Digging into the Past

Thinking about family history and genealogy. I love the show Who Do You Think You Are? This week's episode featured Martin Sheen. They have some great celebrities signed up for this season and it is well worth watching. The excitement and wonder in the faces of the people on this show is great as they find out clues about their ancestors. I felt those same things when I traced my family history, and I still get those feelings when I find out something new or get pictures from someone.The one above shows ancestors of mine carrying their spinning wheels in the snow. A great photograph.

When I did my "digging" years ago,  I found a whole BOOK written about my grandmother's ancestors on my dad's side. Unfortunately it's written in Finnish, so I can't read it. But parts I got translated included names and dates I needed and an idea of where the family name came from and where their land was located in the 1600s. A second book showed two men fighting each other with knifes. I'd like to get that one translated someday to find out what they fought about.

My Polish side hasn't been as successful way far back, but I do have a picture of a great great grandmother with her children and some younger girls I assume are grandchildren all around her though I can't name them all yet. Which brings me to the subject of names....

I found a great quote in this story about the Junkman and the Madonna.

It's from David Eagleman: "There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time."