My Family Tree Research

Top photo: My family's home in Ridgewood, Queens, in 1901 (on the corner of Myrtle and Decatur, formerly Smith St.)

Bottom photo: My great-great-grandmother Harriet, my great grandfather Sanford, my great aunt Mildred, my great aunt Harriet, my grandmother Marion, and my great uncle Samuel and their dog, whose name I don't know (1903)

One of my most beloved hobbies is family tree research. I have always been interested in my family's story, especially on my father's mother's side (my paternal grandmother). I have become the family's unofficial historian, and, happily, my cousin's daughter Natalie, who is in her 30s, has also taken genealogy up as a hobby now. While I dabble in it, she documents everything officially. That is no doubt because she is an actual history teacher. Together, we  have been able to trace our family to the 6th century AD in England, Scotland, and France.

Vocabulary

hobby/hobbies (noun) -- what people do in their free time for fun

family tree research (noun) -- study of family history

paternal (adjective) -- belonging to father

official/unofficial (adjective) -- formal/informal

officially (adverb) -- formally

taken up (phrasal verb) -- started to do

genealogy (noun) -- the study and tracing of family history

dabble (verb) -- take part in something in a casual way

trace (verb) -- find or look for along a path

Vocabulary Exercise: Matching

1. taken up                    a. not formally

2.  genealogy                 b. father's

3. trace                          c. began to

4. unofficially                d. look for/find

5.dabble                        e. interests

6. hobbies                     f. research into family history

7. paternal                     g. take part not in a serious way

Grammar Point

The present tense and the present perfect tense are used in the passage. 

The present tense is either the base form of the verb or the base form +-s. Examples are:

I dabble

she documents

The singular pronouns he/she/it are followed by the simple form + -s.

The present perfect tense is the helping verb has/have  is followed by the past participle of the verb.

I have been    I have become

We have been

Grammar Assignment

Write 4-5 sentences about one of your hobbies. Use both the present and the present perfect tenses.

Explore verbs here.

My Hobbies

Although I don't have much spare time, I do have a few hobbies that I enjoy. The first is embroidery, which is using a needle and thread to create pictures and to write names or sayings on cloth. I can also sew clothes, and I have a collection of thimbles that help me when I am sewing.  In pursuit of improving my skills, I even attended the Royal School of Needlework in London, where I learned how to embroider with gold and silver threads. The second is crocheting, which is very relaxing. I make everyday things, such as potholders and handkerchiefs. And the final one is baking, which I do more frequently than the others. My family and friends are very happy with all my hobbies, but especially with my baking. They love to eat my cookies, cupcakes, and cakes. I wish I had more time to work on my hobbies, but I am too busy.

Starting a crocheting project

Crocheted lace trim and embroidered initial K

Sewing the cuff of my blouse

My very first quilting project

My thimbles

Vocabulary
spare time (idiom) -- free time

hobbies (noun) -- interesting and creative things to do when you are not working

embroidery (noun) -- creating pictures, words and so on with a needle and thread

needle (noun) -- a sharp, pointy metal object for sewing

thread (noun) -- a long piece of cotton, nylon, wool, or silk used for sewing
thimble (noun) -- a small metal cap that protects your finger when you sew
in pursuit of (prepositional phrase) -- in order to, for this purpose

Royal School of Needlework (proper noun) -- a special school for learning about embroidery
London (proper noun) -- the capital of Great Britain

crocheting (noun) [crochet-verb] -- making something with a hook and yarn

Our Anju with her crocheted yellow blankie

Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1. When sewing or doing ___________, I  need a ___________, __________, and ___________.
2. I like when I am not working. In my _________  _________, I can practice my ____________  for fun and to create new things.
3. When I lived in _____________, I attended the __________  ___________ ___  ___________  to learn about working with gold threads.
4. In __________ of improving my ______________ , I make small cat blankets.

Grammar: Common and Proper Nouns
Some of the  nouns in the entry are common nouns and others are proper nouns. Common nouns are written in lower case letters, whereas proper nouns are in upper case. Write five sentences in which you use both a common noun and a proper noun, Be sure to use the correct capitalization. For example, in the following sentence, you should capitalize the city Paris and the first word of the sentence:  my sister lived in paris for a year. -- My sister lived in Paris for a year.