on finding my roots, part II
This week has been interesting, what with the ups and downs in the daily temperatures: ice storms, rain, and snow and the mini dramas at work, punctuated with oh my god! my brain just went completely blank! $&(!,@&!?! which translates into how I'm handling my added responsibilities that will soon be a piece of cake.
But also this week I received a message through ancestry.com from a young woman who said we might be cousins. Well, she is my niece. From my estranged half-brother. I knew her older brother when he was a baby, but not her. And I lost track of the kids as my brother and their mother divorced and my brother was not, is not, a model father. He did not support them, so he didn’t get to see them. Truth be told, I doubt he even tried. He went from one woman to another. He’s married now and living in Florida, and I wonder how much she knows of his past.
Needless to say, one of the reasons I pretty much consider myself an only child which is perfectly okay.
When I started my ancestry account years ago, I didn’t do much with it, just added family members I knew. I wish there was a way to show the lineage of both by birth father and the Korous line. Perhaps I need to create another family tree. Hmmm… probably. Of course. Amazing what being relaxed at home with good coffee can do for one’s brain. Ha.
The thing is, I never imagined anyone would find me. I just wanted to see what I could find out, but it wasn’t exactly a priority. Now, that’s all flipped. I’m very excited that my niece contacted me. I logged in and actually looked at my hints and possible family connections.
A great aunt came up: Cassie. From my great-grandfather Peter's first marriage. When he married my great-grandma Emma, he was older and a widower. I’d heard the name Cassie when growing up, but not in the nicest terms. Second wife jealousy? I know I never met her, but I wish I could have.
So on yet another dreary day (we get one day of sun per week), I am researching my genealogy, reading The House on Coliseum Street by Shirley Ann Grau, snapping a few Polaroids, and enjoying Henry Miller’s quiet companionship. Life is good.
Addendum: I just found out that Cassie had a sister, Josephine. And that name is tickling the edges of my oldest memories. I now have two parallel ancestry trees going. It’s actually quite fascinating. One thing is apparent: my history, as I believed it, is filled with secrets and lies. Oy.
But also this week I received a message through ancestry.com from a young woman who said we might be cousins. Well, she is my niece. From my estranged half-brother. I knew her older brother when he was a baby, but not her. And I lost track of the kids as my brother and their mother divorced and my brother was not, is not, a model father. He did not support them, so he didn’t get to see them. Truth be told, I doubt he even tried. He went from one woman to another. He’s married now and living in Florida, and I wonder how much she knows of his past.
Needless to say, one of the reasons I pretty much consider myself an only child which is perfectly okay.
When I started my ancestry account years ago, I didn’t do much with it, just added family members I knew. I wish there was a way to show the lineage of both by birth father and the Korous line. Perhaps I need to create another family tree. Hmmm… probably. Of course. Amazing what being relaxed at home with good coffee can do for one’s brain. Ha.
The thing is, I never imagined anyone would find me. I just wanted to see what I could find out, but it wasn’t exactly a priority. Now, that’s all flipped. I’m very excited that my niece contacted me. I logged in and actually looked at my hints and possible family connections.
A great aunt came up: Cassie. From my great-grandfather Peter's first marriage. When he married my great-grandma Emma, he was older and a widower. I’d heard the name Cassie when growing up, but not in the nicest terms. Second wife jealousy? I know I never met her, but I wish I could have.
So on yet another dreary day (we get one day of sun per week), I am researching my genealogy, reading The House on Coliseum Street by Shirley Ann Grau, snapping a few Polaroids, and enjoying Henry Miller’s quiet companionship. Life is good.
Addendum: I just found out that Cassie had a sister, Josephine. And that name is tickling the edges of my oldest memories. I now have two parallel ancestry trees going. It’s actually quite fascinating. One thing is apparent: my history, as I believed it, is filled with secrets and lies. Oy.
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| scrapbook ©Trish Korous | 2015 |
all families are composed of secrets and lies. and those who claim a "normal" family are deceived. "normal" is abnormal, as there aren't any truly normal ones.
ReplyDeleteVery true. But I need to know why they felt the need for the lies. It was probably something trivial, but I still need to know.
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