Record Your Family Memories

We are blessed in this modern age of technology where we can easily record and save our ancestor's oral histories, which will be preserved for your children, children's children, and down through the age. 

The Native Americans frequently taught each other their history by telling stories of their past. These stories are valuable in helping the children know who they are from and, as a benefit, allow them to know who they are. 

Now is the time for you to record your parent's and grandparents' stories. You will enjoy hearing them tell them in their own words once they have left this life. My family has recordings of my parents talking about memories from their life. They have all passed from this life, and it brings me joy to hear their voices. 

Consider talking with the oldest family members and recording them talking about their lives. We are also blessed with the cell phones that cannot only record audio, can also record video. The videos will be a treasure trove for your children, grandchildren, and throughout generations. 

Additionally, if you upload the videos or audio recordings using the FamilySearch Memories Mobil App, which can be found in app stores, and they will be preserved for your children, grandchildren, and on down through the generations. The Memories app can be downloaded from the Google App Store using your computer or phone or Apple App Store using your iPhone or iPad. 

 

Honoring Those Who Served

This past summer, I had the honor and privilege of meeting my cousin, Gilchrist Booth and his lovely wife, Grace, while taking my daughter to school in Utah. My mother had told me a great deal about her cousin Gil, and I finally had the amazing opportunity to visit with him with my brother. He and his wife are delightful, and so very wise. My cousin Gil, was a member of the 743 Tank Battalion, Company B. He shared with me his written memories of his experiences while serving our country and I cherish this written record.  As I read through his history, he brought light to things that I would have never considered as being challenges while serving.  This could be from my lack of knowledge regarding the workings of a tank.  He spoke about how loud it was inside the tank when shells would be fired; I had never thought about that aspect. He shared with us many things about his service and expressed his profound sadness in seeing how the people in the concentration camps had been treated.  Before we left to go home, my dear cousin Gil shared with me his written memoirs of his military service. Having read his memoirs has touched me deeply and helped me to better understand and appreciate the opportunities and freedoms I enjoy.  I am grateful to Gil for writing down and sharing some of his memories.

This year, my cousin Gil was honored for his service with others in Utah. Thank you cousin Gil for your honorable service!

 I would encourage all to take the time to visit with your family members ask them about their lives.  We all can learn a great deal from those we love if we will but take the time.  I hope that you will come away from reading this post realizing the need to document and/or write down the history of those we love and those who have served in a selfless way to preserve freedom and a cause which is greater than the individual, no matter what country they are serving.  I honor everyone who has helped to keep our freedom and express my deepest gratitude to them and their families.  Thank you!

Welcome to StoryTree!

In honor of  December 7th, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, I thought this would be a great video to share to remind everyone the importance of recording our personal and family histories. One of the great places that I have discovered to record these videos is on Story Tree.  Story Tree allow you to video record your loved ones on a variety of topics that are suggested by Story Tree or you can create your own topic.  Invite your family to participate and you can begin to share the memories you had as a child, parent, grandparent.  What do you remember about your 1st car?  1st date?  It has been said, that if a person's history is not written down or in this case, a video biography, their life story will be lost within 2 generations. Don't let the memories of your grandparents, parents, or siblings be lost or fade away.  There are so many options and ways to share family history, but this site allows for collaboration.  If you would like to learn more, click the link Welcome to StoryTree!

Have you told your story or the story of those you love?

This week, I wanted to share with you a new website that is in the development stages called StoryVault. This website has been developed and is able to be utilized free of charge, but you have to sign up for an account to use the site. It has been to browse through the videos that are currently available to view regarding people's life experiences. You can view one of them that I have post below. The videos range from war experiences to daily living experiences. The video I posted below shows you that even a young person can conduct the interviews. The interviews are meant to be 10 minutes or less, so that one would share a memory of a particular event, place, or person. The site notes that ideal length of the video is approximately 5 minutes. The video below is an interview between a father and his son regarding an experience that father had while flying and the plane had major engine trouble.  The son did a great job in the interview.  Watch to find out what happened.

Another feature of the website is the capability for one to create their own family tree. The site does not allow one to import their GEDCOM to the site, therefore, you have to manually enter each individual into the site.  The website also provides a hints/tips section about how to conduct an video interview and the videos are able to be linked to your family tree as well. If you would like to learn more, click Story Vault Frequently Asked Questions.

