Friday, March 9, 2012

Genealogy

Do you know your lineage?  Do you know where you come from?  I can honestly say that I don't know much about my family tree.  My maiden name is Kaffenberger, which I know is German, but that is as far as I can go with that.  There is a show on NBC called Who Do You Think You Are?  Every week a new celebrity goes on a trek to find out about their ancestry.  I think this show is fascinating, and every week it makes me want to learn more about who I am.  I think that knowing your history is important.

My mom is a history buff like me.  She really enjoys the show too.  Usually, we watch it, and then call each other to talk about it (She lives about 4 hours away from me.  I miss her!).  My mom is a retired teacher, with some free time on her hands, and I keep trying to talk her in to researching our family history.  Maybe for Mother's Day I will by her an Ancestry.com membership.  That's not obvious is it?  I keep telling her that currently, I am to busy creating and raising blood lines, to do any research about my blood lines. 

From talking with my maternal grandmother, who passed away 5 years ago, I know that somewhere in her lineage there is a relation to Rutherfor B. Hayes.  Her father was a newspaper man, and apparently a bookie too!  My maternal grandfather, who passed 7 years ago, was an extremely interesting man.  He was in Patton's army in WWII, as a radio man.  He was a fantastic story teller, and education and learning were important to him.  He wrote poetry and short stories.  He grew up on a small farm in Osgood, Indiana.  I remember visiting that farm once when I was a little girl.  Now when I remember back on it, the images I create are those of Dorothy's black and white farm in Kansas.  I wish I knew more about where these two amazing people came from.  Maybe I could find a little bit of myself in their histories. 


My husband's paternal family tree has been traced clear back to Ireland and Scotland.  With a name like McCauley, it wasn't hard to guess that that is where his roots would end up.  My husband's aunt did all of the research, and has created a DVD with history, documents, and pictures.  I think this is a great gift to the family.  My girls will some day be able to learn about their namesakes. 

Perhaps when I have more time this summer, I can get my mom to help me do some research.  I have this nagging voice inside my head that tells me I need to dig deep and find our family's secrets.  My gut says there is something out there to be found.  My past is calling.  It's time to answer!

3 comments:

  1. When I was growing up, you always asked about someones family background. My grandparents came from Holland. But as time goes on the ethnic part of our heritage seems to become diluted. When I asked my husband about his ancestors, he didn't know specifics of his heritage.
    Family history is always interesting.

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  2. Oh Stacy go for it. I began searching for my "roots" after I was doing some research on a community study in third grade. My family didn't have a lot of information about our ancestors. It has been and continues to be a fascinating journey. I usually spend a few weeks in the summer visiting libraries, burial grounds, towns to gain more information. Of course the internet has provided many clues. Sometimes I spend hours and find very little...other time I strike gold. Happy Hunting!

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  3. Stacy,
    This slice gives me goosebumps. You are at the tipping point as a writer...something is calling and you want to follow. I think these are the most powerful kinds of writing projects. I'm hoping your blog might be a holding place for some of the family stories you learn.
    Ruth

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