4 million, 6 thousand, 7 hundred & 25th Descendant
“Hey! Look on page 4,372… I’m in the 3rd column half way down the page just under Great Great Second Cousin’s Grandparents Sister-in-law’s Adopted Twin Sister, Ethel the Second of Outer Upper Antarctica! Yes that’s me! I’m a direct descendant!” I’m talking about those grand family history books we buy which are touted as being 200 plus pages of information about Great Great Grandma and her family.
There is anticipation that we feel as the book arrives in it’s layers of bubble wrap and brown paper envelopes from that distant relative who has spent years putting them all together. There is the trembling of the hands as we hold the book. There is our inner torment as we wrestle with the decision to either plunge straight in and read it, or put it in the china cabinet under lock and key until the kettle is boiled, the phone is off the hook, the reading glasses are sparkling and the front door is locked.
There is the introduction to the book expounding years of research, decades of hard slog, enormous amounts of hard earned cash all poured into the magnificent tome we hold before us. There are the first 3 pages of information where we nod our head knowingly and say out loud to no-one but ourselves and ghosts of those listening “yes, I knew that.. and that… um, no he’s got that wrong I think….yes, that’s the photo I’ve seen….”. Then there are the next 5 pages of information about the brothers and sisters in the family which are no relation to us and we really don’t care so we skip over them. And then … (I’m not just talking but I’m standing on a soapbox and declaring to all who will listen) … Then there are the next 192 pages of descendant charts!!!!!!!!!!!
I can find those anywhere! I didn’t buy the book to find information that reads like the capital city’s phone book! I don’t care who they all are! I bought the book to find out about Great Great Grandma! I want to know what she lived through! I want to know about her attitudes, her societal pressures, her living arrangements, her Day to Day Life! I want to know Great Great Grandma!!!!!!!!!! I don’t give two hoots if I am related by default to every person I walk past in the street or Jesus Christ himself. It’s Great Great Grandma who interests me and who I paid a LOT of money to find out about by buying your book! Grrrrrrr.
Is this why people publish those sorts of books? Is it all about us? Is it because they just want to show everyone where THEY fit into the grand scheme of things? Is it narcissism to the max? Get a mirror, look into your own eyes and ask yourself honestly – Do you care about Great Great Grandma, about who she was, about how you would have felt if you had the chance to sit on her knee as a child, or listen to her wisdom by the fire with a cup of tea, or do you care about what notoriety you can get from her life?
It’s the day and age we live in now that causes it. I blame the “me” generation which is cossetted by media. Everyone with a kitchen is now a MasterChef, everyone with a digital camera is now a Professional Photographer, everyone with an internet connection, a graphics program and a Facebook account can be a deep, insightful philosopher. Everyone with enough money to buy a genealogy account can now be a published author. Fast, quick, fame and fortune based on lists.
So as I sit in my mind with Great Great Grandma and say to her “Hey, did you know that your 48th Great Grandchild by your 3rd son’s second wife’s adopted daughter wrote a book about you?” I’m sure she may say “Did he mention my arthritis and the backache I got from milking the cows?” It will be hard to tell her that he didn’t think it was important to put that in his phone book.