Do you become emotional doing family history?

[Davedrave]

I don’t normally get emotionally involved when doing research because most of mine concerns people I’ve never met and no-one I know has met. However, when I read the death certificate of the grandmother I never knew, I felt quite stunned for a while, and yet my father could not remember her either. Reading the cause of death: “heart failure, pulmonary tuberculosis and toxaemia”, it seemed so cruel that she was taken in her mid 30’s  (along with her father and two siblings, all during the 1920’s, all victims of TB) when my father was only four.

Prior to that I found reading of the death of a six year old boy whose skull was crushed by a farm cart when he was larking about during the harvest in 1846, very sad (my great great grandfather’s nephew).

[Mart 'n' Al]

My main emotion is frustration that none of my ancestors told me much about their childhood when I was a child. My much-loved aunt turned out to actually be my father's mother, although he didn't know until very late in his own life. I'm frustrated that she was never more open about it. My other aunt, the posh one, always seemed as though everything was above her dignity, but my research has shown that she was about to give birth at the time she married. I'd like to have known more about that.

I'm also frustrated that my parents didn't tell me more about their own aunts and uncles.

Martin

[barryd]

Yes when I am researching World War 1 servicemen. All wars are stupid but that one topped the list.

[Rosinish]

I think most of us who are 'serious' about our FH do get emotional.

If we're eager enough to find the truth then we have to take on board the things which come with it.

Whether reading DCs which are available or noting from census' where many children have died between 2 & no certs. available then yes, I tend to wonder how the parents coped with all those deaths, naming the next born after the deceased etc.

I feel sorry for husbands who have lost their wives in childbirth, children drowning, being burnt, war deaths etc.

I would say it's only human to feel some sort of grief for our ancestors as I tend to try & put myself in their shoes which gives a better sense of understanding.
I don't fret if a person has lived a long life & died of natural causes as to me it would be expected i.e. when looking at census' we already have an idea they've had a long life unless of course their death was something horrific in some way?

Martin, I can understand what you're saying but at the same time, did you not feel a sense of achievement & a smile when you discovered the truth, part of the excitement of genealogy   

Annie

[Treetotal]

I do sometimes...when I found out recently that one of my ancestors was "Shot at Dawn" for desertion 
Another died from an ankle wound when her foot was run over by a wagonette when she was crossing the road. She was helped to a nearby tavern where her boot was removed and her bleeding foot was placed in a bucket of cold water, she died from blood loss some time later. She was only 32 and left 7 children the youngest of which was only 7 months old 
Carol

[Wendy2305]

A few times although the one I remember is on my daughter's His wife and 2 children died within a couple of years of each other the children were 3 months and 2 years
I found his death 50 years later he had not remarried in all that time which I found quite sad as he was in his 20's when he lost his family

[medpat]

Seeing the 1911 census for my maternal gt granparents.

14 live births      9 deaths        5 still alive.

the 9 all died under 1 yr, 

[Finley 1]

Me   ----- guess 


I laugh and cry and exclaim with joy
when I re-discover a baby boy
the 1911 said she had 7
but sadly one went straight to heaven..

cannot write any more cos my eyes are all blurred


anyway

yep  Where I could, I found the precious babies that are missing on 1911s   and actually found their names and put them back in place in their section of my tree..   That makes me at peace.

Then I cried when I found a relative who seemingly must have (maybe) alzheimers of the day.. shoved away in a lunatic asylum and forgotten.

baby girl that died in Victoria at the time of the Goldrush.. bless her.. 

Tooooo many instances that  I have found and some far - far - too close to home..

It was exciting .. finding my step sister .. ooooo that was scary -- but good.


so yep  all the time for me..


xin

[iolaus]

Reading the cause of death: “heart failure, pulmonary tuberculosis and toxaemia”, it seemed so cruel that she was taken in her mid 30’s  (along with her father and two siblings, all during the 1920’s, all victims of TB) when my father was only four.

Did the baby survive? the pregnancy probably worsened the TB and so on.
Very sad


I think it's natural to become emotional doing it, they become real people to us so naturally we get upset at what happened, some of them had absolutely tragic lives, one of mine had 11 children only three of whom lived beyond 14 months.  My greatgrandmother was the eldest and as my dad said it's probably why she was so distant with babies

I was distraught when I found one of my relatives who was born and died just as 'baby girl' - she never had a name

My husband isn't into family history at all, but got extremely annoyed and took it personally that one of his family had been put into a workhouse for having a baby out of wedlock (when the workhouse closed down some 30 odd years later she was moved to a mental hospital where she died in the 1960s - I assume she was institutionalised to an extent that she couldn't cope with life outside - he's never really forgiven her parents for it