BACKTRACKING
In Pursuit of Ancestors
By Terry Hogan
Did you ever wonder why so many
folks pursue genealogy? It can
easily become an obsession as it is not unlike a computer game with
ever-increasing levels of difficulties to overcome. Genealogists can be bores. We can even bore our own relatives with tales of ancestors
and tales of the pursuit of ancestors.
Just think how boring we can be to non-relatives. But why do we hunt down our
ancestors? Why the need? Why take
the risk?
Frankly, I cannot answer for the
myriad of researchers combing libraries, courthouses, cemeteries and internet
data bases. I can only try to
answer from a personal perspective, which may or may not find a harmonic chord
in other researchersÕ reasons.
I think part of it has to do with
trying to impose reason and purpose in a largely chaotic world. Genealogy is driven by some of the same
reasons that folks seek out and believe in a deity of one type or another. I
think humans are a lonely, logical lot who try to provide order and reason to a
disorderly, hazardous, and generally unruly world.
There is an old saying, to the
effect, that if you donÕt know where you came from, it doesnÕt matter which way
you go. We find that a hard
concept to set our lifeÕs compass by.
We need to feel that there is some sort of magnetic north in life; a
reason for being.
If you have studied genetics, you
can come up with the amazingly unsatisfying conclusion that we are mere vessels
carrying around genetic material (DNA).
The DNA has created us in the mode we are merely to ensure that we live long
enough to transfer the DNA to new vessels (children) before we wear out, or by
other means, die.
By backtracking, we are trying to
find a reason for our existence.
The very structure of our research, starting with ourselves and going
backwards in time, creates a linearity that suggests all of our ancestors lived
and died to produce us.
Of course this is grossly
incorrect. But it also raises even
a more disconcerting note. If one
goes beyond the mere superficial aspects of names, dates, and places, the whims
of life with all its dangers, unfold.
Go back a few generations and there are nearly an infinite number or
opportunities for the family history to have been different; to have unfolded
without your own presence. There
may be the obvious ones like the Civil War bullet that hit your ancestorÕs belt
buckle instead of his stomach. There may also be the less anticipated one where
an ancestorÕs spouse and family die of disease and your line comes from the new
family from the second marriage.
Life is a dangerous business. Genealogy provides all too much
documentation on all the ways for it to end. Research might even show a genetic propensity for terminal
diseases. Breast cancer tends to run in families. Hemophilia is carried by the female line, but is expressed
in the male descendants. I came
across a line of Hogans in Kentucky that I thought might be related to my
own. Luckily, they were not. A bride from Maryland introduced
hemophilia into the Hogan line and nearly all her sons bled to death before
marrying. Several cut themselves
while shaving, or by means of other relatively minor wounds, bled to
death.
The medical aspect of genealogy can
only increase in importance with time.
This may be good or bad.
Like so many things, it depends on how the knowledge is used. For males, a DNA test of the
Y-chromosome (only carried by males), can suggest family linkages based on
statistical analysis of the similarity of specific genes on the Y-chromosome. However, there is no reason to believe
that such tests will stop with the Y-chromosome. Once the family linkage is established genetically, the
genetic propensity to develop cancer, hemophilia, and many other diseases can
begin to be traced by family histories and/or by genetic testing on other
chromosomes.
The good side is that
fore-knowledge of a propensity may positively affect screening for the
occurrence of the disease. For
example, a propensity for breast cancer may encourage the individual to undergo
more frequent mammograms to detect cancer at an earlier stage. The bad side is if the insurance
companies gain access to the information and either deny coverage or increase
coverage costs because of family histories.
While obviously a personal value
judgment, I think it is fair for an insurance company to charge more for
medical coverage if the person elects to smoke, drink excessively, or
participates in exceptionally dangerous hobbies. It is a personal choice. On the other hand, few of us can be directly held
accountable for the genetic material handed down by our ancestors. As we had no Òfree will choiceÓ for a
propensity toward certain illnesses, coverage denial or increased premiums should
not be charged. That is, after
all, what insurance is aboutÉpooling the risk.
So is it a good thing to look back
and backtrack our ancestors?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. If you are willing to take the risk of
finding nefarious folk, Òwarts and allÓ, go ahead. If you are looking for the royal bloodline, donÕt
bother. Keep in mind the following
point. Most of the immigrants came to America to find a better life. If they were part of a royal lineage,
becoming an immigrant seems an unlikely choice.
If you decide to go hunting,
remember, rats are more abundant than lions.
2/7/08