Tag Archives: relatives

Family History – it’s not All About the Research

The holidays are a time when you may be able to see relatives whom you do not get to see frequently. Of course, that is a wonderful thing. As a genealogist, you may be tempted to try to get as much information as you can during the visits. You might even make an action plan of what you want to discuss and with whom. I have discovered that unless there is some pressing research that you absolutely must do, those research questions and plans can be saved for email or telephone exchanges, or even writing letters. Holiday visits are a … Continue reading →

Breaking Down Genenalogical Walls With Cluster Research

Many genealogists are only interested in researching their direct descendancy, which stands to reason. We often begin genealogy with the hopes of locating our ancestors, and not all the other relatives involved. I also recommend researching this way in the beginning to avoid overwhelming yourself with too many names, dates, and places. However, eventually you will hit a brick wall in your research. To me, this is where genealogy gets really interesting. I love a good mystery! One way to break through these walls is by performing cluster research. This form of research involves looking at the siblings, aunts, uncles, … Continue reading →

Identifying Relatives in an Old Photo

When researching your family tree, a good way to identify people and gain information is to start with the oldest family photo that you have. Take the photograph and number each person, then identify anyone in the photo that you already know. Next, take the photo and a notebook with you to your oldest living relative. Show that person the photo and write down the name and corresponding number of any person identified, as well as any other information given to you by your relative. My mother did this and found a lot of information this way. Sometimes the person … Continue reading →

Family Relationships and Attitude

Extended family is always going to be part of your married life. Even if you are no longer in contacted with your extended family, they will always be there in the form of influence over you and your spouse. These are the people that helped form your young lives, and their dynamics will definitely mold your beliefs. One of these beliefs is an attitude toward family and the roles that the in-laws take. When you became a daughter-in-law or son-in-law where you immediately part of the family and treated as a natural child? Or, are you family but more at … Continue reading →

Kinship Foster Care

My last two blogs defined kinship adoption and discussed its advantages and disadvantages. This blog is about the related topic of kinship foster care. Some estimates say that nearly half of the children in foster care are living with relatives. This is very hard to measure, as many families may be taking care of grandchildren, nieces or nephews informally. As with kinship adoption, the major advantage of kinship foster care is that the children are with someone familiar instead of being further traumatized or frightened by being placed with strangers. Many children also find living with relatives to be less … Continue reading →

Extended Family’s Attitudes about Skin Color

I know a couple of adoptive families who were interested in adopting from Korea, but said their extended families wouldn’t fully accept a child of color and that wouldn’t be fair to the child. One friend’s father had been a POW in the Korean War and held negative views ever after. Our own families were very supportive of our adopting from Korea. Nonetheless I’ve observed a couple of instances where they are uncomfortable talking about skin color. In another blog I described how my Korean-born daughter always chose the darker chair for herself and the lighter one for her brother, … Continue reading →

Make Your Guests Feel at Home

I’ve found that one of the best ways to make your guests feel at home is to put yourself in their shoes. How do you feel when you stay at someone else’s home? Are you relaxed, or is it sometimes awkward? In which homes do you feel the most relaxed? I know that even when I stay with close relatives or friends, I tend to feel a little awkward no matter how hard they try to make me feel comfortable. I presume that my guests feel the same way, so I try to make sure they don’t have to ask … Continue reading →

Grandfather’s Eyes

As I looked up into the doorway, my heart stopped. I looked back towards the car for a moment to catch my breath and catch the eye of my husband, whom I knew had to see what I saw. Standing before me was a man, who there was no doubt was related to me. None. The eyes, the face, oh my gosh! Those eyes. My grandfather’s EYES! They were so blue… and so gorgeous and I wanted to cry, but instead, I just stood there – having no idea what to say, trying to hear Terrie talk, but being so … Continue reading →