Why is genealogy important?

In reading The Old Free State, by Landon Bell, I came across an introductory chapter to the lineages of important people in the history of Lunenburg, Virginia.  These important people include the names in our family tree, such as Allen and Neblett.  In this chapter, there was a discourse on genealogists - why do we care about the history of our family?  Is it a matter of pride or conceit?  I've often wondered how others view my interest in our family tree... these passages put it in perspective:

A quote from Daniel Webster:

There may be, and there often is, indeed, a regard for ancestry, which nourishes only a weak pride; as there is also a care for posterity, which only disguises an habitual avarice, or hides the workings of a low and groveling vanity. But there is also a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors, which elevates the character and improves the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind, than a consciousness of alliance with excellence which has departed; and a consciousness, too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in it sentiments, it may be actively operating on the happiness of those who come after it.

The author expounds, quoting Col. Thomas L. Crittendon:

If the traditions of the people of Virginia, and of Lunenburg, and their devotion to principles, and their respect for the best and governmental institutions, in their struggles for religious and political freedom and for liberty, be not worthy of veneration, then why should people strive to transmit blessings to posterity? And if those who in the past have struggled to assure a better condition of society are worthy to be honored for their efforts, their sacrifices and their accomplishments, what is more appropriate than to preserve their names and their lineages that their descendants to the remotest time may know the facts, and preserve them in grateful remembrance.

It is not only for the memories of those departed, mentioned herein, that the service of preserving their names from oblivion is performed. For them it is a service of affection and a veneration, but the service to their memories is insignificant compared to the benefits conferred upon future generations. "Since the world began, no people have ever reason to power or splendor who have not cherished and striven to perpetuate the memory of their great men...."

 I am amazed at our links to some of the famous people in our ancestry, but I am also invested in it for the stories.  We may not all be considered great men or women, but our stories certainly can be a source of enlightenment and entertainment.

Research can be tedious

Sometimes, genealogy research means sifting page by page through many obscure documents, some of them faded or handwritten and very difficult to read; others more than a thousand pages long.  A rare nugget of priceless information makes it all worthwhile.

I am currently going through a 1277-page publication called, The Old Free State: a contribution to the history of Lunenburg County and Southside Virginia.  Sounds fascinating, right?  Not something I would have picked up for pleasure reading, but it is the most intimate account of the early history of Virginia that I have ever read, covering the time from Jamestown to the modern age.  Our ancestors consorted with the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. The Allen name goes back to Jamestown. I am about halfway through this document after hours at the computer.  I can only endure about a half hour at a time, so it may take days to wade through.

On another browser page, I am downloading a publication called, "Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: Early Settlers of New Jersey and Their Descendants, Vol. III" by John E. Stillwell, M. D.  In a cursory preview, I almost immediately found a couple of priceless nuggets about one of our family founders, Thomas Applegate, who came to American from Norfolkshire, England.  Those Applegates seemed to have issues with fiery tempers and loose tongues!  For instance:

His wife, Elizabeth Applegate, seems to haye been one of the unfortunate persons who suffered from the ecclesiastical tyranny of that puritanical age, for she was "censured to stand with her tongue in a cleft stick for swearing, reviling and railing." 

 In another instance, Thomas Applegate, was sued for slander by another one of our ancestors, Nicholas Stillwell (from a completely different branch of the family tree):

Xicholas Stiilwell, of Grayesend, sued him for slander in saying that if his, (Stillwell's) debts were paid he would have but little left.

Sometimes I learn something that has nothing to do with our family, like the fact that John Randolph and Nathaniel Macon (for whom the Methodist college was named) were not professed Christians.  And that U. S. Grant was a slave owner who never released his slaves until forced to by the Emancipation Proclamation.  (You may have known this, but I did not).

So, this is what I am doing when I am not adding anything to our family tree.  Slogging through the mire.