Comparing Apples

Daydream with me for a moment and picture yourself standing in an apple orchard. In front, behind, and on each side of you are rows of lush, green trees full of ripe apples waiting to be picked. The weather is pleasant, the sunshine is beaming, and the birds are singing. The smell of crisp apples that permeates the air is irresistible. It's a wonderful day as you take your bushel barrel to the nearest tree to pluck the first of many delicious apples. Part of the fun for you is the search. You move branches and leaves in search of the plumpest and tastiest looking apples and feel quite a bit of satisfaction when finding that perfect apple then claiming it as your own. It'd be hard not to feel at least a slight sense of euphoria throughout your hunt as that bushel barrel begins to fill.

As you peek through branches, you spot yet another beautiful apple with your name on it that has grown on the opposite side of the tree. After walking to the other side of the tree, and while standing on your tiptoes, your reach extends toward that apple. Your fingertips are barely able to graze the skin of the apple when suddenly it quickly plops to the ground. Unwilling to let a perfect apple go to waste, you reach toward the ground to pick it up. Instantly, you regret doing so as it is quickly discovered that this apple is actually quite mushy as it has already succumbed to the appetite of several bugs. Instinctively, you are a bit repulsed by this rotten apple and toss it back down to the ground.

This one apple may have soured your experience in the orchard for a brief moment, but that bad apple certainly isn't worthy of overshadowing any positive aspects of your day. Surely, it'd be quite an overreaction to use this bad apple as justification to call it quits, abandon your partially filled bushel barrel, and walk away. After all, does the presence of one bad apple make this entire tree bad? Is the finding of a bad apple reason enough to stop looking for new, healthy apples to add to the barrel? Perhaps a little extra caution may be taken when reaching for the next few apples, but the reality of the day will prove that the good far outweighs the bad.

Genealogical research has a lot in common with this hypothetical scenario. Many with an interest in their family histories have felt the joy of discovering new ancestors. Learning about great people to whom you owe your existence can become a delicious experience that evokes a pure sense of happiness and satisfaction. In many ways, these discoveries can fill a hunger, yet leave us eager for seconds.

Bad apples found in family trees can sometimes be difficult to internalize. Without question, these bad apples have a tendency to cast a shadow over the positive aspects of doing genealogical research; however, we get to decide how to react to them. If a bad apple is found, do we then ignore and avoid the rest of the tree assuming that it's entirely tainted somehow? Allowing this bad apple relative to influence whether or not the search continues would be giving him/her a lot more power and credit than perhaps they deserve.

In nature, rotten apples eventually fall away from the tree to eventually be consumed by wild animals or become fertilizer. The process by which the rotting apple becomes fertilizer is worthy of thought. A rotten apple laying on the ground grows fungi, which returns nutrients to the soil and facilitates the growth of new trees. Inside of the apple are seeds, which become embedded into the earth. These seeds are the means by which new trees are produced and the rotting flesh of the apple essentially creates the soil that offers the seeds the best chance to grow. Consider this for a moment in the context of the family tree. Bad apples in the family tree are typically seen as those whose decisions had a negative affect on another person or on multiple people. Those poor choices, especially left uncorrected, can ultimately result in that bad apple dropping from the healthy tree structure. Despite being rotten, however, their presence and influence can still serve a purpose. As we absorb nutrients, or learn information about them and their families through research, future generations can be given a better chance to grow. Research can inform the next generation of habits to avoid, it can increase understanding, and assist in the process of healing.

The reality of life is that for a variety of reasons, on one branch or another, we can all find those who could be considered to be bad apples. Some are more rotten than others, but even the most rotten can still serve a purpose in the development of future family trees. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power. The more knowledge we gain about our families and our origins, the more expanded our perspectives become. We become more aware of the impact that our legacy will have on future generations as we realize the impact we have felt by decisions made by ancestors. As we see into and learn about the past, we become better capable of shaping the narrative of the future.

If we are hungry and have an orchard before us, we can't let the possibility of bad apples deter us from finding the good among the trees and claiming them as our own. Without a doubt, your bushel barrel is waiting to be filled, the orchard is calling your name, and the joy of discovery is yours to claim.