Why Write a Family History
A family history can be a valuable resource in tough times, cementing your core identity and building resilience and compassion.
A family history is a variable resource, especially in tough times. The main reasons are core identity and your connection to others, resilience, self-worth, traditions, and empathy and compassion. There are small and even large events that affect your life right now. An understanding of your family history can either change or reinforce your political position. One example is the conservative position, which means you conserve things. What are you conserving? Conserving your family history is a good start. I, unwittingly, created a family tree and am writing the history of J.B Bauer family history. I thought one existed already. However, on my family tree are several family historians, so I guess I am the chosen one.
A family history can provide an anchor to your identity, the core of your being that may even cement your own faith, especially if you have a Jewish, Christian, or Muslim identity. Jesus, himself, had a genealogy found in the book of Matthew. Furthermore, it provides a connection to others and a place to belong. If you claim a proud German, Irish or Italian heritage, how do you know for sure what your ethnic identity really is without a well documented family history. It is quite possible to discover that your ethnic identity is much more complicated than your thought. In modern day America, our ethnic identities have become so mixed over the course of time that most of us are a combination of ethnicities. Your family grows as more people discover that they belong to your family as well. A family history fills and innate hole within ourselves, and may not discover that hole even exists until you actually encounter your own family history
Resilience is learned when you read your family history. We all think we know what our ancestors lived through in the past. However, we really don’t. Many things that were common in the past no longer exist in the twenty-first century. Sailing ships, military drafts, horse pulled transportation, and a fire hearth are not used on a daily basis all the time like it was in the past. Other countries in the past placed obligations upon their citizens in the past that we may find intrusive and unnecessary. In the past as a society we were required to find a way to get along with each other just to survive. The electronic revolution has isolated us from members of the community and has truncated our social skills. People have learned unhealthy social habits like shutting people out instead of discussing the problem and working something out. Communities in the past required all of the members to come together to work things out either in informal or formal community proceedings. When a crisis occurs and our circumstances change and we are in survival mode, looking back on our family history will provide the morale booster necessary to keep you going.
A deep sense of self worth is found in your family history. This goes deep and enables one to look beyond themselves to the actions of others without diminishing the importance of your own actions. A knowledge of one’s family history increases your sense of control over your life. One can see how their family survived during hard times and how they interacted with others which builds emotional health and happiness. There was once a time, before all types oof media and screens took over our life that people sat down with each and told stories of the people who came before them. Most of us associate this with Native American cultures, but it was common among all people. In the post war period and beyond, we have lost that sense of our connection to history. Today’s political and social environment has created a world where we are individuals floating in space with no connection to anyone or anywhere. The genealogical community offers many tools to right this wrong.
Compassion, empathy, and selflessness are developed by learning about those who you are descended from. One important subject not broached very often is what had to occur for you to not exist. One example would be John Baptist Bauer’s male lines. If he came on a different ship or decided to settle in England instead of the United States or even married in Germany, those family trees would no longer exist. How does this relate? When you contemplate the effort it took just to accomplish what was necessary to get from one place to another or to have enough food to survive the winter, just so you can stand here today is astounding. The more humans are exposed to learning about others either in family history or novels our ability to empathize and care for others increases. Unfortunately, we live in a society that has isolated us behind screens and technology and it has handicapped our youngest generations. It has fostered narcissism and self promotion among them where they are unable to empathize or sympathize with others, and we as a society have allowed that to happen. Our family history is one way to change this.
Selflessness goes beyond empathy and compassion to another level, where one takes action based on what they have learned. When one recognizes how what these people from our past went through and realizes the value in that, sometimes a sense of obligation is awakened. A pastor named William Dade, who had no family of his own, living in 18th century England left behind valuable resources for the ages. He included as much information as possible in the church registers as possible and encouraged others in the churches to do so. This is called genealogical consciousness, an awareness and a sense of responsibility to both the ancestors of the past and to future mankind. Acting on this has been referred to as altruistic selflessness, because William Dade did not benefit from his efforts at all but many others did. My hope is to have the J.B. Bauer family history in an easily accessible place for all his living descendants to find. I did not know a tree existed when I made one and the more digging I did, I discovered loads of information that was forgotten. While I do not believe most of the living descendants have no interest at all now, it does not mean that someone will become interested in the future. I have the skills, the tools, and the knowledge, so why not use it to give future generations a valuable resource pointing to who they are and where they came from. My biggest complaint has always been if you knew what I knew your mind would change. It is my responsibility to tell others what I know and place my knowledge in a public forum instead of complaining. People don’t understand you unless you explain yourself. I am extending this to others by also explaining the actions of our ancestors, by trying to understand their movies and actions.
I write and learn about the lives lived in the past because I genuinely like people, all types of people. Everyone has value and something to contribute to the world, and they may go unoiticed, but their lives are important enough to document. A long time ago during a mass in the chapel of Seton Hill University, a priest preached a message about there being no “throw away people ''. It left an indelible mark on my soul and try to let that one message guide my action
Years ago I was given a binder info on my dad's side. However, it was just dates - marriages, births and deaths. When I started seriously to research, I ended up ignoring that information after finding a lot of it incorrect. Also, They only researched back to my great great grandfather and mother after they immigrated. I wanted to know where in Germany they came from, and what happened to his first wife. I found some answers but continue to look for more. But I really need to sit down and write. Good piece. Thanks!
Learning about and writing a family history can certainly change one's perspective. There is much to learn about family, not just their vital statistics, but who they were as people and how they got through life.