What began, several years ago, as merely creating a simple family tree of relatives, has blossomed into an overwhelmingly THICK FOREST.😄 As of today, most of the obligatory facts(vital statistics) have now been discovered/retrieved/located/completed.
PHEW!
YAY!
My stash of semi-organized mounds of notes and photos go back as far as 4-6 generations. Included in this stash are birth certificates, marriage and death certificates, photos of grave markers, and a large supply of candid photos. Also included in the data for my family tree are vital statistics and photos for ALL siblings and spouses, as well as children and grandchildren in each generation.
THAT IS A BOAT LOAD OF PEOPLE!😁
Three or four Genealogy 'albums' are currently shelved here at our home, for Ron's family(Ron's Mom spent years gathering information and creating a genealogy wheel). It, therefore, seemed logical that my side of the tree be completed. Ron graciously supported my efforts to do the same for 'my side'.
Thus far, I've connected the dots to 1/2-told- stories, filled in blanks of time that were temporarily blotted out, shared photos with relatives, reacquainted myself with long lost cousins, and reestablished a few relationships! Quite frankly, this rabbit hole experience has been an immensely rewarding one. I may never be the same again, or view life as I previously have.
Once I began my deep dive into the past, I sort of 'lost' myself(like talking out loud to people no longer here)! The random pieces of information became eye candy. I wanted to know more, and more, and more, and more. I wanted to know dates, what was happening in history at the time of the photos, why they were wearing the outfits they were wearing, who was sick when, why so many people died of pneumonia, why they looked sad in their photos, and why they moved around frequently. I wanted to know what my ancestors did for a living, did they serve in the military, and what were their hobbies. My goodness, some of these people had 10 children😲.
Throughout this adventure, I've learned as much about myself as I have about my relatives. They were ALL hard working people. Many had nothing other than the shirts on their backs and a roof over their heads. They shared living quarters with 6,8, sometimes 10 people(Having your own bedroom was never a consideration or option.). They were not raised with all of the conveniences of today, yet were always willing to share their possessions with neighbors. Every member in the family unit worked hard to support their family. Unlike today, when they didn't work, they were not paid. Sadly, not being able to 'fork-up' rent money, meant moving from place to place. Most were lucky to make it through high school. Many did not. The horrific tragedies experienced in their lifetimes, shaped and influenced who they became as well as the outlook they had on life.
During this adventure, I have visited grave sites, circuit courts, taken day trips, gone to on-line genealogy sites, found census records, thumbed through old city directories and have added interesting details and events to my family tree. I have sifted through boxes of moldy albums, envelops, and containers.
Some of the most valued treasures have been discovered photos! Photos tell stories like nothing else, especially if you look at details. Some of the photos have dates on the back. Some do not.
While it has been impossible to find out all elements about each and every one of the characters on my list, it has been a rewarding adventure!
The research has unquestionably had a domino effect as well. Locating one new piece of information opened up a new path to explore another brick wall.
My printer and scanner have been working overtime to produce "touchable" memories stored in 'real-live-albums'. Information has additionally been stored on my hard drive and an an external hard drive for future printing.
The time has finally come to implement my next strategy. Do I create more genealogy blogs (I think I've written 7 in the last several years)?
Do I take each person and create a page of facts and events concerning their life? Obviously there are 2 big sections to my family descendants (my Mom's side, and my Dad's side).
For the sake of my children, I'll be adding a 3rd section👉ME(well..... US!)
Writing details that have been pieced together will now be much easier. Finding one's roots is never a completed process. There will always be more stories to tell, more photos to find, and more missing relatives to discover.
Events, photos, hand-written letters, and some funny stories have now been placed in somewhat of a chronological order.
I'm eager to write down facts, a few stories, and include photos of these people.
Do I have a time line for completing this? (the sooner the better)
It's quite the story!
