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Newsletter No. 23
- October 2008.
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1. Our
welcome message.
2.
Featured Article –
Distasteful Family Members In Our Family Tree
By:
Charity Hope
3. Latest
news from
www.Ancestry.co.uk
 Join
or get a free trial here.
4.
Next month’s article.
People Search: How to Quickly and Easily Find Someone You Lost Track Of -
Very interesting!
1.
Hi
all,
I hope you are all well.
Did everyone enjoy the recent series of 'Who Do You Think You Are'? (UK
Only). We found it very enjoyable. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have our
family history researched by a TV program? One of the main sponsors of
WDYTYA is www.Ancestry.co.uk
(Join
or get a free trial here.). So although we can't all afford to use the TV
experts, we can use the same tools that they use.
Another resource I have found recently is:
There will be an article next time about 'Net Detective'
Don't forget, you can send us an article for publication,
related to family history of course.
We can now accept your 'Members Interest' requests. You will
be familiar with these if you are a member of your local Family History
Society, which you should be, as they are a great resource for family
historians. (Here's a link to find your local FHS -
Family History Society) Just send us as much information about the
person/name you are looking for as you can, along with your contact details
(Which will be kept private and only used by us to forward any replies to
your enquiry.) We will publish your enquiry and send you any replies.
2. Featured Article:
Distasteful Family Members In Our Family Tree
By:
Charity Hope
Charity stood alongside her mother in the living room of the palatial
family home. People from all over the state had gathered to bid their
farewell to the dearly departed. There were naturally many family members
present that Charity had no clue who were or how they fit into the family
tree. She only knew they were close relatives of her grandmother’s.
Charity’s grandmother and mother were exchanging some harsh words with a
family member that Charity didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that her
mother was highly insulted and angry. Charity’s grandmother and aunt were
trying to calm her mother down somewhat.
She didn’t pay a lot of attention to the conversation at hand but realized
right off that her mother was upset over something someone had done
regarding the removal of a page of names from the family Bible.
You see, Charity’s cousin had been born with a physical defect. The medical
profession that existed during that time didn’t have a word for the birth
defect. The only explanation that existed for members of the elite family
was harsh and judgmental. Charity’s cousin, Matt had been born with what is
referred to these days as intersexed or transgendered. That means that Matt
had been born literally with both male and female genitalia, leaving her
real sex a question.
While Matt was raised, for the most part, male, she and her family realized
early on that raising her as a male had been a mistake. It was clear to
everyone that Matt should have been raised a female. This birth defect not
only raised questions within the family but also shrouded Matt’s head with
confusion and doubt.
When Matt was old enough to receive the proper treatment for her condition
she was taken to a physician who at the time, was on the cutting edge of
technology. Matt’s condition was corrected and Matt finally became Mattie.
The transformation brought a huge sigh of relief to her family, not to
mention the peace it brought Mattie, but as much as it was a relief to many
of the family members, it was a black mark and embarrassment to other
members of the family.
Members of the family who were pious and self-righteous could not understand
or accept the transformation of Matt to Mattie. They looked at the situation
as evil and devilish. They instantly condemned family members who had
anything to do with Matt’s transformation and refused to see the
circumstances for what they really were. It was totally against everything
they believed in and was the subsequent reason for the actions they decided
to take.
Mattie’s immediate family, which included everyone from Mattie to her
grandmother and anyone who agreed with the transformation and everyone in
between, were immediately ostracized from the pious half of the family.
Mattie’s grandmother’s sister, who was by all rights the most religious of
the bunch, decided that Mattie’s family should be removed and discarded as a
portion of her family. The pages that listed the names of Mattie’s side of
the family and all of her kin were torn out of the hundred year old family
Bible and all traces and memories of that side of the family would never be
considered as a part of their family.
When Mattie’s mother was informed of the action taken by what she believed
was her loving Aunt, she was outraged and hurt. She voiced her opinion on
the matter in front of everyone who was present at the family gathering and
she didn’t hold back a word of how she felt. After all, Mattie was a
completely normal, loving child and didn’t deserve to be judge in this
manner from people who were literally no better than anyone else. The only
thing that made them better was their warped belief system and inability to
practice what they preached so heavily.
As the years continued to pass, Mattie’s life can only be described as her
brother put it. Mattie had transformed from a confused gawky child into a
well-rounded, intelligent individual. It was as though a beautiful butterfly
had emerged from a lifelong cocoon that had been filled with sadness and
confusion. Mattie blossomed into a beautiful young woman.
The other side of the family couldn’t accept the distasteful transformation
and vowed never to associate with Mattie’s family again.
With each generation, a storyteller is born. There exists an individual in
every family who has a built in desire to investigate the past and bring
forth the spirits of their ancestry. Mattie was the storyteller in her
family.
When she was still a young girl of fourteen, her desire to research her
family tree grew. The family incident in her grandmother’s house had long
been forgotten and life had taken the different families on their own
journey.
Mattie, her mother and her mother’s mother filled page after page of family
history. While certain questions were always ignored or left unanswered,
through the years, Mattie uncovered family members and ancestors from
hundreds of years back. The more Mattie uncovered from her ancestry, the
more she dug for answers.
