Do your Ancestors ever call to you? Ask you to look for them by tugging at the edges of your heart, tickling your thoughts, or whispering in your dreams? One of my great grandmas, Delia Duval, unknown to me until just a few years ago, has piqued my interest recently, and so my very intentional search for her has begun.
Author: Melissa Willis
One Simple Step Towards Documenting Your Family History
Timing is everything when faced with interest in learning about our family history, isn’t it? It seems many of us aren’t incredibly interested in such things in our youth and by the time we begin to get the itch, many of our elders have already passed. So, how do we strike a balance? Well, if you’re here in this space with me now I’d wager a guess you have found an interest (even a tiny one) and may or may not be ready to fully dive in so I’m going to offer a simple suggestion: Begin by documenting the facts and stories passed down in your family.
Over a Cuppa: One
Having enjoyed keeping an old-school blog and the process of sharing general updates that are both niche related and a little out of the “box”, as I sat down to brainstorm the categories for this space, I knew I wanted to continue something similar, offering you and I the opportunity to chat about whatever is happening in our wildly dynamic lives. And so is born Over a Cuppa!
9 Things to Consider Before Taking a DNA Test
So, you’re thinking about taking a DNA test, ha? They’ve remained wildly popular in the United States, are easy to get and take, and with regular sales offered, it may seem like a simple undertaking. It is also a valuable tool that can help blow your family tree wide open.
As someone who has taken a DNA test and would definitely do it all again, I was, admittedly, woefully unprepared for my results and so would like to offer a few considerations for you to think on before you make your final decision.
The Restoration of My Favorite Family Photo
If I had to wager a guess, I’d say we all have that one favorite family photo that calls to us. That one photo that reaches into our hearts and asks us to look deeper. That one photo where everyone is looking at the camera (or no one is looking at the camera) and we just want to share it with everyone we know and love.
But maybe that photo has been damaged in one way or another. Maybe it got bent, or written on in the wrong way. Maybe something got spilt on it or maybe it’s been torn.
How to Best Label Your Photos
As any family historian knows, finding a new (or new-to-you) photo is a feeling like none other. Flipping that photo over to find it labeled only sweetens the pot! Seeing the face of kin and knowing their name, when the photo was taken and where it was taken is truly like hitting a gold mine!
Truth be told, though, life is busy! And more often than not we’re not thinking about labeling photos, let alone thinking ahead to who might want/need to know who is in a given photo, when it was taken or where we were.
7 Topics to Include When Writing About Your Family History
No matter what your personal goals are, if you are aiming to be comprehensive in documenting your family’s story, there are several details you should consider including to create a detailed and engaging narrative. Here are seven important topics I’ve come across in my research for you to consider as you begin (or continue) writing about your family history.
Hannah Ann
It seems fitting that, to properly begin sharing about my personal family history in this space, I must start with Hannah. From her I can work forwards and backwards in my maternal line as I share more individual stories, but in my mind, it all begins with her, the pebble tossed in the pond of my mind and heart as a small child, and from which the ripples expand.
Thoughts on Writing Your Family History
A family history written in a single sitting may be just as life changing to kin down the road as an unfinished book that took over a decade to compile. The biggest gift we can give ourselves and our relatives is to get out of own way while we try to contribute to our family’s story.