Why I Do Genealogy

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This week the South King County Genealogical Society begins a new study group [1], of the book Mastering Genealogical Proof, by Thomas W. Jones [2]. The first chapter, Genealogy's Standard of Proof, first considers What is Genealogy. I can't better Jones' measured prose, but here is why I do genealogy.





Why? Solving Puzzles

Doing the research is satisfying! When there is a gap in the timeline, finding the right record is like fitting in a puzzle piece! That bit of satisfaction keeps me at it, often far too late into the night. Especially when the family group or locality (or both) are unfamiliar, finding the records feels like getting to know that person and the time and place where they lived. The contrast in how the lives of some the folks in the family fall into a pattern, and those who bushwhack their own path, is often surprising. 


Why? Putting Meat on the Bones

So solving puzzles are fun, but genealogy is work, too. Aside from the little rewards, there is enormous satisfaction in seeing a whole family and how they fit into their culture, as the work on the branch progresses. I've been researching the tree of my son-in-law, whose ancestors are all southern, on both sides of his tree. His Joneses seem to have been enslaved people in Kentucky, although the enslavement is not yet proven. They followed the exoduster path across the US, leaving behind the reaction to Reconstruction that followed the Civil war in the former Confederacy. 

Jason's grandmother was born in New Orleans, and researching the Louisianans has been amazing. If you don't have ancestors from there, arrange some! The marriage acts alone are 'happy dance' making machines. Finding his great-grandmother's family was the subject of a recent blog, Brick Wall, Broken!

Anna Baysinger & Harvey McBee wedding day


Why? Making Sense of Family

I found deep happiness as I began research in my own family of origin many years ago. All the history classes that seemed so dry began to make sense as I found my family on my father's side part of the recent immigrant experience, and on my mother's side, much more distant immigration in Colonial times. This research has taken me not just to US records, but to Mexico, Canada, Scotland and England. I hope to get more French records too. 

Along the way, I rekindled or started relationships with my cousins, which felt healing in a way I didn't expect. My mother's family was torn apart by divorce, betrayal and crime, and reconnecting feels like the beginning of understanding and reconciliation. 


Researching my husband's Zimmermans was yet another new set of experiences. My father-in-law's Zimmermanns came to Illinois from Osfriesland, Germany in 1850, and I was even able to find their passenger listings, and a first-hand account of camping on the shores of the Mississippi River in the middle of winter, after disembarking from a flatboat with everything they owned. 




My mother-in-law's Kammerers came to Maryland in late Colonial times, and some of her cousins were able to visit Ludwig Kammerer the immigrant's original house before it was demolished. Research found living relatives who reconnected after a generation or more of separation. There is no feeling of happiness like that!


Full Circle

To bring this full circle, I love the technical aspects of genealogy; the logic, citations supporting each step of the proof, satisfying the GPS, thoroughly researching the context in which the person and their family lived as a foundation of the research. Each of these steps is intensely interesting and satisfying, and enlarges my view of history and culture.

Genealogy reveals how I fit into to the world.


Collaboration and Fellowship

Finally, research brought me to SKCGS, the Black Diamond Historical Society, the Black Genealogy Research Group of Seattle, the Washington Genealogical Society and so many other groups and activities. They have not only enriched my skills, but also given me historical and cultural context and new friends and colleagues. 

1. https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Study-Group

2. https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/mastering-genealogical-proof/


Valorie Zimmerman




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