My Take On Genealogy
And What I Enjoy About It
Genealogy is a fascinating subject. Or is it just me who thinks so? I’ve loved my mother’s stories about her life. Before television in our house, they kept us entertained at night. My genealogy based blog about my mother is a tribute to her. I will continue it after visiting with her next month. I need to fill in some gaps with more detailed information.
But I have much more to share. I’ve always been intrigued about my family history. I enjoyed studying history at school but would not say I am a history buff. Far from it. But with genealogy, I’m passionate about the subject. My own family history is paramount, but in the past I’ve helped others in their searches for family connections and got a certain sense of achievement then too.
Recently I’ve been struck by the likeness between my grandson and my brother’s grandson. Five years – and the Tasman Sea – separate these boys and when they were together at my mother’s 100th birthday celebrations last year I never noticed any physical similarity between them. Yet now, every time I look at Isaac, I see so much of Jordan its uncanny. Especially as Isaac is more like his mother rather than his father (my son).
This brings me to how other genes filter down the generations. Red hair is the most obvious one in our family. When my father was presented with his new son, his first shocked response was “there’s never been a red-haired Ashby” – Mum was so surprised as she had thought nothing of Kevin’s colouring. Her grandmother Robertson had been reported to have a “mass of lovely long red hair” and an aunt had similar red hair. Kevin was the only red head of our generation. His son shared his colouring and his grandson has a much deeper auburn shade.
My children’s colouring went from blonde to differing shades of brown – one is black haired, as they navigated childhood. But one of my grandson’s has inherited red hair. His other grandmother told me, tongue in cheek, that red hair wasn’t known in either her or her husband’s families. So the red-hair genes have come from my side although they appear to have jumped 5 generations.
Do you have experience with genes following through the generations? I’d love to hear some stories from my readers. Do you have children who are almost identical to older family members? Or a particular feature, maybe a dimple or something similar, that has followed down through the generations in your family?
No wonder I enjoy genealogy and digging into the past. It’s so exciting when you discover an answer to some enduring questions. Of course, each answer provides a new question so the search is never over. There’s always another root to explore.