Past Present Future....all interconnected, ghosts from the past make us who we are today. But does it really matter where we came from? A year ago I would have been mildly curious but focused mostly on the now and my immediate family around me. Now however, after falling down the rabbit hole of researching my family tree for the last year, the answer is a bit more complex. Just as we are - layer upon layer of history, generations of DNA creating who we are today.
I can thank my sister for the beginning of this journey. A few months before my parents were to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary, we were talking about what would make the perfect gift. Something memorable, something that would still mean something to them years later. The initial idea was a DNA test from Ancestry.com which quickly developed into researching a few generations back into each side of the family to present alongside the DNA results. With under 3 months till the deadline I was a bit concerned we would find enough to make a worthy present but decided why not start and see where it went.....
Little did I know that my ongoing family tree journey would have such an impact on me - so much so it is an ongoing integral part of my life now and I discover new exciting things every search. It's not necessarily whether you can trace back to royalty but more the individual people that speak from the past, each with their own stories to tell that fascinate me. I have become much more interested in history again, discovering how warfare could decimate the population high and low, womens role in the different ages, disease, childbirth, plots and intrigues worthy of a tv drama, all bringing the names and dates to life. History was never this interesting at school!
The more I study this, the more fascinating it is. So much so that I wanted to keep a record of everything and everyone I meet in my ancestral family as I go. Everyone has a story to tell and here is the space I give them to speak, to open up and share their world with us.
Thank you for coming along the journey with me
Elaine
