Does the Stormy New Year Have your Embers Merely Smoldering? Jumpstart Your Psyche With a New Passion!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I RECEIVE NO INCENTIVES, MONETARY OR OTHERWISE TO PROMOTE THESE TOOLS TO YOU. I'M OFFERING THEM MERELY TO HELP YOU FIND THE JOY AND SATISFACTION I'VE FOUND IN TRACING MY ROOTS.

 What Does "Tis the Season" Mean to You?

It could be time for a trip to Grammas attic to see what photos and forgotten treasures you can                                                 discover like this one a new friend shared with me

Every year starting at Thanksgiving, I set aside time to reconnect and give thanks to those in my life who have blessed me.

A few years ago, I discovered "Finding Your Roots," the PBS television show with Dr. Henry Louis Gates and I realized how thankful I am to have discovered genealogy research. The incredible ancestors I discovered awaken my spirit and inspire me, but also new friends I've made and what has trickled down has been extremely rewarding.

It had always been in the back of my mind to find out how and when our family got to this country so I could at least tell that to my kids and cousins. Somehow I was always too busy and kept back burnering it. Frankly, I didn't feel qualified and wasn't sure how to even begin, much less make any headway. In the days when Covid was restricting our outings and travels however, tracing my ancestry to leave for my family really gained momentum and now, especially on dreary winter days it’s a happily anticipated project.

An old acadamian-turned writer friend, Becky Mushko in Virginia has demonstrated an insatiable interest in her genealogy and for one, it’s been a lot of fun to reconnect to her, after moving several times and losing contact. She has an impressive resume and more importantly, she is a stickler for unwinding and getting the data correct to verify every last detail so it’s been very rewarding in so many ways to reconnect.

She’s also helped me understand all the errors on these sites and why checking and rechecking is so important.  I was using "findagrave" as the go-to gospel for family members of the deceased. Becky had consistently cautioned me that’s she had found a few mistakes there and to their credit, they now allow people to step in and correct errors based on their digging into the actual census, wills, and birth, death, and marriage certificates for positive proof. That said, findagrave has been an invaluable resource for me, especially connecting with other family members and sharing fun and interesting lore to remind us of irreplaceable memories.  The memories of our relatives love will always touch our hearts. Findagrave has also increased their volunteers I've noticed and so many I'm finding now are taking a personal interest in especially their own family, and more than happy to verify, correct, and share that information with others.

My research continues to surprise me and as Becky and I continued to compare notes, I discovered her ancestors were at the same places and times as mine over and over, so we began sharing to see if we could contribute to each others research as “cousins.” It would make our research even more successful and efficient if we connected a mutual ancestor and parlayed out findings.

My genealogy adventure has been so much more than recording names and a couple dates and as such, I became convinced we had to be related, because what else would explain why they traveled to the same places.  Yes, a lot of men for example went to fight in wars at certain spots or take advantage of land grants, but that wasn’t the case regarding our connections so that encouraged and happily inspired me to branch out into history.

Another happy surprise was when she told me she was related to a much admired publisher and editor I'd had to good fortune to work for and learn so much. 

To date, sadly we’ve found no mutual ancestor but I am happily anticipating my journey seeking more. I’m sure though, they must have definitely formed friendships or at the very least broken bread together so perhaps the friends followed each other and my research into history will reveal some other exciting facts.  Another surprise was that Beckys maiden name was Smith, she’s from a long line of Virginians, and ultimately that led me on a quest to dive into Virginia’s earliest history looking for a connection, like her journey into Jamestown history.

I'd done a magazine feature where I spent weeks researching. interviewing, traveling, and photographing at various locations throughout Virginia. That became an extra perk into our research passions and knowledge as we shared what we had learned on our separate journeys.

I knew her way back when she was experimenting with her very comical Ida B Peevish book character, and she included a short piece I wrote in one of her books. Thus the address for one of her blogspots, which I highly recommend: www.peevishpen.blogspot.com. One wouldn't expect that address for genealogy or historical lore – especially about Virginia. It will take you to her others as well, as you will see she is a passionate and prolific writer dedicated to relentless digging to find the truth. 

