My great grandfather was norwegian and in 1900, when he was 18, he sailed from Kristiansand to Australia on a schooner (not the beer glass kind). I'm an enthusiastic geneologist and researching his has been given me my own adventure on the high seas. I've set myself the task (or burden) of writing the stories of my ancestors, either in one big book or a bunch of smaller ones...Haven't quite worked it out in my head yet, so hopefully I can get some great guidance and encouragement from other more experienced writers who can offer useful suggestions to overcome things suchs as writer's block, the manic high when you just can't stop (like now) and the manic lows which can last for years that leave you completely unproductive....(hmmm the Stephen Fry documentary comes to mind....
I live in Norway now and think I shall take a trip to Norwich this summer to do some further family tree research....ah yes, didn't I tell you, I'm descend not only from "norwegian" roots, but norwichian roots too.....lol...It still amazes me to think that the 2, being so close geographically, just across the North Sea basically, had to travel all the way to Australia to meet up. Mind you, while the Norwegian sailor went of his own free will, the end result of my norwich roots went courtesy of HRH Queen Victoria's "lets clean up England's streets" policy and protect the possessions of the rich by carting off every man and his dog to no man's land (or so they thought....tell that to the aborigines) otherwise known as Van Diemens land or, by way of Gov Phillip, New South Wales. But I digress... This really needs to become my blog ....and so it will! You will have to visit my blog for the rest.
I've visited the old farms of my ancestors and they were moving experiences. For my birthday 2 weeks ago I visited the oldest viking chieftain village in Norway and wandered through the forest as the golden sun set between the ancient moss lined trees at 11pm. All the trees in the forests are tinged green on their stumps because of the heavy mossy life that exists on the forest floor and its truly a sight to behold. The village is a recreation of how it looked 1000 years ago. These were the very vikings who invaded York in England and one of their chiefs, Harold the Great (he was known as harold fine hair in Norge (Norway) "Harold fint har" på norsk). It was a remarkable birthday experience, one I'll never forget.
And just at that moment, a large ocean liner on its way to Denmark cruised down the fjord where we stood. It was a great contrast of old and new. The vikings no longer travel in long boats, but in white cruisers lol.
Munzly
Writing your family history is certainly a worthwhile project. It's quite amazing what interesting things you learn while doing the research.
Of course, it's no good just listing who begat who, you need to flesh out their lives with a few wheres, whys and whatevers.
As a child I was intrigued at the family myths about relations and ancestors and who came from where. None of my relatives seemed to have any solid facts, just half-remembered rumours and hear-say from their own parents, so when I found myself with a bit of spare time, I set out to turn myths into factual history, and a fascinating task it turned out to be.
I now have a set of potted biographies of most of my immediate ancestors and some idea of the sources of the family myths and rumours, most of which didn't turn out the way I expected at all. However, I still have mysteries to solve, so it's a subject that can be returned to whenever the mood takes me.
Do be careful what data you publish on the web, there are people who can (and will) use it to your disadvantage. Never disclose anything about living relatives and avoid giving out information about yourself that could be used for identity theft.