WHAT GENEALOGY MEANS TO ME
Written by Charlene Holland

According to the dictionary genealogy is:
1. A record or account of the descent of a family, group or person from an ancestor or    
ancestors; a family tree.
2. Direct descent from a progenitor; lineage or pedigree.
3. The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.

To me, however, genealogy is a whole lot more than those three dry sentences. It is
finding my roots, my family, and my home.

It is seeing my grandparents as a young couple in a census record with their two baby
girls; children who I know will be dead within the year.
It is seeing my mother as a one-month-old child. It is seeing my great grandfather's
signature on Civil War records and knowing that he and others like him must have gone
through hell.

It is even finding the "skeletons in the closets" or the "black sheep" of the family. It is
finding that my family went through some terrible times, but also knowing that they
survived. It is seeing in my mind's eye the careworn faces of all of those who have gone
on before me.

It is listening to old stories told by our elders and passing those precious stories down. It
is writing down those stories and facts for our children and their children.

It is finding cousins I had not seen or heard from in more than fifty years.  It is finding
new "cousins" and new friends, people who have come to mean so very much to me.

It is the realization of how important family is. It is the realization of how important it is
to honor those ancestors who came before us.

But most of all, it is the sharing of information with others who like me love the
research. It is not just dusty records or words.
It is not only sharing the excitement of finding a new ancestor, but also sharing the
frustrations of not being able to find what you are looking for.
It is the bouncing of ideas back and forth of theories of "what might be" and
commiserating with another when that theory falls through, which it often does. It is
being able to say "Look! Look what I have found!" and knowing that your excitement will
be shared and understood.

It is being able ask a question on a mailing list, knowing that what you are asking may be
"dumb" but knowing that you will not be treated with disrespect.

It is people who give of their time and their energies to help you.

It is people who volunteer their time and energies to do lookups on the various county
web pages. It is people who volunteer their time and energies for the various historical
societies. It is people who give of their time to transcribe old documents and microfilm,
and who share that knowledge, whether it is through books sold by historical societies
or on web pages.

It is people who go through old cemeteries and take the time to write down those who
are buried there and share that knowledge gladly.

It is people who share old photographs, old letters and their old family stories, not
expecting anything back other than a thank you and the knowledge that they have
helped another in their family quest.

It is people who go above and beyond what is asked of them because they love
genealogy. They love the fun of it, the frustrations of it and the excitement of it.

It is also the knowledge that you are passing down something of worth;
that you are leaving behind a little something of yourself. It is the knowledge that
through all of your research you may have made a difference, however small it may be.

This is a little of what genealogy means to me.
Our Ancestry
Bartlett Historical Society
Preserving the history of the villages of Bartlett, New Hampshire
PO Box 514, Bartlett, NH  03812
(603) 383-4110       info@bartletthistory.org