I've spent a week gathering as much information as I can from my mother about her side of the family. It started out with the notion that I'd be tying up loose ends on her memoirs (which we convinced her to type out a few years ago) but now I am ending up with so much more information that my head is spinning. I need to make some ancestor baseball cards, as I like to describe them, better known as genealogical cheat sheets! It's been so interesting fitting all these names together but I swear not even 20 minutes after she tells me about someone I am already asking, "now which one was that guy again?"
The dining room table has been covered with notes and family tree notes. Even my mom has a difficult time deciphering the old-fashioned kanji...kind of like transcribing Old English.
I may have known this at one time (back in youth when things went in one ear and out the other) but I am fascinated once again to learn that there are some family lines that can be traced back over 15 generations to the 1500's of feudal Japan! We already knew on my dad's Scottish side about one relative who can be traced back to nearly the same time period....but on the other side of the world. (This guy fought against Oliver Cromwell and lost and was subsequently thrown in prison at Edinburgh Castle where he grieved to death).
I spent one morning at Kinko's copying documents and photos so I can bring them home and go over them when I have a little more time (ha). I haven't even left for home yet and I already feel I will have to plan another trip back up here to do some more interviewing....
No comments:
Post a Comment