Why do people love genealogy? What got them started?

People become interested in genealogy for different reasons. I got into it because I never knew either of my grandfathers and genealogy was a way to connect with them. My brother's mother-in-law took me to the archives for the first time when I was around twelve or thirteen years old. I was hooked from that day forward and do not regret any of it. Genealogy took over a big portion of my life, for many years. I was almost obsessed at time, especially once I became aware of the Internet. E-mail and Genforum changed my life forever. College would not have been the same without genealogy.

Some people want to find out where their ancestors came from, maybe their ethnic origin. It used to take a lot of digging to get that answer, assuming that all of the documents were in existence and available. Today we can perform a simple cheek swab and get a DNA profile that can tell you pretty much where your genes came from in this world. I happen to be a Viking ,basically, as my male ancestors were apparently from Scandinavia. I would never have known that with the help of DNA.

Other people, especially those with last names of Washington, Lee, Jackson, Adams, Monroe, Columbus, etc., all think that they are descendants of greatness and want to find their connection to their famous ancestor. Most of the time this has been passed down from parent to child, generation after generation. I have met a lot of people who descend from George Washington. I guess it is too bad that he did not have any biological children (but they do not know that I suppose). I also had a lady try to convince me that she was the illegitimate, great-granddaughter of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - try proving that one!

A long-standing reason for some genealogy research are health reasons. People trace diseases and medical flaws across generations to help determine the likelihood that they will inherit a given problem. This is becoming more important now that we better understand genetics and the way traits are passed among the generations. I think the importance of genetic genealogy is just starting to take shape. It will grow dramatically as the technology becomes more affordable and more readily available to a larger audience.

I would say that the majority of people performing research probably want to join a lineage society, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Jamestowne Society or the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I have helped numerous clients with SCV, SAR and DAR applications. These generally require a lot of documentation and probably account for a large portion of paid genealogists' income. I know that I made most of my money in these pursuits, when I was doing paid research.

Other reasons for researching family history could be to get a scholarship, such as those for Native Americans. Some people trace deeds to acquire old land or maybe reclaim a family cemetery. I actually got a half acre lot put in my name from Henrico County, Virginia because it was deemed to be a family cemetery, belonging to one of my ancestors, and there was no owner of record on file. I guess I could be buried there if I wanted to push the envelope, seeing as though it is right in the middle of a modern apartment complex!

Whatever the reason, genealogy is usually considered to be one of the top two or three hobbies in America. People spend millions of hours and undoubtedly millions of dollars on genealogy every year. I probably spent over $1,000 myself on an annual basis, on my own family history projects.

No matter your motivation, genealogy is an addictive hobby that can get a hold of you and never let go. What got you involved with the hobby and what keeps you going strong?

Family Tree Maker 2008 is breaking my heart – a little

Family Tree Maker 2008 is breaking my heart – a little. I want to use it and I even volunteered to be a beta tester. The program should be great but I just cannot get into it. I cannot get excited about the new format for a few reasons, none of which have to do with bugs or errors with the program. I think the software engineers have ironed out most of the problems but I cannot get over the feel of it. I just do not feel comfortable with the program yet and do not know if I will ever feel good about it.

When I used to sit down with Family Tree Maker 16, I could burn through a stack of documents to enter within an hour or two. Family Tree Maker 2008 is so complicated, or maybe detailed is a better word, that it takes five times as long to get anything done. I find myself spending more time entering data than I actually spent at the archives looking for the stuff!

There are so many screens to enter data, sometimes the same information in more than one spot. I feel like I have to be diligent and enter everything but there is so much stuff! If you scan and document the source, the repository, the actual data and maybe a media item, you just spent an hour. That would take only a few minutes in FTM 16.

With FTM 16, things went faster because the layout was simple. I could use the tab and alt keys to jump all over the screen with little effort. It is as if FTM 2008 gives you too many options and I am overwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong, I love FTM 2008. I think it is a great program, and it is probably the future of genealogy, but it is dense. I am a young guy – only 30 – and I consider myself to be pretty computer savvy. I know that older, less computer-literate individuals have got to be having a hard time with it.

I have honestly lost interest in genealogy over the past few months, largely because of FTM 2008. It is so bulky and slow, I dread sitting down and spending hours with it. I probably have not touched it in over a month. I hate to go back to FTM 16 because I have made changed to my file in FTM 2008 that will not go backward. I am almost stuck with 2008 now and that is somewhat depressing.

I think I am going to try and give it another shot in the next few days. One evening, after the wife and kids go to bed, I will pull out a few documents and maybe time myself on how long they take to enter. I am honesty in a funk right now and have almost no interest in even trying. I wish I could find a document that I have been looking for a long time, something to stimulate my interest again...Does anyone out there have a copy of Francis Lett’s will from Brunswick or Mecklenburg County, Virginia? As far as I know, it does not exist, but that might re-spark my interest enough to give FTM 2008 another try.

Mamie Alease Clarke Brock of Richmond, Virginia (1887-1945)

Mamie was described as a big, happy woman. She worked as a midwife and a seamstress, making many of her grandchildren's clothes. As a midwife, Mamie would deliver a child and look after its mother for two weeks. She would go and visit the new family everyday, doing laundry and other chores for a total of $l5.00. Relatives claim that Mamie delivered hundreds of babies, including several of her grandchildren, including my own mother.

Mamie was a selfless person and gave-up the love of her life to please her mother by marring Mr. Brock. She also traveled to England, during World War I, to retrieve her sick and missing brother, Tom Clarke. Aside from her brother, Mamie also cared for her dying and disfigured mother when everyone else abandoned her.

My mother can remember being taken to the park by Mamie as a little girl. She would push her around in a baby carriage and seemed to enjoy being a grandmother. My mother also remembers Mamie making her clothes. Her most interesting recollection about Mamie occurred after her death. One night, my mother claims that Mamie came to her as an angel, standing at the foot of her bed. Mamie asked my mother to go with her, but mom refused. Mamie went back to heaven and my mother went back to sleep.

One Christmas, Mamie had gone to the Brock farm to evict a tenant. However, when she got to the house, she discovered that the family had no food or heat. The woman's husband was an alcoholic and had bought his children only a single head of cabbage for Christmas. Mamie's heart would not allow this to happen so she went to town and bought food and toys for the children. She told the husband that she was only showing compassion for the children that he still had to get them out of her house.

A few months later, Mamie came back and this time the woman was in labor. She had to deliver the baby while the drunken husband stayed in the barn. After the delivery she went outside and told the man that he had better be gone in two weeks or she would call the law. The man did move his family, but he held a grudge. A few years later, the man's wife killed him because of the abuse that she suffered. Mamie testified as a character witness in her defense.

When Mamie was older, she developed cancer in her neck. The disease spread and strengthened, causing her muscles to weaken. Before she died, Mamie had become unable to hold her head up. To remedy this, doctors installed lead weights into the back of her skull to force the head upright. The weights worked, but it was not long after the surgery that Mamie passed away.