Genealogy Blog
Family
history collected and shared
This week one of my cousins came for a visit, which gave me the
opportunity to share my library of research with another family member.
Of course, just because the information pertains to one’s family,
doesn’t guarantee they will be interested. Since my cousin is
a polite house guest, he at least gave me the opportunity to bring out
the books.
The “books” are actually fifteen 3-ring binders, filled with all sorts
of family treasures, memorabilia, documents, and research notes.
(Of course, I only brought out three books for my cousin, which
pertained to his ancestors.)
In the beginning, when I first jumped into this obsession…errr….I mean
hobby….I had a stack of notes and assorted papers, growing in a once
empty file drawer in our den. It was a disorganized mess, and to
have easier access to what I was collecting, I decided to reorder the
material in a 3-ring binder. After a trip to the office supply
store, I brought home a
I had a stack of those cardboard-like, scrapbook pages, with the peel
off plastic sheet covers, that would have fit nicely into the binder.
Yet, I decided not to use them. In the past, when inserting newspaper
clippings in such a page, I discovered that over time the clipping would
affix itself to the cardboard, making it impossible to remove without
destroying the document.
I used the dividers to separate the families. My father’s family was in
the first half of the book, my mother’s in the second half.
Finally I had a place for those bits of information that we’d collected
over the years, yet either file away in the file cabinet (if you are
really organized), toss in the box with the family photos, or shove in
some odd’s and end drawer.
Soon my mother was giving me information; a copy of her marriage
certificate, old family letters that mention pertinent genealogical
information, newspaper clippings, and other family data. Before I
knew it, my book was brimming, and I realized it was time for mom and
dad to have their own books.
It didn’t take long before I needed books for each grandparent, then
books for my husband’s family, and so on. I’ve heard of other
genealogist enthusiasts who have rooms full of such book. At this
point I begin to think of my children. When I join all those who I
am researching, will my children appreciate all that information that
I’ve collected….or will they be cursing me??
(Above photo is of my visiting
cousin....taken a few years ago!
He was darn cute!)
- BAJH
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