52 Ancestors 2019. Week Two: Challenge

I would say my biggest challenge at this point in my genealogical journey is archiving and sharing.  Let me explain.

In 2009, my parents tragically passed away.  Both of my parents were genealogists and well respected historians.  I was fortunate to inherit all of their research documents, photos, charts and books and articles they wrote.  In 2013, my grandfather passed away at the age of 97.  From him I inherited photos and letters dating back to the nineteen teens.  Fantastic! Right?  Yes, to an extent.  However, unless you live in a home that can serve as an active archival library, keeping and maintaining these treasures can be a challenge.

First, I tackled my parents' photos.  I scanned everything and began to place the images on Ancestry and FamilySearch where other relatives could enjoy them.  What good are they sitting in an album in a box in storage?  It was fun going down memory lane.  I saw photos of them with friends from back in the 1970s and thanks to Google and Facebook, was able to track some of those friends down and share the memories.  In return, I received countless stories about my folks that either were new to me or I had forgotten.  Hearing those stories was a blessing to me as I missed my parents intensely.

While at RootsTech2016, a gentleman who had heard I was at the conference tracked me down.  He was a follower of my father's work from when dad was Mayflower Historian General.  He heard my dad had passed away and inquired about the research my father had been doing on the Cooke family.  I had just seen some papers dad had on further research he was doing on the Cooke project and asked the gentleman if he would like them.  He was keen to receive them and I was happy to pass them along so that this man could continue the research where my father left off.

And then there were the photos and letters my granddad left.  The photos were easy enough.  Like I had done with my parents' pictures, I scanned and shared.  With all the photos I've inherited, I created Chatbooks and gave them as gifts to family members.  Now, what to do with the originals? I'm still working that out.  Some I have sent on to relatives and others I have placed in albums.  Some I have tossed.  I mean, who wants to hold onto albums of trips to Russia that has only pictures of places?  It wasn't my trip and they aren't my memories.  I asked around and no one wanted them.  You can't keep on to things just because your Granddad took the photo.  Still, it's hard to let go.

Now to the letters.  Treasures! I tell you that even the most mundane letters, when put together chronologically, tell a fascinating story.  My plan is to get all of the letters (and there are BOXES and BOXES of them!) put into an album, scan them into a publishing program and then transcribe them and have the book published with the transcriptions next to the letters.  Great!  Then what?  Where do we store these letters?  Offers to relatives come up empty.  My thought is to share them with the local historical society in the town where Granddaddy grew up.  I'm not ready to part with them today, but I won't always be around and I would hate for them to be tossed in some arbitrary clean up done after I'm deceased.

The saying is true: When a person dies, a library dies with them.  Sadly, the reality is we can't keep everything. We have to be discerning on what we hang on to. While the originals may never find a permanent home, the images will at least be there for posterity on Ancestry and FamilySearch.

Feel free to comment and share your ideas on how you have preserved and archived the items you have inherited.

The 21 Day Genealogy Challenge - Day 9: GoogleMaps and Genealogy

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss

Welcome to day nine of the 21 Day Genealogy Challenge!  In day eight we looked at three sources that revealed where our ancestors lived.  Today I would like you to take the address of one of your ancestors and enter it in Google Maps.  If you have done this before, you will know how fun it is to see how our ancestral homes and towns look today.

How this works.

Type in your browser googlemaps.com.  Once you are in googlemaps, enter your ancestor’s address in the prompt.  For my ancestor there was no street number, just the street name.  Do not forget to enter the name of the town and state or you will end up with too many options to select from.

Your computer screen should now show you a street map image.  If you look to the bottom right of your screen, you may see some options that allow for a “street view” or images of the town itself.  By clicking on the Google Earth icon on the left side of your screen you will get a satellite image of the area you are searching.  You may zoom in on this image.  Now that you have the satellite view, look again to the right side of your screen.  You will see a “tilt image” option.  By tilting the image, you can see various angles of the town, including a horizon view.  

If your map imaging shows a filmstrip at the bottom of your screen, click on one of the images.  You will now see the houses and buildings as though you were standing on the street. Located just above the film strip, and on the right of the screen is an arrow button.  By clicking this button you can view your surroundings as though you were actually standing in the street and looking around.  

Take your time looking around your ancestor’s town.  Are you able to locate where your ancestor worked?  How about the local church?  If you happen to have old photographs of your ancestor’s home or workplace, compare your picture with the google image and see how the buildings have changed over time.

 

My great grandparents, Ollie and Judson Wilson at the depot station in Reynolds, Georgia.

Today the depot is the local public library.

