Above: A Sauk Native American family in 1890 Left: Five generations of an African American family in Beaufort, South Carolina
Searching for Who We Are:
Looking for answers in our family tree By Angela Lindsay
H
ow far back can you trace your family roots? Many of us want to know as much as we can about our ancestral tree because we want to find answers to who we really are and where we come from. “In my experience, few things are more compelling than our own origin stories,” said Gretchen Krueger, Ph.D., senior historian and lead family dynamics specialist at Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. Krueger gives people practical tips for investigating and documenting their family history. The most common questions people ask Krueger include: Where did my family come from? Who came before me? What was their life like, including schooling, daily work, military service, migrations and connections to community? “Knowing these answers can give us a fuller sense of our self and our place in our families across a long-time horizon — one
that spans the past, present and future,” she said. “History allows us to be able to more fully understand those who came before us and reflect on how Gretchen Krueger, they’ve shaped our Ph.D., senior lives and identities,” historian and lead Krueger said. “Often family dynamics we’re not even aware specialist at Wells of these influences Fargo Wealth until we learn more & Investment about our family’s Management past. It’s important to know that ‘the past’ can mean the more distant past and more recent generations. Having this knowledge can stir many emotions – even mixed emotions,” she explained. “History can confer greater responsibility,” she added. “It can also inspire us to contribute to our family’s unique legacy.”
Interest in researching genealogy and family lineage seems to have spiked over the past 25 years or so with the availability of many online resources and at-home testing kits that claim to help people trace their ancestry, as well as the popularity of genealogical TV shows like “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” In fact, Ancestry.com gets about 39,000 visitors a day, according to genealogyintime.com. For some ethnic groups, however, particularly African Americans, this search often hits dead ends because much history has been lost to time or even destroyed due to the transatlantic slave trade which intentionally destroyed family bonds and the stories that went along with them. While Krueger contends that all researchers—whether novice, experienced or professional — will encounter roadblocks, she acknowledges that African Americans face unique challenges when trying to explore their family history. July-August 2022 | Pride Magazine
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