Use Family Time to Grow your Family Tree

A friend of mine shared this picture with me.  He said it was on the back of a Rice Crispies cereal box.  How cool is that?  The first paragraph talks about the importance of having children learn about their ancestors; not just the dates, names, and places, but also the story behind the person. It is great to see big companies see the value of family time and the importance of learning more about your family.  You can tell your children stories about some of their ancestors, their lives, and any other important information that will help them learn more about their family.

This summer have your children interview their grandparents.  There are many different ideas for questions that the child or parent could ask, such as:
1. What was your home like where you grew up?
2. What types of games did you play when you were little?
3. How did you meet Grandma/Grandpa?
4. What was my father/mother like as a child?
Theses are just a few questions that could be used. If you would like more suggestions, please leave a comment and I will respond with others. If you can video record the interview it would be great. If you are unable to record the interview, have the child/parent write down the questions and answers for future generations. Remember, as one learns more about where and who they are from, they come to understand more about who they are.

Do You Have Jewish Ancestors? Do you need help?

The Center for Jewish History has a digital collection that is available for research. The collections available for research include scrapbooks, photographs, letters from the Front, dissertations, oral interviews, video interviews, and much more. Also noted on this site was Association for Free Distribution of Matsot to the Poor (New York, N.Y.) records, 1855-1858. This record contains information regarding the distribution of Free Matzoth to the needy and poor in New York City during the years of 1855 - 1858. This site has a wealth of information that could assist you with your research.  You will want to spend  time perusing through the vast collections available for research.


The website design is a little clunky and difficult to research, but it has the possibility to provide a great deal of information and insight to the researcher.  The site has a simple and advanced search feature.  I also found that browsing the collections interesting. Some of the files are very large and can a little while to load in the viewer.  Additionally there are some records that are in German and Russian.  There site has a simple and advanced search feature, but I found that browsing the collections interesting. Once you have found something you would like to view, you need to click on the picture on the left of the screen  to view the information, as noted in the picture on the right.


Once you have clicked on the picture, you will either see the image directly or you will be given an option to select the folder you would like to view.  Please note that there are plus signs next to folder, which indicate there is additional information included in the folder.  To open the folder, simply click on the plus sign and you will be able to view the information in that folder.

I hope that this has not confused you.  I think that this site has a great deal to offer for the genealogist and family historian.  It take a little time to understand the navigation of the site, but is wealth worth the investment of time.  The site is free to use, but there are disclaimers siting that you must not use this information to sell or profit by.  The information provided is for personal use and educational uses. If you would like to search in this site click Center for Jewish History Digital Archives.

Tell Me A Story Grandma!

Susan Kitchens like many of us have wondered how we can keep a record of our family through oral histories. Susan is developing a website that provides articles discussing how to obtain an oral history, what equipment to use and much more.

If you have ever worked on obtaining, transcribing, and publishing an oral history, this site might be of assistance to help you do these tasks easily. If you would like to look at this site, please click Family Oral History and you will be directed to the sites front page. I would encourage you to take time to delve into the site and find some of the hidden gems.

Below is an interview with the author of the site, Susan Kitchens. It will provide you with some great insights and behind the website stories on the progression of Family Oral History. Enjoy!

How To Obtain An Oral Family History Interview

Have you ever wondered what life was like when your grandparents or your great-grandparents were alive? What was the Great Depression really like in your ancestor's family? I think that one of the best way to learn about your family and history is to meld the two together by obtaining an oral and video history of your parents, grandparents, and if you are fortunate enough of your great-grandparents. There is no time like the present to start working towards learning more about your history.

The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide provides a great how to begin format in a PDF format that you can download and refer to in your preparation for an interview.

A Script for Video or Audio Interviews with Family Members will provide you with various questions that you ask during an interview that will cover various portions of your ancestors life. The video below provides the beginning ideas of how to obtain an oral history. This video is the first in a series of five videos that and can be found at Roots Television.

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, a Folklorist said: "[Tradition-bearers] are living links in the historical chain, eye witnesses to history, shapers of a vital and indigenous way of life. They are unparalleled in the vividness and authenticity they can bring to the study of local history and culture." Preserving a snippet of your ancestor's life by a video and/or oral history will help us to remember the past, understand more fully the present, and help prepare us for the future.

As we come to understand our ancestors, we begin to truly understand ourselves. I think that Daniel Webster said it the best:

"To be faithful to ourselves, we must keep our ancestors and posterity within reach and grasp of our thoughts and affections, living in the memory and retrospect of the past, and hoping with affection and care for those who are to come after us."
—Daniel Webster, 1782-1852, U.S. lawyer, diplomat, and Secretary of State

No time like the present to begin recording your family's history.