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Preserving the Past
12/1/2003
Everyone that has experienced a death in his or her family has had the occasion to regret that one question or another was not asked before that death occurred. When that happens, there is usually nothing that can be done to retrieve that information for your own enlightenment and for the benefit of your children and grandchildren. They deserve to know about their past and those that helped them to become what they are today. There is nothing more reassuring for children in today’s fragmented families than the sense of belonging and the continuity available in family trees, especially when it is accompanied with information about the lives of their ancestors. One of the most popular courses being offered at community colleges and adult education classes across the United States is how to develop a family history. You don’t have to be a genealogist to accomplish that task, but the study of genealogy has much to teach us about simple methods we can use to discover and pass along information about our past. It is important to remember that a family tree is not just simply the branch that bears the family name. There are many sources in your own home that you can use to begin this process.
Often the family Bible will list births and deaths. The process of just gathering the information from distant cousins helps pull the spirit of the project together and helps create that continuity of relationships. Go through the family photographs, on the back you should identify each person, the place, the occasion and the approximate time of the shot. Identify and preserve papers and documents that have been handed down from generation to generation. Some, such as a land patent and homestead document may even be suitable for framing. Records of bills, family business activities, tax statements and old letters can be rich sources of information that tells much about how our ancestors lived. Information about the price of commodities and labor can be fascinating to our children! Think about it… How many times have your parents told you how far they had to walk to school and how much they got paid for their first job? My children cringe every time I tell them my stories! When my parents use to tell me that newspapers were two cents and milk nine cents I gained a sense of perspective of how things have changed so dramatically!
It is critical that you do all that you can to capture the experiences of older members of the family by interviewing them with a tape recorder. One of my most precious keepsakes of my father is a copy of a radio broadcast he did in the early 1950’s. The sound of his voice always brings a flood of memories and tears. The old 8mm movies I had converted to VHS serve to remind me of his warm smile and gentle ways when he held us as children. My own children never got to know my dad and these keepsakes help place him in their own lives and hearts.
Don’t wait until it is too late to begin this process of preserving your past. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it!!
Church records may also provide great information. For computer users, there are a number of computer programs available that help you create your family history. My Story is a program that asks over 400 questions that prompt you to provide details on each area of your life. Family Tree Maker requests information on birth, deaths, etc. Both programs are available from Selective Software, 3004 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060. The Internet is also a great source of retrieving information on Family Trees and relatives.