 

If you are lucky enough to live or travel to where your family resided, take a camera and snap a picture of the house.  If you have an older photo of the home, upload both pictures in your family tree under the photos section for each family member who resided there.  It may not seem a big deal to you now, but you may have relatives that have never seen the home or live too far away to visit.  Seeing the photos may trigger memories and stories for them that they can share with you.

Congratulations! You have completed day eight of the 21 Day Genealogy Challenge!  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them in the Blog Comment section below.  Invite your friends to join this challenge by sharing this blog with them on Google+, Twitter and Facebook.  The share icons are just below this blog entry.

Thank you for joining this challenge and remember…..

History not shared is History forgotten!

Sharing Family Memories

As I sit in the Denver International Airport waiting for my flight back to DC, I am filled with excitement to “return and report” all the wonderful things I learned at the genealogical conference known as RootsTech.  To cover it all in one blog post would be insane, so I will stick with the primary theme: Memories

We often think of genealogy as dealing only with the dead.  Well, that is true.  Our ancestors do seem to be the primary focus of family history research.  But how about the living?  We are all family and one day we will be part of someone’s family tree.  Let’s work on our story so that generations to come won’t have to struggle to know us.

Interview and Record.  You’ll be glad you did!

When I was around 9 years old, my family and I took a vacation to Reynolds, Georgia from Lakewood, Colorado.  The purpose of our 1500 mile trip was to make a pilgrimage to see my great grandmother Ollie Posey Wilson.  What we did not know at the time of that visit was that the following summer, Ollie would pass away at the age of 85 years.  It is a visit I will never forget.

One of the reasons I won’t forget the trip is because of the extreme heat.  This was 1976 and we had no A/C in our car.  My father was also trying to defy all records to get to Georgia and back within a certain time frame.  As an adult, I can now understand that he was most likely trying to get back to his job and had limited vacation, but as a 9 year old, to me he was the brute that would allow for only one bathroom break per day of travel and soggy PBJ lunches consumed in the backseat.  My brother and I would vie for space in the cramped backseat that we shared with luggage.  Luggage on the floor.  Luggage between us.  Thank goodness we were small kids.  But I digress.

My great grandmother Ollie was a small woman.  In her prime she was probably 5’3, but as an elderly person she was more around 5 feet.  She wore a simple patterned straight dress.  Her house smelled of lilac.  Her accent was a thick southern drawl.  She loved iced tea.  I had no memory of her from my baby years, but I loved her the moment I saw her. 

Ollie Posey Wilson (RT) with her daughter, my grandmother Kathryn Wilson Watts Kistner.  Circa 1975

My mother had the foresight (or maybe it was planned) to bring a tape recorder with her to this visit.  For about an hour of our visit, my mother and great grandmother talked as the tape recorder dials turned, taking in every word and every noise surrounding them.  Listening now, I am beyond grateful for this tape and the treasures it holds.  I not only have in my possession Ollie’s stories first hand, but I also treasure the sound of her voice and the voices of my parents who have also since passed on.

The details within the stories told that day have opened up genealogical windows – not broken down any walls as of yet – and small details have revealed names of relatives not found in census records.  These were stories of family not written in books.  And, what’s more, just hearing my great grandmother talk about her family opened up an understanding to who she was as a daughter, mother and wife.

"Papa and Mama had to plant corn. Mama dropped and Papa covered it.  They carried me to my aunt's house 'cause I was so bad that my brother couldn't manage me and the baby too.

Oh well, I ran away from my Aunt and went home and made my brother open the door.  I went in and he made me so mad I turned the cradle over and then I slipped back to my Aunt's.  Oh boy did I get a whipping!  I ran from mama all around the potato patch, and when she caught me! Oh my!  I sure got it.  And then, I called my brother a dirty word and oh my! I got it again!”  (Ollie Posey Wilson, 1976.)

What a treasure to hear her talk of her childhood.  I’m sure at the time, she didn’t find it to be a treasure, but to me, it is gold!

We, too, have a story and it is important that we share it.  When we are gone, someone will be ever so grateful to hear our voice and listen to the tales we have to tell about our parents, grandparents and even our siblings.  But where do we begin?

1.     Think small.  Start with just one story and keep it short and simple.  Need a way to prompt for one?  Take out an old photograph that brings back long forgotten memories.

2.     Record your story.  Have an iPhone? At RootsTech I learned of a great program called StoryCorps.  They have an amazing app that allows you to interview family and friends and then preserve your conversation at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.  Imagine that!  Imagine if you had your ancestral stories at your fingertips.  Go to StoryCorps.com and learn more about their program.  It’s free!

