Julian Carter wrote:A couple of months ago, I wrote:I had fun going through this list, but like Disney's Divinity I couldn't help wondering how you guys know your race so well. I don't, as you'll see in my details.
Will anyone explain? I am curious.
Just from talking with my mother mostly... She knew a bit about my father's side, and knew quite a bit about her side of the family. Also, we had a couple of the geneology books for a few specific branches of the family. Be careful though, there are some "geneology" books that are nothing more than a generalized book on geneology, with an insert containing names and addresses of everyone with that last name, copied out of the phone books.
Also, in my case, it isn't that I know intimate details about my great great grandfather on my mother's side who happened to be Irish (or whatever), it's more that I know in general that my mother's side of the family happened to come from England a couple of centuries ago, and they also had Irish and Scottish blood, and I know that my father's mother had some German blood. Actually, the geneology books I have mostly seem to cover my mother's family AFTER they came to America.
BTW, people! Talk with your parents (and grandparents) about these things, before they are gone! You might be surprised with all that they can tell you about your heritage, or about their life growing up in a different period of time or even a different country!
If you're interested in Geneology, start writing all of this down! Obviously, you should know your birth date and location, and your parent's names. If you know where and when they were born, that's another step. If you happen to know their parents' names and birthdates, that will take you even further. Once you know some of that, there are websites and computer programs that have lots of birth records, census data, etc., that will help you start filling in the gaps. For instance, say if your dad is "Julian Carter Sr.", and you know when he was born, you might find a birth certificate that says "Julian Carter", born to Bob Carter and Sue Carter (nee Smith), then going back further you might find a wedding certificate for Bob Carter and Sue Smith, maybe with some information about their ages and/or parents. Then find their birth certificates, and so on.
Be careful, there are some websites that want to charge you a hefty monthly fee for some of this, not that they are necessarily scams, but they might be worth it to people who are REALLY into geneology.
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