I had only an abstract sort of interest in genealogy - a great respect for history (generally), a deep appreciation for family history, and an abiding fascination with the process of research itself - so it came as a surprise to find myself suddenly involved learning about the mechanics of the process.
Perhaps it was just that ... the fascination with the process. Perhaps it was the dawning realization that my parents are in their 80's and my time to left to talk and share with them is limited. Perhaps it is a function of me getting older, a desire to leave something for the future. Or, perhaps it's all of these.
In any case, the coversation with my dad about his dad was so innocuous that I don't even remember exactly how it began. "Do you remember your grandfather's first name?" my father asked. I was a week short of my tenth birthday when my grandfather died fifty years before this conversation. Okay, okay; I'm getting up there myself, but I'm not senile, yet! "Of course I remember his first name, Dad - even his middle name. Who could forget a name like Dudley Carlisle? How about you, Dad? What was your grandfather's first name?" "I don't think I ever knew my grandfather's first name." I was startled and I guess it showed in my face. "My grandfather, your great grandfather, died when my father was just a boy. I never knew him. You knew that."
Well, I did know that. But it had never occurred to me that no one was left alive who knew his name. "Dad! It's the twenty-first century! We have the internet! We have ... we have ancestry.com! We can get this!"
And we did get this, in just a couple of hours. My great grandfather's name was Columbus.
Three years (today) have passed since that afternoon. I'm an older and wiser would-be genealogist now. Happily, both of my parents are still living and telling stories of their childhoods. I've learned and I'm learning about the benefits and pitfalls of sites like ancestry.com and about finding documentation and about what I can prove and what I can deduce. I've acquired classes and books and notebooks and documents and photographs and flash drives and software. I've solved mysteries and found relatives I didn't even know existed. It's an exciting roller coaster and a frustrating one.
So why this blog? I'm not the dedicated blogging type, but if I've learned nothing over the past three years, I've learned that paper is ephemeral. So are hard drives and flash drives and file formats. Right now, none of the next generation in my immediate family have expressed more than passing interest in their crazy old aunt's crazy old obsession. Maybe they never will. But one of them might. If one of them does, perhaps she will remember this blog and find it.
I am bringing the past into the present, and it is my hope and gift to the future.
