The Genealogy.
My niece called me the other afternoon and needed my help. She had a school project to where she needed the family genealogy. Years ago my b-I-l became interested in genealogy and did a pretty extensive work-up of our family. It goes from my oldest sister back to the farthest date being 1543. I don’t know how far off this genealogy is, but he’s usually a pretty through person, so I feel comfortable that the names and date are accurate.
So I emailed my niece the whole thing and then Fmom wanted me to print out the entire thing for her to look over. I set it up to print, and it came to a whopping 42 pages. It was hard for me to believe it was that many pages, but it was. I called my niece and told her that if she was going to print it out, she’d better have a good bit of ink and a lot of paper.
I guess the thing I like about having a written genealogy is that it brings a lot of the older and oldest relatives more to life for me. In our family cemetery is buried the patriarch and matriarch of my family. They first arrived here around the mid or earlier 1800’s. I’ve walked by both of their graves when I was younger and didn’t know who they were until the genealogy was made. Through the genealogy, I’ve found out that my great grandfather was called “Blind Bob”, well because he was blind and his name was Bob. Pretty descriptive I’d say. I found out also that my first relative to arrive from Ireland was a wheelwright (or wainwright), and fought in the revolutionary war. I’ve seen how the family has branched off, and how I’m related to a lot more people from around here and the United States then I ever imagined.
I still get mixed up after the fourth or fifth cousin, and I don’t even go into something like fourth cousin removed. I have no idea what the removed thing means. I do know down here the term “cudin”, instead of cousin, is used for someone like my grandfather’s first cousins. They’ve passed away a good while back, but I used to have a cudin Velma, cudin Jake and cudin Frank.
I might not have gotten into the family history if my b-I-l hadn’t written up this genealogy. For me, it has been pretty easy. We have the farmhouse that the patriarch and matriarch started building when they first moved here, and though the years, has been built onto to look as it does today. Then there’s the family cemetery that they are buried in, of which I have no doubt I will be too. So as I’ve said and keep saying, I’m surrounded by family history. Many people never knew their parents much less their grandparents and beyond. There are many people who don’t care to know much about their family beyond themselves. I’ve been lucky in that I want to know more about my ancestors and that my pursuit of information has been so easy. So here’s to our ancestors and the people who desire to know them. Here’s to getting to know them and maybe in that respect, getting to know ourselves a little bit better.
BTW does anyone out there know who their fourth cousin removed would be?
So I emailed my niece the whole thing and then Fmom wanted me to print out the entire thing for her to look over. I set it up to print, and it came to a whopping 42 pages. It was hard for me to believe it was that many pages, but it was. I called my niece and told her that if she was going to print it out, she’d better have a good bit of ink and a lot of paper.
I guess the thing I like about having a written genealogy is that it brings a lot of the older and oldest relatives more to life for me. In our family cemetery is buried the patriarch and matriarch of my family. They first arrived here around the mid or earlier 1800’s. I’ve walked by both of their graves when I was younger and didn’t know who they were until the genealogy was made. Through the genealogy, I’ve found out that my great grandfather was called “Blind Bob”, well because he was blind and his name was Bob. Pretty descriptive I’d say. I found out also that my first relative to arrive from Ireland was a wheelwright (or wainwright), and fought in the revolutionary war. I’ve seen how the family has branched off, and how I’m related to a lot more people from around here and the United States then I ever imagined.
I still get mixed up after the fourth or fifth cousin, and I don’t even go into something like fourth cousin removed. I have no idea what the removed thing means. I do know down here the term “cudin”, instead of cousin, is used for someone like my grandfather’s first cousins. They’ve passed away a good while back, but I used to have a cudin Velma, cudin Jake and cudin Frank.
I might not have gotten into the family history if my b-I-l hadn’t written up this genealogy. For me, it has been pretty easy. We have the farmhouse that the patriarch and matriarch started building when they first moved here, and though the years, has been built onto to look as it does today. Then there’s the family cemetery that they are buried in, of which I have no doubt I will be too. So as I’ve said and keep saying, I’m surrounded by family history. Many people never knew their parents much less their grandparents and beyond. There are many people who don’t care to know much about their family beyond themselves. I’ve been lucky in that I want to know more about my ancestors and that my pursuit of information has been so easy. So here’s to our ancestors and the people who desire to know them. Here’s to getting to know them and maybe in that respect, getting to know ourselves a little bit better.
BTW does anyone out there know who their fourth cousin removed would be?
posted by Family Man | 3:57 AM
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