Genealogy

Genealogy

I’m a fan, but I don’t know why.

I collect data, or even datum, and I update my records. I periodically search for connections to people that I will never connect with. I’m aware of thousands of relatives but do not visit first cousins only forty minutes away.

The data does not drive me however. I gather data only to find the stories. I know this to be true for several reasons. Obviously the stories that are family verified and also the other stories that no one has mentioned. I find them fascinating.

I also came to possess a family archive of photos, personal letters, business receipts, etc. in the process of understanding the collection I created a family-tree for the individuals in the archive. Again, it was data collection, but it was also the stories buried in the data that interested me the most.

So maybe I do know why I’m a fan.

I will post another page on my findings of the Truesdell Archives. Okay, it might be 14 pages and even longer after I add the images. Hey, I’ve got the time.

2 Responses to Genealogy

  1. Candia – Suttonford, Isles of Wonder – My name is Candia. Its initial consonant alliterates with “cow” and there are connotations with the adjective “candid.” I started writing this blog in the summer of 2012. I started writing ironic news comment and then added reviews, stand-alone chapters as experiments in collecting writing for a humorous novel. I interspersed these with my own poetry, most of which had been published in reputable small magazines. Lately I have been writing more poetry than ever and I have been experimenting with different forms and structures. My first anthology came out last year (Its Own Place) and I have been giving readings to various groups and doing book signings. Hope you will dip into my archives and perhaps choose to follow me. It is my readers that encourage me to keep producing!
    Candia says:
    October 10, 2013 at 9:49 am

    I also like mapping out genealogical charts and have spent a number of winters totally immersed in stories connected to my family from two and three centuries before, so I understand the fascination.
    Thanks for following Candia- she must be royal as she has the Stuart surname and the Dixons were originally Sir Richard Keith’s sons- hence Dick’s sons! Sir Richard Keith was Robert the Bruce’s right hand man and was created the first Earl Marischal of Scotland. No wonder she is bossy!
    Visit again soon- you have the time!

    Reply
    • johndiestler – Lafayette, California – Retired community college professor of graphic design, multimedia and photography, and chair of the fine arts and media department.
      johndiestler says:
      October 10, 2013 at 9:59 am

      Yes, no horse thieves so far.
      One story of a small village where my relative was the pastor at a wedding, half the village was there. In the middle of the ceremony a tornado hit the church, killing many, of the wedding party only the groom survived. A horrible event obviously, but a repeated story, after a death many families move. I wanted to know why there was so much movement, from country to country, county to county, and city to city. I can’t ask why, because it was so long ago, but I did find a repeating theme, a death in the family.

      Reply

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