{"id":7892,"date":"2014-08-05T15:28:15","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T15:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=7892"},"modified":"2014-08-05T15:28:15","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T15:28:15","slug":"why-do-you-love-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/why-do-you-love-genealogy.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Do You Love Genealogy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction<\/em><\/strong><em>: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog post, Mary <\/em><em>shares<\/em><em> <\/em><em>comments that she and her fellow family historians have exchanged on social media about why they love genealogy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I was browsing social media pages recently and saw that my friends were commenting about why they love genealogy. Everyone\u2019s reasons for loving family history research varied, but the depth of the intrinsic rewards we feel was shared by all.<\/p>\n<p>Here is my reason for loving genealogy research:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u2019m following in the footsteps of my mother, great grandmother and great grandfather, who researched with a passion and left the family with a legacy of several family history books.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What a family treasure that anyone could only hope to equal, which explains my favorite saying: \u201cGenealogy isn\u2019t just a pastime; it\u2019s a passion!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7893\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy!\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;I love genealogy!&quot;\" width=\"436\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy.png 436w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy-300x247.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-i-love-genealogy-363x300.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Below you\u2019ll find excerpts of the quotes (with minor corrections). The initials indicate my social media friends. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cOne time I helped a police investigator find the family of a man who had died, who left very little information. He [the policeman] said the family was very grateful. That was rewarding.\u201d \u2014A.C.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAs my friend Christie says, \u2018It\u2019s a labor of love.\u2019\u201d \u2014A.J.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy grandmother died last year and I was really lucky that she\u2019d humor me with questions. I\u2019d bring DD coffee every Sunday and we\u2019d chat\u2014all her peers had gone\u2014and sometimes we\u2019d talk genealogy, but because I knew so much, I think she almost felt like she had somebody who knew the stuff she did and she could talk about events and people who mattered to her, without prompting, and be understood. That\u2019s what validates what I do.\u201d \u2014A.M.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAt least we can all say \u2018We know where we came from\u2019 [because] we did the research&#8230;\u201d \u2014C.D.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI do it because I want to put stories to names. I wanted to know who I am. And now when I try and not do it, I swear that I hear [my name] in my sleep: \u2018Find me.\u2019 You are never lost as long as one person remembers your name&#8230;\u201d \u2014C.F.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy family and friends are genuinely appreciative of my genealogy research. I\u2019ve never heard any criticism. I\u2019ve reunited lost family members and distant cousins.\u201d \u2014C.H.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt is for people who love history and want to know exactly where they came from. It is comforting.\u201d \u2014C.K.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-looking-for-dead-people.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7894\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-looking-for-dead-people\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-looking-for-dead-people.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Looking for dead people makes me happy!&quot;\" width=\"311\" height=\"244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-looking-for-dead-people.png 311w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-looking-for-dead-people-300x235.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cAfter 25+ years&#8230;I just smile and say&#8230;looking for dead people makes me happy!\u201d \u2014C.L.J.Y.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s very satisfying when you find lost cousins or other information. I just found a cousin here on one of the groups yesterday; her grandfather is the brother of my grandfather&#8230;So cool when this happens.\u201d \u2014C.M.S.C.<\/li>\n<li>\u201c[I love genealogy] because dead people are much more interesting than the live people that are around me.\u201d \u2014D.E.L.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy Mom has been the ultimate source in my and my sister\u2019s research. She remembers everything, has written things down, and saved pictures from my dad\u2019s side of the family. She is so supportive to us and helps out so much. I wish everyone had someone as supportive as her. Thanks Mom!\u201d \u2014D.R.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cGenealogy is a favorite pastime, I love knowing our ancestors\u2019 names, families, their work, etc. I have been working on my family and my husband\u2019s. It is very rewarding.\u201d \u2014D.Y.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ve found close cousins I had never known&#8230;I have laughed so much with them over the years! We met on the Internet searching for the same Great Grandparents! We didn\u2019t know each other, but it\u2019s like having a cool sister to laugh with on things we have in common! I can\u2019t believe how similar we think about things!!! Genetics!