Does knowing your family history matter? As I write these words, I think of people who do not know anything about their blood line and I have a sense of discomfort.
I feel a little awkward writing about the benefits of knowing your ancestors when there are people who have no idea where to begin because they were adopted.
This brings me to a whole other area that I cannot address here: the value of adoption.
In every family there are people who were chosen by another family.
For generations that is what was done.
My own mother has a half-sister who was given up for adoption at birth.
When I write about the value of knowing your ancestors, I think of this missing aunt.
There, I have addressed something that bothers me when I talk about why knowing your ancestors is so important.
Now, on to the reasons why researching your family is so worthwhile.
1.
It centers you in the world of your people.
You learn the lifestyles of your grandparents and their grandparents and discover the times in which they live.
This can help you choose a career or accept the career that you have because you grasp that even when times are tough, they are a lot easier than times past.
My ancestors were driven off the land in Scotland when the Clearances reclaimed land that had been farmed by their ancestors for centuries.
The land was cleared of these farmers so flocks of sheep could graze there.
Suddenly working a midnight shift at an answering service didn't seem like such a bad job after all.
2.
Ancestry research reveals traits and issues that may still be apparent in your world and your lifestyle.
Sometimes it can be a comforting trait such as your desire to be an entrepreneur or a woodworker or a teacher (to cover a range of careers).
Other times it can be a shared downside of life.
I once suffered post-partum depression.
I had never heard of it before and suffered through it for six miserable months shedding copious tears over my darling baby.
When the blues lifted and life brightened up, I was angry that no one told me what was wrong and upset that this strange ennui had laid me low.
In my family history research, I found a great aunt who died as a result of postpartum blues.
She was 32 and her baby was not yet two months old.
She left a husband and two sons when she died of what her death certificate listed as acute insanity following childbirth.
It sure put my postpartum blip into perspective.
3.
You will find relatives.
I discovered cousins from South Africa.
Their great-greats had journeyed from England to South Africa while mine headed to Canada.
I found cousins in California because my great-great-grandfather's brother headed there when the Gold Rush was on.
He did not go there because of the Gold Rush.
He went because his new wife died in an influenza epidemic and he could not bear to stay in the village where they had lived.
Summary Knowing the past will set you free.
You learn about the events that drove your ancestors to make changes in their lives.
You learn to appreciate the wonders of the modern era.
You see how people survived the horrors of war and dissension.
You understand the miracle of you and the tenuous connections that created your family and you.