The Real Reason We Do What We Do

I like to think that most of my blog posts are well researched, thought out and reviewed several times before I share them. I pride myself in not just sharing the story, but the facts. However, this one is a little different. Tonight I received a reminder of the real reason that we, as genealogists, do what we do.

I was saying goodnight to my 13-year old daughter Chloe and we were having a conversation, honestly, I'm not even sure how it started. Just one of those late night mother daughter conversations. She said something about us having an uncle that was also a great great grandpa and giggled. I laughed and said, well actually... now that you mention it.... we do have a family history story something like that.

Shared with the permission of my beautiful daughter Chloe Walbecq

She rolled over covered up and I'm pretty sure I caught an eye roll. But she was still listening.

So I began telling her the story of my grandpa Alexander McKenzie and his uncle/step-grandfather. I knew she was tired, but she listened.

Then I showed her the picture of Loretta (Ward) King McKenzie and her second husband Lawrence "Spin" McKenzie. My grandpa McKenzie's mother in-law and uncle/step-grandpa. She said to me, it seems like we have a lot of tough-looking women on that side of the family. I told her, yes we do, but they didn't just look tough, they had to be tough.

At this point, Chloe is laying down in bed and obviously tired, but I'm a genealogist and there was a story to be told. So I started to tell her the stories.

I told her about Mary Anna (Faught) McKenzie, her 3rd great grandmother, who overcame many struggles in her life, from losing her mother before the age of five, being separated from her father and raised by her grandparents, and losing her husband Alexander McKenzie at the age of 56, leaving Mary Anna with seven children to raise and a farm to run.

I also told her about the blog post I wrote about other strong women in our family. Built on a Strong Foundation: The Women that Came Before Me.

Of course, at this point, Chloe's eyes were almost closed and she says to me, "mom, I'm tired". So I gave in, I wasn't going to keep her awake any longer.

So, did I tell this story to prove that I am the typical boring mother that every teenager complains about? No, I shared this story to prove that all of the hard work that we go through as genealogists, the endless hours of research, is worth it. Why? Because someday, my daughter will be able to share these stories with her children, because I took the time to write them down, took the time to "bore my children to death" with my endless stream of knowledge of ancestor's birth and death dates, census records, photographs, trips to the library and cemetery, and most importantly the stories of their ancestors. Those 15 - 20 minutes that I was able to share with my daughter when she was tired but still listening, is what makes it all worth it. It the real reason we do what we do... as genealogists.