\u201d \u2014E.R.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhen I was about 14 it was the Bicentennial year. My great Aunt showed me the grave of an ancestor who was from Lexington during the Revolution. That was what started the genealogy bug for me! I took a college class that year in genealogy, and started to ride my bike to local archives to research how I was related to that soldier, and the rest of my family tree. His name was Andrew Munroe, and his uncles were killed in the Lexington Battle, and Andrew was a Major by the end of the war.\u201d \u2014H.W.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI think of this as more of an avocation than a hobby and if I don\u2019t do it, who will?\u201d \u2014J.B.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI am chuckling about all the comments about helping kids in school with their family history projects. My genealogy path started when a college class I was taking asked for such a project. Two years later, my son had the same project in fourth grade. Seven years later I am still working on it&#8230;\u201d \u2014J.C.M.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-know-who-to-blame.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7895\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-know-who-to-blame!\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-know-who-to-blame.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;I research my ancestors so I'll know who to blame!&quot;\" width=\"332\" height=\"186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-know-who-to-blame.png 332w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-know-who-to-blame-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI research my ancestors so I\u2019ll know who to blame!\u201d \u2014J.H.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI do it for my children and their children and like-minded relatives with whom I share the stories. To know our ancestors\u2019 strengths and talents is to know where ours come from and is inspiring to me.\u201d \u2014J.R.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI started really getting into it after I met my husband. His family has been in this one county of Virginia since they came over on a boat. Lol. So jealous\u2014I literally just have to go to the county library, ask about his family, and poof! the library has it all. Lol. Everyone wants to reap my rewards also. But I have the time and I love it, so I keep on. Lol!\u201d \u2014J.R.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cMy dad asked me years ago to research his family. He remembered the stories he was told and shared many of them. May he rest in peace because he has since passed, but once I started the journey there was no turning back. Every new name holds promise of a new story. The one thing I didn\u2019t comprehend when I started was that the research would open many history books to help me better understand how people lived in their respective eras. I feel like it is an exciting adventure with many mysteries.\u201d \u2014J.S.B.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-ancestors-dont-give-me-grief.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7896\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-ancestors-don't-give-me-grief\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-ancestors-dont-give-me-grief.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Ancestors don't give me grief and they don't come with drama!&quot;\" width=\"218\" height=\"188\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI was told by a sibling that I like my dead ancestors more than my living relatives. Of course I do!! They don\u2019t give me grief and don\u2019t come with drama!\u201d \u2014K.P.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-being-a-detective.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7897\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-being-a-detective\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-being-a-detective.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Genealogy is like being a detective!&quot;\" width=\"350\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-being-a-detective.png 350w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-being-a-detective-300x239.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested too, even as a teenager. It made U.S. History come alive in school! My mom and dad used to do genealogy together. They went to libraries and cemeteries every weekend. They were both very involved which is how I got interested at the age of 16. It is like being a detective, isn\u2019t it?\u201d \u2014K.V.E.A.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI love all these comments! I don\u2019t have any profound reasons why I love researching, I just do! I didn\u2019t care for history or genealogy when I was younger. Then my mother passed away eleven years ago. In cleaning out the attic in my childhood home, one of the first things I found was a statement of service in the Civil War. I was stunned and got the bug at that moment! I also found some tintypes and lots of old photos, unidentified and undated of course&#8230;So fascinating. Unfortunately, I got the bug after my parents passed away. How I wish I got it when they were alive especially since I had an older father who was born in 1902.\u201d \u2014L.H.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-not-hobby-its-a-calling.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7898\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-genealogy-not-hobby-it's-a-calling!\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-not-hobby-its-a-calling.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Genealogy is not a hobby, it's a calling!