Alex Haley, the author of ROOTS, once wrote: "In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness." In your quest for meaning and a sense of community, you'll uncover many family facts to include in your family history book. This compendium of data will eventually begin to form a more complete picture of where you've come from and where you're going. One of the family facts you'll discover with genealogical research is the meaning and history of your surname. Perhaps your last name breaks down or translates into a specific meaning in another language. Maybe your name was changed over the years, which can provide even more clues to your origins. You may be able to look up a coat of arms to get a clearer picture on what it meant to be in your family. It might be neat to have the coat of arms on display at your house somewhere. Also, you may find your surname belonged to a prominent family back in history, which will lead you to find out more about your ancestry than you ever thought possible! Another one of the interesting family facts to uncover is your family's place of origin and their migration to the US. The customary traditions we celebrate at the holidays have been passed down from generation to generation from the Old World to the New. Even if your family doesn't have many cultural traditions, you can begin to celebrate them once you delve into your countries of origin. You may be interested to see what forces might have led your ancestors to seek out a new life in America -- maybe it was the great Potato Famine, the Holocaust, the spread of cholera or religious persecution, for example. You can look up information about the year of emigration and the countries of origin by looking at immigration records, Ellis Island records and census records. While your online family tree may not be as long as the philosopher Confucius's (which is now up to over 80 generations and more than 2 million members), you may be surprised at how far back you can go. Some people talk about tracing their lineage back to pirates, Vikings, pharaohs and philosophers. Even if you just find out which countries your relatives originated from through Ellis Island records, you'll be fascinated by the clues you pick up along the way. Looking up family facts is more than just good trivia: it's a thoughtful examination of your family's enduring legacy. By preserving these memories, you'll ensure that legacy lives on for future generations.
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