Since 1999, I have dabbled with my family's genealogy, and managed to stumble upon some huge discoveries - primarily with my dad's side. Thanks to the Internet, I found distant relatives whose great-great grandfather was brothers with my dad's great-great grandfather. It changed the way I looked at my family as I knew it, for we have several nationalities between us, thanks to Europeans who came to India and intermarried with the people there, thus creating what became known as the Anglo-Indian community. Others who have called themselves AI were not of Indian ancestry at all, but merely born in India - remaining a well-debated topic to this day. But, as I said, my family is of mixed heritage, so we are AI's by blood.
For the last decade, I've spent a great deal of time compiling my research into an electronic tree for my living relatives to have access to, and have "branched" out in finding out more information on my mom's side of the family, as well as my in-laws'. Because of this, my tree has well over 1,000 entries! I prefer using Geni as a free user. It is amazing how many people have since contacted me on a regular basis because of it! So many photos, stories, and names have been learned, as with the above photo of my mom's paternal grandma, my great-grandma Edna. I'd like to think I inherited something of her features. She was a spunky lady who as a nurse, was a midwife to the Nizam's wives! Her father was Scottish, but he died when she and her sister were quite young. Her mother, (who then remarried to a widower of several children), was of English heritage, and in fact even has some ties to the family of Windsor!
Overall, this hobby of mine has truly given me a deeper appreciation of what I've considered family to mean, and has paved the way for my love of reading to morph into a love for historical fiction, family recipes, and travel shows. It's a link to the past in a very personal way when I can read about what life was like for my ancestors, sample their favorite meals, or visit where they've been. It makes one realize just how small the world used to be, and how much time has marched on since then.
So when it comes to embracing culture, I'm all for it! Anything German, Indian, Irish, Scottish, English, Portuguese, or even Czech (from my inlaws) I'm in. It's not always easy to find information on missing links to your tree, or obtaining accurate records. Unfortunately, natural disasters, wars, and mishaps in record-keeping have remained obstacles. Plus, I'm not able to go to the places of my ancestors on a whim, so the Internet is my tool of choice. Preferably on the cheap (i.e. FREE). So sites where I continue to have luck with finding family include Ancestory, WikiTree, and the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Search engines can be extremely helpful. Sometimes entering family names, full names, or key bits of info can lead you to a wealth of information. I've learned a few tricks, such as with adding "obituary" to a name search - which has helped me find both living and deceased relatives - and naming geographical locations or schools, to bring up entries in society journals, maps, forums, newspaper articles, and yearbooks.
To me, one of the most meaningful things that sums up family and has captured my interest is the Tree of Life. Have you seen depictions of it before? They are absolutely stunning, especially these Pinterest projects and decor:
Tree of Life Jewelry Holder/Wall Art
Tree of Life Suncatcher
Tree of Life Pendant
If you have Tree of Life trinkets, pics, and other doo-dads, or are a genealogy buff like me, feel free to comment below! I'd love to hear from you!
