Genealogy Lesson 12 - Get a Genealogy Friend

I am in a rut at the moment but that happens from time to time.  I get lazy and genealogy becomes the last thing on my mind.  Real life takes priority and I have to walk away from the dead people.  It is hard for me to take a long break, knowing that I have a lot of people "following" my lessons.

 

Lately I have been on a mental vacation and it has given me time to think.  You see, I do not write blog posts or these lessons for the money or the fame...good luck with those!  I do these things because I like them and I tend to step back when they become too much like a job.  Once the fun is gone, I quit for awhile.

 

One of my biggest, general problems is that I do not have a real genealogy "buddy" - someone who keeps me motivated.  My wife has little interest in family history and my kids are too young.  It is just me and I only answer to myself in a lot of ways.  I have lots of genealogy "friends" but no one to do genealogy with. 

 

If I go to the archives, I go alone and no one gets excited when I make a big find.  It is somewhat of a lonely existence but that is reality for me.  Maybe that is why I do these lessons...to communicate with others of a like mindset.  I have lots of knowledge, especially about Virginia genealogy, and it would be a shame to keep it all inside.

 

You might be wondering, "where is the lesson here?" so here you go...get out there and mingle with others who are interested in genealogy.  Join a local historical society or start a blog.  Share what you know and take in what others are offering.  Genealogy is not the study of your family but the study of all families.  Treat it like a hobby to be shared and not something you do behind closed doors.

 

You do not have to spend a lot of time or invest a lot of money.  The point is to get involved with someone or something that will bring you back to genealogy when you get pulled away.  If it were not for my blogs and lessons, I might put genealogy down for months or even years at a time.  Instead, I feel some responsibility to my readers so they bring me back.

 

Humans are social creatures and need the encouragement of others to survive.  That is an extreme statement...but you get the idea.  For the health of your research, you need to be social about it.  Join the DAR or SCV...anything!  Find yourself some genealogy motivation, someone or something to depend on you.  You will quickly find that it is good to feel wanted, needed and relevant!

 

There are literally hundreds of groups that you can join.  Go to Google and search "genealogy society" or "genealogy group."  You should have no problem finding people who are interested in the same families and geographic areas that you are.  We all win when information is shared, as long as it is well-documented information!  The point is to just get out there, meet some new people and share your hard work with others.

Why do people love genealogy? What got them started?

People become interested in genealogy for different reasons. I got into it because I never knew either of my grandfathers and genealogy was a way to connect with them. My brother's mother-in-law took me to the archives for the first time when I was around twelve or thirteen years old. I was hooked from that day forward and do not regret any of it. Genealogy took over a big portion of my life, for many years. I was almost obsessed at time, especially once I became aware of the Internet. E-mail and Genforum changed my life forever. College would not have been the same without genealogy.

Some people want to find out where their ancestors came from, maybe their ethnic origin. It used to take a lot of digging to get that answer, assuming that all of the documents were in existence and available. Today we can perform a simple cheek swab and get a DNA profile that can tell you pretty much where your genes came from in this world. I happen to be a Viking ,basically, as my male ancestors were apparently from Scandinavia. I would never have known that with the help of DNA.

Other people, especially those with last names of Washington, Lee, Jackson, Adams, Monroe, Columbus, etc., all think that they are descendants of greatness and want to find their connection to their famous ancestor. Most of the time this has been passed down from parent to child, generation after generation. I have met a lot of people who descend from George Washington. I guess it is too bad that he did not have any biological children (but they do not know that I suppose). I also had a lady try to convince me that she was the illegitimate, great-granddaughter of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - try proving that one!

A long-standing reason for some genealogy research are health reasons. People trace diseases and medical flaws across generations to help determine the likelihood that they will inherit a given problem. This is becoming more important now that we better understand genetics and the way traits are passed among the generations. I think the importance of genetic genealogy is just starting to take shape. It will grow dramatically as the technology becomes more affordable and more readily available to a larger audience.

I would say that the majority of people performing research probably want to join a lineage society, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Jamestowne Society or the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I have helped numerous clients with SCV, SAR and DAR applications. These generally require a lot of documentation and probably account for a large portion of paid genealogists' income. I know that I made most of my money in these pursuits, when I was doing paid research.

Other reasons for researching family history could be to get a scholarship, such as those for Native Americans. Some people trace deeds to acquire old land or maybe reclaim a family cemetery. I actually got a half acre lot put in my name from Henrico County, Virginia because it was deemed to be a family cemetery, belonging to one of my ancestors, and there was no owner of record on file. I guess I could be buried there if I wanted to push the envelope, seeing as though it is right in the middle of a modern apartment complex!

Whatever the reason, genealogy is usually considered to be one of the top two or three hobbies in America. People spend millions of hours and undoubtedly millions of dollars on genealogy every year. I probably spent over $1,000 myself on an annual basis, on my own family history projects.

No matter your motivation, genealogy is an addictive hobby that can get a hold of you and never let go. What got you involved with the hobby and what keeps you going strong?