Researching family history

This is one of my favorite family history photos. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and this is a picture of
her five children. I love how happy they look and how well kept they look. I know that my grandmother worked
hard to do her best by her family. Her story alone has many interesting twists and turns. My dad is the youngest
boy in this family. 

I love to research family history. I enjoy looking back in time, trying to piece together the giant puzzle that family history creates.

What have I learned so far?

I'm not from a family of kings and queens, wealthy socialites, or prominent leaders. Instead I'm from an extended family of hard working, curious, social people who weathered challenges, loved one another, and sought the good life.

Going back about four generations, most of my ancestors were immigrants mainly from Ireland and some from the Baltic region. My husband's ancestors were similar with the exception of one line that came by way of France and Canada.

This is a passport picture of relatives who traveled to
Europe in 1924.

Early immigrants typically worked in businesses that their countrymen and women worked in--they worked in leather factories, machine shops, railroad stations, shoe shops, and liquor sales and saloons. They lived throughout eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Pictures demonstrate that they took good care of their children. A couple of family lines were more privileged than others since they had the chance to attend good colleges and obtain professional jobs, while other lines did not have college educations.

Family lore includes stories of good breaks and opportunity. For example, both of my grandfathers were postmen during The Depression which offered their families steady pay during that challenging time. There were many teachers throughout our lines, some religious, and quite a few of the men served in the military from the Civil War through modern times.

In one line, early deaths of dads, impacted the lives of those families, and in another line, a love of the outdoors seems to weave itself throughout the generations with one relative who worked with the United States Forestry Agency at its start.

One great-grandfather lived in this house for many years
as a child and young adult. Google maps help you to see
exactly where people lived. 

There are mysteries too. I cannot find any evidence of one grandfather's early life which makes me curious about what happened to him during those years. My research is confounded since many of the Irishmen and women in the mid-late 1800's had similar names. Also, my DNA connects me to some that make me wonder about my ancestors travels and connections. There are a few children that pop up surprisingly as well as timelines that differ from stories we were told which leaves room for speculation. For example, who traveled to the southwest and appears to have had a family there? How did the more well-to-do family feel about their college educated daughter meeting and quickly marrying a local guy? Why did the wife of one relative move out and into New York City at the end of the marriage? Did one relative truly have a fifth child that no one knew about or is that a research error?

Some, uninterested in family history, ask, Why focus on the past when you should be living in the future? But for me, this matches my curiosity about the human story. I love finding the common traits and trends as well as the mysteries and new awareness of our family's lives as well as the stories of culture and countries. For example, about five generations back, records show that my relative Paddy Lynch married a "Spanish mulatto woman." That led me to research where he lived and who was considered "Spanish mulatto" and how those people were treated and lived. There's more to research, but there is a good story there.

It's good for families to understand their stories. I'm sure I'll publish my notes in the days to come so my relatives can share the tales with their children and grandchildren so they understand their family history too. I also hope to create an online family history group of interested relatives who come together monthly to share stories, pictures, and questions about our collective family history in hopes that we can create a good body of knowledge to share with generations to come. Why so many of us long to know the stories of the people and places that came before us is an interesting question I want to learn more about, and in the meantime, I'll continue to connect the dots of the disparate family history facts and figures that exist. Onward.