Everyone Has A Story To Tell
As a novice genealogy enthusiast, one of the things that I have come to learn on my great journey of discovery is that everyone has a story to tell. Genealogy research and connecting with one's past is certainly not a new trend, but I think there exists an innate desire to know who we are and were we come from. Thanks to technology and the help of great tools and resources all of which I will cover on my journey, the task of discovering these stories is not as difficult as it once was. But the task is still difficult nonetheless and time is sometimes the most critical element. Memories, paperwork and other important treasures can easily be lost if we allow time to slip by.
Connecting to the people and the stories of our past helps us to not only better understand who we are and why we are the way we are, but in so doing we share our history with others. It is unavoidable. Meet anyone interested in genealogy, strike up a conversation, and you will see just how excited people get to find out about their long forgotten family members. To be honest, there are really amazing stories for all of us to dig up...I promise you have such stories waiting to be discovered. Once you are hooked you will then see how it is unavoidable not to share when you find out that you have a great grandmother who was a Cherokee Indian, a distant grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War and was held captive by the British, or perhaps a very distant grandfather who was an early settler in American history. All of which are true discoveries I have made about my ancestry during my great journey.
Our history, more specifically, our stories are what connects us. Be inspired and inspire others by sharing what you learn and how you learn it. Always remember that everyone has a story to tell.
My quest to uncover the hidden stories behind my great grandmother started with my love of art and more specifically my love of her art. Our family really knows very little about her. As is the case with many of our family members that have passed on, their legacy's get lost to the ash heap of history. It is up to us to do the work of digging thru the past to find their stories. The first stop on my quest will be to dig a little deeper into what we actually know, what do family members remember, and what if any information do we have about her life as an artist.