Why do I do Genealogy

Interesting comment by a fellow genealogist brought up this topic. Why do I do Genealogy?

Mom started it, a good excuse right. Well MOM will be 90 in a couple of days I hope all of you that read this send her a
90th Happy Birthday Card. She deserves it, she truly does. Since we canceled the party because of a family members health,
a newspaper friend suggested we try this. I gather they idea is very popular in the mid West and other areas. I am hoping it takes affect here. What a neat way to remind her you are thinking of this person who helped get another person get involved with family research. Dorothy Jones, P O Box 352 Valley Ford, CA 94972

I can say that her influence was very helpful but I have always been a history nut. I started at one end of the Petaluma Library in the History Section and read to almost the other end when husband was overseas for 18+ months. I think Ancient History is the most exciting. Maybe because it is so distant from us.

So by living away from family here in the west coast I felt we missed a lot of family contact. Dad took us to back to Wyoming when he could but there were 6 of us after several years. I was 12 when my baby brother arrived. I remember my Grandparents coming to visit us once. I remember my other grandparents were separate and they did not come to visit us,until I was a teenager. We later learned Granddad did come by as a hobo to check us out. When we told him in later years we realized after he left the door who he was he chuckled. He said he left quickly cause he thought we may have recognized him. I was 8 when this happened. I can remember the day yet. The violets were blooming under my window sill.

So learning history told me about people in the past and Genealogy gave me a chance to do history of my own family to have for our children and grandchildren.

My marriage brought about a twist and I learned quickly to become acquainted with my in laws and it ultimately helped to save our child's life. I was in California they were in Iowa raising corn, soy beans and hogs. My Dad was born in Iowa.
My husband was flying around on an airplane chasing radar screens and bad guys a very long way from California.

So I continued tracking more and more of my husbands line and added more to what Mom had done on her line. Then she and I tackled Dad's line.

Why because it can save a life, it is fun and it teaches us much about ourselves that I think we & our children need to know.

Simulating, enticing, aggravating and for ever challenging, that is what genealogy is all about.