We have started a New Year! Many of us will commit to doing more genealogy research, to tear down that brick wall and we may have even decided to write that family history book. One thing is for sure, most genealogists see the beginning of a New Year as an opportunity to double down on their family history research.
I have been researching my family’s history for going on 36 years and it never gets old or dull! While the major discoveries are getting fewer and not as prevalent, the thrill of the hunt keeps me going. The excitement of what could be in the next book, microfilm reel or online database to tell me more about one of my ancestors is what I get excited about.
The one thing that I have been concentrating on for the past 10 years, is my ancestor’s story, their full story. Knowing who they were, what they did and where did they go and why! I have found myself asking the question “Why?” more often these days while research than I have ever done before.
I like to say “Every person who ever lived on this Earth has a story to tell and it’s up to us to tell it.” This is more than birth, marriage and death dates. An ancestor’s story starts when they were born and the story is weaved through the years of their lives and when they leave this earth, many of them leave legacies, memories and many times more questions.
I would encourage every genealogists to Tell Your Ancestor's Story in 2026! Look beyond the dates and places and concentrate on the aspects of your ancestor's life that made them who they were, who they became and who the family remembers them being. Dates and places are fixed in our ancestor's history. It's the stories, personalities and little known facts that truly make our ancestor's come to life right before our eyes.
