Archive for the ‘Family History Hints and Helps’ Category
It used to be that keeping a journal or diary was a normal part of life. Generations did it. Young people began early to write in a journal, to fill it with pressed leaves and bugs. To collect stamps and notes between its lines. Living generations have ceased to have an interest in private, personal […]
Most of the time we associate the word “artifact” with archeology. The definition is “a handmade object; such as a tool, or the remains of one, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage.” So, it would seem that our ancestors left artifacts behind without being prehistoric themselves. The emphasis in the definition is on […]
I wish. A statement we use over and over. But, I do wish. Wish I had taken photographs from a very early time. Photographs of people in my family. Ancestors. I wish that I had always cared about family history. If I had, I would have preserved the right things and taken photographs of the […]
There are many, many sources of information about our ancestors and our extended family members. Being alert to opportunities to gather information and creating opportunities to do so will become second nature if we work on it. Our religious affiliations often include records and documents which are unique to our beliefs and many sources of […]
Nothing on any website or on the Internet is necessarily correct. Apply your judgment and common sense to the record or contact the submitter or author of the website for additional comfort about the data. Most census information is correct because it was self-reported. That is unless the person reporting did not provide correct information. […]
Here is an example of the first letter we used to gather information from our living, extended family. It was sent to uncles, aunts, siblings and cousins. Date Dear Family Members: We are working to create a family history record for ourselves and our posterity. We would like our record to begin in the present […]
WHY? Nothing is more helpful to me that the use of chronologies and time lines. Not commercial time lines, but those I create myself as I find each piece of information about an ancestor. While the process of gathering information about our ancestors may last a lifetime, in the beginning we may find that when […]
There is a universal language used to record and report Family History. I think that you will find that it is easy to learn and easy to use. In fact, you probably already know some of it because when you make a Pedigree Chart, it looks just like an “outline” . . . the kind […]
Gathering our family history is like gathering our family around us. The process expands our universe and our hearts and creates a sense of something divine and spiritual. The gathering process lasts a lifetime, but the foundation can be laid now to make the lifetime process easier and habit-forming. Our family members will continue to […]