I have spent many years gathering bits and pieces of my family’s history because I love the search, and I love the fascinating facts and stories I have found. When I consider the bulk of it (which I rarely do), I am amazed at what I have collected, and the many forms in which my treasures have appeared.
Of course I have charts and certificates, books, newspapers, and even magazines with family members in them. I have a cassette with half a minute of my mother singing; my father’s handwritten spaghetti sauce recipe; and an 1890s photo of my great-grandmother that she retouched in her own photo studio. I have old photos in albums, on slides, disks and flash drives, old maps with family properties marked. I have a picture of my grandfather’s farm in a frame made from the wood of his barn. I have collected the letters and memorabilia of ancestors and descendants alike.
I know I need to do a better job of sharing. Several years back, my sister Cindy made photocopies of our documents and distributed them to each of our siblings. Since then I have made a couple heirloom books through Ancestry’s fabulous family history book printing program. I have made CDs, etc. for the computer savvy members of the family.
One of the most important things I have done is to put my family tree online where others with family ties may be able to find them when searching for relatives. There are other techniques you may find useful, or which may spark ideas of your own. Some people write an annual letter updating finds, with copies of documents found that year. There are many web options for creating private sharing, such as Pinterest, Dropbox or Google Drive. I read of a woman who made playing cards with ancestors’ photos. I have made crossword and word search puzzles.
The part many of us have been leaving out is to follow up on what we have offered and have our relatives can add to it. Most would add something to our work if we make a point of asking them specifically. Ask if they want to add the “other side of the story.” Do they sing, paint, or will they read a poem for a slide show or PowerPoint presentation? Did your information jog a memory they will write, or tell you, to capture in writing, audio, or video?
It is becoming commonplace to display photographs at funerals; how much better to share those memories while your family members are still living? Ask a relative to help you put something together for the next family gathering. Ask them to treat what you have given them not as a dust collector, but rather as something to inspire them to add to, or ask questions about.
These are not just your ancestors, even if it feels like you are the only one interested. Certainly, you can leave your family history to a library or historical society, but how much better to find a way to interest your family so that it will be treasured, and continued, the way it deserves to be.
Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft is a longtime genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader emails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com. Her semimonthly column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society which meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center at 6:30 p.m. Guests are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501.
