Week 41: Context

Context: In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant "the weaving together of words in language." This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered. - Merriam Webster Dictionary

     When we are researching our ancestors to learn more about their lives, we have to make sure we keep everything in context. Decisions they made in their lives during a certain time period may be different than the decisions we make today. We have to make sure we keep this in mind when we write the story of our ancestors' lives. We do our best to communicate to the reader the details so they can gain a better understanding of how and why they lived and made the choices they did.
     So when we are putting together their story, it is our job to clearly state the details to provide a full understanding of the context of the situation. Context can be defined as “the formal or informal setting in which a situation occurs; it can include many aspects or dimensions, such as environment, social activity, goals or tasks of groups and individuals; time (year/month/day)." - Source While the source of this quote is referring to something completely different, it fits when it comes to writing the story of our specific ancestor.
     How many times have we heard a story, watched a movie, or seen something happen where we have spouted, "Oh, I would have done something different." The question is, would you? Would you really? Until you are in the shoes of that person, dealing with the same thoughts, circumstances, feelings, etc., you really have no clue what you would have done. We are so quick to pass judgments on people, including our ancestors, for the decision they made that we would have supposedly made differently.
     When I was writing about my 2nd great Uncle, I spent a lot of time researching the history of the town and the time period in which he lived. In doing so, it really opened up my eyes to understanding his life and what he and his family would have been going through and why they made the decisions they did. Read his story here: William Ilg, the gone but not forgotten Uncle. I also did my best to include some of this historical context in my writing, so hopefully, the writer could get a better understanding of his life. Without this context, his story was very dry and unrelatable.
     Recently, I also participated in a YouTube Collaboration called Project Genealogy. The topic we addressed was Migration. Each one of us recorded a video about Migration relating to our genealogy research. I filmed a video discussing the reasons why my German ancestors immigrated to the United States, more specifically Missouri. Without doing this research, I couldn't understand why my family would come to the state of Missouri. Now I have a better understanding. Watch my video below, and don't forget to check out all the videos in the Migration Series.


     While it's important to make sure you include context, it is also equally important to make sure you don't take things OUT of context. The media is famous for doing this. They will take a statement that is made and use it in ways it was never meant to be used. One statement I have made before is, "I don't like to watch Christmas movies." Now that statement is not completely true. I do like to watch Christmas movies. I love Christmas movies. So why would I say this statement? This statement is in response to my dad asking me if I will watch a Christmas movie in July. That is something I do not do. I will not watch Christmas movies outside of Christmas time. So while my statement is true, when taken out of context, it makes it appear that I am a liar. So when writing your ancestor's story, do not take things out of context.
     It's amazing how important context is when it comes to life. It's something we constantly forget about but should be considered daily. Whether talking, listening, writing, investigating, or reporting, we should always be thinking about the context.