What's in a name?

I've been in a mood for Celtic music lately. Don't really know why, maybe because some of my roots are Celtic, as are a great many of us who have European Ancestry. I would one day really like to see the lands where they used to live, Ireland and Scotland in particular.

My ancestry: English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, German, Cherokee, Spanish and probably some nationalities I'm not yet aware of. I've traced my Ancestry on my Dad's side back to 1750. Frederick (my last name), who came from Germany surprisingly, is an ancestor of mine. I say "surprisingly" because my last name is essentially an English name. Apparently there were some people with my last name who immigrated from England to Germany early on. Someday, when I have time, I want to pursue that part of my genealogy further.

I've had my genealogy pages out on the web for quite a while now, and I have been rewarded with some interesting and informative emails from relatives who have seen my site that I never even knew existed. Many of these third and fourth cousins have shared valuable genealogical information with me to post on my site.

Genealogy can be time-consuming, which is why more retired people (no, I'm not retired) get involved with it than any other age group. I was fortunate that most of the material I have about my lineage was already available to me. My Dad's side of the family kept meticulous records; I was just the guy who made them available on the web for other researchers to benefit from, and in the process I became that much more interested in genealogy.

Someday, when I retire, I would like to do the actual footwork that all serious genealogist do: visit courthouses and graveyards in different states, visit with people by phone and in person, review lots of documents, etc.

For those of us who are not yet able to visit those far-away places to find those nuggets of genealogical gold, the Internet will have to do. And I've got to say it has been a real help to me.

So if you are one who has an interest in your family history, and you have documents and photographs, why not post them online? You might be surprised at the relatives you never knew you had who will send you emails, and probably more information about your family!