LDS Genealogy

You may have thought your school history class was useless, but if you’ve since become a genealogist, you’ll wish you’d paid more attention. Of course, it’s never too late to learn something new, so start adding history books (real ones, not textbooks, which are often inaccurate) to your bookcase. History wasn’t history when it was happening. It was current and it impacted your ancestors.

Think about the events described today on the front page of your newspaper, and even smaller events that impact you, although they don’t make the papers. Even if you’re not in the military, the military events going on are affecting you. The economy is affecting you. The way your religion is treated affects you.

These types of events impacted your ancestors as well. When researching their lives, it’s important to pay attention to what was going on the world around them during their lives. These events can give you clues as to their lives, their worries, and their choices.

I have ancestors who came from Ireland. A quick check of a timeline tells me they immigrated during the Great Potato Famine, as did so many others. This tells me the likely reason for their immigration. However, they didn’t come until the famine was nearly over. How difficult might their lives have been in the years prior to their departure? How were they able to afford to come? I don’t have the answers to those questions yet, because I haven’t been able to narrow down where they lived in Ireland. Even their own children don’t know.

When I do find the answer, I can research the area and find out how it fared and how the people there lived. My ancestors became successful and wealthy shopkeepers after their arrival, and we can presume they were also shopkeepers there, since they were so successful. Knowing this is a possibility may help me track them down, but I can also learn how shopkeepers lived.

I had many ancestors in border states during the Civil War. Some fought for the south and some for the north. Some kept slaves and some were abolitionists–and they were all related to each other. Some married across “party lines” and we can guess the trouble that caused. One touching story tells of a girl who married someone on the other side, but when soldiers came to harass her while her husband was away fighting, her family showed up and defended her against their own side.

The Civil War was not history to them. There are stories throughout my family of people putting aside the war in favor of family love, and caring for one another even while they were supposed to be enemies. Some parents sent half their sons to fight for the south and half for the north, hoping to have some come out alive no matter who won the battle. Brother against brother was a reality for them, not a slogan, and when the war ended, they had to cope with that reality.

By studying the battles that happened near them and even the battles far away, I can learn more about my family. It doesn’t matter if the records say exactly what my own ancestors did. They were there and the historical records tell me what they experienced and why.

Knowing about the pilgrims in general tells me a great deal about my pilgrim ancestors because they were a part of the events, even if I don’t always know what part they played. When they broke away from the Pilgrims, I was able to follow their progress and learn something about their beliefs by following where they went and which minister they followed. This was a time when people who broke away from a church all moved to a new place together to start a faith community. The ministers were often well-known and by researching the ministers, I learned about my ancestors, what they believed, and why they moved.

Researching the history of your family name can tell you about your earliest origins. Even though you may not know where you tie in yet, you may gain a feel for the spirit and character of your family. Events from the 1600s impacted the values and character passed down through the ages.

Pull out your history books and start making those distant events personal as you place your family into them.