52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 51
Prompt – Future
Do genealogist look to the future?
Rarely. We are too busy looking back into our history.
There is no doubt that how we do
genealogy is always changing. In 2005 when I first started on this
genealogical journey, I went to the library to look up things because
they had the special computer programs linked to the major
genealogical databases of the time. This was the start of scanning
historical documents into large databases which could be accessed at
the library free of charge. Fifteen years later and I rarely go to
the library. I find many significant genealogical documents online.
I can download and save them on my laptop for future use. The use of
paper has significantly decreased in this respect. I just have to
remember to back up my work on my computer from time to time. I
cannot imagine what changes the future will have and what that will
look like for future genealogists. Will they seek, find and gather
family information without computers?
Of course that implies an assumption
that our children and grandchildren want to know about their
ancestors. I believe that a lot of the younger generation don't want
to know about their past (just yet) because they are too busy blazing a new
trail for themselves. I know this because I was the same. That is
not a bad thing and in fact it is probably good. However in my
opinion it is important to understand where we come from. Further it
is important to know the history of that time to add context to their
lives. My maternal German grandmother called all Russians –
Bolsheviks. Not an endearing term at all. However she lost many
relatives in her Russian Volga homeland during the revolution, wars
and famines due to the politics of Russia Revolutionaries of the
time.
One of the things that frustrates me in
researching my family is that I do not know or speak German. So many
documents are available world wide written in their native language.
It is just a matter of finding a translator. As I have pointed out
before it's not just that it is in German, but it is also handwritten
in “script handwriting” which fewer and fewer people can read.
This got me thinking about our documents for future generations. I
understand that they do not teach cursive writing in school anymore.
Does that means that in one or two short generations our documents
will be illegible to them.
In many of my genealogical classes, the
topic of planning for the future of your family tree was discussed
often. I can't force my family to take on this work although to me
it is not really work but just an avid passion to learn and know more
about my family. I would have no problem leaving it to anyone who
wanted it.
It has occurred to me over the past two
years of writing my blog that I seem to know more about my family
than I thought I knew. It always make me take pause when a family
member who reads my blogs says to me “I didn't know that about...”
From time to time my blogs jog the memories of my siblings who share
more information with me. It is all so beautiful. In the end I
write the blogs to share this information with those interested.
Unlike a family tree written on paper which can be passed along, the
information I gather on my computer tends to stay there without ever
seeing the light of day. This is my way of sharing it. To me
genealogy is about sharing information. You would be surprised at
how many genealogists do not want to share their finds with others
including their own families. What is the point if you can't share
it?
I predict that the future of genealogy
will be DNA. If this is true then I must make a concerted effort to
learn more about it. I look at my DNA results on Ancestry from time
to time but have failed to do anything with it. I guess this means
that I will need to take more tutorials and read more on DNA and
Genealogy. Therefore looking to my future in genealogy I will make a
resolution to work on it and hope that it will make more sense to me
and shed some light on family.
I also resolve to carry on with my
blogging in 2020. Are you ready for year 3 of 52 Ancestors in 52
Weeks? If you are, I will try not to disappoint.
Wendy
No comments:
Post a Comment