For many families, summer is the time for reunions and gatherings that bring generations together. It is a time to reflect on the ties that bind a family. Those ties, or roots, make up a family’s genealogy.
“Genealogy is much more than just names and dates of your relatives; it is the story or your life and your past,” said Linda Wilson, president of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society.
Since 1988, the society has been meeting to discuss all topics related to family ancestry.
“The most important thing we want people to know is that it is not just for families in Monmouth County. Half of our members have no association with Monmouth County,” said Judy Bretzger, editor of the society’s newsletter.
The society seeks to promote the study of genealogy, history, geography and social customs of people’s ancestors and encourage adherence to the highest standards of research and documentation, according to the organization’s website.
Wilson said the society is “more education and outreach as opposed to just speakers entertaining people.”
Sparked in part by the Internet, a growing interest in finding one’s genealogy has been taking place in the last decade or so, according to Bretzger. However, she cautioned those relying on the Internet alone for their search.
“The Internet is often inaccurate. It is difficult to get the right information,” Bretzger said.
Wilson said the society wants “information found on the Internet backed by primary information, such as birth, death, military or marriage certificates.”
“We are in an interesting quandary. Years ago we used archives and the library, but now everything is on the Internet,” Wilson said.
With more than 240 members, the society includes 170 members from New Jersey. The rest of the members reside in 28 states and other countries.
A recent Marist Poll Service survey reported that searching one’s genealogy is the second most popular hobby in America, after gardening.
Finding one’s ancestry is time consuming, so older people with free time often engage in researching their family tree more often than younger people, as do more women than men, Bretzger said.
For those interested in researching their family history, Bretzger offers a launching point.
“You want to start finding out about your genealogy by interviewing all living relatives,” Bretzger said.
Once the journey has begun, Wilson said, “it is one of the most interesting, frustrating, time consuming and most rewarding things you can do. It makes us confront the painful episodes of our history when we discover slave owning ancestors. It makes us proud when we discover those who fought in the American Revolution. It gives us roots and helps us see just how very connected we are.”
Researching one’s ancestors and their origins helps a person feel complete, said Joan E. Betancourt, a New Jersey-based genealogist and family history researcher.
“Genealogy can provide new understandings of inherited traits and traditions,” Betancourt said.
In addition, genealogy can identify and locate unknown family members and open up possibilities for new relationships, according to Betancourt.
“Many of us just want to know who we come from and where we come from,” she said.
Various speakers are featured at the society’s meetings, which take place six times per year. On July 12, Judy G. Russell, who is known as the legal genealogist, presented “Rogues, Rascals and Rapscallions: The Family Black Sheep,” in which family members who created records because of their bad behavior were discussed.
In addition to hearing from speakers, the society sponsors workshops and field trips to destinations such as the National Archives and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and to Ellis Island in Upper New York Bay.
The society publishes a newsletter, “The Monmouth Connection,” six times per year. The group has special interest groups that focus on individuals with Irish or German roots.
“Our new African-American genealogy special interest group started in May under the direction of Charles Lawson, one of our members who lives in Red Bank,” Bretzger said.
The Memoirs group, in its 16th year, encourages members to write their own life stories for future generations.
The Monmouth Roots group, geared toward members who want to research their early Monmouth County ancestors, has been active for several months, Bretzger said.
Every October, which is family history month, the Monmouth County Genealogy Society sponsors an essay contest for fifthand sixth-graders. The group participates in Monmouth County’s Archives and History Day in October.
“It is an intellectual jigsaw puzzle to pull together our family history, except that we have to go find all the pieces ourselves, and we are never sure when we start what the final picture is going to look like,” Wilson said.