Self-Discovery on the Genealogical Highway

For more than a year now (as many of you know) I have been ambling down the genealogical highway, in search of stories of my family's history and knowledge of the times in which they lived.

My mother was born in this house that still stands in our city.

This quarter's focus on Modern Creative Life is "Selfies." Here's how the theme is described in its submissions page:

What does it mean to examine one’s self? Can self-portraits – and all versions of that such as memoir, personal essays, and such – heal us and help us grow as creatives? How do we make the space for blank canvases and blank pages if we ignore our need to create? Can we expect to fill those pages and canvases with our creations if we dive deeper into who we are?

Part of living a creative life is the understanding that we must refill our own wells in some way on a regular basis, otherwise, we find ourselves resentful of our own lives. Without the time or space to pursue our creative ways, we will burn out. Our souls demand that we uphold the responsibility of using our gifts. So how does looking at ourselves help us or hurt us?

Taking this road trip through history has been and continues to be a journey of discovery. But it isn't just names, dates and birthplaces I've discovered. I've also learned some stories about my ancestors and -- perhaps more important -- something about myself.

I'm sharing that in the current issue of Modern Creative Life right HERE. I hope you'll stop by and read it.

Which one do you think is my mom?

And if you, too, are on that journey, I encourage you to consider -- how has it changed you? How has knowing about your ancestors' lives affected how you feel about your family, your ancestors or you, yourself.

When we found this photo of our grandmother, we realized how much she looked like one of my cousins.

Not every story is pretty or happy. Hard decisions had to be made and some were heartbreaking. But so many are inspiring.

And if you haven't taken that journey (and I know -- many who read this blog haven't even considered looking into their past) I offer these suggestions for the "just in case" day that you take this journey on.

Eight Tips for Your Future Geneology Journey

•  Ask questions of your parents while they are here -- or your grandparents? Even better. Write it down somewhere and let someone know where it is. And consider printing it out -- electronic documents have a bad way of getting deleted or lost in a hard drive crash!
• Put labels on the backs of old photos while people are still around to identify them. 
• Get a file and toss in documents like funeral handouts with birth and death dates, newspaper clippings or obituaries of family members.
• If you have oral history on "old media" (cassette tapes, etc.) transcribe them or note key points, even if you keep the original. And of course back up electronic documents.
• If you have old family Bibles or cookbooks, check inside for notes or newspaper clippings. They often have birth/death dates and if you are lucky like me, you'll find a newspaper clipping describing your great grandparents' wedding reception!
• Remember, it's not just "all about me" but it's all about them, so before you throw out your sister's diary or your mother's old calendar -- all stuck in a box in the basement -- or a postcard sent from afar, check for the stories. 
• And finally, remember the line I first heard in "The DaVinci Code." "History is written by the winners." Stories "evolve" over time (usually for the better!), particularly those shared through oral history. Get as close to the original source as possible. Save the wills and legal docs long after the scores are settled. They are part of the story.

And then when you're ready to roll, your job will be loads easier than mine!

I never would have researched the fascinating story of the confectionery industry in 1800s Buffalo if I hadn't looked into the stories of my great grandfather.

Here's the link to my article on MCL -- A Journey of Self Discovery through Family History

Sharing with: Let's Keep in Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles 

Tracing Your Family History -- Thoughts from the Field

In a very nice comment quite some time ago, blogger Elizabeth said she wouldn't begin knowing how to chase down her family history as her living relatives have been dead for many years.

I'm no genealogy expert though I seem to learn more and more about it every day. But it's something I've heard others mention when I get all excited about my family history search, so I thought I'd share a couple of quick ways to start in case you decide to pursue the family history road  at some time.

I found the land where my great grandfather's farm was and where my grandfather was born.

All I had when I began my search for ancestors was the names and dates on the family tombstones. I knew a few family stories that might add some depth to what I found or maybe point me in a direction but not much hard data.

All I started with were the dates on my family's tombstones

I also had some family photos, some of which were identified, others I was able to figure it out based on resemblances to those who were identified in other photos. I also found a few funeral handouts that had birth/death dates and cemetery information. (When you are from a family of "keepers" you have these things.) Look in old family Bibles, too. Sometimes tidbits are stashed there, especially if you happen to have Bibles belonging to your grandparents.

Ironically, the best "hard data" I had, documentation from my dad's grandfather regarding his immigration, was about as far back as I've been able to go so far because of the Scandinavian connection and how names change from generation to generation. Granted, most of my time has been spent working on mom's family because that's where I have generations in the future that may appreciate what I dig up. Still, my dad's side is tougher.

Then I did it the hard way. I started googling. (This is helpful later; in the beginning, not so much!)

But I did land on a "hit" via one of the many genealogy sites -- in this case, "My Heritage." Someone had been doing work that included my family. Because that's the first I found, that's the one I signed up for. Free. (To actually contact people, you have to pay.) From there, I found the names of my great grandparents.

A page from the City Directory told me where my mother and grandfather worked in a given year

Once I had better information, I was able to google more effectively. I also discovered familysearch.org, which is run by the Latter Day Saints and is a massive genealogy database. I could also access our Michigan Education Library data base, including heritagequest.com. Between these two, I could find census data, city directory data, agricultural summaries. It was through family search (and the detective work of a woman at the historical society that my friend Barb discovered) that I found my great grandfather's commitment papers to the insane asylum and my second great grandfather's immigration data, along with christening records and much more.

