I've recently gotten drawn back into family history research, and I'm fortunate - I can follow many branches of ancestry back into Virginia history (with a few adventurous souls seeking their fortunes in Kentucky in the 1800s!). Seeing the repetitions (many, many repetitions) of family names gives one a real sense of connection, and a sense that they were connected to each other - grandfather's and grandmother's names appearing again generations later... seeing the long-lived also stands out, and I imagine the 90, 95 years olds (often women) sitting surrounded by grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Of course, none of us are having children at age 18, so the modern world presents new challenges to that idea.. here's to seeing those grandkids and your own family tree grow... !
I've recently gotten drawn back into family history research, and I'm fortunate - I can follow many branches of ancestry back into Virginia history (with a few adventurous souls seeking their fortunes in Kentucky in the 1800s!). Seeing the repetitions (many, many repetitions) of family names gives one a real sense of connection, and a sense that they were connected to each other - grandfather's and grandmother's names appearing again generations later... seeing the long-lived also stands out, and I imagine the 90, 95 years olds (often women) sitting surrounded by grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Of course, none of us are having children at age 18, so the modern world presents new challenges to that idea.. here's to seeing those grandkids and your own family tree grow... !