Throughout the search of her ancestry, there always remained one particular
portion of her family that continued to puzzle her. When she found clues to
that side of the family or when she found someone who knew anything or had
answers, when they realized they were speaking to Mattie, all communication
ceased. That puzzled Mattie, although she had an idea as to why.
It never failed. When Mattie could finally discover a family member from
that side of the tree, she would seek as much information from them as
possible. But, when they realized whom they were dealing with, which was the
Black Sheep, the one who had been ostracized so many years ago,
correspondence of any kind stopped and not a word more was exchanged. It was
as though the descendants from that side of the family had continued to
carry on the judgmental actions their ancestors had cursed them with so long
ago. The judgmental conditions continue to exist to this day.
The actions and decisions from so many years ago, passed down to the next
generations and beyond have left Mattie with a whole in her ancestry. Not
only has it left Mattie without the privilege of a portion of her ancestry,
it leaves that side of the family without the ability to share the
experiences and events that molded Mattie’s life and the lives of her other
ancestors.
Without knowing the circumstances or situations in Mattie’s family’s lives,
members of Mattie’s ancestry took it upon themselves to try their best to
remove the existence of Mattie from their heritage. They have unwittingly
denied themselves of knowing about Mattie and her immediate family. They
have denied knowing or sharing any portion of Mattie’s life as well as
denying themselves the privilege of knowing first hand any accomplishment or
positive part of Mattie. They have automatically labeled Mattie and anyone
connected to her as someone not good enough to be listed as part of their
family.
While these ancestors and descendants of a noble family continue to carry on
their legacy, they don’t realize they leave a very important part of their
heritage by the wayside. The shame and embarrassment they possess; the
distaste they carry for Mattie and anyone like her; the judgment they harbor
in their hearts can only be described as selfish and unwavering. It leaves
us all with a bitter taste in our mouths and too much pride in our hearts.
Every family has their skeletons, some more than others. For anyone who
performs research into their family heritage who denies the existence and
finds a person such as Mattie hidden within their family tree they should
remind themselves of one thing. They are a part of one big family that is
made up of different individuals.
Not everyone is going to believe the same things. Not every family member is
going to follow family tradition. Everyone is a complete, special and unique
individual with their own set of circumstances and ways to cope with the
life that is handed to them. Not every life is given a smooth path to
follow. Not every family member is handed a life that is not fraught with
difficulty. To deny any family member the promise of their heritage is to
deny that person a part of their legacy; a part of their family. The people
who have the notion they are better than anyone else or consider a
particular family member to be evil or demon possessed should stop for a
while and take stock into their own life. They should realize we all make up
‘the family’ and should realize that their family is a part of every other
family, which makes up who we are. To simply hide these people or remove
them from existence doesn’t alter the fact that these people such as Mattie
exist and are an important part of their very own family.
While we all would like to uncover that we are somehow related to nobility
of kings and queens, the fact remains that some of us are just common,
hard-working individuals who deserve, at the very least, the same respect
and consideration as anyone else. My suggestion to these people, who
consider themselves better than anyone else or holier than thou, is to try
and look at the people they have discarded as human beings. They have mother
and fathers just like everyone else. They have spouses and children too.
They have lives that are just as valuable as the rest of the world and they
are special people in their own right.
Before anyone can rightly judge them, they should consider what actions they
might have taken were they thrust into the same circumstances. These people
should remember, that God loves everyone. He loves the prostitute and the
tax collector equally. He loves us all, just as much as He loves Mattie and
her family and if God can allow Mattie and her family to be in His family,
why can’t the rest of the family allow it too? Don’t we all descend from the
same source? Didn’t he make us all? Didn’t He make the circumstance that
existed in Mattie’s life as well as He made the circumstances in everyone
else’s life?
There are still some who would suggest that God didn’t have anything to do
with Mattie or her circumstances, but I for one, beg to differ with a belief
that God has His hand in each and every circumstance in every person’s life.
I know Mattie personally and I know that she is a genuinely loving
individual who has done the best with the circumstances she was forced to
deal with. Given the chance to know Mattie and anyone in her family, you
would probably love her too and we all need a little love in this world.
The next time you, as a family tree researcher, come across someone whom you
find to be a distasteful family member, someone whom you had rather not list
in your family tree, I hope you think about Mattie and her family. Consider
for a moment that Mattie could possible be your child. How would you feel if
a part of your family ostracized you and excluded you and your family from
their rightful heritage?
Article
Source: familyhistoryarticles.com
3. Latest news
from
www.Ancestry.co.uk
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New partnership with the
London Metropolitan Archives
From Spring 2009, you'll be able to view London life through the ages
thanks to an exciting new partnership with the London Metropolitan Archives
– the Uk's largest local authority record office.
Featuring records that go back centuries, the LMA's historical parish
content will include Church of England archives, wills, school admission and
discharge registers – and much more.
Released in stages, there will be an astounding 77 million records in
total, from over 700 churches in London and Middlesex – the largest online
collection of its kind and unavailable to view anywhere else. For more
information on the types of records that will be available on www.Ancestry.co.uk
Join
or get a free trial here.
4.
Next month’s article.
People Search: How to Quickly and Easily Find Someone You Lost Track Of -
Very interesting!
That’s all for this month folks…I hope you enjoyed this months newsletter.
And in case you forgot earlier - Please sign the
Guestbook.
See you next month.
Jim. Editor
PS.
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