&quot;\" width=\"406\" height=\"89\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-not-hobby-its-a-calling.png 406w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-not-hobby-its-a-calling-300x65.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ve also been doing this for over 40 years, started when I was 9. Anyone that knows me, knows right away that I am a Genealogist. It\u2019s not a hobby, it\u2019s a calling. I don\u2019t discuss it unless someone asks or it\u2019s pertinent to the conversation. But overall, I\u2019ve found that MOST people find what we do fascinating&#8230;Sometimes, this passion of mine affects someone&#8217;s life tremendously. I had one family of my grandmother\u2019s first cousin contact me after putting something out&#8230;She said, \u2018this is my father-in-law\u2019s family. He\u2019s in his late 80s and I never knew ANYTHING about th<strong>e<\/strong>m. His father died when he was 2, his mother remarried, and they never saw his father\u2019s family again. He always felt that he was the reason for that and carried the guilt around all his life.\u2019 I contacted her back, shared with her that at the time of his father\u2019s birth his grandparents were both dead, and his father\u2019s siblings lived too far away for interaction to be feasible. The daughter-in-law was able to go back and tell him the story of the family and she said it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders, his whole personality changed and he was a happier man\u2026he died 6 months later, but at peace! So when anyone has anything negative to say, which is rare, I hold that story close and smile.\u201d \u2014L.L.B.J.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7899\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;I don't understand people who don't like genealogy. It's so satisfying to find a fact about someone in all the world papers!&quot;\" width=\"415\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers.png 415w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-finding-fact-world-papers-315x300.png 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI have found numerous lost cousins and a diamond ring that was passed down to one of my new cousins that belonged to my great gma. It\u2019s so cool to look at it and know she had it on her finger. My quest continues to find a pic of her. I love [genealogy]. I don\u2019t understand people who don\u2019t like it. It\u2019s so satisfying to find a fact about someone in all the world papers.\u201d \u2014L.O.R.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m lucky to have a ton of support around me. Even my husband is actively helping me with my family research. I have yet to meet one person in my family that isn\u2019t fascinated by the research.\u201d \u2014L.S.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI studied history in college. Genealogy is a continuation of my love of studying the past&#8230;and it\u2019s personal. Something I can pass on to my children and now my granddaughter.\u201d \u2014L.S.A.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI have some good stories [from cousins] that I\u2019ve met&#8230;that I didn\u2019t know I had&#8230;Besides, I love skeletons. They make the world go round.\u201d \u2014M.F.C.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI follow my family histories because I WANT to; like people who sit\/partake in sports, fish, or knit\/sew, it\u2019s MY hobby. There are people who are history buffs, and those who are sports nuts and some who are GEN NUTS (which I\u2019m one).\u201d \u2014M.J.W.M.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-playing-detective.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7900\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-playing-detective!\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-playing-detective.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Genealogy is like playing detective!&quot;\" width=\"410\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-playing-detective.png 410w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-is-like-playing-detective-300x134.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s like playing detective. It\u2019s fun learning the stories about our ancestors.\u201d \u2014N.H.S.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWorking on my family tree is comforting. I feel close to my mom and dad, who have been gone for a very long time.\u201d \u2014P.M.H.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s not about the doubters\u2014it\u2019s about two other things. First, to ensure [we remember] those who would otherwise be forgotten in less than 100 years, and two, for those yet to come to know and understand their roots. And then they can decide for themselves if they care or not. So don\u2019t ever let anyone tell you that you\u2019re wasting your time following after dead people. If they are family then you will have to include them too. Although they may wish to be forgotten in a generation or two, ask them about it!\u201d \u2014R.B.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAlways was fascinated with the past; [I] wanted to be an archeologist when I grew up but my teachers were not too happy with that aspiration! I love to do genealogy for several reasons. First, when I do research on my ancestors, I feel like I am bringing my family together again in the past and, since I freely share my discoveries with relatives, I feel it brings us together in the present. I also love it because it makes me feel part of a whole, a link in the chain that would not have a future without myself and my children. I love it because it makes me feel more connected to my country when so many of my ancestors were pioneers and founders of early settlements and churches and helped to build this country by participating in government positions and fighting in various wars for our freedom &amp; protection. And most of all, I love it for the connection I feel with certain ancestors when I can be successful enough in my research to learn some of the personal aspects of their lives. I believe in some way they are always with us, living on in our cells, our blood &amp; our genes.