Greetings
"...And each one there
Has one thing shared:
They have swayed beneath the same sun,
Looked up in wonder at the same moon,
And wept when it was all done
For being done too soon,
For being done...."
Neil Diamond
Has one thing shared:
They have swayed beneath the same sun,
Looked up in wonder at the same moon,
And wept when it was all done
For being done too soon,
For being done...."
Neil Diamond
🌳Family is a curious thing. It may be that it's DNA that defines us, maybe it's not. But how DNA expresses itself is a very interesting and remarkably diverse. Each of our family members are quite different than ourselves. These differences have fascinated me since childhood. If my parents and my sisters and brothers are so different from myself, then who am I like? Why am I the way I am? Who do I take after? Where did my grandparents come from? How did their family get there and why did they leave their homes and families? But I can remember two events that helped to shape my questions from an early age.
The first was a trip to Nova Scotia (the town of Brooklyn where I now know our direct ancestors were among the first settlers) when I was five to attend a family wedding. I was enthralled with the location. The smells and the sights were unforgettable. Then we met our Mother's aunt Hester. She was a wonderful lady who served good snacks and had a very pleasant home. She spoke a great deal about our family ancestors that day. We are so lucky this woman had the foresight to write down all she knew about the Gardner family history and it turned out to be an embarrassment of riches. I think that was the moment I developed an interest in my family history.
The second event happened when I was just a month or so into my first grade. I can still see the classroom -large room with too many baby boomers- and my teacher talking about the Vietnam War and asking who in the classroom was aware of this current event. This was never discussed at home -- my mind was blown. I can remember thinking, why hadn't I heard of this? There was history and events going on that had nothing to do with my family. My world suddenly enlarged beyond my backyard, my home and my church. What else is out there that my parents not told us about? Due to these events I developed an interest in history. I devoured all of the history classes in public school and I took over eight history classes at UMass and have continued my history studies on and off over the years. This knowledge has certainly helped me with my genealogy work. Oh--but I wish I knew more!
I can also remember when I was an early teen, my mother reaching out to Hester for more family information. She sent along a traditional family tree which she had to return (and who's current whereabouts are unknown) and Hester's written history. I knew if I could ever possibly research the family, these documents would be a tremendous help. I opened an Ancestry.com account back in 2008, but at that time they had very little documentation from Newfoundland so I was discouraged and didn't produce much. However, in 2017 Ancestry came out with their DNA test. I was sooo interested in this as my family history was so small and vague. They also stated that this DNA test would connect me with other family members who use Ancestry.com. Well, I couldn't say no. I ordered the kit and my husband, bless his soul, gave me a 6 month subscription to Ancestry for my birthday. I've been a member since.
Between 2009 and now, Ancestry has grown tremendously. Many other groups have also grown over the years so now there are so many digital outlets for data that a home-based genealogist is all set for years of available documentation to review. No longer would you have to travel to each and every town, state or country to search for records to uncover your family's past. Which never would have been possible considering how diverse is our family tree.
Since dedicating my days to research, the data I have collected is becoming very large. This is a problem in itself. How do I store it? How do I share it? Storms, floods, fires—these things could easily destroy what I had collected. How do I secure it for future generations? I realized that only by employing several different ways of saving and sharing would make sure that it would endure.
This blog will be one of those ways.