Welp, after a nasty bought with COVID and a little recovery/catch up time, I finally carved out a couple of hours to sit with my new heritage journal, write out a few words on the first two pages, and complete the first spread! I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.

What all does it include?

• Photos of Scotland, England, and Ireland (the lands of the majority of my Ancestors)

• A map of Santa Fe (where I was born and raised)

• A DNA helix

• A copy of my pedigree through my 2x great grandparents

• A photo of me as a child

• A list of my estimated ethnicity

• Ancestor Math

• Skull craft paper

Below are a few photos of the intro and pedigree spread. A video compilation can be found here on my Instagram page.

What am I still missing?

Well, as I’ve sat with this spread for a few days now, I think I’d like to add a small picture or sticker of the Eiffel Tower as a representation of France. Although, I’m not entirely set on the idea as all of my other representations are of the land itself, as it’s been for eons, while the Eiffel Tower is a modern construction that did not exist when my ancestors left their lands. Hmmm…

Anyhow, while my genetic French representation is very small (around 10% according to Ancestry DNA), my biological father was a direct descendant of one of the original French colonizers of Canada (which means so am I). This, among so many other things, came as a surprise to me and although I will be including this part of my heritage in other spreads with other Ancestors, I do think it’s important to mark it down here on the foundational pages of this heritage journal, even if in a small way.

I’d also like to add some sort of embellishments to the very first pages of the journal as a sort of cover page within the journal itself. I have to think on this some more but maybe a tree done in watercolor? Although, the trees on the leather journal cover itself (goodness I love a good Oberon cover) are quite breathtaking all on their own, so… yes, more thinking is definitely in order.

As I mentioned here, my intention with this heritage journal is to fill in the pages with information about each ancestor, working my way back through each generation as far as my research will allow while I intentionally integrate the information about each individual and my relationship to them.

Up next, me! Stay tuned :-)

Onward,

Melis