It Takes Details to Bring Your Ancestors to Life

Sharon Tate Moody has written an excellent article that perhaps should be required reading for all beginning genealogists: "People new to genealogy often are surprised to learn they can't "do their family history" on the Internet in a weekend. In fact, those of us who have been working on our families for 30 or 40 years know it might take more than one lifetime to get it all done."

You can read Sharon's entire article at http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/24/tr-it-takes-details-to-bring-your-ancestors-to-lif/life/.

Comments

[Dae Powell]

So true. I've been researching in estate inventories lately and an astounding amount of detail about the family has been brought to light. Yes, I'll create a presentation on this when finished.

Happy Dae·
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Terri England]

It's true that sometimes no matter how hard we research all we can come up with is a name and no other details. For me, though, that's a rare exception. If I can't find out who they were then I feel obligated to at least understand the times and circumstances under which that ancestor lived. Then, that no-detail-ancestor truly comes to life and I have done more than simply collect another name. I abhore name collecting. I'm quite sure I spend even more time researching the era and area of my ancestor than actually even finding them in the first place. A genealogist who doesn't devour history books is not really a genealogist.

[Nora]

This was a great article. I feel like I could have written it myself. I enjoying doing genealogy because I too go after the details of my ancestors daily lives and what was going on at the time. It is better than reading a book as many times I am able to put myself into their time while reading county histories or visiting sites where they were. What is interesting about doing this is that on occasion I have had experiences where I felt my ancestor was "pushing" me to a certain place to make a new discovery. I was researching the wrong family once when I felt compelled to find a Dutch Reformed church in New Jersey. It was not the church of the family I was researching, but I decided to follow my impulse. I had no idea where I was going, but just drove and found the church. It ended up being the church of my actual ancestor. It definitely pays to follow the details!

[Mary Beth]

As Sharon says, "Conducting genealogical research isn't just getting the dates and places and full names for vital events; it's about the quest and the thrill of 'the find.'"

It would take three lifetimes to even begin to research all of the interesting details of my families' lives, especially now that I've started delving into historical newspapers. The online chronicling of various celebrities' every move induces a major bout of yawning in me. But I avidly read a small town paper's account of my great-grandfather's sister's wedding in 1897 in Fargo, Richardson County, Nebraska, a town that no longer exists. Two excerpts:

"The bridegroom is a handsome young man, and was dressed in style. The bride wore a costly silk dress of purple color, trimmed in cream silk lace and bordered with select embroidery. Her headwear consisted of a silk veil with a beautiful wreath of orange blossoms, white flowers, buds and moll roses. The jewelry was in perfect proportion with the luxury of her dress. All the active parties wore breast bouquets."

"After the ceremony at the church was over, people from all parts of the country, about 250 in number, sat down to a choice dinner at the home of the father of the bride. All the tables were well supplied with select viands, delicacies of all kinds and domestic and foreign fruits. Liquids of all denominations were at the disposal of all."

The month was February, the weather undoubtedly gray and cold, the 250 people would have had to eat in shifts of 20 or so at the farm table, the "liquids" probably consisted of homemade wine and beer, and the "foreign fruits" might have been oranges from California. But, in my mind's eye, it was the wedding of the century.

[Catherine Stiles]

I call it "putting meat on the bones", and it's my favorite part of research. I keep "why" in my mind as I look through records. Occasionally, maybe years later, I come across the answer.

[Peter Calver]

As Terri says, sometimes there's little to discover. But all too often researchers focus on finding out everything they can about one ancestor, and as a result miss the far greater detail available elsewhere in their tree.

[betty]

Several books were named in my ggg great grandfather's estate. Using Google's advanced book search (since the books were not under copyright) I was able to actually read these books online, free! Now I have a better idea of the kind of man he was...one to be very proud of!

[Pam]

Yes, after 35+ years researching, the research and the finds are always paramount but the "tidbits" are the most intriguing pieces of the puzzle. I simply don't understand people who ask "how far have you gotten back?" or tell me they have names and dates going back to the parting of the Red Sea...But if you ask where these people were from, they have no idea and really don't care, but they have their family "history".
I love reading the history of the areas my ancestors lived, many times in books that don't touch on those families, but they enable you to "taste" the time in which they lived. If you aren't fortunate enough that an ancestor left a diary or other records behind, there are usually other families who did leave accounts, and it is so wonderful to read their trials and joys in life, knowing that your own family suffered and enjoyed the same.
I do tend to get upset when a researcher contacts me and tells me how disappointed she is because I don't have the birthdate for an ancestor. I may not not know exactly when that person was born, but many times, I actually get to know "him".

[Carly H.]

For those of you who might be researching ancestors in Virginia there is a treasure chest of info at the VMI (Virginia Military Institute) website. I found a letter mentioning my ggreat grandfather driving a wagon through the lines from Highland County to Winchester, Va. during the Civil War. He was carrying food and other supplies for the soldiers. Included in the goods was a large wheel of cheese made by a neighbor with instructions to her soldier son to "sell the cheese to your fellow soldiers and send the money back home with the returning wagon because soldiers and gangs of wanderers had come through Highland and stolen everything."
You can imagine the thrill it was to have this insight into my ancestor!

[Bob Kramp]

Moody article was great. Thanks for the reference. I have gone overseas to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors on both branches of the family. I was then able to add much color and lots of meat to the bones of my ancestors. I could not have done the same using only the Internet.