Finding history a fascinating subject, a longing to find my roots began in my teens when listening to the fascinating and mysterious stories told by my elders of my ancestors who hailed from various parts of Europe - Scotland, England, Germany, Netherlands; and that is only going back three generations, so it could be even more of a mixed bag!
My husband's ancestors go back to the same period and came from Wales, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands; so my children have ancestors scattered in other parts of Europe, with Mom and Dad both South Africans.
It is no wonder that back in the day, most white South Africans were called Europeans, whereas the Dutch descendants were called Boers, as they were mostly farmers. I am proudly South African, but still very curious about my ancestry.
Something interesting I read was that most people with European ancestors likely are all related if one goes back just a thousand years, and have a blood connection to Charlemagne as well!
Genealogy
I'm sure when you saw my Family Tree you guessed what hobby I would love to pursue one day when I have time. This was supposed to happen after retirement, but of course, fate had something else in store!
I could pursue this hobby even more if I had loads of money for DNA testing as well as traveling to all the towns or cities where my ancestors lived many moons ago!
I think we all would love to find out more about our family tree and see how far back we could go.
When I was in my late teens, I started a search. I think you can guess my age by now, as there was no Google back then; only the library, birth, death, and marriage certificates, the latter almost impossible to obtain even today.
I peppered my grandparents, aunts, and uncles, as well as my parents, with questions, and meticulously wrote down what they knew and could remember being told by their elders.
It was a big black book and I'd even started building a family tree. I had many names written down; who they were, where they lived, what they did as an occupation, and many birth as well as death dates; some approximate of course, but still valuable information.
Family Secrets
Many of us would find a family secret if we dug deep enough, and my digging led to my mother telling me that she discovered in her teens that my Oupa was not her biological father! Her lifelong dream was to meet this man just once; not that she had any desire to become part of his family, but just to know what he looked like and be acknowledged. This dream was never realized.
When we moved home, my black book went missing; I frantically searched in all the boxes as we were unpacking, but my precious notebook was gone forever!
So, I started asking questions again, but the older folk's memories started fading, although I remembered some of the stories.
My Scottish great-grandfather married a lady of Dutch origin in the 19th century, and all I know of him is a story that was passed down generations. Apparently, he could not speak Afrikaans when he met my great-grandmother and neither could she speak English; I imagine his English would have been a charming Scottish accent. Other than that, I don't know anything else and there's no one alive who can tell me their names and the reasons why he traveled such a long way across the sea to live in South Africa; neither did I know which town or city he came from, nor what his occupation was!
What I do know, is that one of them must have had exceptional musical talent, as that was passed down to my Dad and his brothers. Perhaps they were both musical, as music is a universal language.
My Oupa's ancestors were part of the French Huguenots who came to South Africa in the seventeenth century and settled in what was then known as the Cape of Good Hope.
Some of my Ouma's ancestors came from England with the 1820 Settlers and settled in the Eastern Cape
Hubby's grandfather was of German descent, but his parents emigrated to Texas and during the First World War, he was sent to South Africa to bring horses to the country. It was here that he met the love of his life, a Danish lady. We do not know anything about her, as she died during childbirth when my mother-in-law was only five.
He never remarried and lived alone on a farm in the Eastern Cape.
If I had more facts, I could likely write a series of posts about my ancestors
DNA testing
This is one thing I'd love to go for and which would help greatly in my search for a more complete family tree.
My nephew who had a very special bond with Mom Lily, had an autosomal DNA test done when he heard about her dream. This test can determine a person's ethnicity and also find a match to living relatives from the past five generations.
He sent me his results and I recognized one maiden name from my Ouma's ancestry, so I made contact with her. This delightful young woman and I shared what we had found with regards to that side of the family, and she in turn enquired about Mom's biological father, as she still lived in that area.
She received a photo of the lady who was Mom's biological half-sister, but none of him.
Mom just shrugged her shoulders and told me not to dig anymore.
I believe people from that era tended to sweep things under the carpet and pretend everything is hunky-dory, while in reality, it is something that will always sit at the back of their minds!
Hopefully, I will one day find more time to pursue this hobby as there now are many online sites that will help me find my roots.
The strange thought always crosses my mind - if it were not for my ancestors, I may never have existed!
Silver Prompt
- a craft or hobby that you don't know much about but would like to learn in your silver years.
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