In the Beginning

     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 KJV.

      That was my first thought when I saw the prompt suggestion.  This reminded me of my very first Bible. I received it when I was 8½ years old as a prize for  learning and memorizing Bible verses. It contained a family tree.   Mom helped me fill it in but there were names she didn’t know.  I still have that Bible and am still using it today.  Even though it is now falling apart.

It wasn’t until about 10 years later that I became interested in genealogy.  My aunt (Dad’s sister) was interested in learning about her family and got me interested as well.  We both joined a local genealogical society in 1981.  I still have that application!  Wow!  I’ve come a long way since then.  When I started, it was all done on paper.  Lots of letter writing and going to various libraries to do research.  Looking at microfilm – census records as well as church records.  Writing it all down in spiral notebooks or using pre-printed forms.  Planning road trips to go to cemeteries, churches, and courthouses and meeting unknown relatives.  Now, it’s using the internet, downloading copies of documents, or scanning photos and documents.  Using a software package to track the family – printing family group sheets or family trees.  Using that same software to load the media for each family.

I also had a cousin (actually, I still have her, but we just don’t get together like we used to) that was heavily involved in the family tree.  I think we were both just interested in collecting names.  I’m now going back over those branches and getting proof – not depending on published books (that I didn’t source).

That wasn’t the only mistake I made in the beginning.  There was also confusion over names.  I skipped a generation because I didn’t realize that a child was named after a sister (and they were only 3 years apart in age!).

In those early days I was also interested in learning my heritage roots.  I knew that I was German from my Dad’s side.  Mom always said she was a Heinz 57.  Guess that’s true – DNA shows a lot of different ethnicities – Irish, Scottish, English, etc.  What’s this about Sardinia?  Cousin Greg always thought he was Italian.  Guess it’s true.

      We have come a long way and have learned a lot.