What have you personally gained through learning about your family history?

Question:I think there's a sense of the temporary nature of the human condition.

To think that all of these quite ordinary and yet amazing people were part of the fabric that is scientifically known as your gene pool but extends much further than that, is quite an amazing sensation.

There's also a sense of discovery. A puzzle around every corner.

But most of all for me, I discovered that my family really did exist! I knew nothing of them as my father grew up in an orphanage and my mother never really talked to or about her family. I'm able now to tell my children where they came from. Each of their ancestors has a unique story. Convicts, free settlers, gamblers, drunks, hunters, bible-bashers, policemen ... it's kind of like one of those spaghetti westerns but these people were real.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I think there's a sense of the temporary nature of the human condition.

To think that all of these quite ordinary and yet amazing people were part of the fabric that is scientifically known as your gene pool but extends much further than that, is quite an amazing sensation.

There's also a sense of discovery. A puzzle around every corner.

But most of all for me, I discovered that my family really did exist! I knew nothing of them as my father grew up in an orphanage and my mother never really talked to or about her family. I'm able now to tell my children where they came from. Each of their ancestors has a unique story. Convicts, free settlers, gamblers, drunks, hunters, bible-bashers, policemen ... it's kind of like one of those spaghetti westerns but these people were real.

An understanding of why I am like I am- I blame the parents!

Nothing, haven't tried it yet!
Would like to start but need info from my mother's friend. My mum passed away 11 years ago and as my own family have grown in numbers it's quite important that I get this info.
It is a difficult question that I need the answer to and I'm not too sure how to approach it.
Perhaps when I'm feeling totally POSITIVE I may give my mum's friend a ring and pop the question.
Good luck with your search

For me it's been a sense of belonging. We left Indiana when I was barely 5, only went back twice. I got to meet my Grandmothers (both one time) when I was 9. Sad to say, at 9, your not to interested in family history. I'm a change-of-life baby, there was 13 years between me and the youngest of my siblings. The other 3 kids grew up knowing all of these people, I didn't. Now all of my family is gone, I have my children and grandchildren left.
I would really like to have as much of our family history done before I pass away, and hopefully if it's not done, one of my children or grandchildren will want to finish it.
Also, it's the hunt. I absolutely love finding someone new. I have hit a wall with the 2 grandmothers, but will continue searching. I've also met a great 3rd or 4th cousin, who generously shared his information on my grandfathers side. It's an adventure, very satisfying, and sometimes frustrating, but always worth the work.

For me it's where I came from...what kind of people were in my family...fascination to see just who you are related to. My mother has done geneology for years. She traced part of her family all the way back through the Bible! My dad's family is harder to trace since German records were pretty much destroyed in WWII. But I will keep trying!

I have gained a sense of gratitude for their accomplishments despite their being poor and lacking education.

I majored in history in college. What I learned there pales in comparison to what I've learned about history and humanity since I've been studying genealogy.

I've also learned to chide myself as being a modern-day spoiled brat whenever I get lazy and feel entitled to have something go my way.

These people in our past were truly amazing in all ways.

I discovered I am related to Eudora Welty. She is a ninth cousin on my Dad's Dad side. I posted a question on a geneaology site and have received an email requesting her genealogy.

A sense oh humbleness and a feeling of where I fit in the overall scheme of things.

It is also a constant history lesson, but now viewed with an eye to what it was like for my ancestors over the centuries, their privations, their travails, their joys, there accomplishments, how they lived--and how they died.

Knowledge and understanding.