BRATS and Genealogy

2012 was celebrated by the release of the 1940 census!  It was not a cause to break out the bubbly for everyone, but to even a budding *Genie* it is a major event.  A census isn't publicly released until 72 years after it's taken. 1950 will be released on 2 April 2022, just for future reference.

Anyway, while I was exploring the newly released 2012 information, I got to thinking...how many BRATS like myself won't show up in any census until they are well into adulthood?  The first census I should show up in will be the 1970.  However, I wasn't stateside for that, I was living in Okinawa.  By the 1980 taking, I was once again overseas, only this time I was in Germany, which means 1990 would be my year, my decade, my confirmed entrance into the documented world of  genealogy.  By that time, I was an adult, married and had a child, nothing to link me to either of my parents, not living in the same location or even under the same name.  To the random family genealogist, it would appear if I came from nowhere and *poof* suddenly show up without a paper trail or a past.  Future generations would have a difficult time linking me to my families bloodlines for any kind of memberships into groups.  I have direct line Patriot's in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and ancillary lines in the Civil War.  Without proper documentation, those groups are out of reach.

My father grew up a BRAT also, his stepfather was in the Army so my dad moved from Duty Station to Duty Station as well.  Being stateside, he should show up in the 1950 census, but who knows where he'll be found or under what name? He has always legally had his father's name, but would his mother have listed him under his real name or under stepfather's along with her other children?  My dad was an only child, but had a couple half brothers and a half sister.  By the 1960 census he was in the Military and stationed in Germany, and then the next two takings were spent in Okinawa and then back to Germany.  The Military will or at least should have records of his moves but will they be made public for future generations?

Many of our parents were BRATS or our mom's (or even ourselves) were born in other countries or different states than our sponsor's *Home of Record*  What a nightmare this could be when piecing together the puzzle of us.

I started my genealogy quest when seeing how closely connected my husband was with his family, they all lived in the same area and had for over 100 years by the time I became part of his family.  His family had it's challenges due to name changes and misspellings from the original immigrant, but he knew who they were, he knew their stories and finally where the older ones were buried.   I had none of that for my family, maybe a name or an approximate location and precious little past my grandparents. I wanted more!  My excitement for finding an ancestor was only exceeded by finding a living cousin.  I started digging nearly 30 years ago, and haven't stopped.

 I've researched and recorded and my family's history and took photographs of old homesteads and headstones.  Places, dates and addresses when I could remember them.  Growing up a BRAT means that I have very little physical proof of who I was or where I had been prior to showing up in documents, I have no memories of growing up around cousins because I didn't.  I can't share in their stories of spending Holidays with their other cousins, I can only listen and wonder who those other people are or were.  I can't relate to their stories, and they don't relate to mine, but through the magic of genealogy and years of searching I have found distant cousins in the U.S., Canada and England.  We may never meet face to face, but our bloodlines will always link us together.

I recently did a DNA testing through a genealogy company, and when the results came back to my ethnic makeup, there were more than a couple surprises tucked away, but the biggest one so far are all those who match my families lines.  I have no idea who 99% of them are (48 pages of matches, so far) and may never know where the genetic lines intersect, but I do know that they are part of me and I am part of them.  So, to my cousins "elhumpo" and "ieatchalk" (their screen names)...I don't know who you are, or where you fit into my family tree, but I love your sense of humor!

Tell YOUR stories as only you can, okay maybe not all of them, link your BRAThood to generations past and leave an easier trail for those who will follow you.