Henry Louis Gates Jr. Quotes

The Carter family history means a lot to me.

Some of what I am doing when I am researching is looking for things people in my family have done and finding out what those things mean, why they did those things and seeing how I fit into them.

I don't think anyone looks into their family tree and expects it to come up smelling of roses.

My family's journey is something I am very proud of - in front of me, behind me and every part.

One of the things that's important about family is the narrative history they create for themselves.

The thing that interests me most about family history is the gap between the things we think we know about our families and the realities.

As you get older, you get more... genealogical.

I'm a fourth-generation New Yorker. My family has been in New York for many, many years.

We should all know our family's story, all the more so if nobody tells it to us directly and we have to find it out for ourselves.

Blue Ivy can say she knows who her great-great-great-great-grandfather is. How many people can say that?

Some of my family goes back a long way in Denver.

My mother was from West Bromwich; my grandfather was Pakistani. I had an aunt who started trying to trace the family tree and stopped when she saw what turned up.

My heritage has been my grounding, and it has brought me peace.

My mom's side of the family is from Arkansas!

I wanted to share my life story and honor my roots. I am very proud of my family and mother.

You can't run from your roots.

Mum and I were delighted to find out we were descended from 'bog-trotters.'

I've always been fascinated by family ancestry.

Both my mother's family and my father's family go back almost a hundred years in the district. I was born in the district, raised in the district, raised my family in the district. And so that's the way I see myself.

It's very strange that most people don't care if their knowledge of their family history only goes back three generations.

You want to try to find your heritage.

Whether the family of the Clarkes were of Norman extraction cannot be easily ascertained.

My maternal grandmother had what might be described in a school report as a 'lively imagination.' She told us that she was a direct descendant of Sir Christopher Wren.

You don't stumble upon your heritage. It's there, just waiting to be explored and shared.

I know my roots and I cannot forget the journey I made.