Genealogy Rant

Since I wrote about genealogy in my last post, I figured I might as well add a few rants, as well. If anyone is considering researching their roots, you may want to take note of these things.

• Family Lore/Myths/Legends: Begin with the assumption that these are all FALSE. Approach them as you would a theorem you were trying to disprove. This way, you'll be pleasantly surprised if they're true, but you won't be overly disappointed when your ancestor turns out not to have been: an Indian princess, a Revolutionary War hero, landed on the shores of America on a boat made of banana leaves after their ship was attacked by an infamous pirate, or pretty much anything other than someone trying to persevere through the difficult and trying times humans have faced throughout history.
• Other Researcher's Trees: Don't rely on trees that others have created without verifying the details for yourself. Chances are that your four times great grandmother did not have twenty children from the age of thirteen through fifty-five. I can't believe how many trees I find that attribute children to women who were most likely well past child-bearing age (or in some extreme cases - death). Even if she hadn't gone through menopause yet, the odds of becoming pregnant decreased substantially as she aged (and of course, became impossible after she died), making it unlikely that she had those eight kids while in her forties and fifties. Chances are that some of those late in life or postmortem children were actually grandchildren.
• Spelling: Look, it's more than likely that you have a number of illiterate ancestors in your tree. It doesn't mean they were stupid. Times were tough. Many of them either had no opportunity to get an education or were forced by circumstances to leave school in order to help the family survive by going to work. Keeping this in mind, don't be surprised when the spelling of your family's name changes from one census to another. Your ancestor may have not known how to spell or the census taker may have spelled it wrong (just 'cause they were taking the census didn't mean they were good spellers), particularly in the case of ethnic names that were being pronounced for them by immigrants. If a German pronounced a 'w' as a 'v', your census taker may have transcribed a 'v'. I wouldn't waste time pondering the mystery of why they changed their name. It could just be spelling. And then there's the famous story of lazy immigration officers who changed names to make them easier to spell or pronounce. I'm not sure how much of that I believe; it may have been a contributing factor, but I tend to think a lot of it was due to communication difficulties.
• Census Errors: Census takers were human. They made mistakes. Some were lazy. I found an ancestor who was listed as married (and her husband was there, too) for one year. Her age? Two. Now, maybe it's just me but ... really? Two? I know they married younger back then, but that's just ridiculous. What's worse is that the particular census in question listed both the age and the year and still got it wrong, making me believe the the census taker only asked for ages and then determined year off of that later on. (For the record, she was 21.) Keep a calculator handy and check things out for yourself. Also, keep in mind, that the age could be wrong by at least one year in either direction, depending on the actual birth date of your ancestor and the date on which the census was taken.
• Ethnic Makeup: Be prepared to find an unexpected ethnicity or nationality in your tree, especially in America, where different immigrant groups met and lived in similar areas. Don't bemoan the lack of 'purity' in your line (what a silly concept, we are all human, that is the only thing that matters). Embrace the fact that varying the gene pool makes for healthy babies - and has made you the person you are today!
• Birthplace: I was astonished when I began researching my tree that none of my ancestors seemed to know where they were born! The state/country sometimes changed from one census to another. I chalk most of this up to a mistake by the census taker or the fact that counties/states were still dynamic and being created. Someone may have been born in one state or county, only to have it turn into a different state when the borders changed. As for differing countries, I tend to think it was census taker error or laziness, although imagine what will happen a hundred years from now when people of Eastern European descent try to research their trees. It wasn't too long ago that the walls in former Communist countries came down and countries returned to their original, pre-Soviet influence borders. I can only wonder what the effect of all that will be on future genealogists.
• Your Ancestors May Have Been Liars: I don't mean malicious liars. I had a grandmother that tried to pronounce her Irish name in an Anglican way. Times were tough for the Irish then and she was just trying to help her family survive. Also, keep in mind, that coming to America was a way for many to start over. Stigmas that may have been attached to a certain name could be avoided in America by using a different name, especially if they were living in an Ethnic community that may not have known them, but might know the history of their name. I read once that some Italians changed their names because they emigrated prior to completing mandatory military service (I have no idea if that's true, but it's an example of why your ancestor may have lied).
• Pleasant Surprises: Every once in a while, fate throws you a bone. I found the name of my second great grandfather's mother on his marriage certificate. I was disappointed at first because the spelling and pronunciation was so bizarre that I was certain it was a transcription error by a city clerk. I tried looking up the name I thought it might be with little success. I then tried the actual bizarre spelling from the record and lo and behold there she was! It made it easier to trace her parents' names, as well, since the spelling was so unusual.
• Peripheral Family Members: Don't ignore brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors. Some people only list their direct line, however, I found at least one great-something grandmother's maiden name by finding the grandmother living with my direct ancestor's sibling on a census. If I'd only looked at my direct ancestor's records, I would not have found her.

