Trees

I'm the family genealogist and I actually like to hunt down ancestors. I haven't found too many - 365 - which is pitiful compared to some hunters out there with thousands in their trees. Of course, I don't have direct access to records in Utah, England, Ireland or Denmark so I have to do it the hard way and search databases.

Not that it isn't fun checking out other people's trees for matches. I found four more for the tree in my grandparents generation from an unexpected source - and they weren't even related.

I think it's important to know where we came from, or rather, who we came from; it's the generations that went before us who make up who we are now. I haven't found anyone famous yet, but you never know.

I did find this. Amazing, really, that so many people could be descended from one man. And yet, it was atypical of families to have as many children as possible to ensure the next generation. I've found in my own tree that the child mortality rate was high; even as late as my grandfather's generation. He had four siblings who died in childhood before he was born.

There are plenty of sites out there in cyber-space that help in the search for past generations, and I've found that it's intriguing to think about what kind of a life they led, who they were related to, where they travelled to and from.

It's the kind of hobby that can be addictive. In fact, I think I'll just go and see if I can hunt down some more relatives...