Lyman

"Patricia May Lyman", my mother, is my link to this line. In a strict genealogical sense, we have been grafted onto the Lyman branch through the adoption of my grandfather, "Herbert Theodore Lyman", by "Emory Morton Lyman" and "Celina Hulet". The biological parents of my grandfather remain unknown. According to my mother, Hebert Theodore Lyman searched for his biological parents. What he discovered, if anything at all, went to the grave with him. He never talked about this search.

I am content to consider myself part of the Lyman line even though I don't share genetic code with them. Genetic links are less important than the links we form with the important people in our lives. Of course, this perspective raises some problems with the rationalization of my motivation for this family history. Why, if these ancestors are less important to me than those living, would I spend my time trying to trace family ties into the distant past? Certainly, I am curious about the past and researching the past in the context of certain people that are related to me (even if in some abstract sense) is much more interesting than looking at historical events for their own sake. For example, I had no real interest in the battles of the Civil War until I discovered that one of my grandfathers had fought in a number of them. But why should this interest me? Is this a real or imagined connection to the events of the Civil War? Whatever the answer, one cannot deny that at connection is felt. Such a connection is real, whether or not it is existent (using the Peircian distinction).

Links:

• Lyman Family Tree at Worldconnect

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