Searching the past reveals a few surprises

People often claim they are interested in genealogy, but what they really mean is they're interested in their family, not yours. Should you start talking about yours, their eyes quickly glaze over, and they remember something important they need to do. I can't say I blame them.

Most people search their family tree with optimistic hopes similar to those trying a "past life regression." In the latter, all women seem to come out Cleopatra and men some heroic figure from the past. What everyone would like to find in their family line is a hero, or perhaps even better, an exciting rogue. Life being what it is, one usually finds some very average people who lived very average lives. In my case, that means a long line of blue-eyed people who were slightly better educated than their contemporaries stretching back to the American Revolution. We couldn't have been Cleopatra, but perhaps if she had a slave who could read ...

My family line had been researched fairly thoroughly by the time I was born. For those starting out, online resources are often good. I found a site that had numerous generations of my family correctly identified with two, puzzling blank lines under my grandmother. They seemed to know she had two children, but didn't name them. I wrote to the Web director to ask about the lines. I guessed it was because the blank lines might be names of people who are still alive. The Web operator admitted that was correct and said they wait about 110 years after someone's birth to list them to prevent identity theft. She also said she was my fifth cousin. I like meeting fifth cousins because you never have to help them move.

I also found my great-grandmother's brother's photo and medical records from when he was shot at Gettysburg. It was sad to read about him dying about six weeks after the battle from an infection that would be easily cured today. I have to admit it was a bit of a shock to find medical records online. That's because the CSU vet clinic called one day asking for my permission to discuss my cat's medical condition with veterinarians in training. "Let me get this straight" I said. "You can't discuss my cat's records with future doctors without my express permission?" True, they said. I assure you, Claude doesn't have a shameful disease, just asthma and allergies, but they still needed a release. Apparently about 150 years after an incident, human privacy may be totally disregarded.

So did we uncover any heroes or criminals? We found both, and in the same person. As time changes the view, Glode Chubb was introduced to me as a hero. Yet my great-great-grandfather committed what would have been felonies at the time.

Shortly after that historical period, the same acts were regarded as heroic. There are historic plaques posted in Michigan about him and portions of local museums dedicated to his actions. My great-great-grandfather ran a station on the Underground Railroad, carrying fleeing slaves to safety in Canada in clear violation of the Runaway Slave Act. He could have been imprisoned and/or heavily fined (more than the price of a farm).

I am certain no one in my family thinks of Glode Chubb as a criminal, but I think that makes him the best lesson in the whole lineage. Standing up for what you believe won't make you popular at the time, but the passage of time may change that view. Criminal or hero? With historical blinders on, we never even see the former.

Laura Manuel has a doctorate in educational psychology and teaches at Front Range Community College.