Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
Last night's genealogy fun/question was: Which Family Members Stayed in Contact With Your Family?
Here's the link: Genea-Musings
This question is particularly interesting for me and my family because most of the family hasn't moved away. Both my parents' families for the most part have had generations born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. My dad was one of 8 children and then my mom was one of 4.
When I was 4 (1988), my family and I moved to Texas and then in 1991, we moved to Humboldt, Arizona. My uncle (father's side) living in Arizona, in Phoenix, so I think that was a plus for my dad.
I don't really remember life before in Ohio because I was too young...but I know that we saw extended family often (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins)...birthday parties, holidays, etc. After we moved, the only grandparent I had left was my paternal grandmother Dorothy. I used to talk to her on the phone sometimes and then I remember her sending us McDonald's Gift Certificates in the mail for birthdays. On my mom's side, my aunt would send us birthday and Christmas cards. We also had some aunts and uncles and cousins come out to visit sometimes.
As I grew into adulthood and got into genealogy, I started reaching out to extended family on my own- email, Facebook, etc. I wanted to meet more and more people but it was only through online because I was still on the West coast.
Two years ago, my dad and I started organizing a family reunion for his side of the family in Ohio along with his half-brother. Sometime into planning, my dad had a heart attack and passed away at the young age of 72. It broke my heart completely but I still wanted to attend the reunion and 11 months later, my twin sister and I went to Ohio (for the first time in years!) and reunited with so many family members- many I knew and had met when I was young and some I just knew from their online presence and was meeting them for the first time in person- that was exciting!
No comments:
Post a Comment