06 November 2007

ancestors



In the mid 1980s I began checking where I had come from. On the male line I made swift progress back through the Victorian era but hit a brick wall at 1800. Since then I have amused myself instead by looking into the ancestry of the dozens of female lines that married into my family. Even though their families are not related to me by blood they are just as much fun to trace! This is such a good hobby for putting down and picking back up a few months or years later. After all, these people are patient, they aren't going anywhere! The photo is a wedding in 1928.

I recently revisited my genealogy files where there are eight hundred and sixty two names, some living but mostly dead, in my database. More than ever, I would love to time travel back two hundred years and talk to some of them. Their lives were so different from our own. No cars, no electricity, no street lights, no microwaves, no refrigerators, no reality TV and no space stations. Yet I am sure they had the same hopes and dreams and fears as us.

I want to pass an electronic family history file to my descendents to hand from generation to generation. Not just names, dates, events and places but my hopes and dreams and fears. Ten years ago I finished writing the first instalment in the story of my life. I think it is time to add another few chapters.

9 comments:

{illyria} said...

what a wonderful idea. i always say "for posterity," but i've never thought to actually do something. it's a good place to start.

Anonymous said...

I had to do a family tree for homework YEARS ago. I just remember it being really boring, but now I'm fascinated about where my family have come from. I must be turning into my mum...

Ms. Kimba said...

i did the same once and discovered that my family is scottish-english....i was getting into the places etc etc then i got busy with work and never looked into it again.

its a fun thing to do isnt it?

Perfect Virgo said...

(illyria) - I think it will like a time capsule although I won't be burying it. Some CDRs containing my family tree database (which can be opened with any genealogy software) and a voice recording of my rather pompously titled memoirs.

FH - it's much more interesting to do it for yourself rather than because someone tells you to. Turning into your mum eh, well that's a proposition for a whole other blog piece...

Mrs C - it's fascinating. I love the thrill of the chase. Even 20 years later I am still unearthing long dead distant relatives!

Michelle said...

I just love hearing about all the people in your family tree. And trying to put names to faces with all your old photographs! You have unearthed a wealth of information and your children are lucky to have access to so much information. I couldn't even tell you my great-grandmother's maiden name. We'll work on that someday :)

Perfect Virgo said...

MD - putting faces to all those names is great, eh? (Well, at least those born after photography began...) Glad I'm not boring you to tears with my dusty old skeletons! Yep, we will investigate your heritage soon too.

Russell CJ Duffy said...

i too have been chasing my family through time. got back to the late 1700's.
fascinating and addictive.

Anonymous said...

tagged you PV

Perfect Virgo said...

CJ - once you dive into the pre-civil registration era then it really is like sleuthing, great fun and yes, highly addictive!

FH - dun it!