Family Tree

Well I have had a huge few months with the family tree, amazing. I am however quite disappointed at the lack of interest by my closer relatives. I have so far sent 47 invitations to the family tree online with 'My Heritage', a great research site and inexpensive (free doesn't cost much). Of the 47, 7 are complete strangers who are distant relatives researching their own trees and regular visitors to ours for that purpose. 10 are relatives known to me but I wouldn't call them close and 30 are close relatives.

3 of the 40 have popped onto the site so see what the link was about. Contributor's = NIL, Researchers = NIL. That's okay though we all have busy lives and our own interests and I understand that but what I don't understand is the lack of curiosity about our heritage. 

Yes a lot of it is boring and a little mundane but there are some interesting gems such as a Scottish Castle, a Bank, Persecution, Gold Mines, Vineyards of international acclaim, Farmers, Miners, Infidelity, Betrayal,  Reunion, Mysterious deaths, Presidents, Murder, Military Medals, Officers, NCO's, POW's, Concentration Camps, Hunters, Explorers, Executioners, Thieves, Con Artists, Memorabilia, Writers, Publishers, Fortunes won and lost, Rare works and Heroes from around the globe. 

Lombard - ours is a heritage that dates back to the tribes of the Long beards "Longobards" around 600-400BC. That is a lot of history. I have included a short excerpt from one of the sources is Wiki but I must point out that there is some dispute.

The first mention of the Lombards occurred between AD 9 and 16, by the Roman court historian Velleius Paterculus, who accompanied a Roman expedition as prefect of the cavalry.^[17] Paterculus says that under Tiberius the "power of the Langobardi was broken, a race surpassing even the Germans in savagery".^[18]
From the combined testimony of Strabo (AD 20) and Tacitus (AD 117), the Lombards dwelt near the mouth of the Elbe shortly after the beginning of the Christian era, next to the Chauci.^[17] Strabo states that the Lombards dwelt on both sides of the Elbe.^[19] He treats them as a branch of the Suebi, and states that

Now as for the tribe of the Suebi, it is the largest, for it extends from the Rhenus to the Albis; and a part of them even dwell on the far side of the Albis, as, for instance, the Hermondori and the Langobardi; and at the present time these latter, at least, have, to the last man, been driven in flight out of their country into the land on the far side of the river.^[20]

The German archaeologist Willi Wegewitz defined several Iron Age burial sites at the lower Elbe as Langobardic.^[21] The burial sites are crematorial and are usually dated from the 6th century BC through the 3rd century AD, so a settlement breakoff seems unlikely.^[22] The lands of the lower Elbe fall into the zone of the Jastorf Culture and became Elbe-Germanic, differing from the lands between Rhine, Weser, and the North Sea.^[23] Archaeological finds show that the Lombards were an agricultural people.^[24]
Tacitus also counted the Lombards as a remote and aggressive Suebian tribe, one of those united in worship of the deity Nerthus, who he referred to as "Mother Earth", and also as subjects of Marobod the King of the Marcomanni.^[25] Marobod had made peace with the Romans, and that is why the Lombards were not part of the Germanic confederacy under Arminius at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. In AD 17, war broke out between Arminius and Marobod.

Other little known facts that are pertinent today:- There are now three generations of Lombard in Australia, I was one of the 13th Generation of Lombard in Africa. Our family were in Africa before the current ruling tribes of Southern Africa and I've only mentioned 1 of the 500+ families whose heritage we are linked to and that I've been recording.

I have only this month started to uncover another branch of the family and I have to say what a find. My Great Aunt (GA) Marie's family are scattered far and wide but are still in contact with one another. In a previous blog I spoke of GA Joey, the Matriarch of our family, well it seems that a lot of the recorded information that she cherished and which I thought had been lost has actually been in safe keeping with this branch of the family. I received several emails from at least three members of this particular branch who have provided me with a huge amount of data, much of which I had but had not been able to connect chronologically. Having the information is one thing but knowing how they fit and interact is quite another. Verification is vital and impossible without accurate names, dates and places so to know how it all fits is absolutely imperative.

I can only hope that more of the younger generation develop an interest in our history and heritage. My Daughter and Son-in-law have an interest in our family heritage and so I have named them as beneficiary's of my research and memorabilia so that it will not be lost.

Till next time, God Bless.