Cherish Your Family Stories

 Since the beginning of time, the harvest has been a season of gathering crops from the fields and getting together with family and friends to celebrate. There are other things to gather this time of year besides our produce. With the holidays approaching and while you are preparing for family gatherings, swing your thoughts to your family history.   

Gathering family stories can be a fun and tantalizing activity. Collecting those tales from yesteryear (or even not so long ago) is something you will treasure. Letters, photos, and cards are pieces of memorabilia that enrich your family history.

Many folks write holiday family letters, happily chattering about their year. These letters are full of family information, so keep them with your research. One winter, my cousin blessed me with a batch of her old family keepsakes. In the collection of goodies were several letters written when a family member passed. One of the sisters included news from their hometown in Indiana and included at great length news of a friend’s wedding. What an endearing historical artifact for me. Here is the first page of the four-page letter my cousin gave to me: 

 

When you have old letters and photos, use the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to document the details. When you read cards and letters, pay attention to the writer’s handwriting and their way of communication and spelling.

Here is the front page of the letter my 3rd great-grandfather wrote to his children after his beloved wife died. He spells the word 'much' as 'mutch' and 'which' as 'witch.'

If you send holiday cards, explain to your family about your interest in family history and genealogy. Ask them if they can supply answers to missing information and if they have pictures they will share. Share some of your family history information with them. You may be surprised at what you will get in return. 

Another suggestion for your get-togethers, ask your guests to bring a few family photos and the stories that go along with them to share with everyone. Don’t forget to ask questions and write the answers down so you’ll have details later. Think of it as an informal interview.

If you’re seriously savvy, use a recorder to capture every word and phrase of the stories you hear. If you know Great-grandma or Uncle Henry will grace your gathering, write your questions on paper so you won’t forget to ask her during the excitement of the day.

Here’s a neat tip about sharing photos with everyone. To prevent smudging the photos, place them in archival-safe sleeves. If you don’t know who the people are in any of your photographs, consider assigning a number to each photo. If anyone recognizes the people, places, events, and dates, you can easily write that information on your paper with the assigned photograph number. 

One last suggestion about vintage (actually all) photographs: never write on the backs of them. If you absolutely must, use a pencil.  If you use an ink pen over time the ink will bleed through onto the fronts of the pictures ruining them.

Not only during the holidays but at every gathering, enjoy the opportunities to discover your family history.