After reminiscing with my sisters over the holiday weekend, several memories of the “old days†came up. Maybe you had a similar experience. This week, take a few minutes to record the memory of a person, place, or event that is special to you. Create a file and do this often. You’ll be helping to preserve an important part of your family history. Don’t you wish your ancestors had done the same?
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Awesome idea!
I’ve done this a few times. I can go back and see what I’ve written and think about that person or event. I once wrote down how I was feeling as I waited for my granddaughter to be born and hope that I can show it to her when she is an adult!
When my granddaughter was born I saved that month and year of the Readers Digest. Every time she, or I, or “us” do something “great” I put it on a post-it inside the magazine. She’s almost 15 now and I’m running out of room for post-its. I plan to give it to her for high school graduation. It’s been fun, I’m going to miss it.
We’re going through this right now with my family – we’re going to set the older members of the family up with tape recorders and let them “free-flow” their memories, traditions, “anecdotes” – everything, without editing.
Good advice! Add this to the list of recording memories – I’m not sure if it’s legal, but we did it.
At our reunions we stuck tape recorders under the seats of my dad and his cousins, sisters, brothers etc – what a lot of great things we learned about their lives….their childhood memories, they sang songs – it was wonderful and what a treasure.
I’ve also created family history books for the next generation – old pictures, birth certificates, wedding pictures – Ellis Island records, maps – the list goes on and on.
Last week one of my sons took digital pictures of all of our antique furniture, particularly family pieces. He then set up a file and I wrote what I knew about each one alongside the individual photo. The next time he comes we will do dishes, books, quilts,keepsakes, etc. He and another son will post those on a website that only their siblings can access. Plans are to add family recipes with stories about those cooks, as well.
A month or so before our annual family reunion, I emailed everyone and asked them to send me their favorite memory of our grandmother. I got wonderful stories from her daughter and son-in-law giving us details of Grannie’s early life as a wife and mother, memories from grandchildren, and anecdotes from the great-grandchildren. It was amazing to see what a picture of her personality and talents resulted. We compiled a copy for all the households at the reunion. I think we will do cousin memories next year!
Help – the weekly e-mails from Ancestry are no longer readable – they’re filled various symbols, foreign letters, etc. to the point where it’s literally unreadable. I haven’t changed e-mails – have you changed something? This started last week. Sorry to post here but didn’t know where else to do it.
please i need more information on the next family names
Phillupis Jacobus Welhemus Schutte
and
Pieter Andries Mans
I have random memories that I “jot” down whenever they come to me. I have a computer document named “Rietta’s Ramblings” There are lots of memories there.
Record a Memory – Great Idea! Actually some time ago, I purchased a small spiral notebook. When a memory comes to me, I jot down enough words in the small notebook to bring back the memory for when I have time to get the whole story of the memory down. It’s worked great for me and I don’t wrack my mind trying to remember the memory – when I have more time.
I could add a successful idea that I used at a Family Reunion.
I printed up “baseball” cards with the photo and name of each living family member. (spouses, too!) Everyone received a deck of them. The goal was to get the person to sign his/her own card and put a thought or message on the back.
It really brought the family members together.
Happy Dae
Years ago at a family gathering I was seated next to a younger male cousin (I was in my 40’s and he was in his 30’s). We talked about going to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm on Sundays decades before. It was surprising how different our memories were: he was younger, male and played outdoors at the farm-I, older, female and was in the house during the visit. Gather memories from everyone to get the whole picture-things may have been going on that you were not aware of and the same things were seen with different eyes and recored with different memories.