Family Identity

Most families have a very diverse background and it’s not uncommon that pieces of their lineage get lost along the way. Why is it that most people rely on memory to pass down traditions and family lineage? My family has almost entirely relied on our history being passed down by word of mouth, very little has ever been written.

There is more than one way to pass down information from generation to generation. Writing is one but the way most do it is by word of mouth. As for the accuracy of the details, that may be questionable as each generation loses or changes a part of that history. Since very little was written about my family I know only a few generations back. My Dad’s parents died when he was very young so a lot of information never got passed down. On my Mom’s side my great grandparents were hardly ever around so a lot of family lineage was lost. I do know that on my Dad’s maternal side they came from Norway and on his paternal side they came from Germany. My Mom’s family is from Sweden and England with a little bit of Irish thrown in. My Mom is from a family of six kids and my Dad from a family of four. I am from a family of three with two older brothers. When it comes to grandparents I only got to meet two of them and only one is currently living.

In my experience passing important family history is best done by writing it down. By word of mouth information just seems to get lost from generation to generation. I could always spend time researching my family history and probably come up with something but it just isn’t the same as it being passed down by family members.

-Katie F.
Section 005