This is the asylum where my great grandfather spent the last 13 years of his life. We never knew.

The Mormon Church in my town has a genealogy library open to anyone. Many universities or community ed programs feature classes or groups related to genealogy and they are all too willing to help you learn your story.

There are also online tutorials that can help you get started. And once you get started -- well, it's hard to stop!

Sites like Ancestry and My Heritage also offer "hints" and some of these are right and some wrong. But you can check to see if you can go deeper by really assessing these hints. You have to be careful of pitfalls here -- many people would name a child after a deceased sibling (which might also have the name of a father or an uncle). One of my relatives had three children named John. Sometimes it's hard to pick the right one!

Agricultural Census

And often, when a wife would die in childbirth or as a young mother, the husband would marry her sister. So, was your fifth great grandmother really your aunt? Or a stepmother with no biological link?

Immigration record of my second great grandfather

The mystery is part of the fun. Much data carries interesting facts, such as religion, occupation or property value. You may be able to find a ship manifest or town history. Many families have written histories as well (some very old) and if you get far enough back in your line to recognize an Erb or a Wismer or an Oberholtzer, you might find interesting stories and more data in books that are available online.

Many families have history books written on their lineage and many of these are available online. They often reveal interesting stories

For me, part of the fun isn't just knowing the dates and places. That's actually pretty dull stuff. But when I learned my great grandfather had a farm in Michigan in the 1800s, I started looking into farming in Michigan during that period and learned so much about what he and his family had to do to maintain a farm long before there was motorized equipment to help with plowing and sowing. Another great grandfather worked in the Buffalo, NY, confectionery business and it was fascinating to discover how candy making came of age in the second half of the 19th century.

My great grandparents on my grandmother's side -- I never even knew her name -- but I still have my great grandfather's recipe book from his time as a confectioner.

Suddenly, these people aren't just old photos or names on a chart, names whose DNA has passed across oceans through generations and now lives in you. They are real people who had real jobs and life challenges. Their courage, their sense of adventure, their quest for freedom and their tragedies are the things that are part of us and part of what shapes us into who we are today, who our children will be tomorrow.

At my great grandmother's grave -- I didn't even know her name before I began my search.

I've realized it doesn't matter if we discover that we are related to Marie Antoinette (I'm not) or just some guy who lived a humble but good life, it is all part of our story. My favorite Christmas gift was a DNA kit from Rick. I can't wait to get the results!

Sharing this week with:  Share Your Cup   /  Let's Keep in Touch  

Climbing the Family Tree

Back last winter, encouraged by the wonderful program "Faces of America," in which Henry Louis Gates, Jr., does the family history of noted individuals, I started climbing the family tree.

For those of you who have done this, you may resonate with the next statement: Once you go down the rabbit hole it is hard to get out!

I found myself staying up till wee hours following this link and that, pouring through census data, discovering old family records and discovering family stories that had always been a bit murky.

One of those stories involves the family of my grandfather. He was world's greatest teetotaler. One time, as a child, we went to a restaurant that had a bar with Grandpa. I was intrigued by the murals of dogs in a Parisian cafe. He, on the other hand harumphed that "This is nothing but a saloon!"

My mother and her sisters always wondered what prompted that thought. He never mentioned his family of birth except for his sister, "Aunt Ida." As far as we knew, she was the only one and we had no idea where in the world she was, or even if she was still alive. He alluded to her raising him but that didn't answer questions.

The sisters wondered if someone in the family was an alcoholic. Or, had the mother abandoned the family? What about the father? What brought about this secrecy. It was a topic of conversation among my mother and her sisters and one that passed down to their children.

As I dug into the history project, armed with a few dates -- birth and death, mostly -- I went with a quest not only to discover this but more about my grandmother on that side, along with some more information about Dad's side of the family. That's for another post (including the discovery of a cousin I never knew I had!)

There are many geneology programs online and the one I chose was My Heritage because for the most part it was free until your family tree grew beyond more than 250 people. There are others that are free, some with different features. I've explored several and all see about the same -- they offer "hints" or "smart matches" that you can confirm or not that take you on your journey.

Early on, I was able to discover my grandfather's parents' names and was surprised to discover that his mother came from Canada. I also learned, much to my surprise, that he came from a long line of Mennonites on both sides of his family. I was able to trace back relatives on both sides -- his mom and dad -- to 1500s Switzerland.

 

Because of religious persecution, they moved to Germany, then to America. From America, his mother's side moved north to Canada. It is uncertain why but a possibility is that the Mennonites did not believe in war and many moved north to avoid the conflicts in this new world.

So, did the anti-alcohol stand have to do with religion? It's a possibility. Although today's Mennonites have a variety of beliefs on the subject, did they in the 1800s when Grandpa was growing up? I thought I had it!

And maybe I did. But then I discovered something else. Grandpa's mother died when he was four. (Hence, the Aunt Ida raising him idea got some credibility). In the 1880 census, they were listed but in the 1890 census, no record was found. However, in the 1900 census, my great grandfather was listed as an inmate in the Northern Michigan Asylum, a mental hospital in Northern Michigan. He was there for 13 years before his death.

There is no record as to what brought him there. Melancholia following his wife's death? Alcoholism? Dementia? Epilepsy? Another illness that might now have a name but then was considered a mental illness?

I don't know how I'll find out. My winter may involve getting a court order for the records but they may well have been destroyed in the more than 100 years since his death.

But it is a quest and as I search, I will climb one branch higher on the family tree!