I was born in New Jersey and raised in Pennsylvania. My father always called my mom a rebel and she always said we were damn Yankees. We'd all laugh. We made the choice to enjoy our heritage and revel in the differences.
Growing up, however, I was never really told about our family heritage. My mom always said, "You are a league of nations - a Heinz 57." That's where she'd leave it. As I got a little older, I heard a bit about my father's father. I would talk about history and wanting to learn about it all and my father would say, "The past is the past. What good is it?". It never changed for me. I was always interested in the who, what, why, when and where. Have you wondered why your ancestors came to the place they lived? How did they get there? What made them leave where they were? When did they go? If you said yes, then you are already addicted to this passion that has taken hold of America. Genealogy. When I moved to Alabama in 2008, I had only a vague idea that my family lived in the south, at least for a little while. I always pictured that they'd all come from Europe somewhere with me being a Heinz 57. The more I looked for them, the more I found out, I began to realize that I had migrated in nearly the same fashion that they did but only centuries later. The Great Valley Road was an early path that was taken by Colonial settlers to parts of the south. Until recently, I had no idea how some of my family ended up in middle Alabama from North Carolina. On a trip to a local archives, a very smart, and enthusiastic Archivist reminded me of a map that hangs on her wall. It was trade routes showing how people came to Athens, Alabama from Virginia. One of the legs of the trade route went to Georgia. The other went through Tennessee. It was like a light bulb. Suddenly, it was all clear. I could see in my head (like the writing on the wall-literally), the wagons moving across the mountains and the children growing up on a farm. I saw the items in their home as if I was there using them. The bed frame, hand made by paw with woven rope and a thick feather mattress. I saw the quilts that my ancestors made and the plow they used in the fields. I knew what they paid for them both monetarily and physically. It was if the bigger picture was suddenly visible. From Colonial Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. To Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. I knew the struggles and the why along with my who and where. It's easier to research them now that I can see it all. I truly believe that everything you do in your research should involve finding out why they were where they were and how they got there in the first place. If you focus on the side research - learn about the people and places they worked, the stores that were in their towns, the major events that happened around them - then your whole story will just suddenly unfold around you. No major work on your part needed. So while you are researching, take a moment to look around town. Use your minds eye and see it. Really see it! While you are make sure you are enjoying this awesome, wonderful, magical Adventure in your Genealogy!!
3 Comments
Sherrie
9/15/2014 02:46:24 pm
What a lovely idea ! Just imagine life back then
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5/14/2019 07:05:48 am
That is not just about the history but the way they used to enjoy as there was every thing free and now when we look at the reality now so we have to struggle all the time but this is now the time to give them something free they can have and they can live with the same thrust they used to be as this is a modern era and we are demanding free from this era as well.
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AuthorMichele is an obsessed mother of 4 residing in North Alabama. Hobbies include long walks in the woods, on the beach and in strange cemeteries and libraries. Genealogy friends need only apply. Categories
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