In our vast storehouse of knowledge, we know of some things present and some things past. From the past, we all know the names of the first president, and the the 16th, and the 35th. We know what year the colonies became the United States. If there is anyone who doesn't know the answers, then email me at bettgen@juno.com.
In the present, we know about things such as the latest earthquake, tornado, or hurricane. We know about things such as what sports star committed murder and what presidents have slept around. We also know who is running for political office and with what countries we are at war. We know the latest movie titles and the names of the latest rock stars. But what do we know about our own families?
What can we tell others about the ancestor who drowned trying to save his sons because the ship he was on while coming to this country from England was overturned in a horrible storm? What can we tell our children about the ancestor who changed his name because he ran away after his father beat him with a buggy whip? What can we tell our grandchildren abouth the g-grandfather who was a doctor and his wife who was a midwife? I wonder if anyone in my family even knows of these things.
What about the ancesor who died due to hemorrhage because she lifted something heave after giving birth? Can anybody remember when our cousins were murdered while traveling in the south? What cousin ran away to San Francisco, joined the hippy movement, and didn't let anyone know her whereabouts for almost ten years.
Who were these people? I wonder if anyone in my family can tell me anything about those I just mentioned other than my mother.
What about these questions? Who in our family fought in the Civil War? Who fought in the Revolutionary War? Who fought in WWII? Who fought in Desert Storm? Did anyone in out family fight in the Viet Nam War? Who is the grandmother who went to work during WWII?
We have got to preserve our family history. Family history is more than American History. It is more than our state's history. This is your history. This is you. It isn't HIS STORY, it is YourSTORY.