Welcome!
Family research is not only about who your grandmother was but about the lives they led as well. In researching our family, we have read books on the early settlers that have helped to give a view of the life led by our ancestors. We have found our family names in census records, land grants, courthouse marriages, and succession records. We have studied ship logs for passenger names and church records for births, marriages, and death records. As family ancestors immigrated their lives were often directed by governments and politics. Some moved by choice but others by force to leave their homes and family behind. Many lost their lives during the crossing of the oceans or lands. Marriages were not for love but for practicality. Research has often shown that siblings from one family marry siblings in nearby families as they all live in small communities. They lived during the wars with France, Spain, and the British and were considered traders for refusing to leave their homes and return to their native countries. Our ancestors were Acadian refugees and were exiled from Nova Scotia. They fought in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and all since. They lived through the Great Depression and have seen the world change as industry and technology has become an everyday part of our lives.
I was often told that family will always be there (jokingly added whether you want them to be or not) because family is always a part of you, in memories, in behavior, and in blood. Remembering family is what keeps them alive in our hearts.
