Know where you come from

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   Kathryn Brianneposted 11 years ago

   
   To me personally, knowing my ancestry is something that has intrigued me for as long as I can remember. Seeing where my family comes from is such an amazing and interesting thing, that it actually helped me out it school. I retained more information in my history and English classes because we would discuss various events or literary works from the countries my ancestors came from. It fascinated me. This was important in my life because of the fact that I struggled in school due to a reading disability that prevents me from retaining what I read, but knowing where I came from,where my ancestors came from, helped me connect to the material, it boosted my confidence.
   
   Knowing where I came from was not just cool for me on an educational level,it was astounding to me on a cultural level as well. For example: I am 1/4 Irish, 1/4 English, 1/4 Scottish, and 1/4 German; with this information I am able to understand why it look the way I do, why I am prone to different things (such as alcoholism, sunburns, freckling, and so on) this is useful information for me to have in the future so I can better care for myself, and my future children.
   
   So let me pose a question for you. Do you know where you come from?

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   1. 0

      sheilamyersposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I love researching my family genealogy and learning about my ancestors! I've traced both my parent's main line back to when they came over to America from Germany back in the 1700s before we even became the United States. I didn't really like studying history in school, but now I'm learning so much about it on all levels.

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2. 73

   Loto-Triforceposted 11 years ago

   I became really interested in my genetic background a few years back. My great grandfather on my paternal side was a famous poet in California so it was easy to trace back even a few generations ahead of him. From the east coast of the US, but further back it's Welsh and German. On the other side of my family French/Spanish.
   
   I wasn't able to get anything useful as far as my genetic makeup goes that would help me in everyday life, but it's still interesting to know for me

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3. 77

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   Family history has been a hobby of mine for many years.  I've even written some hubs on finding your roots, and how to use the forms to keep your records straight.
   
   Sometimes you find very interesting and surprising things, such as my ancestor who was in the Civil War, and was injured in the retreat from the Battle of Hanover Courthouse.
   But wait a moment--this guy was a Quaker, from a family of long-standing Quakers; a religious group vehemently opposed to war for any reason.  So what was this ancestor doing in a battle?  I'll probably never know the answer to that, but it was an interesting tidbit to flesh out who these people were.
   
   As for the DNA testing now available, I'd love to be able to do that, but for now, it is cost-prohibitive for me.

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      Solarasposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have a friend that did this DNA test with her sisters.  She and her family believed they were Palestinian as they came from Jordan.  When the test results came back, there was no Arabic heritage to them at all.  They were Jewish. The girls opted not to tell their 89 year old father. They felt it would be too big of an adjustment for him to absorb.
      But they felt the results answered some questions for them too...
      
      I think it raises some interesting questions about the conflicts in that area as well.

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