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| If It Walks, Talks, and Looks Like A Duck. It's a Duck! |
Many
of our ancestors came to this country by small boats or ships. But where did they land? After landing where did they live? How many came over and how old were
they?
Yet other ancestors were already here. Whey did they come from?
What are their
names? How did they live their lives?
What role (ripple affect) does their collective DNA have in our lives?
Way to often I hear: I only want to know about my specific Indian Heritage and only on my father/mother side. Another common comment is my Grandmother was an Indian Princess. Usually these comments end with they want proof to a tribal enrollment because they believe they have an entitlement to what they perceive are benefits from being enrolled in a tribal nation. But what this boils down to is they don't hear the truth if something is found that contradicts what they believe. These so called benefits are not really that great. There is also no such thing as an Indian Princess. These are topics for another article.
My approach to Showing Gratitude Across Generations, means honoring the collective. Not just one family side, or bloodline, tribal affiliations. Without the whole collective we wouldn't be here today, whether it is Native American, Irish, German, Dutch.
We
will not find our ancestors if we start looking for the name of the ship without finding the ancestors and to tracing their steps. We also will not find our ancestors just by looking only for the Indian Princess or trying to change or force a piece of history into a context that doesn't exist.
We
first begin our research at home. Our
first step is talking to our relatives:
parents, grandparents, aunts, grand aunts, uncles, grand uncles etc. (Remember to tape record your visits. You will not remember everything talked about.) Don’t procrastinate, people
don’t live forever and our elders are quickly transitioning to their next phase. If you haven't gotten the stories before they cross over, then those stories go to the graves.
Writing letters letters and making phone calls to various organizations can also be very helpful to finding clues. Please note that it is common curiosity when writing letters, to include
a self-addressed stamped envelope for their reply if you want a reply.
Once
you have talked to your relatives, you are ready to play detective. Every trade including Genealogy has it’s
tools. There is also a wrong and a right
way to do research.
When documenting family history the number one rule is
to start with yourself and work outwards by recording on a pedigree chart your parents and the direct lineage of all the elders both living or deceased.
Starting in the middle to look for an immigrant without knowing any family history on them or looking for a non-existing Indian Princess will make it more difficult to fitting the pieces together.
Genealogy is like a giant puzzle
that you are fitting pieces to. If
pieces don’t fit, you either cannot use them at all or they are just not in the right space. You, must look around for the other pieces that fit in the
right spot and not force a round peg into a square hole.
A perfect example of this is a story that we were related to Betsy Ross, the American flag maker. Evidence showed that our relationship did come from a Ross family but it wasn't Betsy Ross, she was a Griscom before marrying into the Ross family. Betsy Griscom's father was William Griscom. There were no issues from her first union with John Ross, he was killed by a canon misfire a few weeks after marrying. A puzzle piece that some family members continue to hold on to that just doesn't fit.
In genealogy we must call it by the correct name, if it walks, talks, and looks like a duck. It's a duck.
Need Help With Your Genealogy
Copyright (c) 2014
Need Help With Your Genealogy
Copyright (c) 2014
