Genealogy: You Never Know Who Knows What!

Do you ever sit in the throes of winter wishing for the summer holidays? School is out, the BBQ is fired up, and we are ready to live it up and get down to some serious kicking back. Well have faith! Summer is coming, so start planning now on how you can make some inroads to your genealogical puzzles, or the infamous brick wall of a relative who just does not want to give up their secrets!

The summer is time for travel and family reunions. While we have talked about the opportunity to use family gatherings to gather information, travel can be another opportunity to gather some information too. While you are kicking back at the family reunion, this is the perfect time to do a little reminiscing and add a few leaves to the old family tree and maybe visit some of the sites your ancestors lived, worked or played at.

I can remember as a little girl taking a family vacation across the USA and stopping to visit family in Missouri. While we were there, my mother took us to see the small town where she was born. Now all I can remember is a red handled pump well in the middle of the road and a building that had at one time been a store, but the place did make an impression on me.

In later years I would remind my mom of this trip to her hometown and it opened the floodgates of memories from her. I learned a great deal about my grandparents homestead, things like my grandma cooking for all the field hands at noontime, and how much effort that took. While these may seem like trivial memories, in actuality they are vital clues and links to the past.

It was from clues like this that some cousins of mine were able to put together a history of our family in Southern Missouri. They discovered our ancestors were landowners and even had a town named after the family, which is still in existence today. One of the old homesteads and a mill are state historical monuments.

These bits of history are important because they have not only given us insight as to what life was like in years past, but have enabled us to document that history. This is the crux of any genealogist's journey, the documentation of facts and figures.

It is burdensome and laborious to document everything in a family history, but it is truly vital. Facts that may seem trivial or irrelevant may be the one that unlocks a secret or gives credence to a claim.

It was the taking of an oral history from an aunt of mine that led to the discovery that my great-great grandfather had been murdered in 1928, as opposed to committing suicide. We were able to uncover a conspiracy by law enforcement, clergy and government officials of the time and eventually were able to clear his name, albeit 70 some years after his death.

Take the time to talk to older members of the family, and write down or tape the oral history they give you. Compare notes with other people, form ideas and express them. The clues are here just waiting to be discovered.

So enjoy the travel and vacation, the picnics and reunions. Keep your ears open and the pens or tape recorders handy and your camera loaded. You never know where your history may reach up and grab you.

My next article discusses detailing information into your family tree which you might not think is important, but will be invaluable to future researchers.