For many of us from mixed races, there is a desire to know from where you came. What did your ancestors do? Were they famous or important?
My family history has been the subject of much debate and mystery for as long as I can remember. One side of the family came from Ireland in the 1860s to Australia. Those who had any first hand knowledge of why they left their homeland and spent months on a dirty boat going to an uncultured and distant land is only a guess. They came, using incorrect names. One ancestor even used his brother's name! Was he in shame for something he had done. Was he shunned, was there criminal aspects to his life?
Why why why?
The other side of the family is even harder to trace. All we know is my grandfather, who died in the 1950s had a German name, and he had postcards from Zeitz which appear to be from his family. They are just general chit chat and have no return address. All we have is a postmark and an approximate date.
The length of time all of us have spent going through shipping records, finding dead ends in the USA and Canada, makes me believe that for some reason this is important. For some reason I need to know from which tribe I came. Perhaps it is the reason for the way I think, the way I behave, the moods and dreams and the deja vu. Maybe there is some genetic reason for how I look, and maybe there is a castle somewhere I own, but just do not know it. Ha ha ha ha.
Deep inside of me there is this desire and need. And I am sure lots of people feel the same. I see geneology is such a huge market. I see numerous television programs about family history. It is the human frailty of questioning and requiring answers for things. It is faith and hope and longing that we are all made of the right stuff.
I would love to hear from others.
