For over thirty years, my daughter and I have collected heart-shaped rocks. We were first hooked on this hobby by walking on Pacific beaches and looking for beach treasures. We soon found heart-shaped rocks and were amazed and delighted to find many rocks.... and everywhere!!.... in that distinctive shape. (The heart shape is my daughter's favorite.)
As our travel circles widened, our heart-shaped rock collection grew to include coral hearts from the beaches of Hawaii and slate hearts from the beaches of Maine and granite hearts from the banks of the Columbia River and from all points in between. This photo was taken of my "find" in Arizona.
My Jane jazzed up her collection by buying those fancy rock hearts that you seen in so many gift shops. We mounted our heart-shaped rocks in patterns on driftwood boards and hung them in our homes, always a delight to the eye.
There is a family history or genealogy parallel here.
As we'd walk the beaches we'd spot "wannabee" rocks and "leave-er-ite" rocks, and "nope" rocks. A rock was either a heart-shaped rock or it was not.
Genealogy is a bit like collecting heart-shaped rocks. A new name is either your ancestor or he or she is not.
Jane has tried grinding unwanted parts of some almost-heart-shaped rocks to remove what does not fit. You cannot and should not grind away unwanted ancestors. And you most certainly cannot grind away dates, places or connections in your family history just to make the fit.
When we're scouting for heart-shaped rocks, we gather into our bag only rocks that are for sure heart-shaped. No "making them fit."
When you're researching your family, make sure you gather into your bag only persons that are for sure ancestors. No "making them fit."
Tika most surely agrees!
