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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

The Chosen Ones


janwbay

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I had to share this with you, as I think it is lovely.

Janice

We Are The Chosen

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.

Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the storytellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us, "Tell our story!" So, we do.

In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors, "You have a wonderful family; you would be proud of us." How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say.

It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying, "I can't let this happen." The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish, how they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family.

It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth. Without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach.

That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So.we do.

With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are they and they are the sum of who we are. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers.

That is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory or greet those whom we had never known before.

-Author Unknown

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Is it not rather ironic that the author of so fulsome a panegyric on the joys of discovering people's identities should be 'unknown' ...?

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I have always thought that family history would be an interesting hobby if one's interests were in that direction. I feel this piece rather over eggs the pudding though. A bit grandiose somehow. A hint of desperation, even, showing through. Perhaps the author feels that the time and effort expended on compiling a family history needs justifying, that it might be better spent on something rather more worthwhile. Jogging or gardening perhaps. Of course, I may be quite mistaken.

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Welcome to the Forum, Ferinlay. :)

Hope you find what you're looking for here - this is an excellent place to ask questions relating to all aspects of the First World War and the people who were involved in it. There is an incredible amount of expertise here. There is also, as you would expect in a discussion forum, a wide range of opinions on many matters.

Having said that, I don't believe Mick has commented on the quality or otherwise of the piece, merely noted an irony.

Regards

Jim

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I don't believe Mick has commented on the quality or otherwise of the piece, merely noted an irony.

Quite so, Jim. If I were to comment, it would be to agree with Tom.

Mick

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My old gran had a Sampler just inside her front door so you saw it as you walked into her cottage. It read: God gave you yor relations, so thank God you can choose your friends. Never seen a need to reserach my family, but my father in law is all for it; I've been able to assist him from time to time, but it's not my thing.

Chacun a son gout, as I believe they say across the Channel.

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Hi Ferinlay, welcome to the forum and I hope you enjoy the discussions here and join in. There are times and places for polite conversation and silent disagreement but I do not believe a discussion forum is one of them. Without a divergence of opinion there would be no discussion. My post was my honest opinion on the piece. I do not claim it is a correct one nor do I think people should agree with my opinion. It is simply a contribution to an open discussion.

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Hi Ferinlay, welcome to the forum and I hope you enjoy the discussions here and join in. There are times and places for polite conversation and silent disagreement but I do not believe a discussion forum is one of them. Without a divergence of opinion there would be no discussion. My post was my honest opinion on the piece. I do not claim it is a correct one nor do I think people should agree with my opinion. It is simply a contribution to an open discussion.

Pals,

When doing my "day job" I am obliged to make use of a number of Internet forums, some of which are supposedly populated by "professionals", and I can unreservedly say this is by far and away the ...

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Visiting here is one of the highlights of my day! :D

That's my two penn'orth!

Cheers,

Mark

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Thanks folks for the welcome messages. Something I've learnt that surprised me was that not everyone on the site is into family history. It was while tracing my family tree that I was led to the site. My Grandpa died when my Mum was only 6, so we have never listened to stories of his early days. We came across a diary he wrote from 1916 up until he died in1930. Unfortunatley it didn't give any detail at all, it was just a record of where he went and when, each posting logged, each death of his companions also logged. After the war he has an entry "Got engagd to Nan". This was the first mention of my Grandmother. Her next mention is "Got married to Nan". Reading of all the places he served in the war made us interested in reading about his war record and getting the background to these theatres of war. It hadn't occurred to me that not everybody who was interested in their relatives war record, or in the Great War in general, was also interested in genealogy. I expect I have got so obsessed with my family tree, that I forget that it isn't of interest to everyone. I learn something new every day. On the other hand maybe some members will become interested in their family tree through reading of their relatives war record. As long as we all get pleasure from our interests, that's all that matters Thanks again for making me welcome.

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But still, Ferinlay, your grandfather's diary sounds very useful & fascinating. I think we gain our truest impressions from reading different styles of accounts.

My grandfather was a clerk and wrote in exactly the same way.

His diary was not for feelings or descriptions, it was a factual record.

One day in 1890 he records,

"10 o'clock - Met Miss Moffat from the train.

2 p.m. - Married Miss Moffat"

But - he records dates, times, places and people with accuracy and so his diary is very useful for research.

Unfortunately, or probably fortunately for him, he was too old for active service in WW1.

Kate

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