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Ancestry.com
We're bidding an ancestry.com job at work, so we got an account as we work on the project. It's actually super fun - I got a chance to play around with it and discovered a lot about my ancestry! Some cool stuff, too. I'm very Midwestern - almost my entire family on both sides is from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, or Ohio for many generations. Beyond that, I'm very German.
Anyway, in the process, we also learned DH's maternal grandfather's name: Jack. Jack also happens to be the #1 boy name on our list. That would be great... except he's not a person we would want to name anyone after. DH never met him, and MIL never spoke of him for a reason. All we really know about him was that he was an abusive alcoholic, and MIL was not in contact with him at all after he and her mother divorced. I'm not really sure how to feel about this. I love the name, but I don't think we can use it now. I really think it would bother MIL. Moving on, I guess? (Not that we're in the market for a name right now. It's just been the one for a long time).
Re: Ancestry.com
When it becomes time to talk names, could you bring up the idea with MIL? See if the name itself bothers her.
I LOVE the name Jack, but could never use it. I got enough Jack & Jill references growing up, I don't need to add to that. Plus FIL goes by Jack, so... yeah.
If MIL has never spoken of him to the point that you didn't even know his name, I see no problem with using it. She will have no way of knowing you found it out. But then again, we asked for 0 family input on our name choices.
As for the website, sounds like a fun place to "explore"......how do they provide the information?
Claire Elizabeth 12/31/2011
Married Bio
Back in the summer, DH took a fishing trip and I was super bored, so I joined the website. It was awesome! I learned so much I didn't know, and found out that a lot of stuff we had assumed about our ancestry wasn't exactly right. I found out some amazing things about my ancestors and I am now working on Walt's side of the family so our kids can enjoy it some day.
About Jack... it's an amazing name and I agree that if you weren't already made aware of this name prior to using ancestry, I don't think you should cross it off entirely. I would broach the subject with MIL and be sensitive to her feelings, but otherwise, if you love the name you should use it.
Love ancestry.com! My former institution has a subscription and I used to spend my lunches doing research on my family. At this point I've gone back to the right after the civil war and its' a little difficult seeing some of my ancestors listed as slaves/property but I find it fascinating to discover more and more about my heritage. Ever family gathering, I'm providing some sort of update and I recently found out that my Uncle has an old family bible and some journals that I can't wait to get my hands on.
I think you should ask how your MIL feels about Jack before completely ruling it out if you really like the name.