LIFE LIST: GENEALOGY OF MY MOM'S FAMILY

             You can easily make the most of life by taking advantage of the talents, knowledge and special skills of those around you.

LIFE LIST: GENEALOGY OF MY MOM'S FAMILY 


When? Well October 17th  was my mom's birthday so I thought this would be a perfect day to present it to her, but the research that was found began 6 months ago.

Where? The Internet


Why I wanted to do this? My mom said that someone in our family did a family tree of her father's side but not of her mothers.

Cost: I had looked into having it done professionally once and the cost is around $9,000- it is very expensive and rightfully so- it is VERY time consuming and surely very frustrating. That is why I myself could never commit to doing this, I have my own hobbies that others would have no interest in.

How I paid for it: Free for me! But I will somehow repay my Aunt for all the time she spent doing this, she deserves it!

What I would do differently: Well, if I ever have some extra cash...or rather a lot of extra cash then I would pay someone do dig a little deeper. My Aunt had to stop when she got to our ancestors in Germany whom we would all like to know more about-some of them have an unfortunate last name that we would like to get to the bottom of.

Something I would recommend?  I thought it would be YEARS before I would be able to cross this one off my list! I am only able to because I did not do it- I am very fortunate to have a very dedicated and talented Aunt who has devoted countless hours, days and years of her life to doing the genealogy of my family-she is my Dad's sister so obviously she spends her time working on the paternal side of my family tree. I don't even think I specifically asked her to do this for me, I think I just mentioned that one day I would like to present this to my mother on her birthday one year. If you have a family member who is interested in genealogy and has found information on your family - YOU ARE VERY LUCKY and I would recommend showering them with appreciation!

Would I do it again? Of course- until we go back to the beginning!

Was it life changing? This is such an asset to have someone in our family who has a keen interest in tracing our heritage, it not only benefits me, but I think about the fact that my daughter now has all this information and her kids will have it and so on...just as long as each generation updates it, it will be easy to keep your legacy alive.

Would it make a good gift?  A PERFECT GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING! I was so excited to be able to present this to my mom on her Birthday I think it was a lot to take in, It's something she will have to sit down and really put the pieces together from what information she had just from stories she had heard. This was a gift for my entire family now and for future generations..

My review:  My Aunt began working on this about 6 months ago spending a total of 20 hours here and there and this is what she found.....
            -she was able to go as far back as finding info on my mother's great great grandparents
            -handwritten copies of the U.S. census from 1880 and 1900
            -'newspaper' clippings from our relatives marriages and obituaries



Here is a tip on getting started on your genealogy from Roxanne:
" Tracing your family's roots can be fun yet frustrating, sporadically satisfying, intimidating and enticing and all of these things sometimes at the same time. It is nice to be able to look back at census reports and see your ancestors listed, sometimes with siblings and parents all together in one neat little list. Just go to your local library's website and see if they offer Heritage Quest. If so, all you need is your library card and number and a doorway to the past will be open to you!"