Heritage, Ancestry, Lineage

Knowing Your Ancestors

Every now and then, as I review and polish my understanding of genealogy, I am stunned as to what people think they know about their ancestry versus what they actually do not know. Many chase their father’s surname or perhaps their mother’s maiden name lineage, but you have many, many more ancestors who make you, you!

You have two parents and four grandparents, and this double backs each generation. Do you really know them all? Most likely not. But people mention slavery, Native American history, recent immigration to the US, or an abusive parent as reasons to object to doing their own genealogy, their own family history. However, I keep on insisting people should press on and find out all the details. Much of our current understanding of our backgrounds is shaped by myths, family stories, and faulty assumptions. There are Native Americans and Black Americans who fought for the American Revolution, but many are now lost or forgotten.

More importantly, if American heritage is to be preserved, people need to take a greater interest in their ancestry, including the details and nuances. In addition, technology has made it far easier to search for source materials and family relations compared to just 30 years ago. Sites like FindaGrave.com and FamilySearch.org make it easy and are free!

Photo courtesy of Matt Johnson

Patriotism is important and the Daughters of the American Revolution (https://www.dar.org/) and the related Sons of the American Revolution (https://www.sar.org/) have been fostering American ancestry and are relatively easy to join and assist finding Patriots in your ancestry. The 10 Million Names Project, a part of American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/), is helping find Black American ancestry as well (https://10millionnames.org/).

Also, there are local geneaology groups such as the Nebraska State Genealogical Society (https://nsgs.org/) and the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society (https://gogsne.org/). Perhaps you are still not moved to act, but perhaps you can share this with family members to get them interested.