Passion (emotion)

• I’m not the only one to have experienced intense emotions – both negative and positive – while researching my forebears.
• My recent research revealed about two thirds of family historians have experienced strong negative emotions like sorrow or anger through their hobby.

Passionate ‘kin keepers’

• In 2019, Doreen Rosenthal and I surveyed 775 Australian hobbyist family historians to examine their motivations.
• They were adults aged between 21 and 93, but most were older and the median age was 63.
• Survey respondents described why they were passionately engaged with their hobby – and how it made them feel.

1. Ancestors behaving badly

• The first and most common distress trigger was the discovery of ancestors who had behaved badly – either as individuals, or by profiting from unjust social conditions.
• And:
  [It was] difficult finding that ancestors may have been involved in unsavoury behaviours or events.
• [It was] difficult finding that ancestors may have been involved in unsavoury behaviours or events.

2. Ancestors treated cruelly

• It was also distressing to discover ancestors who had been cruelly treated.
• Many were deeply moved by what their ancestors experienced.

3. Sad stories

• Women commonly did not survive childbirth, neonatal deaths were frequent, people died of diseases medical science has now conquered.
• [It is distressing] to uncover particularly sad and desperate times in some ancestors’ lives.
• [It is distressing] to uncover particularly sad and desperate times in some ancestors’ lives.

4. Family secrets and betrayal

• The fourth distress trigger was a belief by the family history researcher that they had been betrayed by other family members: through secrets, lies and feeling their lived experience was ignored or denied.
• If family members can lie about these important things, what else might they lie about?
• Read more:
  We used DNA from Beethoven's hair to shed light on his poor health – and stumbled upon a family secret

5. Moral dilemmas

• Finally, several respondents expressed doubt and confusion at the moral dilemmas they faced on discovering information that could greatly distress other living relatives.
• An emotional burden attaches to withholding potentially distressing information of this kind.
• Yet there is also guilt and fear about the possible outcomes of sharing it.
• Read more:
  Friday essay: how do I understand who I am, when my family have hidden themselves from recent history?

Healthy outcomes from bad feelings

• Sometimes these distressing feelings can promote healthy, growth-enhancing outcomes.
• Initial feelings of distress about past injustices and tragedies are sometimes replaced by admiration for the strength and resilience of one’s forebears.

How can family and professionals help?

• I processed my great great grandmother’s story by writing it down and sharing it with family members.
• We reworked our sadness at her fate into a positive family narrative, emphasising her bravery and the strengths her surviving children showed.
• Support can mean just disclosing these stories to family members, friends and other family historians.