Desire to Results Takes Effort

I had a desire to get a goal in researching my family. The family of my grandmother’s father were mostly from an area of East Prussia on the northeast side of Heilsberg County. The borders varied over the years, but the records mainly resided in the local Catholic parish of Kiwitten. I wanted to index all the people in that parish that have surnames that match my family, which was not a small task.

I knew that this was going to take some time, and I needed help. Little did I know that it would take over 20 years. I got my wife to help a few times when we went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. I decided I needed to have a system for recording the names other than the family history software I was using because I wanted to easily reference where I left off. To help, I created three spreadsheets to track births, marriages, and deaths.

After the first thirteen years, I had little accomplished. I started to look at films at the BYU Family History Library in Provo, Utah. That was a much shorter drive, and in a familiar setting. I took my kids with me and had them trying to read old German script. Yes, I am strange, but in a good way. It took a lot of effort to arrange everything to get to the library, but I wanted to find my family.

Focus Helps Bring Things to Clarity

I didn’t know that it would take so long when I started this process, but I just drug on. Then something interesting happened. I started learning methods to get more focused on what I want. I started focusing on things in my life I wanted, and it started to work. The thought, “I wonder what would happen if I used those techniques for this goal?” Well, I soon found that focusing makes a difference.

In this last year, I processed as many pages of records as I had in 19 years. New ways of seeing the records opened up to me, and I have been more willing to put time into the effort as I see results. That initial success bred more success, and it has snowballed.

Beyond the information on dates and places that I found, I learned much more about who my family is to me. I learned that they had real lives, real struggles, and real sorrow. They experienced joy and fulfillment along with confusion and desperation. I better understand them, and myself.

I invite you to learn more about your family. Take some time to get to know them. Feel the fulfillment that can only come through the effort you make to understand them.

Learn more – Turning Your Family to History

If you desire more direct help in learning how to find your family, contact me. I know it will be worth your effort.