26. The Eyes Glaze Over

 

I have been interested in genealogy for many years.  And, after I was able to retire, I was inspired to have some brain puzzles to attack.  I joined the local genealogical society and met some amazing researchers who shared my interest.  I learned so much from them directly as well as from the interesting speakers they arranged to visit our club and deliver presentations on Spanish American ancestry, Scots Irish ancestry, timelines, DNA, and a host of other fascinating topics.

 

I am having a wonderful journey of discovery and sharing.  However, I need to be careful.  In most social settings, folks will often ask “Well, what have you been up to these days?”  I launch into stories of my research, some of my new findings and the discoveries of others.  What have I learned of late is that not everyone is interested in genealogy?  

 

How can this be for one of the most popular hobbies in America (after gardening) and the second most popular search activity on Google (after pornography)?  Well, according to my dear wife “Not everybody cares about that stuff!”   Goodness, I must learn to talk more about golf.

 

But I have so many interesting findings to share.  For example, we have a murder saga in the family.  We also seem to have an inordinate number of premature babies.  We have Christian names being re-used in the same generation.  We have military medals from WWI and WWII.  My maternal grandmother was one of the 120,000 British Home Children, sent to Canada as youngsters to serve in some case as indentured servants until they reached 21 years of age. Cheap farm labor.  My paternal grandmother died of the infamous Swine Flu that swept the world in 1918 as the soldiers returned from the war, carrying the disease. She passed within weeks of my grandfather’s return, leaving him, virtually an invalid, to raise four small children.  One of Wendy’s ancestors was the Lord Chancellor of Ireland.  Not quite sure of the job description but it sure sounds impressive.  Another of Wendy’s ancestors emigrated to Ontario, only to die young from Malaria!  In Ontario; not some tropical jungle. So many stories and so many fascinating artifacts.  How can I not share some when the opportunity arises?  

 

 

 

 

Ron Gilmore

Email:         rvg3@me.com

Website:     https://www.rgenealogy.ca