3.     Journal.  There are so many ways to journal these days.  Various online journals exist such as JRNL.com – for writing and incorporating digital images, to ProjectLife which is a digital scrapbooking site in which you document your life through your photos.  There are tons of sites out there like the ones mentioned here.  Pick one that is right for you.

4.     Share.   I once heard said, “When a person passes away, a library dies.”  With our passing, so do our stories and memories.  If we think that our lives are mundane and that we have nothing of interest to share with others, we would be wrong.  I would love to read the about the “mundane” day my ancestors had, and I am sure you would, as well.

5.     Encourage others to do the same.  We live in a wonderful age of being able to use media outlets to share our stories.  Schedule a time once a week, or once a month, to sit down with a friend or family member.  Interview each other.  Bring other family members into your “Memories” project and get them excited about their own story.  Your family will be glad you did!

      Remember -- History not shared is History forgotten!

Digitizing and Saving Your Family History Photographs

So, you have inherited a box (or boxes) of family photos and have no idea what to do with them.  They seem old and may be of interest to someone, and you feel like you shouldn’t toss them.  What to do!

First and foremost, go through them.  Each photograph tells a story of someone in a moment in time.  If you are lucky, there will be a name, date and location of where the picture was taken written on the back of the photo.  If there isn’t, don’t panic.  There are a few ways you may be able to deduct who is in the picture.  But we will get to that later.

1.    Sort the photos.  Divide the pictures by time period if you can.  If you come across extremely old photos, like tintypes, you most definitely want to set them apart from all other modern pictures.  Are there theme photos such as family reunions, school pictures or even homesteads?  If so, you can sort that way, too. 

John and Mary Lackey Homestead, Alexander, North Carolina. Built circa 1865.

2.    Identify.  If the photo has a name, date and location on the back, you are lucky!  Too often when we take pictures, we think we will recall names and dates.  The truth of the matter is, we don’t.  However, if you come across a picture of your grandfather, and you know it is a photo of your grandfather, then with pencil write his name on the back of the photo.  Unless you were there when the picture was taken, or you took the picture, you really can’t date the photo.  But you can comment “circa 1950” or something indicating the time period.  If you only “think” you know who the person is, do not write anything on the back of the photo.

Corvisant Wilson with her husband William Hobbs and their children, Tom and Vassar.

3.    Digitize.  Life happens.  Houses flood.  Summer humidity.  People move and forget the boxes in the attic.  If you digitize your family photos and save them on a thumb drive, you will have preserved your family’s photo history for generations to come.  Currently, there are several ways to digitally save your photos:  Dropbox, Trunx, Instagram, or simply on a thumb drive.  If you use a thumb drive, make certain you make that drive distinctive from other thumb drives you are using and place it where you can grab it should you have a house emergency, such as a fire.  (We keep ours in a safe.)

4.    Share.  Any photos you have decided not to keep safe in an album, you should share with other family members.  Perhaps take the extra photos to a family reunion or next gathering with your immediate family.  This would also be a great time to take the pictures you can’t identify and see if there is anyone who can tell you who the photos are about and the stories behind them.

5.    Toss.  Sometimes it is okay to toss out photos.  Photographs of someone’s vacation are not typically something you want to preserve, unless there are some once in a lifetime events in those photos.  (ie. Great Granddad touring Russia or one of your parents visiting the Berlin Wall.)  Keep photos that have meaning and memories for you.

 

Granddaddy Franklin E. Watts.  Snake found while working as a lineman in West Palm Beach, Florida.

6.    Storing.  For the photos you have chosen to keep, think about placing them in a safe album.  If you have numerous albums that must be stored in boxes, make certain they are kept in a dry area free from humidity to avoid mold.  I recently heard about placing rice in cheesecloth in your photo boxes.  The rice will absorb the humidity and keep your photos safe from moisture. 

Who Are These People?

          If you cannot identify a person in the photo, you can do a photo comparison.  Take the photo of the older person and compare it to a photo of a younger person.  Depending on the timeframe of the pictures, you might be able to discern if the man in each picture is the same person in a different time of life.

          Still can’t place a name with the face?  Share on Social Media.  There are sites such as DeadFred.com that will allow you to upload pictures of unknown individuals for others to see and perhaps identify.

Sorting, digitizing and preserving family photos can take time.  Remember to start small.  Only pull out what you feel you can accomplish and put away in one hour.  Slowly but surely you will accomplish this project and be pleased that you were able to share these memories with other people.

Keep in mind:  History Not Shared Is History Lost!