Olivepage wrote:I never understood why anyone should be interested in their family tree. You stand or fall on who you are not on what your ancestors did or did not do.
While I can see where you are coming from, I find it fascinating, not only who the ancestors were, but what they did, and the times that they lived in.
For example, I've found that some of my ancestors families moved around a hell of a lot - London & Cornwall for example. This was in the early 1800's when there was no transport, the railways were just starting up, and roads were almost non existant. How the hell do you move yourself, wife and several infants/babies from Aberdeenshire to Cornwall?
Also interesting is how some traits continue down the generations. My wife has a thing about trains,and often said she would have loved to have a big train set, with all the layouts etc. Turns out that many of her ancestors
WERE railway workers!
So, while I agree with you to some extent, it's the past generations that make us what we are.