad. That’s a mystery Hubs is still
trying to solve.
In a post here several years ago, I mentioned my grandmother
and her cousins hiring a genealogist to trace their family history. According
to legend, their ancestor (Anneke Jans Borgardus) who was the daughter of the
king of The Netherlands married against his will and was disinherited for seven
generations. Gram’s cousins were certain they were the seventh generations and
would inherit buckets of money. Since this was in the 1930s, amid the Great
Depression in Detroit, it’s easy to understand their desire. And to throw money
at the genealogist who told them (repeatedly) he was almost there. Unfortunately, the legend was just that. A legend.
Amazingly, much of what his report said can be backed up
with documents, especially through the DAR. However, many assumptions the
family had proved false. Hence, no inheritance. Darn.
While on this journey to find out where I came from, I
talked to (or corresponded with) several relatives in my grandmother’s
generation. It was great reading about our grandfather’s courtship of our
grandmother through the eyes of her sister with whom she lived. With the
exception of one of my dad’s brothers and one of his cousins, the people of
that generation are no longer with us. Gone, too, are their stories.
It looks like I’m the family storyteller now.
What a scary thought. The responsibility of keeping the
family stories alive is mine. Enter technology. While people gripe about how technology
is taking over our lives, I’m applauding the ease with which things can be
shared. Scan in pictures and letters then send electronically to someone in
California. Easy peasy.
When we first joined Ancestry, I didn’t realize that I could
share all that knowledge with my family, whether they are members of Ancestry
or not. I recently discovered my youngest cousin (same age as my daughter) is on Ancestry. I happily shared what I know with him. It will be wonderful that our family history will live on. That is a big relief. The burden can be shared.
Now, it’s time to get back to the other chores awaiting me.
And the next book.
BTW, here's the cover for my soon-to-be released romantic suspense.
BTW, here's the cover for my soon-to-be released romantic suspense.
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. She blogs here on the 16th and 30th of each month. She shares snippets from her stories every weekend on her blog. Her newest romantic suspense, Numbers Never Lie, will be released next month.