I was drawn more to the lore, family stories and what was driving my ancestors in regards to what historical events were contributing to their moves or migration vs simply the dates of their birth, death and marriage and I encouraged Becky to do the same.  She did that with the same gusto she has always put into all of her writing.  

Another side effect to my delight, is that a young family member has a renewed and inspired interest in school and his studies again, not to mention all the hours of fun and interesting conversations we’ve had connecting while we discuss ancestors he’s taken a particular liking to and interest in. I am so proud of him and his maturity at such a young age in understanding the value of family and how these relations sacrificed, suffered and sometimes died so we can live in the America we have today and enjoy the freedoms and pleasures we do. I’ve told him that with all the brave, resourceful, and hard working DNA he has surging through his veins he has everything he needs to succeed in life. When we talked about all that his ancestors overcame, I reminded him why he should fear nothing and no one in his quest to meet his goals in life. It's also given him an inroad into positive relationships, including those with teachers and new friends.

I wish we’d been taught history the way I’m discovering it in my genealogy searches so I’m hoping he will retain his insatiable appetite and use it to make his life more fulfilling. Instead of memorizing merely the date and general causes of the Revolutionary War as we did in school, he and I’ve discovered so much more through genealogy research to peak our curiosity and interest in that part of our history. 

Case in point is one surprising discovery which led to an ancestor who fought for our freedom and that was formerly presumed to have been killed in action for decades. He was not it was discovered, proving the human side of history is so much more appealing than memorizing dates of wars to be honest.  I was amazed to learn that my grandmother was a descendant of many Revolutionary War soldiers.  I’d never heard a word about the area’s history, but in fact the quiet, sleepy little burrough where I’d spent my summers was indeed a hotspot for war heroes, most of who returned to it and contributed to my lineage through my Grand. It turns out too that surprisingly I'm connected to most of the town.

During that side trip off the genealogy path, I found out the English during the revolution held their prisoners on ships – “Prison Ships” in horrendous conditions, by the way. The way that was discovered was fascinating.  After a huge flood caused the banks of the river to overflow into the city of Brooklyn, it surprisingly had dredged up a large number of old dead bodies.  Can you imagine seeing that on your walk to work?! Upon closer inspection, it was discovered they were the bodies of dead American Revolutionary war soldiers, one being an ancestor heretofore presumed to have been killed in action when he never returned home. His family suddenly had the peace they sought, knowing where and how he died, and were finally able to lay him to rest.

For me, I was humbled and saddened but also suddenly made aware of the sheer miracle that enough of my ancestors were lucky enough to survive so that I am even here today.

Beside the tragedy of learning that, for a sixth or seventh grade history student, that’s a huge ick-factor to bring them back from daydreaming about getting out of school or stirring up trouble to a suddenly more exciting history class.

During my research, I discovered a possible connection to an early colonist mentioned in one of Captain John Smiths earlier books which only inspired my young family member and motivated me to dig farther and deeper. I became fascinated with the fact that this colonist traveled from England when he was in his forties and survived the (second) starving time at Jamestown not to mention the many massacres, fires and diseases that took so many of the lives of our early colonists.

Discovering ties -especially to Virginia ancestors-our first permanent English colony, offers him-or anyone gleaning my research the opportunity to join the various organizations of enthusiastic Virginia history buffs wishing to connect and share. There’s always the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), the SAR, etc as well if that’s your style.  Becky’s gotten a lot of information and connected the dots through Facebook and there are other online opportunities to connect with “cousins” and share fond memories and stories of newly discovered relations if online is your preferred style.

I cannot say enough how satisfying this hobby-turned-passion has become and how much enrichment one can add to their lives. If you're looking for something new to revive a smoldering enthusiasm in the new year, I cannot recommend tracing your ancestry highly enough, and reconnecting with heretofore lost relatives to jolt and jump start your 2024.