And now for a few words from my court jester, Brett Newmyer. He’s had some time on his hands lately, what with unemployment and all. So he’s been learning more about his family tree….scary stuff!
Two little monkeys sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g… remember that one? Of course you do. You just finished the rhyme before you finished reading this sentence. I’ve wanted to swing through some of the branches of my own family tree for a while now, but discovered I would have to ‘grow’ it, first. With the encouragement and guidance of one of my second cousins, I’ve been doing just that for the past couple of weeks, and it has been quite interesting.
To begin, three elements have been very helpful in this process (and believe me, it is a process!). First, my cousin has done this before, with another branch of our mutual family. Second, I’m using the same website, so the branches should merge seamlessly. Finally, and perhaps most important, my aunt has been a real treasure trove of information. She has kept meticulous records of the family over the years, and even went to Sweden a few years back to look for more. As an added bonus, the website sends emails of ‘matches’ within other family trees, which provides opportunities to share information and meet other family members.
All of this is not to say it’s a solo effort. The site encourages you to invite other family members to participate, and I certainly have. (I’m not doing all of the heavy lifting!) In my case, I told close relatives either they could join in or I would just ‘make stuff up’ about them. For an example, I offered ‘Cause of death: jumping a tractor over school busses’. Not surprisingly, several signed on right away. (My family knows me.) Of course, given what I have learned about my ancestors recently, that was a pretty idle threat; ‘truth is often stranger than fiction’ certainly applies here. For the rest of the family, I may have to threaten to tell the whole truth, skeletons and all. That should get ‘em!
This project started as a prelude to a family reunion next spring, and has grown into a real learning experience. As we age, we are losing the ‘Story-tellers’ of our families; my Aunt is one of the last of the generation before me. Traveling through life, we need to keep our hands on the wheel, but it’s good to look in the rearview mirror every once in a while too. The reunion should be a blast!
Signed, Brett Newmyer aka the Court Jester
