----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2000 12:10 PM Subject: Why We Do It > ((Forward= Please do not reply)) > Subj: Why We Do It From: [email protected] > I received this today from a cousin that I have not yet met. I know that all > of you can relate to this. Pat C. Johns > > 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 >