Do you know where you come from?

Do you know where you come from? Are your ancestors from Spain, Thailand, or Ireland? Have you ever been curious about your DNA? Have any of your talents or traits been inherited from a distant relative?

I have always had a general sense of where I came from. However, I knew very little about my ancestors when I was growing up. I spent time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides of the family, but I was not aware of the specifics of our heritage.

Genealogy is the study of family history and the tracing of lineages by creating a family tree. It involves gathering information about a family and its members using various methods, including records, interviews, and genetic analysis (DNA). 

My mother grew up in a German-Dutch household, where her parents occasionally spoke German to each other. My dad's mother was Irish, and it wasn't until I was in high school that I learned his father was Jewish. I didn't give it much thought at the time. Much later in life, I came to understand the significance of interfaith marriage. My parents were both raised Catholic, and so was I. My grandpa converted to Catholicism on his wedding day and a second time, officially years later, after taking the required classes.

It wasn't the knowledge of my grandparents' marriage that sparked my love of genealogy. I became fascinated with the prospect of finding my roots shortly after my father-in-law passed away in 1991. Several months after he died, a box arrived from his widow. Staring at me was the beginning of a family tree he had started. The pedigree chart captured my curiosity in a way I cannot explain. It was as if the scent of yellowed papers with handwritten notes beckoned me. As I intently looked over his notes and sepia-toned photographs, many of which were a century old, I soon realized I was hooked. I scoured the contents of the box and, naively, understood that I was embarking on a journey that would last for decades. 

Initially, I had no idea what I was doing, but I was captivated by the process. Curiosity was oozing from my pores. Thankfully, a friend graciously introduced me and guided me to resources, libraries, and archives. I wrote to churches, cemeteries, and historical societies for many years. I sat in front of numerous microfiche machines, looking at census records. When I began my ancestral journey, and for years afterward, I researched everything manually. It was tedious work, but I thoroughly enjoyed the research and the discoveries that came with it. 

I put aside my genealogy materials when I started my wholesale business in the mid-nineties. Sadly, I did not have time for the hobby I loved. When I retired, I dove right back in where I left off. I was obsessive, making up for lost time. Technology, as it tends to do on all fronts, moved rapidly in the world of genealogy, and I had to catch up. Even though I was previously a member of Ancestry.com, I felt the need to rejoin. I was on a mission to get caught up. I continued to pursue my husband's family tree, but I was also curious about my ancestors. 

With my sister and her husband's help, I started working on my family tree. They had done a tremendous amount of work, and I wanted to help and learn more about our ancestors. Like many people who pursue genealogy, they dream of discovering royalty in their past.. However, that was not my story. I am proud to say that I come from a long line of hard workers, war veterans, farmers, laborers, and holocaust victims and survivors. 

The more you dig, the more you see the common threads that weave a family together. You discover that it's not a coincidence that you are artistic and love music, just like your grandpa. Or that your temperament resembles your grandma's.

This labor of love has given me perspective, insight, and a better appreciation of my ethnicity, heritage, family, and myself. I have met relatives worldwide and was lucky enough to make the trek to my father's family of origin in Waren, Germany. His ancestral history is part of a book dedicated to the Jews of Waren, and many of their homes are still standing today. 

A family tree is never truly finished. There are always brick walls to overcome and births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded. I'm in my fourth decade of researching, documenting, and learning more about the people who have shaped me into the person I am today. I remain curious and, strangely enough, I still hope we have royalty somewhere in the tree. 

"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness." Alex Haley

Like Alex Haley, I hungered for more; it has been a fascinating journey. Do you have a desire to discover the origins of your ancestors? 

Bit by bit, that’s all she wrote…