Those Were Our People


	This is a letter to all of the younger generation in my family; on both 
sides of the family. To some of you, my thoughts written here may seem 
uninteresting or unimportant, but trust me when I tell you that someday you, 
your children, or grandchildren will want to know.

	Do you ever wonder why you are the way you are? Why are your eyes blue or 
brown or green? Why do you have blonde hair or brown hair?  Your life did not 
just begin with your parents. You have a wonderful history that goes back so far 
that it's hard to imagine that it has anything to do with you.

	I have had the good fortune to do some successful research on our family 
tree. Much of the information I have found came from other family members who 
have spent many hours at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and some 
came from resources I found on the Internet. And of course, the face to face 
conversations with my parents, aunts, great aunt, and my Mother-In-Law.

	When I first started researching our family tree, the Internet didn't 
exist. I would physically go to Genealogy Libraries and search through the 
microfiche files. It was long and exhausting work, but so exciting to find just 
the tiniest bit of information concerning our ancestors. That method of research 
is still useful, but the Internet has changed everything.  There are so many 
more resources now available, and we have ways of getting in touch with other 
people from all over the world who may be researching the same family-relatives.  

	We have so many stories, some wonderful and some extremely sad, about our 
ancestor. If you, the younger generation of our family, don't keep it alive, 
those stories will be lost forever. I know that right now, you are probably 
thinking, "Is she crazy!"  I don't have time to go digging up information on 
people I never knew or cared about. But trust me when I say that someday this 
will either be important to you, or you may just be a little curious as to who 
you are and what made you the kind of person you have become.

	In school we all studied History. You may remember something about the 
American Revolution, the Civil War, WWI and WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, etc, but do 
you realize that your own people fought in those wars?  Some we know were 
heroes. Others came through with emotional scars or wounds so bad that it was 
unbearable. Do you know that we have copies of letters from great-great 
grandfathers who wrote home to their wives while they were serving in the Civil 
War? Do you know that we have relatives who were pioneers who brought their 
families to new lands in Missouri and Texas in covered wagons? We have ancestors 
who were officers in the American Revolution and the Civil War. More recently, 
we have living relatives who were officers in the United States Army and fought 
in the Viet Nam War and the Gulf War. Where did our people live before that?  
Some of our ancestors came over on ships from Scotland. Can we trace those 
roots? The list goes on and on. Those people were our people.

	We have in our hands stories and documentation about land transactions, 
fights with Indians; towns, churches, and communities that were established 
because of our own ancestors. We have ancestors who established schools and 
where the students still study that family and their history.  Some of our 
ancestors owned slaves while others fought against slavery.  Some of our history 
may be something unimaginable, but it still is our history. We cannot let it die 
or be forgotten. Most of our true pioneers are gone already, but fortunately 
there are a few of the elderly in our families who can still remember the old 
days. I want you to really think about who they are and try to sit down and talk 
to them and really, really listen. Don't wait until you are old because they 
will be gone. It will be such a rewarding experience for you and a very special 
gift to them to know that you are interested and care about your roots. Write 
down the conversations you have with them so the details won't be lost or 
forgotten. 

	I am not specifically writing about just one family history. Your father's 
family, your mother's family, grandparents each have two sides, and so on. The 
line goes in all directions. You may find a line that appeals to you more than 
the others, but remember there are wonderful stories on all sides of your family 
tree. You may find that one of your long lost ancestors is somebody famous.

	You are a high tech generation. I just ask that you remember the 
generations before you who didn't have telephones, computers, I Pods, fast cars, 
or even running water. You will be surprised to learn about the Great 
Depression, the Crash of '29, and all of the other historical events that 
affected people who literally made you possible. 

	I hope that you will keep this letter somewhere and someday maybe you will 
think about researching your ancestors, or at least be interested in what others 
have already researched. I would urge you to watch the movie or better yet, read 
the book "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. This was not just a fictional 
story. There were so many of our ancestors who lived during this extremely tough 
period. People who lost everything they owned and had to survive in any way 
possible. How did they survive after losing their homes, their farms, all of 
their money?  Talk to them, or at least talk to their children who may be your 
parents or grandparents. Learn the stories and try to picture yourself in their 
position. What kind of courage did they possess that was passed on to you?

	Most of you have received requests from me regarding births, marriages, 
etc. I have this information on a computer program called Family Tree. I ask 
that you keep me up to date and if you would like a copy of the information I 
have, I will gladly send it to you. The research that I have done has been on 
the Hendersons, Neals, Sarvers, Whitmans,  Andersons, Gregorys, and so on. From 
those families the branch grows even more. From there some of the names are 
Scoggins, Currier, and on and on. 

	Today, you enjoy a life of freedom and unbelievable technology. The future 
is exciting and will produce things that we can't even imagine now. But, please 
don't forget your family history. It is what made you possible.

						I love you all.

						

						Patricia Irene Henderson Anderson
						February 3, 2006