By JUDY KILGORE
jkilgore@thecitizennews.com

My mother made a comment to me last weekend that sort of stung. We were returning from a seminar on genealogy held at the LDS Church in Peachtree City. Somehow, the subject got around to my column and she said, “You don't ever write anything yourself anymore. All you do is quote what somebody else says.”

Well, Mom, that was the purpose of this column. There are many things in the church newsletters that aren't exactly news, but deserve to be repeated. It also demonstrates the talents of our local ministers. So that's what I do here. Give you mini-sermons or pious little tongue-in-cheek chuckles each week.

But, what the heck? For you, Mom, I'll write. And, since this is Black History Month, the celebration of African-American heritage, I thought I'd write about heritage...everyone's heritage.

Within the last few months, I have become a genealogy fanatic. The spark was born many years ago when I lived in Salt Lake City and became aware of the Mormons' genealogy quests. While theirs is rooted in religious beliefs, for me it was just fun to discover who my ancestors were.

Then, a few years ago I received something which has become pure gold to me—a book written by a distant cousin which details my family history back to an honest-to-gosh famous person. He's even in the encyclopedia. Yeah! How `bout that? I buried myself in charts and time lines and pedigree forms and marveled at the number of people who had to be born to make me who I am. I traveled to Alabama and took photos of cemetery markers. I read history books.

And then came the internet. I can literally sit for four and five hours at a time going through databases searching for one elusive relative. I have left messages in many different genealogy forums. I have heard from many people who share my passion. I have met cousins in far away places I didn't even know I had.

At the genealogy seminar in Peachtree City last Sunday, a demonstration was given on the LDS church's genealogy website, Familysearch.com. I didn't even know it existed and, the best part is, the services and databases are absolutely free.

According to their spokesperson for the evening (I think her name was Marie Keillor...forgive me Marie. I wasn't there as a reporter...I didn't take notes on peoples' names.), the site has only been up and running for a little over a year and they're still getting the kinks out of it. There's even a “feedback” feature so you can tell them what you think they need to do to improve the site. I couldn't wait to get home and log on.

To make a long story short, I went to bed well past 2 a.m. but not until I had found two ancestors who had eluded me in other “for pay” database systems. Pretty good, huh? I also found out I am only 10 minutes away from the LDS Family History Center in Newnan. It was a very profitable evening, to say the least.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we should all celebrate our heritage—no matter what our color or religious beliefs. It is fascinating and eye-opening to think about the times our ancestors lived in, the hardships they endured, the heartbreaks they suffered. Pardon me, I'm having a senior moment here, but who was it who said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”? (A co-worker just told me it was George Santayana.) How true, how true. So, celebrate your heritage proudly this month...and every month. Let's not be doomed to more centuries of mistakes.

Until next time...keep the faith.

(How was that, Mom?)

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