My Personal Interest in Genealogy

Genealogy is a recent interest of mine. All my life I have been aware that 'half my family was missing'. I can't say this ‘missing family evoked any significant thought or turbulence at the time, I hardly gave it a second thought. But as I matured, and became more aware of the deeper world about me, that changed. I could not help but feel increasingly curious about the heritage that had gone before me -that which in some way had influenced what I am today.

Both directly, by a genetic influence, and indirectly, by the circumstances it has left behind, the past influences each of us. But what was my family history? What had gone before to set up the initial circumstances of my life? What where the family genes that made me look as I am? Although I had a heard a few stories plus family hearsay and individual speculation, the history that could answer my questions was something I did not possess to any real degree.

The information has been gathering for some five years now, it was only two years ago that the real work began. Then, I started to sifting through the documents, letters and other information that had come my way. Although there is undoubtedly much more to learn, is now been possible to glimpse at my heritage - and that is not just viewing a chain of individual names!

By matching the names and events to their historical contect, social and econmic environment, etc., there has been an opportunity to 'get to know' the real people behind the names. For me now there is a more concrete picture; albeit an incomplete one. It is, so far, a story spanning two centuries, five countries, three religions, and involves characters from all walks of life. I may not always like what I see, but I can now begin to feel the people, to appreciate the stresses and strains of their lives, plus develop an understanding of the possible motives for their actions - actions which, in a chain of events and consequences, came to be an influence my life.

No longer am I purely a 'Southern Irish Protestant' - so far, I am Southern Irish Protestant with English Protestant and Northern Irish Catholic, plus Hungarian Jewish roots; with a little help form Switzerland and Scotland along the way. And who knows what else may come up as I continue to dig deeper?

Perhaps in that discovery of multicultural influences is the most important lesson of genealogy: if we dig deep enough, and view honestly into ourselves and our origins, we discover that in some way, at some level, we all can make a connection with each other....

Site Index ~ Current Research & All Surnames Being Researched
All Individuals on this Site ~ Family Trees and Individual Biographies
Galleries of old Family Photos