# 38 WHY I WRITE FAMILY STORIES

 

Thanks to my family and friends who have read, commented on, and supported me in my family history blogging. 

The stories are intended as a  gift to my Gaggle of Grands.

 This article has an important message about the value of family history.

We All Carry Inside Us The People Who Came Before Us 

 OCTOBER 15, 2023 ~ CHIDDICKS FAMILY TREE

The spirit of our ancestors lives on in each and every one of us, whether it’s common family traits, inherited talents and skills or just family likeness, our ancestor’s DNA is represented in all of us. Family History is more than a series of documents and certificates, it’s a living, breathing entity and it’s the fabric of who we are……..

Our family history goes beyond the names and dates we find in our tree. It’s the people and relationships, both past and present, that make us who we are. It’s about discovering our ancestors who lived and breathed and suffered and triumphed in exactly the same way that we do. It’s about roots and connections that have been passed down through the generations that make us who we are today. So how do we ensure that this legacy continues from generation to generation? It’s by hearing and sharing the stories of our families and learning of the hardships they faced that helps us develop understanding, compassion, and empathy for them.

Think of each family story as a single thread which is woven into the tapestry of life, a tapestry woven with rich beautiful colours and designs. Like the tapestry, each story is an individual unique piece, but it is the whole, the complete picture of family life that makes the tapestry complete. When we hear the stories of family members who have gone before us, we often learn that, although they are centuries apart, the struggles that we are experiencing in our own lives today, are in many ways mirrored by the struggles that our ancestors also faced. Your ancestors would have faced terrible tragedies and heartache. They may have faced things that seemed almost impossible to overcome. But they did overcome them. Learning about their stories and how they got through difficult times can give us the courage that we need to keep going and make us more resilient when faced with similar challenges. There is an old saying that to understand a person we need to walk in their footsteps and it is researching our family history that allows us to do this. The more we learn about our ancestors the more we understand about ourselves. When we learn about our ancestor’s lives and hear their stories we can see that life does bring challenges and disappointments and even inequalities and emotional heartbreaks. Learning the history of our ancestors helps us gain a greater understanding of the challenges they faced, and it often inspires greater love and compassion for their flaws and mistakes. There is a story to be told behind every document that you find and every discovery that you make. But behind all of these stories and discoveries are real people, your flesh and blood and it’s by remembering their stories that helps to keep their memories alive.

 The more we discover about our past, the greater a connection we feel to our ancestors. As we record our own history, we also begin to open the door for future generations to connect with us when we are gone. We sometimes forget that we are ancestors ourselves to the next generation. Think about how you connect with your family today, parents, children, siblings, is it any different from how our ancestors connected? We share stories, pictures and videos today that capture almost every moment of our lives, trapped in a lens. Did our ancestors share these very same moments together, albeit not captured by the technology that we have today? Knowing, recording, and preserving your family history directly impacts you, your family, and even future generations of people you may never know. You are the legacy for the generations that follow you.

Understanding, recording, preserving, and sharing our family histories can provide us with a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors, but more importantly, it can give us giving us a stronger understanding of who we are and can help us with our own identities. Learning about your family’s history is the key to unlocking who you are. Family history is more than pedigree charts, censuses, and birthdates, it’s about who we are and where we came from. Each and every one of us are the product of people we have never met, but it’s understanding their lives that gives us a much deeper understanding of who we are. Family History is more than a collection of names and dates, it’s about real people and their stories and it’s those stories that connect us to our past, our present and our future………

Dedicated to: