Why Do You Do Genealogy #4

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Genealogy tip for today:  Why Do You Do Genealogy #4 – Crosses Generations

We have been talking in the last few posts about why people do genealogy. Is it really legit? Is it more than just a hobby or pastime? Is it important for everyone to do it? 

I think everyone should do it. But then, I’m a genealogist, too! Is it required? Well, no. ‘Is there any value to it?’ you may ask. Ah, now there’s where the importance comes in. There is a lot of value to doing it. You learn so many things about yourself and your family and it actually gives you a better understanding of people in general. 

You ever heard of the generation gap?  Genealogy crosses the generations. This is one if not the best way to leap that gap. What about the kid growing up in the inner city with no sense of self. This (genealogy) could help with that. It creates a bridge from the past to the future, from your grandparents to your grandchildren. It creates a story, a family legacy for future descendants.  It helps children to connect to their past, to history. It creates a sense of identity by helping them to know themselves by learning, and knowing about their ancestors.  

I like this one. It creates an activity that that is cross generational. Grandparents can get their grandkids interested in the past by sharing stories of when they were young, maybe. Or the grandchildren can engage their grandparents with questions of what it was like when they were little. Maybe they could work on a project together, doing the actual research. 

When your child comes home from school with an assignment about their family history, it helps them to tie into history because of the personal connections. It’s no longer “just homework” now – it becomes their personal identity instead. 

Just imagine this: Grampa sits in his rocking chair by the fire, with a blanket over his knees. His 12 year old grandson sits on the ottoman beside him.  

“Let me tell you about the time we stormed Normandy Beach. First we succeeded in fooling Hitler. He thought we were going to invade somewhere else because of the false information we leaked out.  

“The weather was cold, rainy and the ocean waves splashed up onto us as we stood ready, guns in hand, to start running ashore as soon as the Higgins boat landed and the front dropped down. My feet were already cold and the wind chilled to the bone. Yet here I was, in the third row, on the left end, eager to get going. 

“The boat hit sand with a thud, and the front dropped. We all surged forward. As I put my foot into the shallow water, all I could think of were the folks back home.”  

Can’t you just see the eyes of the child glued on every word his Grandpa is saying? What he doesn’t realize is he is learning not just history, but his family’s history, stories from the past that make him who he is today. Someday that same courage that Grampa showed may be what urges him on, in battles he may be thrust into.

 

History – it’s who we are; Genealogy – it’s who I am! sg

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 Maria Callas,  b. Dec 2, 1923

 

Today in History December 2 1804   Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral. 1805   Napoleon Bonaparte celebrates the first anniversary of his coronation with a victory at Austerlitz over a Russian and Austrian army. 1823   President James Monroe proclaims the principles known as the Monroe Doctrine, "that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by European powers." 1863   General Braxton Bragg turns over command of the Army of Tennessee to General William Hardee at Dalton, Ga. 1864   Major General Grenville M. Dodge is named to replace General William Rosecrans as Commander of the Department of Missouri. 1867   People wait in mile-long lines to hear Charles Dickens give his first reading in New York City. 1907   Spain and France agree to enforce Moroccan measures adopted in 1906. 1909   J.P. Morgan acquires majority holdings in Equitable Life Co. This is the largest concentration of bank power to date. 1914   Austrian troops occupy Belgrade, Serbia. 1918   Armenia proclaims independence from Turkey. 1921   The first successful helium dirigible, C-7, makes a test flight in Portsmouth, Va. 1927   The new Ford Model A is introduced to the American public. 1932   Bolivia accepts Paraguay's terms for a truce in the Chaco War. 1942   The Allies repel a strong Axis attack in Tunisia, North Africa. 1944   General George S. Patton's troops enter the Saar Valley and break through the Siegfried line. 1946   The United States and Great Britain merge their German occupation zones. 1964   Brazil sends Juan Peron back to Spain, foiling his efforts to return to his native land. 1970   The U.S. Senate votes to give 48,000 acres of New Mexico back to the Taos Indians. 1980   A death squad in El Salvador murders four US nuns and churchwomen. 1982   Dentist Barney Clark receives the first permanent artificial heart, developed by Dr. Robert K. Jarvik. 1993   NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavor on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 1999   UK devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive, the administrative branch of the North Ireland legislature. 2001   Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one of the most complex bankruptcy cases in US history.

Dr. Joseph Bell

 

Birthdays today

1837		Dr. Joseph Bell, British physician believed to be the prototype of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes.
1859		Georges Seurat, French painter, founder and leader of the Pointilism style.
1863		Charles Ringling, one of the seven Ringling brothers of circus fame.
1884		Ruth Draper, actress and writer.
1885		Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer and lawyer (Zorba the Greek).
1896		Georgi Zhukov, Soviet general who captured Berlin during World War II.
1906		Peter Carl Goldmark, engineer, developed the first commercial color television and the long-playing phonograph record.
1912		Henry Armstrong, the only boxer to hold three titles simultaneously.
1925		Alexander Haig, American army general and Secretary of State for President Ronald Reagan.
1948		T. Corgaghessan Boyle, novelist and short story writer (Water Music).
1939		Harry Reid, politician; the Nevada Democrat served as Senate Majority Leader (2007– ).
1944		Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (1992–2000) and was re-elected by parliament (2002–2006).
1954		Stone Phillips, Emmy-winning journalist; co-anchor of Dateline NBC.
1963		Ann Patchett, author; her novel Bel Canto received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award (2002).
1981		Brittany Spears, singer, songwriter, actress; her … Baby One More Time (1999) became the best-selling album to date (2013) by a teenage solo artist.

 

 

Word for the Day

This week’s theme – illustrated words

felicitous

PRONUNCIATION:

(fi-LIS-i-tuhs)

 

MEANING:

adjective: 1. Well suited. 2. Pleasing.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin felix (happy). Earliest documented use: 1641.

 

USAGE:

"As good actors age -- perhaps a more felicitous word would be mature -- they learn how to do more with less."
Charles Isherwood; A Literary Life Can Turn Lonely When the Cheering Stops; The New York Times; Apr 29, 2010.

Quote for the Day

We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and bones. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

 

 

 

Today’s Recipe

Holiday Cooking

Turkey leftover recipes
UPDATE: Link connected to this picture has been corrected.

 

 

 

This page has several ways to use leftover turkey. Click on the picture above and it will take you to the page that lists the different suggestions they have.

This casserole is good - I tried it myself.

 

 

ENJOY!

 

Now You Know!