Why Genealogy?
by Gloria Holback

What is it that drives us to research our ancestors? Are we just curious about those family members who lived long before we did and what life was like for them? Or are we looking for answers to more complicated questions, such as why our families do not seem to have the closeness that other families seem to have -- like those families shown on television who seem to be the ideal loving families.

Is there something missing in our family that we feel other families have? Perhaps a family openness and warmth that does not seem to exist in our own. Are holidays less than what we hope them to be? Then again, could it be that we are facing our own mortality and we are looking for a way to be remembered? Are we looking to leave a mark in history that insures we are not forgotten by researching our own ancestors and then writing a book or leaving a manuscript about their lives? After all, our work will be a record not only of our ancestors, but of us and the work that we have done in documenting the family history.

Whatever drives each of us is a strong force that seems to take hold of our entire being. This force pulls us into the past and what we find is at times surprising and upsetting. At other times it is an amusing event or something pleasant we learn about our ancestors.

What are your reasons for getting into genealogy? Please write me and share your reasons with other members of IIGS™. Send your own story to gholback@gte.net.

About the Author: Gloria Holback was born in Georgia, U.S.A., in the summer of 1942. She traveled throughout her childhood with her parents to Texas, Northern Georgia and Florida, finally settling on the West Coast of Florida. During her young adult years she lived in Japan, California and back to Florida, where she now resides with her husband, John Holback (Danish spelling of the surname is Holbak or Holbek). Gloria has spent the past eleven years researching her own family lines as well as doing work for clients on a limited basis. Her main focus of research has been Colonial America, Southeastern U.S.A., and American Indians of the Southeastern shores of North America. Although, new to the world wide web, all of perhaps one year, she has been very active on GEnie, Prodigy, and other bulletin board services in the U.S.A. Gloria's children are all grown and she has several grandchildren. Before becoming involved in genealogy she was an Interior Designer, Artist, Automobile Salesperson, Television Model, Executive Secretary to an Automobile dealership General Manager and Owner, a Doset in Bellum's Cars of Yesteryear, Sarasota, Florida. She studied writing in College and started writing as a teenager for the school newspaper. Though she has no formal training in journalism she loves to share knowledge with others, for her motto is "What good is knowledge if not shared?" Gloria is a staff writer for IIGS™.

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