This page was suggested by one of our members, and we thought it was a great idea. A page for things that you wish you had done, but didn't. Someone you should have talked with, when you had the chance. The family questions that didn't get answered or asked.
Please relax with this soothing background of the running brook and read the feelings and regrets
of our members.
cj_31_1968 First of all -- I wish I would have written down the stories my Grandparents use to tell me about their childhood, when I was young! I remember some of them, but most of the details have faded :-(
Second -- I wish I would have been into Genealogy before my Grandmother died 5 years ago, maybe
if I had been I could have looked in her family bible before someone else took it and so far none
of the other family members have been able to get it to look in it :-(
Thirdly -- I sometimes wish I would have been born about 100 years earlier so that the information
that is lost now would be known to me and I wouldn't have this huge Abbott brick wall!
genzoli I regret that I didn't ask a
question or say something to someone about family history, or that I was born the same year both my great grand parents on my mom's side passed away. OH the time they could have saved me just by staying alive a couple more years! Seems odd to have such a close history with a place and not really know much about it at all.
Yesterday the house I lived in for the first two years of my life was on the front cover of a local newspaper, "OLD HOUSE FINDS NEW LIFE". They didn't know much about the history of the place, but they had great plans for a bed and breakfast. When my mother saw it, she just sparkled, OH I know all about that place, it was the first house your father and I owned outright. She has some good history of the place, some old photos. I will be calling them tomorrow to see if they are interested in the history.
And as far as regrets go, I don't know anyone who has not missed out on an opportunity to ask/do something with family history. I guess the only thing that can be done is to pass along the lesson "ASK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD AN EMPTY FAMILY TREE!"
grammyof9_ca I guess my first regret would also
be that I wasn't interested in genealogy earlier. I would have been able to get so much more information on both my side with the BANKS name, plus my husband's family which is WHITMAN.
My history has kind of come full circle. My father was born in Nova Scotia, but his family moved to
Massachusetts when he was 5 years old. After my father was married and had 2 children, myself
and my brother, we came to Nova Scotia for a vacation and for my father to see where he was born.
Well, making the story short, I met my husband while we were on this vacation. He soon came to
Massachusetts and after 3 years, we were married. I was still not interested in genealogy, so come
to find out I missed the birthplace of my husband's ancestors. They came from England to
Weymouth, Massachusetts, and I only wish that I could have had the chance to visit my husband's
ancestor's place of birth. I could have gotten so much more information visiting the historical sites,
taken pictures and done so much research.
Well, while our children were still young, we moved back to Nova Scotia. It wasn't until after our
children were grown and had children of their own, that I finally became so interested in genealogy.
The first family history I have done, is my husband's Whitman Family. You can see my regret of
not being able to have done that research earlier.
My other regret, is starting to do my Banks Family. Yes, they are all down in Massachusetts, with
one aunt that I just made contact with, who lives in Maine. IF ONLY, I had this addiction earlier and
had been able to get my information while I was in the right place and the right time.
johnhoul It's not so much as regret not meeting the ancestry would have been nice, maybe, but the little regrets, the missed opportunities.
My regret or should I say regrets, both have to do with my uncle who died/killed in World War II,
so never knew him missing in action. Well, where I grew up was a memorial to the men of our
town who were killed in action. Now, I passed this memorial fairly regularly and never knew my
uncles name was on it, also as he was missing in action, he never had a grave but what we did not
know was a plaque was placed on a wall at Runnymead over looking the river Thames with his
details on. He was declared missing in action 30 March 1943. We never knew about it, mind you
I have seen it on the internet, may not be exactly the same. I wish I had read the names on that
Memorial. My dad never knew and he passed away not knowing.
monarda2002 I agree with you CJ about not asking more questions of my great grandparents when they would have been able to tell me their parents names and birthplaces.
oldbeatlefan53 My big regret is not taking an interest in my mother's relatives like I should have. When I was growing up we lived next door to my great uncle who was my grandmother's brother. He was always revered as being the oldest family member by my mother and her siblings and everyone in our extended family always called him Unc. We had a family reunion in 1997 and we took pictures of him and the newest member of the family that was recently born. So he was about 90 and the baby was about 6 months old. It is a really sweet picture. He had all of his faculties and everyone deferred to him around the table and listened to him talk. I wish I had paid more attention. Now he is gone. He died about 2 years after that.
When I started doing genealogy, I sent all the relatives (and there are not many left believe me) a form with questions and a SASE. The eldest member - my mother's cousin but we always called him uncle because he was so much older - just wrote that he would talk to me in person. Well, life goes on and I figured that I could talk to him at the family do. So I waited. And now he is in bad health. We had the family lunch in Aug and he was so ill that he only stayed a few minutes. We took pictures, but I had looked forward to talking to him and asking him the questions that I needed to ask about my grandmother (his aunt) and how they came to Canada, etc. At the lunch his wife said that he did want to talk and she would ask him and get back to me. I have talked to her since, but she said that there was some kind of falling out with the relatives about 40-50 years ago!! And he did not like to talk about it. And he was not up to it anyway. I'm sure she knew what it was, but maybe he asked her not to say. You know how the old people protect what they think is or might be a scandal. So when I had my chance all of those years before Aug/2003, I did not pay attention. If there is any advice I can give young people, it is to listen to your elders and get to know them.
Also, when I started doing genealogy I talked to my aunt, my father's sister and oldest living relative on his side, and she gave me the names of my grandparents (her parents). I didn't even have that much because my father died when I was 13 and we never met them. I don't know why we never associated with them. Or even talked about them. I had not even met them. I only saw my aunt at funerals later in life and didn't know her very well. She is 83 now and still kind of active and a very nice woman. I wish I had gotten to know her sooner, not only because she is a lovely woman, but because now she can't remember very much.
So again, I offer advice. If at all possible, go to visit your relatives, even if you haven't seen them in years. I know they would appreciate the company and they might have some advice and/or info to offer. You will make their day and also your own.
