I spent all afternoon yesterday looking for the dead, and looking at their lives.
My search is frustrating at times (just try to find a person's maiden name from things like census and Social Security ...which don't go back very far, HA!). It is compounded by the fact that in the not so distant past, my family spoke French, or a crazy mixture of words from several different languages that only the locals understood. When they gave their names to census takers, the names were usually only a close replica of what they should be. I found a grandfather who was listed as O., Oliva, Oliver, and finally the real first name...Olivier.
I found that about 5 people had incorrectly copied other people's trees, but the hard part was made easier by the interesting part. Other relatives living in the household, their jobs (one was only 14 and a servant girl), the young ages they were when some died, the close proximity of families even in cities. The number of children was greater, and when looking at the census column there were many countries listed other than the US, it was a time of immigration on a large scale.
I saw a name of a daughter that was a different surname , which led me to the fact that this was a second marriage (which will make tracing lineage all that much harder). I also found that a great majority of my ancestors in New England worked in cotton mills. Maybe that is where my quilting love came from.
The tedious and frustrating journey is frequently turned to fun and interest when things are discovered that really show the family's life, not just their names. They were hard working and most likely tough folks to endure through bad food, bad air, long work days, hot summers, and cold winters without AC, central heating and insulation.
Most people today wouldn't be able to survive it, I am sure.
What were your ancestor's like????
Peshaui Wequashimese
(c)2011 Dr. R M Wolf, May not be used , copied or reproduced without prior written permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remember that the blog is for helping and teaching. Any comments found to be abusive, hateful, negative or SPAM will not be published. My readers come here for positive solutions and growth, not negativity, arguments, nor hate.