Genealogical Musings

For the past three years or so, I have been very interested in genealogy.  After receiving a load of family photos from his mother, Mick got the bug as well.  Anyone who has ever done any work in this area knows that it takes a lot of time and it's often difficult to get accurate information.  But that said, the time spent is well worth it.  It's like solving a big mystery, and you and your family are the main characters.

Last year, I joined Ancestry.com and my genealogical research took a huge leap forward. This was mainly because I had access to most of the U.S. census reports over the past 200 years or so and was endlessly fascinated by seeing my ancestors names listed, their occupations, their countries or states of origin, etc.  Sometimes it brought up more questions than it answered, but slowly I was able to piece together a history that feeds my soul and imagination.  What were these people really like?

I learned that branches of my family have been in North America since the 1700s, which surprises me, though I don't know why.  Perhaps it is the American phenomenon of saying "I'm Irish," or "English," or "French," or whatever nationality one identifies with.  Never "I'm American," at least in the context of it being a nationality unto itself. This is amusing to my English husband and other ex-pat friends, as they are generally just English, or Scottish, or French, or whatever, depending, of course, on where they are from.  Perhaps when the United States is over 1000 years old we will have the same sense of national self.

And yet, I feel some sort of, well, if not pride exactly, then interest, in the places of origin of my ancestors, no matter how far back I have to go to find it (though I have yet to find the Cherokee Indian blood that my family has always talked about).  I am German, Irish, and Mexican, with a bit of English somewhere if you look hard enough. With a surname like O'Neill, it isn't surprising that my immediate family considered themselves Irish-American, but truth be told it looks like the German blood wins out, at least as it trickled down to me, my brother, and sister.  Ironically, as an adult, I identify most strongly with my Mexican heritage, in that I am most interested in that.  But all of this cultural confusion only serves to prove that I am a garden-variety American, and happy to be one, at that!

Most of you visiting hollymick.com are probably here because you are interested in genealogy as well.  It must be said that although I've tried to be as accurate as possible in the family trees shown on this site, there are most surely mistakes here and there.  I've also been lazy about citing my references, so please be aware that these trees are only meant as a guide and perhaps a starting place for further research.