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Genealogy Can Be Fun!

While the dictionary provides a definition of genealogy as the study or investigation of ancestry and family history, most people who choose to trace their genealogy do so as a hobby, at least at first.

An Urge To Research

Some students are asked to trace their family at the urging of a teacher or grade school project. For instance, a third grader might be asked to find the date of birth of their grandparents, or the date they were married. Even this small piece of data is providing needed fuel for a further genealogy search.

By sixth or seventh grade, students may be asked to determine when their grandparents immigrated to the United States, when their great-grandparents were born, when they died, and what they did for a living. At this stage in educational development, students are interested in asking questions about genealogy. Parents and grandparents are great sources of reference, and they are all anxious to add their knowledge into their mix.

Possibly, the next time the subject of genealogy arises is shortly before or after a marriage. Young (or older) adults are fascinated about mixing family history, and it is especially poignant if a family tradition becomes a subject of curiosity, or if the couple is planning or picking baby names. The genealogy of the family becomes a part of the newlywed couple’s immediate interest and there is a renewed sense of enjoyment by family members at every level who are more than anxious to record their family’s information.

By all means, at some point, anyone or everyone in a family should approach the oldest members (i.e. parent-to-parent, grandchild to grandparent, great-grandchild to great-grandparent) and ask for the genealogy as far back as that relative can remember. A great-grandparent may be one of the only accurate recollections of some family members. Interestingly, information considered to be fact may need to be clarified or revised, depending on the circumstances.

In the same way that the younger child in the movie remembered someone named “Rainman,” he later learns that the person’s name was Raymond. It is possible that someone who tries to locate their family in Russia (where they think their search belongs) learns, from an older relative, that Prussia, not Russia, is their country of origin.

A family member who remembers being forced to move secretly and often as a child may harbor feelings of ill will and confusion about their upbringing. They may question whether there were problems of an addictive nature with their parents, causing the family to be out of money or resources so often that they were always “on the run.” It may be the clarification from a great aunt or uncle that explains the situation had less to do with addiction and more to do with, for instance, a fear of going out-of-doors, or an inability to read and write. Fear of the unknown is not a new emotion—it affects all people at all ages.