Family Genealogy Research

On a foggy, rainy afternoon, as I entered into my grandmother, Jan Yund’s, living room she clicked the mute button on the television remote and released her dogs astray to avert any disturbances. With the dogs and television out of sight, we both serenely rested on the sofa and isolated ourselves from the outside world for an hour in nearly complete silence. In fact, it was so silent that we could easily hear each rain drop drip onto her black-topped driveway and our own particular thoughts. As I sat there, I hoped that my grandmother could not hear my thoughts because, at that brief moment, I realized that my grandmother actually remembered our interview. Although I contacted her by telephone two weeks prior to the set date, she often overschedules …show more content…
At this moment, already eight minutes past our set time, my grandmother quickly changed into a green, crocheted sweater and khaki capris. Once we were both settled again, she wrapped herself in one of her own crocheted “friendship” blankets, giggled at herself, and then focused her attention on me. I began the interview by describing the family genealogy research project, my research findings thus far, and finished the description with one of my overall goals. I recounted my aim towards discovering more about my family in Germany. While I am aware of the details that I desire to discover about my family, I described to her the obstacles thrown at me. As I described my feelings of vexation and uncertainty due to limited research findings, my grandmother rested her warm, gentle hand on my right shoulder. With her support, I confidently asked her, “While doing genealogical research, what are ways to find more detailed information or even stories on the Yund family and are there any locations that would be beneficial towards my search?” My grandmother pondered on the question for a moment and then responded with, “Well, you could contact other extended relatives, professional genealogists on genealogy websites, and local or Illinois libraries” (Yund). Although she answered my question, I was hoping she would respond with …show more content…
Although the telephone and barking dogs interrupted us, we were able to overcome these and continue on with our conversation. The further into the conversation, the more I learned about my family. I learned that it is significant to study further into findings because, for years, various relatives presumed that my family initially inhabited Germany, but as I searched further into my roots, I found a completely different story about my German relatives. Most importantly, this interview rekindled the relationship between my grandmother and I and broadened my view of the Yund family