I was at a wake last night and it didn't occur to me until I was on my way there that I would be related to half the people in the room, as the deceased was my late great-uncle Freddy Stutzmann's ex-wife. And as I looked around the room, I didn't recognize a single person, which made me realize that as much as I'm learning about my grandmother's ancestors, I know very little about her immediate family. Her sister Faith Laidlaw's family was there - cousins and second cousins - and Uncle Freddy's kids and grandkids of course as well, people who are names in a book to me and nothing more. It was a bit of a wake-up call to this family historian that I could tell you everything about Uncle Freddy and Aunt Faith's parents and grandparents and not a single thing about their children or grandchildren. And so maybe part of my new year's resolution should be to research sideways when going backward hits a dead end.
On another genealogical note, my dad's sister sent me an e-mail yesterday saying that someone she works with was talking about how her mom's family was one of the founding families of Freeport - that family was, of course, the Raynors. You can't swing a dead cat in this area without hitting a Raynor relation.
Such a good point, and one I realized last year myself. At Christmas time I realized that I know more about my dead relatives than I do my living...something I am also looking to change this year.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I speak to people about starting their family trees, I underscore how important it is to write about yourself. I tell them that in 100 years from now when some great-great-great niece comes across your papers, she will want to know who you were. Family history goes both ways.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, April...and the perfect excuse for continuing to be a packrat :)
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