The only thing I know for sure is that I come from a long line of dead people. A marble orchard not to be taken for granite. It's all relative in the end anyway. Tracing yourself back to better people.
Life takes it's toll.
I found I wish I could lose. Every family tree has some sap in it. The place for storing your priceless genealogy records. Friends come and go, but relatives tend to accumulate. Genealogists do it in the library.