There is a tenet of geology called uniformitarianism, also known as the doctrine of uniformity: that the Earth’s geologic processes have acted in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity in the past as they do in the present and that such uniformity is sufficient to account for all geologic change.
To turn it
to genealogy, I think that every generation has reacted in the same way as we
do today. The love and pride and awe that we feel toward our children and
grandchildren must have been the same feelings our ancestors had in their
children and grandchildren. The guidance and help that they gave to their
families was no different than we strive to give to our families.
As our
grandchildren are reaching their adulthood, we are now seeing how their
interests, talents and abilities are now showing in their academic achievements
and their choices of careers. I think we are gaining quite different ideas of
them as people. They are no longer the cuddly infants we were so happy to see
take their first breath or the happy faces they had at birthday parties. We are
realizing that they have dreams and aspirations as we did and are entering that
time of life when they can take charge of their own lives.
We went
past the times when our children moved into the world on their own with a sense
of pride but also of worry. You never stop being concerned about the welfare of
your children. Being one more step removed is a happier place as it is your
children that can keep the fearfulness and let you just enjoy the pleasurable
moments.
Our family
photo albums are filled with pictures of us with our children, occasionally
also including grandparents. Rarely, though do we have photos depicting more
than three generations.
I know that
my grandparents were proud of their children and their grandchildren. I heard
those sentiments directly. I can’t help but think my 8th
great-grandfather, Nicholas Shepheard – he is as far back as I can get at
present – might have had the same feelings about his children. Unfortunately,
he did not live to see any of his grandchildren. In fact, neither did any of my
7th or 6th great-grandfathers (or their wives) in my
Shepheard line live to see grandchildren.
The first of
my Shepheard ancestors to know his grandchildren was Richard Shepheard
(1726-1803), a 5th great-grandfather. He and his wife, Mary Collins,
had seven children in Cornwood, Devon, England. All of them married, six of
them also in Cornwood, and had children. There were 53 grandchildren spread
across the seven families, all but seven of them also born in Cornwood. Of
those 28 were born before the death of Richard and he would have known them
all.
The number
of people in a family and, thus, the number of grandchildren or
great-grandchildren one might have today is much smaller. People also marry a
bit later in life than they did several hundred years ago. Still, we have a few
families where several generations co-exist.
My Aunt
Ethel, who is still with us, had four children, 11 grandchildren, 16
great-grandchildren, three step-great-grandchildren and one
great-great-grandchild. Her family may not be through yet giving her
descendants while she is alive, either.
Aunt Ethel’s family in 1997 (along with my wife and daughter); not all of Ethel’s family could be there that day.
My oldest
sister had four children, all of them married although only three had children
of their own. She had nine grandchildren and three step-grandchildren, all of
whom were born before she died. And she had three great-grandchildren while she
was still with us.
Lynn’s family in 2003 – three
generations present
My next oldest sister, Sharon, has two daughters, five grandchildren and now two great-granddaughters. We are not beating the Shepheard record books but four generations alive at the same time is still impressive.
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Sharon with one of her daughters, two of her granddaughters and her two great-granddaughters in 2021
My youngest
sister, Janice, understandably has a younger family. She is just getting to
know who her grandchildren might become but is a long way away from the next
generation.
Janice’s family in 2019 with all but one of her grandchildren
It’s a
pattern that repeated itself in future generation as most of the Shepheard
families stayed in the area until my 2nd great-grandfather. Because
of their connection of all the families to the parish, we might surmise that
they had a closeness between them as well.
That might
not have always been the case with every individual. If you look at your own
families you may well find that people grow apart as well as move apart. But
there is no reason to think that relationships within individual families or
between cousins who lived in the same area were any different that similarly
related families today. They may even have been closer than we are, as many
probably attended schools together, married in the same church, and worked in
similar or related occupations.
We cannot
know for sure how our ancestors got along or whether they fully supported each
other, but I would suggest that they had at least the same loving relationships
as we see in families today. Not that there would not have been disagreements
or the odd falling out. They were just as human as we are in that regard.
In most
respects I think we can see what the past was like by looking at our families
today. Call it the genealogical theory of uniformitarianism.
In our
family we are still only at the grandchildren level. But as I started off
saying here, we are seeing them rapidly reaching their adulthood and looking to
take charge of their own lives. It’s fun to see that and rewarding as well to
realize that we must have done something right for our children to succeed and
for their children to be on the cusp on doing as well with their endeavors.
Wayne and Linda with their children (except for one who could not be there) and grandchildren
Congratulations. You must have done something right for (y)our children to succeed and for their children to be on the cusp of doing as well.
ReplyDeleteNot all children are so fortunate. While child neglect and abuse are not the norm neither are they uncommon. Look hard enough and you’ll probably find examples in your own family tree, In mine, I’m thinking of a two-times great grandfather who left his wife before the birth of their second child. Also, not in my own family but in my old hometown, a mother convicted of mistreating her children. That was unusual in the 19th century. The children went into the care of the Board of Guardians and became Barnardo home children in Canada. A descendant became a highly respected Canadian genealogist.
If the analogy in genealogy with the doctrine of uniformity for the Earth’s geological processes to hold, it must accommodate uncommon events — Mother Nature’s Challenges. For the earth sciences, they include volcanos, tsunamis and meteor impacts. It must also accommodate the advancing Anthropocene.
We recognize the silting up of rivers can be accelerated by deforestation. the 1930s dust bowl was caused in large measure by grasslands ploughed up for agriculture being vulnerable to erosion during naturally occurring meteorological drought, and the Antarctic ozone hole resulting from manufactured CFCs. Then there’s the issue of climate change resulting in large part from burning fossil fuels.
Surely, if we’re seeing these things in the present, either they should be evident in the past or there’s an issue with the doctrine.
While Mother Nature has challenged humans for millions of years, I am not convinced, nor are many other Earth scientists that burning fossil fuels has or is changing the climate to any significant degree.
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