Enjoy researching your tree. It can give you a great appreciation for certain historical periods and events that you may have cared little before in the past. Plus, it's actually kind of fun - so long as you're not counting on finding a famous general or member of royalty/nobility.

Haunted by Genealogy

I became interested in my family tree about three years ago. Sadly, my father (God rest his soul) was already quite ill and unable to answer my questions. I would give anything to be able to go back and ask him more about his youth.

He was born in the mountains of southwest Virginia and the family moved to coal mining territory in West Virginia when he was very young. I do remember some stories: about the family legend that his grandfather (as a boy back in Virginia) was in his front yard when Jesse James came through the town and shot a bullet into the fence, about how everything in the West Virginia town was coated in a fine layer of coal dust, about he and his brothers would shuck peas by putting them in baskets and rolling them down the mountain - much to his mother's chagrin, and about how he and his brothers were feeding the chickens on a neighboring farm at the same time as an escape from a prison camp nearby and when they went to feed them, heard a noise and called out, "who's there?" only to have a voice say, "nobody but us chickens" causing them to run screaming for the hills (literally). How much of it all is true, I'll never know.

What I do know is that doing his family tree gave me a huge sense of appreciation for what his ancestors did. They settled in the New World before there was a United States. Almost every one of my paternal ancestors from the late 1700s is listed as a patriot on the Daughters of the American Revolution rolls, including at least one or two who actually fought in the military. The family history is filled with Indian massacres, abductions (including at least one direct ancestor who was kidnapped by the Indians in the late 1700s - Cherokee by family accounts but could have been Shawnee, too, and returned to white civilization with her Indian child in tow), railroad accidents, and other trials related to westward expansion.

When I started watching Justified - finally got the DVDs this past year, I was surprised to realize that I had an ancestor born in Harlan, KY, the county where the show takes place. I haven't been back to the mountains of West Virginia in more years than I care to count and I was only ever a visitor, but I still find myself nostalgic for it. For the family bibles with generations of ancestors listed, for the photo albums full of pictures of loved ones in their caskets (something that the Appalachians share with my maternal Irish ancestors), for my grandmother's cooking, for traipsing up the side of a mountain only to step in an ant's nest and have to run screaming back to the house, and for an extended family that spanned generations and I've completely lost touch with. And like many others who came from the coal mining region, Grandpa got his black lung check 'til the day he died, and he and my grandmother made sure they sent all their children to college so they could get out.

My advice to everyone is sit with your grandparents or aging parents now and get all you can from them regarding your family roots. Otherwise, the day you decide you want to know where you come from, it may already be too late.

Life Imitating Art: Why cats make it so hard to write

Do I really need to expand upon that? This is dedicated to anyone who thinks that my cats don't help me write! Actually, I write despite my cats not because of them. They are of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with a "+++6.;l" in the middle of a book. In fact, I probably should have typed all of Mrowley the cat's (from The Lost Mage and The Lightning Caller) dialogue that way. Of course, only other computer users that are also cat lovers would have understood.

It should also be noted that their very cat essence means they must stand, arch their backs in a cat yoga stretch, and spin around several times before laying back down in the SAME EXACT position they were in before they got up. (Two of them did exactly that in the frustratingly long time it took me to type that sentence around their cat antics.)

