Today
begins another regular series of posts that I hope to write each week, Sunday
Search. For the most part, I will be writing about genealogy related subjects
including recent additions to my family tree, interesting resources or programs,
and discoveries that give greater depth to the lives of my ancestors. There is
also the plan to write small biographies similar to those that I have done in
the past most notably of my grandpop, great grandfather, and great, great, great grandfather.
While
there are grand plans for this series, I start today very simply. Recently I
had to make a couple of updates to my tree. One that I had been dreading for months
and the other that I have been looking forward to since last summer. Two
changes that clearly demonstrate the dichotomy of the basic information that we
all compile as we trace our roots… birth and death.
Both
of these additions of information are almost surreal after having spent so much
time digging through centuries of family history and piles of ancestral
records. It is a change in perception I would previously dig through pages and
pages just trying to find out when someone died but now, having experienced that
last moment, it was not something that brought me any enjoyment whatsoever and
by doing so, I think back to all the other times that I had to record that
information for other loved ones in my tree.
From
one unique experience to another. There are names that I see over and over
again on both sides of my family and by adding my son’s leaf, one of those
names repeats itself for another generation. But the name we chose, especially the
spelling, was a means to connect my tree and my wife’s tree. Our son’s name
adds to that bond between our deeply rooted family histories.
While
he certainly doesn’t comprehend any of this now, I look forward to the day when
we can introduce our son to his entire family and the history that his name
carries with it. Between the two trees, there is a complex history spanning
much of the world. My family touches on many areas and different cultures and
my wife’s family covers a completely different geography and part of world
history.
Each
leaf has a little more to add to the family history just as each piece of fall
foliage adds to the autumnal landscape. All different trees offering a different
variety of colors but working in unison to tell the same story. That is what
our son has to look forward to and what I am looking forward to sharing with
our son.
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