Who does genealogy?
A lot of people think it is a hobby for grand parents and great grandparents and definitely not younger generations. This is a yes and no answer. Genealogy can be time consuming and so, many people find time to dig in more when they are retired.
But, there are many younger hobby genealogists. (I feel I should have some astounding statistic on how many younger people are involved but I’ve just see them on various social media sites, in the library, and at genealogy conventions, so we’ll go with my observation here).
For me my interest started way back in high school (pre internet for everyone days) when I would help my grandmother (maternal side). She would need my eyes to help decipher an old deed or census record or my help carrying large books around the library. Now of course I was a surly teen and just couldn’t be bothered with all these old papers and people who I never knew.
So what got me interested: I asked if my grandmother was sure about something she was told regarding an ancestor and could the info be trusted. She then had me do research on the event in question and listened to me when I outlined my findings. The info was correct, another distant cousin had done excellent research but I did not know this, I just wanted to know how we knew it was true. I did know on that day that I had been bitten by the genealogy bug.
Years later in my late 20s my grandmother wanted to know if these new fancy desktop computers could help her compile all of her research. I offered to take a look at what software (yep prior to everything being an app) was out there and see what we could get done. I had no idea, NONE, how many boxes she had of ephemera, xeroxed copies, typed and handwritten family group sheets, typed pedigree charts with no page numbers (I’ll never print a chart with out page numbers), photos, letters from distant cousins, books, letters found in trunk belonging to a 3rd great grandfather, and everything else under the sun. Most of which was only loosely filed and sorted. So, getting all of her work into a family tree program was going to be a much bigger project than I’d intended.
My main issue with organizing all of her work was… lack of sources for a lot of her info. Some of her lineage info could be found in letters from cousins, but without a source being listed I only know where the info came from once I’ve read said letter – Do you know how many letters were in these boxes?
But I’ve read and sorted through letters, scanned old photos, and slowly gotten everything into a database, ok, it was in a database program that is no longer around so I’m now slowly transferring all the info into a new online program (Airtable.com for those who are interested).
I also became very interested in filling in blanks she had left so I started going to libraries and the family search center and guess what – I felt like I really stood out because I was younger than most of the researchers I was encountering. Did that stop me? Nope! My friends even looked at me oddly when I said I was doing genealogy and one said “your not old enough to be doing all that”. I shrugged, fitting into preconceived notions was never my strong suit.
And guess what, no one in any of the libraries I visited ever treated me different. We were all chasing down our leads and pouring over books and microfilm and the age of the person next to us was never a concern. I did still find myself helping older women (who reminded me of my grandmother) get books off of taller shelves, or carry heavier items.
So you see, my interest began when I was in my teens, and now I’m not in my teens but not near retirement age and I still thoroughly enjoy researching my family line – I also bang my head on the desk and scream lots of profanities along the way but hey it’s fun.
To me it is like reading a good mystery book, does this person go here? oooohhhh, where did this person wander off to? Did so and so really run off with X? Wait how many children were fathered with the 1st wife and how many with the 2nd wife and where did the 1st wife go? It is a great big puzzle with no finish line; I’m sure there are people who do stop at some point, I just don’t know where that point would be.
Age shouldn’t be a factor when wanting to pursue genealogy and don’t get stuck on stereotypes of wood paneled offices and only rich aristocrats having any idea of their family line. Any one who is interested can get started. You don’t have to be an expert on day one and you will know when you need to hire one if you keep going.
My point is – if you are interested in genealogy then DO IT. Get started now.