I want my grandchildren to know who my grandparents were

I have that title sentence written on the sidebar of my blog. It’s very important to me. My paternal grandparents were like surrogate parents at one point in my life. My parents were divorced when my twin brother and I were toddlers. It was difficult for my dad to be a single father and work enough hours to support us. We all moved to my grandparents’ house until my dad remarried a couple of years later. So I grew very close to my Grandma and Grandpa Margheim (pictured with us below). They were my rocks—my stability and security at the time of my life when I was totally dependent on others for my care.

Today I love my grandchildren as much as I knew my grandparents loved me. And I certainly want my grandchildren to know who my grandparents were and what they were like. If my grandparents were still alive, they would treasure and adore all of my grandchildren. We are all members of the same family!

I’ve been working on filling in the blanks in a timeline of my grandparents’ lives. I’m fortunate that my dad is still alive and has been sharing details about his parents’ lives. I can write a more complete story after I have the timeline established.

Dennis B. Neuenschwander was the keynote speaker at the annual Conference on Family History and Genealogy at BYU last week. Noting that quality of life is affected by knowledge of one’s ancestors, he said it gives one a sense of identity and personal responsibility “That, really, can come only in that way. If this is true, is it not also true that our posterity will be so influenced by our lives? If we do not create records that document our lives, or that of our families, knowledge of who we are is lost within a generation or two, and we become those who are lost in obscurity. Without that knowledge, our posterity becomes disconnected from their roots and from the nourishment those roots provide.”

In the Ogden Regional Family History Newsletter dated August 2010, Director Emil O. Hansen writes in his article titled “On Knowing Them”: “We have to be reminded that they (our ancestors) were real people who lived very much as we do and who dealt with problems as we do. They worked hard…they loved their families and enjoyed sunsets and the beauty of the earth as we do. They were our people, those we descended from. If it had not been for them we would not be able to enjoy the life that we live today. Our hearts are more likely to turn if we know their stories.” 

I want my grandchildren to know who my grandparents were. I need to get busy and write more of the stories of my ancestors for my descendants. I want their hearts to turn to them, as my heart was turned to my dear Grandma and Grandpa.