Are You
In Touch With Your Roots?
~~~by Lillian Arnold
Lopez~~~
None of us can be certain of the future; yet most of us can find an interesting and rewarding project in the investigation of our pasts. Your family history is unique in that it belongs only to your family, and is different from all others. We can preserve a part of our ancestry by tracing our parents' lines.
I have concentrated mostly on my father's line, so far, since it belongs to our coastal villages and goes hand-in-hand with the area's early history. One of my earliest direct ancestors to the area was a whaler, when whales were important to daily living. Several of my forebears were instrumental in building the Barnegat Quaker Church, in 1767. One built a schoolhouse in 1820, for which I have a copy of the lease. Also, in Barnegat, there is a pond named for his family. Most of my father's line were Quakers and responsible citizens; through I have found some instances of obstinacies recorded.
Much of the information is from published material; although other sources are available wherever early records are kept. If you would like to start a family search, probably the best way would be census microfilms. That is, after older living relatives and family Bibles are consulted. Old deeds, wills, cemetery and church records are also helpful. And perhaps, as was my good luck, you can find someone working on the same lines - it is a very popular pastime right now. I am grateful for the "boost" afforded me by newly made friends and distant relatives.
Census counts were taken every ten years from 1790, though in the beginning, it named only heads of households; with males and females listed in age groups. In 1850, it began listing names, ages, and even occupations. Though the National Archives in Washington, D.C. is the "storage attic" for early census rolls, it may be easier to go to State or county libraries where they can also be found. I have found a great deal of useful data in the Ocean County Library in Toms River, N.J. This is especially helpful in placing a certain person in a family group. One clue leads to another, but we cannot despair if some do "prove" and others elude us.
I have also found both Mr. Salter's "History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties" and Mrs. Blackman's "History of Little Egg Harbor" very helpful. It was in Salter's history that I found my great grandfather's name in a Military Service list and sent to the Archives - and, for a nominal fee, was able to have copied and sent, his Civil War service and pension records. From this, I travelled his course by comparing it with the encyclopedia's account of the war. So, you see, it can be educational, too. (Address is: Military Service Records, NNCC-CSA National Archives, Washington D.C. 20408. Ask for GSA form 751.)
Your library has many good books, written to help you with family research, wherever your origins are from. For children as well as adults, genealogy can sometimes be taken as a special course in school.
If you enjoy playing detective, or even a good jigsaw puzzle, by all means, start your ancestry chart. you may never find all of the pieces, but there is a certain pleasure and satisfaction in what we find.
Another project I'd like to stress is the learning and preservation of family stories; those human interest experiences all families pass along for future generations. Keep them along with your records of births, deaths, marriages, etc., and your heirlooms, photos and documents. Ask your relatives for their family recollections of customs and traditions, and search your own memory also. And, write it down.
Happy Hunting!
Lillian Arnold Lopez