When doing genealogy, what impress you or made you sad the most?

Question

I have worked for a few years at the Latter Day Saints genealogy department. (you do not need to be Mormon}  it was back in 90's in Connecticut doing my mom's line.   Well I found out that my ggfather was so upset loosing a few daughters from the chicken pox  that he moved to Mass. USA from Canada.

While in Massachusetts he lost 2 others children.  I went home that night and I felt so distress, I cried my eyes out...I could feel the grieves and the feeling they went through. I called my mom and told her that  I felt so bad for what her grand parents went through.....and every time I look at the line, I cry and I do a prayer for them...So what is your story?

Answer 1

I can't imagine having so many children die. He must of been a strong man. So sorry for him and his family.

Answer 2

I have a couple. A sister to my one of my great grandmothers who remained in Sicily.  10 children. Not one of them reached the age of 11. 

 

The there is my maternal grandfather. On Dec 3, 1917 his older brother somehow fell into a tub of boiling water and was badly burned, he was 4 yrs old.  The following day Dec 4 he died from the burns. They buried him on Dec 5, 1917. The day my grandfather was born. They named my grandfather after him. 

Answer 3

My mothers sister Qwen Smith  who was 3 years old, died after she was burnt in a fire. I found the newspaper article on her death. My Mother always blamed her self as it was her and another sister that threw kerosine on to a fire at their Grandparents house. Her sister Qwen was standing in front of the fire. They were all very young but I found the story very sad, for a young girl to die so young and also for my mother.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-38098

Comments

Never knew that about your mum, Terry. My grandmother as a young girl also dropped a kerosene lamp as a a young child in excitement over the birth of her little sister running upstairs and it started a fire that she never forgot but her father was able to put it out in time.

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I think a lot of fires happened that way back then. Lucky your Grandmothers father put the fire out Maggie it could of been so much worse.

.

Answer 4

I 'work' on the Grosse Ile Project (http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Grosse_%C3%8Ele%2C_Qu%C3%A9bec) ... as always, with a new project, I jumped in there and started down my assigned list ... it's a Library and Archives of Canada list.  30K+ entries.  Too many sad stories to talk about.  Anymore, I con only stand to work on it now and then.

Comments

Same kinds of stories with the Holocaust project.