Family History

My great, great grandparents and children.

I don't think I have blogged a lot about this, but for the past 3 years I have really gotten into my family history.  Don't ever believe that it is "all done" or that cousin Betty has done it all.  You would be amazed at the information that gets lost, forgotten and isn't even recorded.  So much can be lost from one generation to the next.  Information you take for granted because you know it, will be lost to your grand-children if you don't take time now to record it.  I have one grandpa alive, he's 91.  I love to ask him about the people he knew (like his grandparents).  Soon the stories will be lost unless we take time to write them down and share them with our children.  I love my ancestors!  I can feel them with me when I am researching their lives.  They are more than just dates to me.  I feel like I know them.  I look forward to the time I can take a "family history" trip.  Actually, there's more than one I have in mind.  I want to visit England and Norway for sure.  In the United States there's a lot of places I want to see back East.  I know at times we feel way too busy to learn about our ancestors, but it has blessed my life in so many ways I just can't stop researching them!!  I have been able to piece together families and find children, brother and sisters.  It feels amazing.  I sacrifice sleep all the time just so I can research.  I have the calling as a family history consultant in my ward (along with 1st counselor in the young women) and I can't understand why people aren't even interested in learning more about their families.  I hope someday they will be able to understand the importance of it!!  We have so many amazing resources too!!  What used to take months to find now takes minutes.

 I recently gave a talk in church about journals and I asked the question, "what kind of ancestor will you be?"  I hope I'm the one they know about and love because of the work I've put into our family history.  I hope they know my name and how many children I had and how much I loved my family.  I hope they appreciate me and the life I led.  Now go out and find that family tree and learn something new!!

A good place to start:  https://familysearch.org  sign in and click on "family tree" on the top.  It's become a great resource!!  Have fun!!  Beth