I'm the happiest girl in the world because I just found out that my favorite show, "Who Do You Think You Are?" is coming back! It was previously on NBC but was cancelled last year. But now TLC is bringing it back. Season 4 premieres on July 23 on TLC. This also means that I have to now formally take back all those means things I ever said about you, TLC. All those things about taking the "learning" part out of your name. Oh, wait, also on the list of shows to premier on TLC is "Best Funeral Ever" and "Husband Hunters." Okay, so, we will just have to take the good with the bad.
It looks like a really great season with Jim Parsons (I love him on Big Bang Theory!) Kelly Clarkson, Zooey Deschanel, and Christina Applegate. These are just a few and it seems to me like they are trying to target a younger audience. I think it would be amazing if more young people were interested in genealogy. If I had started with this hobby when I was younger, I would have been able to ask my grandparents more questions when they were alive.
Here are some of the responses I've gotten from my friends when I talk about how obsessed I am with genealogy.
"That is such an old lady hobby."
"You're so haughty! Most people who do that are so stuck on themselves."
"Oh, you're trying to find your long lost Indian Princess."
Well, I think most people who dismiss it haven't really given it a chance. For me, it is about finding out how who my ancestors were and how they lived. My family lived in the same small town since 1772. But when I was growing up in that same small town and there were only four other people I knew who had the same last name as me. They were my two sisters, my mom and my dad. So to me, this is like discovering long lost family members! Everyone should have their own inspiration for wanting to fill in your family tree but here are a few reasons why I think everyone should give it a try.
1. There are some juicy stories in there. Whether you are 8 or 80, everyone loves a good story and how cool is it when you find some in your own family tree. I thought my family was a pretty normal group of people. I certainly never thought I would find out about my great grandmother, Docia Beatrice Lane Bell Fraser, supposedly being stabbed in the throat with a fork and certainly not by my great grand father, Norman Bell! Here is a picture of her years after the stabbing. Her neck seems fine to me, what do you think? Whether it happened after this picture was taken, didn't happen at all, or was just a mere poke, I don't know yet. I'm still researching this one. If you've got any information, I'd love to hear it! (Long shot, I know, but I'm desperate on this one.)
I never thought I would find evidence of an ancestor who was taken prisoner in the Civil War Battle of Petersburg and died in Elmira (dubbed Hellmira by its inmates) Prison in New York six months later, never seeing his wife and children again. His family never even knew what happened to him.
2. You learn so much about history. I hate to admit this but I spent most of my high school history classes daydreaming about what I would wear the next day or whatever string of distracted thoughts ran through my brain. So now as an adult, I find it all so interesting to learn about history and see how my own family might have been involved in it.
3. And speaking of history, George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I don't know about you but I don't want a repeat of the fork stabbing! Yes, I know I'm oversimplifying here. But that's how I roll.
So, not everyone will have an Indian Princess in their tree but you might have something different and way cooler than you could even imagine. But you'll never know if you don't get started!
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