G versus G

Another night searching for family. Wasted. It's getting harder and harder to find information online or is it that I've exhausted every site? I'll go with the exhaustion. That thought doesn't leave me depressed about the information highway. More and more organizations/societies want money for access. I get that. After all it costs for web and servers and maintenance, but really? Memberships and donations cost me so why not give a little bit back. I don't need certified documents, a screen shot is good enough for me, besides I know a few ways around ;)

Gardeners are sharing people. We are more than happy to separate a plant and give to other gardeners; sharing the growing demands of a particular plant; harvesting seed to ensure the lineage continues. Heck, I've sent plants hundreds of miles just so they continue to live on. But genealogists are another breed and I'm not so sure I want to join that herd. Sharing information for some, not all I've met, is like pulling teeth. Uncomfortable and awkward.

I'm been in contact with one “distant relative” giving her all the info I have and what have I received in kind? Nada! Not a bloody thing. All I asked for were photographs of a great great grandparent. I have none, nor does anyone in the family. Another branch has ceased communication and that is very sad. I feel my blood was drained providing them with my documentation, and after sending such, I've been tossed aside.

There is no one else in either of my families who is interested in our heritage. None at all. So I continue the search for Cornelious and Edward; and Joseph and Charles. As I said to one the other night, they need to be found, to be recognized if nothing else but for their lives. They came to this country wearing rags, cutting out an existence in forests, and be damned if I will allow them to go unnoticed. We are who we are because of them.

For the time being I need to step away from the Family Forest. The files have already been sorted and stored. It is time to check on the pots in the basement, and begin repotting and watering. That gives me greater joy. To encourage growth and life in the present than to dig up forgotten lives. This is what I need at the moment. I'm sure I'll continue the search, after all I am on a mission and stubbornness be thy name. Life brings memories and I know I'll find at least a new one even if its name is begonia.