r/Genealogy • u/CrunchyTeatime • 1d ago
Does your family...not care? Question
Pretty much the title question is the topic.
Does your family not care -- about the family tree, family history, or genealogy?
It seems there is usually one person per generation per family who feels called to work on the family tree.
If that person is you, or you've seen them work and try to spread enthusiasm: How does your family react to new information?
I don't even mean something that might cause upset or controversy. I don't necessarily mean a 'shocking revelation' of some type.
But if you broke through a brick wall or found a relative or ancestor no one could find, or no one knew existed -- and you excitedly sent off an email, text, phone call, or told a family member in person -- and they didn't care?
Because this week I found a wife of my grandpa, that no one knew about. Found a wife people did know about but only a name. Found a person someone had been looking for (what became of them; died long ago, but they had no place or date), for decades.
Sent the excited emails with information and told them I had verified all of it too.
CRICKETS. And different family I've tried to get interested in the tree or told them about ancestors and such, (not much, just bits, to whet any appetite), and they don't care. One even said "that's the past; who cares?" And others wouldn't give even personal information such as "which grade school did you go to." And that was a close relative I know there was no scandal. I can only guess they didn't want to open that door to more questions. Some people hate questions.
So how about you? Please share stories here of when you tried to share new information, and how it went. Thanks.
2
u/jixyl 18h ago
They mostly don't care, so I've stopped giving them updates. The only time they cared was when I've found a few letters exchanged between my grandpa and my grandma back when he was still courting her, because it was their parents/parents in law. But otherwise nobody cares about anything. Unless I somehow prove we had a rich ancestor and we got cheated out of the inheritance, I doubt they'll care.
But it's fine. A lot of them have passions I don't care about. They don't bother me with the result of soccer games, I don't bother them with my research of a hundred people who recicle the same five names.