by: abennett
On my grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary their 6 sons gave them a trip back to the UK as a gift. They had not been back since their immigration to Canada in 1912 & 1914. When they came back they shared some photos and stories of visits to their old homes and schools. I was fasinated!
My drawback was just listening and not asking questions.
By the mid 1980's all of my grandparents had passed and I had not talked to any of them about their lives growing up, emigration, starting in a new country. I could go on and on.
As I started to get more into my family genealogy I asked my parents and Uncles a lot of questions, but they didn't have a lot of answers. The mostly said, "we never talked about it."
With my interest peaked and home computers and online data growing, I threw myself in with both feet and by the mid 1990's I was neck deep in family research.
If I could not be told the story, I would get the information and write the story to tell others.
I started a family newsletter and send out questions and updates about my searches. Slowly I was building a tree and seeing my past before my eyes.
Now I had a goal! My parents, myself and my cousin were going to the UK in 2000 and we were going to visit the places that my grandparents were from. Cornwall, Birmingham, Glasgow & Edinburgh. I was diligent and spent hundreds of hours in research to find as much as I could.
The trip was a sucess and created cherished memories with my parents that will never be forgotten.
set goals.
It is not just about the names and dates. When you start to put together the story, you find out who you are and why you are who you are.
Look back. You will find yourself!