Genealogy - G

What's the most fascinating hobby you can think of? Cave diving? Geocaching? Base jumping? Drinking expired milk?

Well let me tell you, as a young married woman in my early twenties, I added a new interest to my recreational activities. Something with a bit more street cred than my established favorites: reading, writing, history, cooking and random crafts. (I crochet one hell of a lopsided, trapezoid blanket!) Nothing says youthful activity quite like... genealogy!

At the time I figured I'd amass this great collection of family history for my children and all the generations that would come after. Well, the children thing hasn't exactly panned out so my records and family tree has become a private showpiece of one woman's obsessive need for information. There really isn't a better project to work on if you love research, stalking, spending time in cemeteries, and spending endless hours with microfilm/microfiche/databases/endless church & civil records. I was on a first name basis for a while with the county clerk in my parents' home town. 

Obsessions with getting every piece of information possible or dreams of bequeathing an amazing legacy to children I (may) never have aside, I've always been pretty aware of why I'm fascinated with my family's history. 

I'm the youngest of my generation, cousins and all. By the time I was born, my mom's siblings weren't in the picture, not able to cope with her mental illness or the shared memories of a shitty childhood. My dad was the strangest thing of all in his family, an only child. Half my grandparents were dead. I grew up far removed from the kind of family tripping over family situation my husband has. Seriously, it's a bit overwhelming at times.

So? I grew up on family stories. Lore. Genealogy became the best way to find out about people long gone, to confirm or rewrite legends I'd heard my whole life. The deeper I get into it, the more questions I have, many of the answers never to be found. As someone into analyzing why things played out in my family the way they did, what went into making people do or not do certain things, I've taken a certain satisfaction in connecting dots, generational tragedy or mythic determination to survive. It's the sum of what went into who I am.