Were Your Ancestors Nobodies?

[@Lia_T]

Even "nobodies" deserve to be remembered, and even honoured. Our countries and heritage are founded on the work of ordinary people. By researching background of some of my ancestors I see one direct ancestor in London was a "Gentleman", but at least one granchild ended up in the workhouse. Financially their lives declined. Their lifestories are important. Many died sick and in poverty. My gt gt grandfather, descended from that family, emigrated and started a new family in New Zealand that subsequently did well. But he himself ended up dying in an infirmary for the indigent, after becoming estranged from his wife and children. We'll never know the story of why that happened and why he ended up in an unmarked grave. Some stories are not passed on or ever recovered. But his life contributed to mine. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Learning a bit more of the history of the time, family locations and migrations helps provide context to what might have happened. I can appreciate the struggles and difficult choices more.

[@ellensippel8413]

I feel like you do, the majority of my family may not be famous or wealthy but learning their stories I cherish them so much. For me that is what family history is all about. Learning and sharing their stories. I have family members that fought in every American war; I have farmers, preachers, teachers and roustabouts who worked in the oilfields in my ancestry. I have both slave owners and abolitionist among my ancestors. I have found people who have a true rag to riches story and a couple who blew the family fortune. One or two served in government and a few served time in prison. Some have lived very long lives, and many died young. It is sad to think about how many interesting things people could learn about their family if they would just do the research. Finally, to answer your question, do I have any "somebodies" in my family, I have not personally come across anyone of renown, but someone has traced my ancestry to the Proctor family of Salem Massachusetts. I am hoping to someday try and recreate their research and prove if John Proctor is my 7time great uncle. Thank you for posting an interesting topic and Merry Christmas.

[@roadtoyourfamilyhistory9987]

Thank you so much for your great comment, Ellen! I especially like that you are going to try and recreate research someone else has done in order to verify their findings. That's just another good reason for documenting your research. Thanks for watching!