Are you afraid of skeletons in your closet? Then stay away from genealogy!!! Because you are going to find them. My reason for doing genealogy is to feel a connection to the past. Thousands of people had to come together to make me who I am today. Where were they from, and what were their names? What were their lives like and what happened to them? How did they die? Did they live through wars, famines, floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, epidemics, abortions, miscarriages, etc? I don’t care if they were good or bad, I just want to know their story.
I found many skeleton’s in closets that at the time my ancestors hid. In today’s world some of them don’t seem so bad. There have been divorces, illegitimate children, affairs, desertion, suicides, and killings. If you are afraid of finding these things, stay away from genealogy! On the other hand, many people are looking for royalty, or want to be related to someone famous. Sometimes they are looking for a long lost inheritance. Many people come to genealogy because the family story has them related to someone famous. The most common one I have found is Daniel Boone. I swear everyone who has the surname Boone, thinks they are related to Daniel Boone. That’s almost as popular as the myth of being related to Pocahontas. Most people do not find famous people in their bloodlines. If you want to do genealogy because you think you are related to someone famous, you may be disappointed. But I can tell you the lives of ordinary people who did ordinary things can be interesting too. You never know what you will find.
Where do fit on the spectrum? Are you afraid of what you will find or are you looking for famous people or royalty in your bloodline? Maybe you are like me and just want to know where you come from. Where ever the facts lead you, you need to be willing to accept it. In genealogy we do not alter the facts to fit our narrative. The documented facts make our ancestor’s story.
Family Tales from Gail 
We think exactly alike.
The stories I have found I never wrote about on my blog. So many sad stories.
I do some and others I haven’t done so far and don’t know if I will.
We have loads of them in my family. The funniest thing is that my grandmother is very “proper” and most of the skeletons are on her side of the family!
Skeletons in the closet! I always enjoy your info about your family and your searches. Interesting thing is that as rare as Zabojnik sounds, it is rather well known. My ancestor, if I trace it back that far, was either an ax murderer, a highwayman, or a Robin Hood character…depending on who is doing the telling. The Polish have songs about him. I think to scare kids into good behavior. Sort of the Boogeyman idea. If you don’t behave Zabojnik will get you. There are some statues of him in Slovakia or the Czech Republic since the Slovak and Czech kids think of him as a legendary folk hero. I do have a copy of a movie about him but since it is in Slovak or Czech I haven’t been able to watch and understand. I think this movie is a parody but there are others including cartoon features of some of his heroic actions. I did find out that my father carried on a minor, less violent tradition. He was to take some of his father’s cattle to market and he did. Then took the money and bought passage to the United States So Dad was a cattle rustler. My skeleton in my closet.
Funny story! You should start a blog. I will have to remember about the Zabojnik. Too bad I didn’t know this when my kids were young, I could have scared them with a Zabojnik instead of the boogeyman. lol
Pingback: NaPoWriMo – Day 18 – “Synthesizing The Sound Of The Eighties” by David Ellis | toofulltowrite (I've started so I'll finish)
Pingback: Almost 2018 Happy New Year! | Family Tales from Gail