Left Behind...

Image from The New York Public Library

As thousands converge in Salt Lake City for RootsTech, some of us couldn't make the trip. Sigh. It got me thinking about genealogy and some themes related to being left behind, like:

• Immigrants who left behind family - It wasn't unusual for the head of the family to sail to a new country without his wife and children in the hopes of sending for them after he had time to save money for their trip.
• Soldiers who left behind girlfriends - War took soldiers away from their loved ones, sometimes permanently. The Indianapolis News printed in 1916 that "it is almost a certainty that when a regiment leaves its home town...the band will strike up 'The Girl I Left Behind Me.' The song was sung in America during the Revolutionary war."
• Ancestors who left behind records - As we know very well, all kinds of vital, military, land, and court records help us learn about the members of our family tree.

So, just as we don't want to lose sight of any of these left-behind people or records, don't forget about us at home. Be sure to share lots of highlights of your time in Utah, since we'd love to hear all about it.