Have you ever wondered what your ancestors thought about
fighting in the American civil war or how your Great-uncle George weathered the
years of the Depression?. Family customs and traditions, can disappear
after a generation or two, if steps aren't taken to preserve them. A family
history is a is a gift to your children and to future generations. It's
not about writing down a family history, page by page, although that would
be great, its about bringing to life, that the names on a family tree are
more than that, they once lived and loved and made you family what it is
today.
If God forbid, your house burned down tonight and you could only salvage
one of your possessions, what would it be? People often reply, the family
photo album. A picture can link you to past ancestor, more than any story,
nothing is more interesting, when you realise that the quirky left ear you
have, is evident in family photos from the 1890's. Its a gives a great
sense of belonging to see family traits passed down through so many
generations. Photos can be some scattered disorganised and unidentifiable
over the years, if you don,t take action now to compile them in to
some sense of order, and make them meaningful to the next generation, the
context can be lost, and the pictures become meaningless
photos. Write little paragraphs beside photos recording who
was there, why and any personal memories. Entertain your kids grandkids with
tales about your holiday trips to the coast or how you won the Gold at the
school races. Bring to life a photo, and make your family aware that the
photo was. Placing your photos in a scrapbook
is a particularly powerful way to preserve their meaning and message, and
be sure to incorporate captions and other written descriptions of the
pictures. Also, why not include poems, letters and birth certs of the
photographed individuals to bring a complete package to life for future
generations. A lovingly composed scrapbook, can become a family treasure
and is a great way of keeping all the information together.
Why not also take your cam corder. A video of your family relatives is a great way to bring past relatives to life, get your grand parents to talk about their parents and grand parents and then you are back 4-5 generations, with personal tales to give context. You can also help steer the interview so that it is relatively chronological or comprehensive. I the interviewee . Ask your family to describe the house they live in, the way its decorated and what they use the rooms for, my bedroom, when I was young, used to be the Kitchen in home, 60 years ago. Talk about ethnicity and religion and its impact on family traditions or customs. Ask family members about major historical events, amongst Irish families, many would have had ancestors who would have participated in revolutionary movements who fought for Irish independence and freedom. Its important to future generations to know, that there ancestors fought and died for the freedoms that they maybe take for granted. Remember that a recording like this, is not just about the success its about the day to day challenges of life, the good and bad, their movements and mannerisms and they way they spoke, just thing how little Humphrey Bogart, sounds like modern day Americans.
If you do not have a Video Camera then go for
a tape recorder, or a pen and paper. Start a journal an record your
thought and feelings, and impressions about day to day event. Such a record will
fascinate your descendants, remember the ordinary, is ordinary is only
ordinary today, in 50 or 100 hundred years, it will be fascinating. There
are numerous sites on line that will advise you on how to do this.
Finally, make your family history a living experience for your
children and grand children. Visit the home where you grew up or the land from which your
family immigrated. Seeing a place first-hand will
give your family a sense of their background and roots. In addition, make your
family recipes with your children, or teach them how to play the flute like their
Gran-father Eamon. Pass your knowledge and wisdom
down to them in ways they can enjoy.
