I hate genealogy. It just seems so racist to me. I remember walking into peoples houses when I was a kid and seeing the montage on the wall of how they supposedly linked into some king of England and the coat of arms, or the clan they supposedly belong to.
America is suppose to be a classless society where lineage isn't talked about or isn't suppose to matter. Europe is suppose to be forgotten. But it isn't in the Mormon Church. In Mormondom it's all about worshipping the dead (only those from certain places of course) and lording it over everyone at every chance a person gets.
I know in my own family I come from a bunch of no good degenerates who were frequently interested in who knows what. Much of the population is in that category and have no more interest in genealogy than a passing curiosity. But Mormonism pretends everyones got a good family tree, and we should "save our dead" I'd prefer my people to burn in Hell though. And mormons can't understand that?
As a nevermo, I like genealogy for its own sake. I see it as a personal way to connect to history. In terms of "family," it probably loses its meaning the further back you go. But I also see commonalities with ancestors which have been passed down, including a sense of adventure, a willingness to pick up roots when necessary, a certain mental toughness, and in some cases, leadership ability. One interest/ability that has been passed down from the early days is seafaring.
Personally I think it loses meaning ny the time you get to your grandparents' grandparents. Many of us knew our grandparents, and they could well have known theirs, so there is a single link there.
But your grandparents' grandparents' grandparents? There are so many of them, and it is unlikely you will ever have met anyone who knew them.
Grandparents' grandparents -- by that point, they no longer feel like immediate family to me, just more of a far-flung relation. But when I get a free minute I will be exploring the quesiton of whether or not one of my maternal grandmother's grandparents was Jewish, as DNA testing may indicate. If so, it would go a long way toward explaining why my grandmother left Russia as a teenager at a time of pogroms in her vicinity. She told me that she had to escape across a border under cover of darkness in order to start to make her way here. I'm trying to piece together the clues as to what drove her to immigrate.
I would also like to learn as much as possible about an ancestor who was a Revolutionary War soldier. He died in battle leaving behind a one-year old daughter who was born in 1776. I've learned something about the battle he died in, and I find the history facinating. Again, genealogy can help people to make a personal connection to historical events. But I agree, it's not for everyone.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2019 08:31AM by summer.
How is genealogy "racist"? Everyone has genealogy, does mean that everyone is a horrible racist on this Earth?
The USA is also not a classless society. It never has been, despite protestations to the opposite. Washington came from the Engliah aristocracy. Look at all the political dynasties who pop up again and again in US politics - the Keans, the Kennedys, the Bushs etc etc.
For what it's worth, my genealogy is no big deal. I do have some royalty if I go back far enough. I am related to a B or C-list actor who is probably completely unaware of my existence, although we share a common ancestor within the last century.
None of this bothers me. I'm still rhe same person regardless, but it's interesting.