When the blockbuster TV miniseriesRootspremiered in 1977, it fueled an explosion in genealogy research.
How big is the family history boom?
Ancestry.com works with outfits such as Kensington Tours and EF Go Ahead Tours.
Here are four travelers who did just that.
Ancestry Destinations
Japan|Germany|Africa|Ireland
Oregon to Okinawa
They bombarded me with questions.
Genealogy began to interest me in 2022.
I started looking up information on my grandparents in Hawaii,building my family treeand collecting documents.
Before I went, I was only interested in finding documents and grave sites in Okinawa.
I was 100 percent wrong.
The first day, the genealogist and I walked through my maternal grandmothers city of Itoman.
The building is gone, but theres a newer dental clinic across the street.
And it was, no, no, no, no.
We entered a hardware store run by an older husband and wife and shared our information.
No one was home, but three women came out from across the street.
When we met, his sister was there too.
We discovered that their dad and my mom are first cousins.
I had a picture of two parents and their two young children.
The back of the photo said the baby was named Junko.
It was like a reality show.
I didnt consider how meeting me would impact them.
They bombarded me with questions.
Tell me about your mom.
Tell me about your dad.
Tell me what you do for a living.
They now had a living link to their family in Hawaii.
Even when the genealogist wasnt available to interpret, we communicated and joked by pointing and using sign language.
It was like being with my cousins in Hawaii.
If you do this kind of trip, dont be like me.
Dont be so focused on other things.
Dont forget that connections to relatives will lead to other things documents and graves and stories and photos.
Everywhere we went, people were super helpful.
He told me at least 10 times, I cant believe how nice people are.
It increased my appreciation for my people.
I feel closer to Okinawa.
And I feel more connected to my culture.
