My Family History Experience

I wasn't really sure why I wanted to check out my family history. I guess it's because beyond my mother and my father, my family has always been small. Three out of four of my grandparents were dead before I was born. My grandfather, who remains is alive and well, is living with us. My mother's brothers were much older than her, and I've never even met one of them. My mother's sisters are close to her, and my father's only brother is around all of the time. I'm an only child, so no mystery there.

I guess my interest came into play with my dad's side of the family. My grandfather has upwards of ten siblings(I'm not really sure, off the top of my head) and many of them are distant, or dead. They also had rather large reproductive habits, leaving me with second and third and fourth cousins. That part of the family also lives in a rural area, so the aunt Joanna who isn't really an aunt, thing, is quite common too.

I started last year, and it's only been a mild hobby. I can't really get too far, but from what I've found with public records, I've been able to find some distant relatives both where my mother grew up, in Maine, and where my father grew up, in western New York. Many cemeteries that are older now have resource listings online, and veterans are also easy to find.

I really ran into a problem though, when I realized that my father's mother came straight from Germany, and we don't have any connections to her family. I don't speak German, so I'm pretty much out on being able to communicate to Germany and request information about my late grandmother. Similarly, my mother's grandparents were straight off the boat from Ireland, and I lose all trace of them, there.

Maybe some day, when I come into more funding, I'll be able to spend the money to join one of those ridiculous genealogy sites and get the "restricted" information. I don't really agree with those. There's much more fun in finding stuff on your own.

The feeling of elation you get when, after scanning google for hours, you finally find a whisper of your own family, is indescribable. It's almost like you're trespassing somewhere that you shouldn't, and that, at any moment, that relative is going to walk in, raise their eyebrows at you, and ask you what you think you're doing.

I wish others luck on their own familial journeys. I know mine hasn't been successful yet, but in time, I'm sure it will be.