And tho I search both far and wide
My relations I find in shadows hide.
A game we play of hide and seek
I think they are winning, at least this week.

Seach and you shall fine? Well, not always!

Where have all the Elschners gone?
I've found the death index listing for my grandmother, and I have some inherited information on this family, but they seem to have dropped off the face of the earth.
Oh, I have 'found' many with the ELSCHNER surname, but none seem to have any recognizable connection to my family line.
Such are the joys of genealogical research.

I can't help but wonder how many future genealogists will be similarly frustrated in their attempts when researching family connections in today's war torn countries. What is it about our leaders that makes them so intent on destroying records of the past?

It is this underlying thought that drives me to keep researching. Some day someone in my family may benefit from what little I've found. In the meantime, I am the last of this line as there are no 'sons' to carry it on.

I have, however, discovered a rich history (through marriage connections and family stories) that dates back to the middle ages. Perhaps I will never be able to fully 'verify' family stories so rich in detail that I know all about the family crest that seems non-existant but which is manifest in family heirlooms (mom's ring, a plaque, and the story for example).

While it is important to 'make verifyable connections' in doing genealogical research, I would like to stress the importance of recording all those little bits and pieces that one cannot directly verify. Why? Because there is so much more to a family's history that who was born where and when.

Our research is a voyage into the discovery of our past family. Not just who those people were, but more importantly WHO they were as people. Do I have my great-grandmother's love of _________? Where did I get my green eyes when all my sister's have blue eyes? Why am I short, tall, thin, 'round, and so forth. Yes, physical and medical traits will emerge, but for me, finding out that I have 'joinerism' (the ability passed down from great grandmother Joiner that great grand dad explained allowed her to 'talk the birds right out of the trees')has provided a connection that is almost tangable and none the less so for any lack of 'documentation'.

Keep up the search. Find those documents. But remember, genealogy is as much about the stories as it is about the 'facts'.

Happy hunting.