October is Family History Month

 

Autumn is here and October is Family History Month! Today you no longer have to drive across the country scouring courthouses and other institutions to dig through musty old records. The internet is alive with genealogy websites to help you find your family roots.

 Historical and genealogy societies, museums, and libraries offer structured help for genealogists searching for their family stories. Visit your local societies as they may offer county history books for sale that may help you find where your people lived. Libraries and bookstores offer great genealogy books and magazines to help you.

 All you need to do is jump into the big genealogy pool to get started. It’s easy to set up your family tree with genealogy software or popular websites dedicated to the subject. And search for people to help you get started researching or if you have met a brick wall in your research, find someone who may be able to guide you to helpful information.

 So much is going on with school back in session with fall sports, autumn activities and festivals, and the ushering-in of the holidays. Fall is the perfect time to grab your camera and get those pictures of your family living life. Take advantage of walking and go to fall festivals and snap beautiful photos of autumn fruit, veggies and decorations. Many festivals offer historical programs that provide scenarios for pioneer days and Civil War era reenactments. Enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and people dressed in period costumes in a beautiful fall setting.   

Get outdoors and snap colorful photos of your family that will be treasured for years. Remember to label your snapshots with complete information that identifies who, what, when and where and sometimes how and why.

 With the blazing colors of autumn right around the corner, remember those harvest gatherings, elementary school parties, hayrides, the cute scarecrows, fall garden splendor, and pumpkin patch outings. October is a good month to start researching your family history or continue with what you’ve already accomplished. What a fun time to be outdoors. Capture your family history this fall. Happy October!