I have friends
who can trace their heritage back to the 1200’s. Others can demonstrate how
they’re related to famous people as 14th or 17th cousins. Both are interesting
and impressive.
But for me, the
most fascinating part of researching my family history is learning small
details of their day-to-day lives and the reasons why my ancestors made significant,
life-changing decisions.
Since my mother
was the child of one of the younger offspring, she had no recollection of her
grandparents on her mother’s side. Years ago, we set off on a quest to learn as
much about them as we could. We visited many of her oldest living cousins.
I started those
visits off with a few prompting questions, then let the cousins talk about
memories and family stories. All the while, I had my video camera (this was in
the era before smart phones) rolling. Not only did I learn a lot about my
family’s history, but I also felt much more closely bonded with relatives I had
barely known before.
My great-grandparents (who inspired THE LEGACY) and their 10 children
Here are some of the
tidbits I’ve picked up while researching my family history:
- · My mother’s maternal grandfather came to America to escape conscription into the German Army when South Jutland was occupied by the Germans. This land area was not returned to Denmark until after World War I.
- · My mother’s paternal grandfather died when my grandfather was fourteen. Mom’s paternal grandmother and her children continued to operate the farm successfully, and my mother and her siblings grew up on that farm.
- · One of my mother’s aunts taught high school in Sioux City, Iowa for many years. Among her pupils were the twins who became Dear Abby and Ann Landers.
- · One of my mother’s cousins used to love to go to town with his dad to pick up supplies, especially kerosene. In those days, gumdrops were used as stoppers in the spouts of kerosene containers. Mom’s cousin volunteered to ride home in the back of the wagon with the supplies so he could eat the gumdrop. If he ate it too early, he had to put his hand over the spout to keep the liquid from sloshing out.
These are just a
few of the fun facts I’ve uncovered about my family. I love to speculate about what
life was like through the generations. The first two items on the list served
as inspiration for my historical novel, THE LEGACY. Although THE LEGACY is
entirely fictional, I’ve tucked many of the tidbits I’ve discovered about my
ancestors into the story. This made the manuscript fun to write.
What fascinating tidbits have you learned about you ancestors Do you have any fun family stories? How have they inspired you?
Ann Markim
