I have been working here and there on a family history project. Like a giant puzzle, I am trying to connect the many pieces that make up my family for the past one hundred years and more. Why am I so intrigued by this project, and what am I learning?
As I've noted time and again, I have 56 first cousins that are living amazing, interesting lives. Only one out of the 56 have passed away--a cousin who was a gifted academic, educator, and writer who suffered from cancer. My brother is the only other one of our generation who has died, and he died from mesothelioma caused by unmet environmental protections at a job he worked at some time ago. My cousins, in general, love our family lore and are great storytellers. For the most part, we all lived very active lives with big families. As children, we saw each other all the time, and now, many of us still stay in touch in real time and via social media. I want to keep our closeness and family enthusiasm alive, and that's one reason why I am invested in this project.
I am also invested in the project, because I am very curious about how people live their lives, and how their choices affect the lives of their family members. For example, our many, happy, celebratory childhood gatherings have translated into deep commitment and care for our family members. Our collective curiosity has inspired family members to invest in a large variety of careers with lots of success, and some of our shared challenges, have resulted in greater empathy and respect for life's tough times, and, at times, arduous paths too.
I am embarking on this family history project in many ways. I bought a subscription to Ancestry and had my DNA tested. That's been a source of some good information. I've engaged in a lot of storytelling with my family members including asking my 90-year old parents lots of questions about our family's past, and I've sorted through thousands of photographs. The photo sort has been very interesting as we can learn a lot by simply analyzing pictures. First, of course, we see physical trends such as particular facial features, hairlines, eye color, height, weight, and coloring. In photos, we can also determine trends with regard to interests, habits, and routines. The photos also demonstrate times of happiness and times of stress too. For example, one long gone relative, used to tell me stories of a challenging childhood, and that struggle has come through in the photos. That same relative did tell me stories of success of her young adult life, and looking at the pictures truly demonstrates that joyful time in her life.
Further, these photos present a timeline of sorts of people's choices. For example, I've noticed that choices made at midlife or during a crisis, truly affect one's long term health and happiness. Some who may have given into life's challenging chapters without the ability to weather those storms for all kinds of reasons appeared to have tougher second chapters, and that's clear in the photos. It's a good lesson to me with regard to the importance of finding ways to move through tough chapters by seeking the supports you need and making the changes possible to move ahead as best you can.
My ultimate goal with the family history project is to provide my family members with a guide to the stories of our past. I have many cousins and siblings who are helping me with the project. I will likely match the stories I'm learning to future research and travel too. Some stories that are of particular interest to me right now are my Polish/Eastern European roots, the story of people described as mulattos in southeastern Ireland because one of my distant ancestors is described as a Spanish mulatto women (sadly, no name), and stories of a few family members that don't add up. For example, I cannot find any information about one of my relative's childhood. In pictures, he appears to be a bright man, a loving father, and an enthusiastic businessman, yet I cannot piece together his childhood. Family lore tells me that his dad was likely a Civil War soldier. His life documents are not consistent with regard to where he was born or the year he was born. There are many with the same name as him. I suspect that there was an early life event that occurred that I am not aware of. For example, I found out that another relative I was having difficulty finding information on, was given a new name upon starting his first big job in the United States--once I knew the new name, I found out lots of information about him.
The family history project complete with photo sorts is similar to putting together magnificent jigsaw puzzle. Also, the knowledge you learn, is valuable to your own life and the choices you make. If you engage in a similar hobby, and have strategies or suggestions to share, please do.