\u201d \u2014R.B.K.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-more-fun-than-most-sports.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7901\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-genealogy-more-fun-than-most-sports!\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-genealogy-more-fun-than-most-sports.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Genealogy is more fun than most sports!&quot;\" width=\"229\" height=\"118\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s more fun than most sports. I like to find new info.\u201d \u2014S.C<\/li>\n<li>\u201c[I] love [genealogy] and find it fascinating.\u201d \u2014S.H.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWell, the journey into our past has been interesting, and I am blessed to share it with my cousin.\u201d \u2014S.H.E.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI can\u2019t speak for anyone but myself, but I know that I have always been fascinated with my family history. I remember being a young teen and pondering my family origins. I asked a few questions of my grandmothers, but not nearly enough before they either passed or lost the ability to communicate. In reading her saved letters, I know that one of my grandmothers was the same way and her father before her. In letters written between them long before my birth, they discuss the family Bible and family records. He gave her a copy, which I never found. He also left the family Bible to one of his other children, which I\u2019ve also failed to locate. Other than one of my grandmother\u2019s half-sisters, no one else in the family seems to have any interest in it, including the family who now has (hopefully) or had (crossing fingers) the family Bible. Did some of you come to this later in life and develop an interest long after your childhood, or did you always wonder? I\u2019ve often pondered whether those who don\u2019t care just never had it in them in the first place, kind of like how people are born with the ability to either love cilantro or think it tastes like soap and therefore will never like it, no matter what.\u201d \u2014S.W.H.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7902\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Why do I love genealogy? I credit my old style Polish grandmother for my desire to know my family history!&quot;\" width=\"353\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother.png 353w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother-300x256.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-old-style-polish-grandmother-350x300.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI credit my old style Polish grandmother for my desire to know my family history. She and her mom \u201cwere\u201d those black sheep, moved away, changed their names, pretended they were French rather than Kashubian\/Polish&#8230;Oh, I had visions of her coming from a family of horse thieves or gypsies or some such thing. When I finally found the truth and reunited with her family, wouldn&#8217;t you know that the first thing I heard was, \u2018Oh! We\u2019ve been looking for you for a hundred years!\u2019 I\u2019m glad they didn\u2019t give up looking, and perhaps it\u2019s the Polish in me that doesn\u2019t give up either.\u201d \u2014S.W.H.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-dont-know-someone-theyre-not-real.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7903\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-don't-know-someone-they're-not-real\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-dont-know-someone-theyre-not-real.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;If you don't know someone among your ancestors, they're not real!&quot;\" width=\"310\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-dont-know-someone-theyre-not-real.png 310w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-dont-know-someone-theyre-not-real-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cAn in-law, a wonderful and generous lady, told me that if I didn\u2019t know someone among my ancestors, they were not real. My sister tells me she only wants to know about the dead relatives I discover if she was mentioned in the will, and [she and] I have fun kidding each other about this&#8230;\u201d \u2014T.K.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s very nice to make older people especially happy.\u201d \u2014T.P.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-family-history-simply-the-best.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7904\" title=\"photo-0805-2014-family-history-simply-the-best\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/photo-0805-2014-family-history-simply-the-best.png\" alt=\"genealogy saying: &quot;Family history is simply the best!&quot;\" width=\"251\" height=\"243\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cFamily history is simply the best!\u201d \u2014V.W.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please tell us your delightful reasons why you love genealogy!<\/p>\n<p>[bottom_post_ad]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog post, Mary shares comments that she and her fellow family historians have exchanged on social media about why they love genealogy. I was browsing social media pages recently and saw that my friends were commenting about why they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[5136,1658,6254,2233,7615,1036,12,6251],"class_list":["post-7892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-family-historians","tag-family-history-2","tag-family-history-sayings","tag-family-research","tag-family-research-sayings","tag-genealogists","tag-genealogy","tag-genealogy-sayings"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}