Today we had Professor Phil Tesch in to speak about genealogy. We started out going around the room with each of us telling our family last names on both sides of the family and what origin the names came from. We discussed the purposes for doing genealogical work which among many were ignorance of family origin, hoping to find past wealth or royalty in your blood line, and just to know as much about your family history as possible. He referred to this as an Obsessive-compulsive history hunt. We looked at some of the top sites for looking up family information and finished out the class with a video on genealogy. Overall, the class was very informative.
Talking about tracing family roots in an effort to find royalty or wealth made me think of the immigrants who had to prove a family presence was established in America to gain entrance to the country. Genealogy is a tool that can be used for a vast spectrum of activity. It seems ridiculous that while some look to find an "in" to the high society life through possible inheritance or being the heir to a throne, other's fight to join family members in the "land of opportunity". For those who fight to get into the country, that is only the first part of the battle. From the other works we have read this semester, In the Middle of Everywhere and What is the What, we learn that the struggle only continues once immigrants gain entrance to the US. They face other struggles such as racism, financial troubles and language barriers to over come. This seem to trivialize the idea of instant wealth through linage when looking at the struggle some go through only to struggle more.
This session made me want to trace my roots properly. Fortunately, my family genealogy has been done on both sides of my family. I have simply lacked the drive to dive into the information. I know that I have family in Norway to the tune of first cousins, but I have never taken the time to talk to then. After going to the convocation on In Cod we Trust and learning about genealogy today, I find myself lacking excuses to not act on the desire that has been in the back of my mind for some time. I have a small family and it would not be hard to get to know them a little better, at least where we come from and what we have in common.
