In Search of the 4th of July

In search of the 4^th of JULY   

When I think of the Fourth of July, I think of people gathered around the grill in the back yard or on the beach, the smell of hotdogs permeating the air, kids splashing in the pool or the surf, sounds of shouts and laughter all around.  And that is how it was always supposed to be.  When our founders created this new country, when all the papers were signed and the United States of America was established and legitimate, one of them said that they had done such a marvelous thing that it should be celebrated with “shouts and illuminations” for all time.  And that is what we do.  Although I doubt many, today, think about what it is they are celebrating with their hotdogs and beer and fireworks.  We have grown away from our past.  We don’t remember who we are.  We are rather lost!

But this is our job, the job of genealogists everywhere, to remind people of who we are, where we came from, the terrible places we left, the horrible passages across the oceans of the world that we endured, all in the effort to get to this new place where men were free to make something of themselves, and most highly treasured of all – the ability to own their own piece of land.  Whether we were escaping insane despots, home places devastated by war, starvation under an uncaring regime, whatever the reason, the idea that there was a place somewhere that would let a man be as much as he could achieve by his hard work, and possess his very own piece of this place, that was what drove us on.  Because, unless you are a Native American, you have come from somewhere else to get here.  Whether your people were in the first waves of the 1600 and 1700s, or the vast migrations of the early 1900s, or possibly just yesterday, they were all following the same dream.

Children are not taught history today, or not true history.  They get some watered-down version of liberalized political correctness. They are not taught to value our country’s history or their own personal history. It is not until they are older that they might begin to think about WHO they are, WHERE they have come from, WHAT their ancestors were seeking.  Some people never come to this point.  They are dead to their pasts.  They are drifting free in space, they have no roots.

It is for us, the genealogists, to ferret out every tiny piece of information we can find:  the seventeenth and eighteenth century ship passenger manifests of all the poor souls stuffed down in the dark, airless, disease-ridden hole, the lists of men standing on the dock in Philadelphia, or New York, or Charleston, swearing the Oath of Allegiance to this British Colony and the King of England; or to delve through the incredulous files at Ellis Island for the thousands who later came through there.  To examine the ancient dusty records in the courthouses across the land, finding land grants, deeds, crumbling proofs that they DID own that piece of dirt; that is our purpose.  To find the census records showing families together, the children’s names, when they were born, where they lived.  To dig out the certificates proving when we did arrive here, or that we were born here, were baptized here, got married here, died here, and were buried here - and all the things we did in between - that is our job!

When we can present a record of a family down through the ages, we have accomplished our raison d'être.  our reason for being.  Whether we can take them back to ancient Europe, or only to the early nineteenth century, we have done our work.  And there is always the continued pursuit to look forward to.  This is an open-ended thing.  It goes on forever, and our work is never finished.  There is always tomorrow, or rather for the genealogist, there is always yesterday!

Happy hunting, and on this Fourth remember who you are, where you came from, and where you are going.

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Coming up I will ponder the mysteries we all pursue in research, meander through my mind where whispers of long passed relatives reach out to me, and get down to the "nitty-gritty" hard work involved in this endeavor called GENEALOGY.  Hope you find it interesting and come back to me if you have comments on these subjects or find some connection in my family lines.  See My Family Lines tab at the top.  

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We have a genealogy forum every Tuesday in Belmont, NC.  If you live nearby, come join us from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the J.Paul Ford Recreation Center at 37 E. Woodrow Ave.  Right now, once a month our meeting is devoted to learning to make short personal videos to be inserted into family trees, facebook postings, blogs, YouTube, etc. Our resident guru Jim Antley is teaching us loads of new talents.  During other meetings we explore all aspects of genealogy research including storage possibilities, story telling/sharing, genealogy technology, brickwall help, etc .   Find us at:  http://belmontgenealogyclub.blogspot.com/ .  Of course, when a member in the group needs help, or if someone new comes along with a problem, a "brickwall" or such, we drop what we are doing and all jump in  to explore with them.  Lots of fun!

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Robert Carpenter has announced his annual class for Beginning Genealogy at Gaston College in Dallas.  Starting Thursday Sept. 19 through Nov. 21, 2013 (10 sessions) from 7 - 9 p.m. on Thursday nights.  WHO SHOULD SIGN UP?  Any person interested in learning about genealogical research regardless of your level of experience.  Emphasis will involve research strategies, introducing students to various sources, deciphering documents, and will conclude with a trip to the State Archives in Raleigh.  Anyone with questions about signing up should contact Robert  by email at  rcarpenter2@charter.net.  As one who has been there, I can tell you this is a marvelous class for beginners and intermediates.  Robert is considered to be one of the foremost historians for Lincoln and Gaston Counties, and his head is full of wonderful genealogical "stuff!"  He is currently a professor of history at Belmont Abbey College.

SIGN UP by contacting Gaston College at 704-922-6251 or 704-922-6353 or Email Beth Hollars at hollars.beth@gaston.edu.  They are busy running all over the school so be persistent in calling.  If you leave your number, they will come back to you.

Robert has an Advanced Genealogy Class for 10 sessions starting late in January each year.  This class is so popular that previous students state that "they have failed the class" so that they can return each year, and there is a bunch who return each season to  experience the class again.  Take if from one who has "failed" over and over in order to take the class again.  And I’ll be there once more in January 2014!

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 There is also a new Genealogy Group formed in Gastonia, NC.  They meet the first Thursday of the month in the NC History Room, second floor, at the main Gaston Public Library on Garrison Street in Gastonia.  Meeting time 7:00 - 8:30.   Linda Klocker who has had previous groups in Belmont and in Mountain Island Lake will be leading this new venture.  Whether you are a beginner or an experienced searcher, come meet the group.

There was a nice turnout at the first meeting last month.

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