----- Original Message ----- From: Janet Bailey Bryant <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2000 10:16 PM Subject: [AGS] Why we do it! > I received this from another list today and really liked what it said. I > thought you might enjoy it also. > Janet > > WHY WE DO IT > Today I want to describe for you what finding our ancestors in terms of > being one of the major reasons why I do what I do these days on the > Internet, for myself, for my children and grandchildren and for > others....and I have an idea, that similar circumstances are the reason many > researchers are involved as well. I think more than a few of you will > identify with my thoughts and motivations here... > > I loved that old homeplace dearly, as many of you loved a similar place that > now exists only in your minds and hearts. I frequently "walk" through it, > escaping todays to yesterdays and memories, willing myself to remember the > touch of fabric, the coolness of hardwood floors on my barefeet, the weight > of a fat white china cup in my hands, the way the afternoon sun slanted and > cast shadows on the floor of a long front porch. Those memories are a > comfort to me, because beyond the "things" I have that were there, they are > all I have left of the place I knew. I know that many of you feel the same, > and have another place you "walk" for comfort at times. > But those memories I have, and you have, will be gone all too soon, leaving > this world at the same time that we do...just as the memories of our > grandfathers and great-grandmothers left with them, and unless they are > given and passed on, it is as if those things had never been other than what > "facts" are left behind on scraps of paper. > This came to me in a very real way recently when the daughter of my first > cousin (who is now gone to the next world) contacted me. A young mother, the > family's heritage is beginning to be of importance to her. And she asked for > my memories, the memories her mother died before she could pass on...and so > I have begun to write them for her and to give her what I cannot leave in > any tangible form other than description. I have walked her through the > family homeplace willing her to see through my eyes, and I have introduced > her to the great-grandfather she never knew, trying to give her a balanced > picture of him, the good and the bad, making him human and of breathing > living flesh for her. > For the same reason, documenting the family line in that country is also > important. I want to know who the grandparents of my grandfather were, > because I have no memories of him telling me about them. I know he must have > treasured memories of those who lived in his time, and I know he must have > treasured the stories that he heard of those who did not. Because it was > important to him, and knowing him, I know it is important to me. My > grandfather was of another world and time, as many of yours were. And in > that day and time, the passing on of roots came through the oral tradition. > They little understood that the coming ways of this world would leave little > inclination or time for oral passing of roots...and that unless a generation > following them had the wisdom to record it, all was lost. > I rue that I was young when he sat so long talking his long tales of "who > beget who" and of things that had happened, where they happened, and those > who peopled those stories. I am frustrated that I, as did his children, > "tuned" much of this out. It is not just a matter of "proving" a > lineage...much, much more, it is a matter of salvaging that which was > important to one I loved...and giving it to those like my cousin's children > and my own children.... passing on the things that were of importance in an > endless chain of loving memories. I cannot turn back the clock, and I cannot > make my grandfather be here again with me at a time in which I am ready and > mature enough now to listen to his endless stories that wound on hour after > hour....but I still draw breath, and I can piece together what I can find, > add to that what I do remember...and give the next generation something far > more precious than the money. > We no longer have our Murphy or Howard or Dodd or Greathouse homes in > Alabama, and even some of the family burial grounds where my great > grandfather, great great grandfather and possibly before that are buried, > have been taken from us. All we have is our history....and so you see why it > is important beyond description that we preserve our history. It is all we > have left of our roots. And I suspect that many of you, if for whatever > reason your ancestral lands and homeplace are gone, feel the same. > Please remember this when others contact you. Their reasons may have nothing > to do with wanting to join an elite organization, may have nothing to do > with idle curiosity, may have nothing to do with simple scholarship and an > abiding love of research....more often, I am finding, it is a situation in > which family history is an anchor to hold to in this fast-paced and all too > impersonal world. It is a situation in which all the heritage or "home" a > family has left is its history. It is a situation in which a person regrets > not finding important those things elders talked of at the time they talked > of them, and with maturity wants to salvage what they can of the memories of > elders who went on before them.Your words and help are often far more > important than you can possibly realize, and will cause a heart to leap, > bring tears to an eye in gratitude. > In other words, it is often a matter of the "heart" and any small tidbit or > fact, any direction you can find time to give, is more meaningful than gold > to that person who longs so desperately to find his or her humble link in a > long chain...and pass it on, giving the generation to come roots and a sense > of belonging in a world that is uncertain. "...and departing leave behind > us, footprints in the sands of time." > Pat Dodd Greathouse > > ==== VAISLEOF Mailing List === > Genealogy - where you confuse the dead and irritate the living. > > > > >