Trace My Family History

My story isn't quite special really, although I have lived under some unique circumstances. My mother was a single parent raising my little sister and I until she married my Stepdad in 2007. I was five at the time and had no father figure until then. From that time on he became my dad. Our new family moved twice before living in a small city where we stayed for 6 years. This is where I made close friends, achieved academic excellence, went to church regularly, life was great or so I thought. What seemed to be our perfect life was turned upside down as hard times fell upon us. I was now the oldest of five younger siblings, my mom wasn't healthy, and my dad had to struggle to keep things going.

My mother was a widow by the time she was in her mid-thirties with four children under the age of 16. It would have been easy to accept handouts and pity, but I witnessed her rise from tragedy, more determined than ever to provide every necessity that her children needed and wanted. As appreciative as I was when I was younger, I look back in total awe of her. Even though she worked 60-plus hours a week to make ends meet, she still told us that

As I embarked on this assignment I was unsure how to begin and what stories to tell. I did not know if I should commence with how my family came to America, my family tree, or a fascinating story about how my grandparents met. In order to complete this assignment I convened with my grandfather, Earl W. Stafford Sr., who knows a lot about our family history, to learn as much as I could.

My paternal grandparents are Eugene Mitchell who was born in 1919 and Clara Johnson who was born in 1913. During this period, it was acceptable for men to marry young girls with permission from girl’s parents. Eugene married Cleon Johnson who was 14 years of age. Eugene and Cleon gave birth to Arthur shortly after they were wed. Cleon was an adolescence herself, and was launched into family with young children life cycle.

As I researched and talked to relatives concerning my background, heritage and culture, it made me want to know more about my family and where it all began. I had fun putting

This family changed my life for the better and assisted me in growing as a

Looking back to the past, before I was born, I never really knew where my ancestors came from or why they even came here in the first place. It was never made a big deal in my family to talk about our history and the reasons why they came to American. So, I decided to do a little research and find out a little bit about myself, my culture, and my communication styles. I asked for a little bit of help from my grandmothers from each side of my family. I got an abundance of information that opened my eyes to a new past that I didn’t even know about.

5. In tracing your family history did it enhance your understanding of who you are and where you come from? Explain why?

This is part four of the series "Where Do I Start as a Beginning Genealogist?". Glad to see you! If you haven't read parts

History is defined as the study of the science of humanity in the past. It's a broad subject that spans over countless people groups throughout the years that the world has been around. Even before the times we have written word history was still being made, and it is still extremely important. We tend to forget that in our average day to day lives we are still making history. That all over the globe everyone is taking part in what might be in a history book someday.

Learning about your family tree can be fun and exciting. I can also raise more questions when you come across a surprising discovery, which is exactly what happened to one woman while she researched her family's history.

Being raised my maternal grandparents; most would say that I have an “old soul”. I would always want to know who my ancestors were and what accomplishments they’ve made to society. My grandparents always stressed the importance of knowing your heritage, respecting your family, maintaining a tight bond with your family members, and carrying on the family’s legacy. I will begin with my maternal side of the family. My maternal grandmother, Kathleen Powell, is the rock and heart of the family. Her parents were Mary and Jack Taylor. Jack was from Brooklyn, New York and Mary was from Suffolk, Virginia. Jack moved down to Suffolk, Virginia to leave with a family member and for work and met Mary at a church gathering with the family friend. Jack and Mary married after dating for 3 months and had three children, Raymond, Jack, and Kathleen. They were a hardworking

Along the way, I have made progress in my genealogical research, however, I have had to overcome multiple obstacles. Through research, I have acquired birth, marriage, and death dates through censuses. I have discussed with my father and contacted my grandmother to put stories to names. Also, I have discovered other siblings and details about them from relatives. While I have acquired a ton of new information, I have struggled to find relatives’ names from further back and directly where they inhabited. According to the genealogical web page, “Explore our Records,” “A dead end doesn’t mean the end of your research, simply that you will have to try another approach” (“Explore our Records”). To further my research, then, I can search for German

Family history is very important to an individual. By knowing where you come from, you can have a better perspective of your life. Having a clear understanding of your family background allows you to better appreciate the things that you would normally take for granted. The house, the car, and the average clothing may look better when one sees the sacrifices their family has made. They will see that their family has worked very hard just so their family can experience the better things in life. A persons roots and origin is one of the most important things to explore. It alone can bring you closer to self-discovery.

This left my mom with seven kids to raise by herself. Meaning one on one time was rare, because my mom is not a superhero and could not be in multiple places at one time. Grief left my family and I in a place where we did not know what to do, but we eventually got out of it, and continued on with our life. We always remembered the hard working parents we had, and the hard working mother we still had. I am resilient and got back on my feet and continued to attend school, graduated elementary school, and will soon graduate from high school. Although, I have gone through many difficulties it has made me work harder as an individual and choose my career choice at an early age. Being that I was very into the heart at a young age, and my father passing from a heart disease, I always knew I wanted to study cardiology, and will someday soon become a cardiologist.