Someone thought this picture looked good enough to recreate. Actually, this is a daily occurrence, although usually that gray paw is extended off the edge where it rests on the keyboard, adding the occasional 'f' or 'g' to words. I'm not sure what my desk looks like without its 'cat covering' anymore.

Never Thought I'd Miss the East German Judge

Hmm, Olympic competition has changed. I used to love watching the gymnastics. The All-Around was fun, but back in the days of the Cold War, the team competition was the one I liked. Not that the United States ever had much success. We just couldn't compete with a system that took promising young athletes and offered (okay - offered is probably not the right word, but you get the picture) them state-sponsored training. Of course, we in the decadent West spread rumors that their families would be harmed if they didn't do well - that's (probably) an exaggeration, but I'm pretty sure there were plenty of real incentives for them to do well.

Anyway, when the Wall came down, many of the successful coaches and athletes from the sport emigrated to the West, to the benefit of our gymnasts.

All of that aside, though, watching gymnastics today is a completely different animal. The sport has completely changed, and though I love watching them do those big tricks, I miss the days of artistry and expression in the dance, especially on the floor. Too many times these days, it appears that they're just waving their arms around in between tumbling passes and none of it has anything at all to do with the music they've selected. I mean when I'm pretty sure I could dance better, something's wrong.

And then there's the move from team to specialists. So you now have a gymnast who is only really good on one event on the team. I don't know - just doesn't seem to meet the spirit of a team competition. In the good old days, you had six team members and ALL SIX performed on every piece of apparatus. Sure, you dropped the lowest score, but that still meant that five of the six had to hit and do it well to win. As a spectator, I understood what was going on, what was good and what was bad. They even had to do compulsory exercises. That was a true measure of the mastery of basic skills. Everyone did the same routine, and it counted toward the overall team score.

Nowadays, you have only five girls, not all of whom are required to perform on all events. And one day, they drop a score, the next they all count. I don't like it. I feel completely disconnected with the new scoring system. I understand it, I just don't like it. I know they felt the need to distinguish more difficult skills from those doing simpler routines, but frankly, I miss the artistry of a simpler, very clean routine. Heck, I can't even follow some of the moves now. I sit there thinking was that two twists or three? And how many times did they flip?

Now that I've bashed the sport itself, it's time for the coverage. In the 2012 Olympic All Around, the last American went and they showed the team waiting ... waiting ... and waiting. I'm there holding my breath along with the girls. Finally, they announce that the Americans won the gold, but they NEVER showed Alexandra Raisman's score! We actually had to go look it up on-line.

So, why do I miss the East German judge? Because I'm sorry to say I miss Soviet era competition. The perfection of the Communist gymnasts was amazing. Of course, I'm sure that the East Germans knew that beating the Soviets would probably result in the leveling of East Berlin or something, but they tried to beat everyone else (as witnessed by an East German judge getting a half point taken off the American's score in the '88 Olympics, costing them the bronze medal).

I'm still amazed at the effect the Communist Bloc had on everything. I can't help but think that a twenty-year old who watches When Harry Met Sally these days won't have a clue as to what Harry is talking about when he shares his dream in which the East German judge gave him poor marks on his performance based on his dismount (if I'm remembering the dialog correctly).

I also loved reading Cold War novels: LeCarre, Buckley and Deighton ... awesome. And let's not forget one of my favorite movies of all time: Gotcha. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it. I especially love the civil service workers on both sides of the Wall.

So, gymnastics these days? I can't quite rate it cool beans. Maybe frigid beans, but those are still cold, which is similar to cool. Tell you what, I'll give it cool beans, and we'll add frigid beans to show all of the difficulty, but then there are tons of hot beans for things such as, not allowing us to see all of the top gymnasts in the all-around competition because of limit per country rules, for a scoring system that you need an advanced degree or years of experience to understand, for stealing a silver medal from the British team and for horrible media coverage that makes it nearly impossible to follow what's really going on.

Oh yeah, and someone tell the media to stop televising the agonized faces of athletes that have experienced an injury, a mistake, a lost race, a fall ... whatever. Give them some privacy!