Sarah, About fifteen years ago while visiting my grandmother I was thumbing through her well-worn Bible. In it were names I didn't know. I asked her about one in particular and she told me it was her grandmother. I was ashamed that I knew so little about my family. From then on my grandmother and I went on a journey of exploration. She was old and unable to walk but she could remember 90 years of family history. As I learned a little bit she would fill in the blanks with wonderful stories. All I had to do was mention a name and she did the rest. She called it 'rattlin' bones' . I made copies of death, birth and marriages information for her to read and remininise. We both shared some wonderful memories. I traveled to long forgotten cemeteries and churches and old places; took pictures and shared these with her as well. More stories came out. Thankfully my grandmother and I shared these pleasures for several years before her passing. I typed all of the wonderful stories into book form and shared them with my family as Christmas gifts. I didn't stop there but sought out other relatives to pump their brains. I learned one ancestor was captured in the Civil War which led me to the battlefield where he fought and was captured. This in turn led me to explore all I could find out about that battle and the surrounding area. I checked out the various prison camps where he was kept and learned more history. He was forced to sign an oath and was released in Richmond, Virgina. Another road trip and more history lessons. Throughout the years of researching my family history I enriched my life with so much historical and geographical information that I would never have done otherwise. I have traveled hundreds of miles just to look at a tombstone so that by being there I could know my family. With the help of the internet I have made connections throughout the USA and gotten to know family members I would never have known. All of this I have shared with my family and posted on the internet so that my family story will not be forgotten.. Genealogy never ends. Kay Withers Cynthiana > [Original Message] > From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> > To: <KYGARRAR-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: 4/2/2008 6:55:54 PM > Subject: [KYGARRAR] Why genealogy? > > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: idyllicmelody > Surnames: > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.kentucky.counties.g arrard/3945/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > Hi, my name is Sarah Simpson, a student at Garrard County High School, and I'm writing a paper concerning why people love genealogy. I'm hoping you'll be able to help me by answering a few of the below questions. Answer any or all of them, whatever you wish to do. > > 1.Why do you believe people find history so alluring? > > 2. What other interests and hobbies do you have besides history/genealogy? > > 3. How long have you been interested? What initially spurred your interest in history/genealogy? > > 4. How have your feelings and opinions changed toward your pursuit over time? > > 5. How/where do you do your research? > > 6. Have you ever been surprised or amused by your discoveries? > > 7. Can you suggest any other sources of information for me? > > 8. Any final thoughts? > > Thanks very much, > Sarah Simpson > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KYGARRAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

1.Why do you believe people find history so alluring? Sarah, genealogy is not just history…………..it YOUR history. I have held my breath at times over the years when I realized that one or another of my ancestors had participated in a historical event I studied in school. It made history come alive to me and made me understand how history touched me. One of my 6th great grandfathers was with Gen. George Washington at Valley Forge……….Zachariah Salyer…….descendant of a French Hugenot. I didn’t have a clue until I started researching my family history. I am 9th cousins with Pres. Bush, 8th cousins with Sen. John McCain and Pres. James Madison’s great aunt was my 6th great grandmother, Anne Madison. I read history differently now that I know where my blood lines fit into it. 2. What other interests and hobbies do you have besides history/genealogy? Sewing, knitting, crochet, counted cross stitch, painting, jewelry making, decorating, quilting and on and on. 3. How long have you been interested? What initially spurred your interest in history/genealogy? I can’t remember a time when I was not interested in our family history. When I started researching about 1975, I already knew a lot about my dad’s family lines because he had talked so much about them when we kids were growing up. He always wanted to know about his family history but he did not understand that it could be researched as far back as it can be researched. My dad is responsible for my interest in genealogy. 4. How have your feelings and opinions changed toward your pursuit over time? It has made me very thankful to be an American, very thankful to God that I live in the time that I live in and very thankful that I can pass what I have learned on to my grandson. 5. How/where do you do your research? When I started I did most of my research by mail and trips to the Ohio Historical Society, the courthouse in Louisa, KY (Lawrence Co.) and cemetery trips. Now I do most of it by internet and then order records to document everything I can. 6. Have you ever been surprised or amused by your discoveries? Many times over! In my husband’s lines in Missouri, I found that a great grandfather had died and his second wife (whom my husband always pointed out was not HIS great grandmother!) lost her pension from her husband having been in the Civil War because she and her daughters were running a ‘bawdy’ house. I got all this when I ordered the Civil War records for her husband. 7. Can you suggest any other sources of information for me? 8. Any final thoughts? I was born in Ohio but my family moved back to KY when I was two months old. When I was five years old we moved back to Ohio and stayed. When I started school in Ohio, I was teased about my southern speech and called ‘hillbilly’ like it was something of which I should be ashamed. If I had known then what I know now about my ancestry, those kids would have been lined up to get my autograph! What most people don’t understand is statistically speaking, it is nearly impossible for any American NOT to be related to a whole gang of famous people, you just have to dig out the info. I am cousins with Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, Kirstie Alley and many more famous people. I wonder if the famous people to whom I am related have had any of the same family lore, recipes, etc. passed down to them that I grew up with or if these wonderful gems were allowed to die in their lines. Sarah, thank you for this chance to tell you about how genealogy makes me feel. Sharon Young Jebavy <>< No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.4/1355 - Release Date: 4/1/2008 5:37 PM