I got back into gen.

[wnylib]

11. I discovered things about my family that I had not

known before, too. Some old family stories turned out to be remarkably true, as did some suspicions that I had about embarassing details that were only hinted at in whispers that they thought I did not hear or understand as a child.

I met some 2nd and 3rd cousins online in genealogy research and got photos of some ancestors from them. I learned that not all the family stories were accurate. Some were exaggerated claims.

But most of all, I learned a lot about American and European history that was more accurate and detailed about people's experiences in those time periods than was ever taught in my high school or college history courses. I learned more about the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of the Native people of America through the lives and records of some ancestors. I learned about the history of Germany from the story of how my great-grandparents escaped political persecution under Kaiser Wilhelm II who set off the first World War. (Thankfully, great-grandpa and great-grandma were settled in as American citizens by then.)

I learned about the events that shaped national and world developments and the personal lives of people who lived through those events. After all, all of us have ancestors who lived during those times, or we would not be here today.