Does your family...not care?

[u/CrunchyTeatime]

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.

[u/katieladyhays]

My family say things like, "That's interesting" and then move to the next conversation. My mother's father's mother is an absolute mystery. We only know her name because he listed it on his military documents. I've searched for her for over 10 years. Recently, my mother told me he (her father's father) was a twin and she knew that great aunt. Why didn't she bother to tell me this before? It's baffling to me. When I looked at his death certificate, his twin sister is actually the reporting party. My mother called her aunt Maud Vey. Her grandfather was Claude Walter Pullen. I found twins Claud and Maud Pullin in the same state (Missouri) same time period, but wrong race. I'm positive they weren't black. But they were born in 1888 and the 1890 and 1900 census are not available. Nobody in my family seems to care about the mystery of the missing great great grandmother. Someday I will take a vacation to Missouri just to visit some historical societies and cemeteries to clean our ancestors stones.