This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  If you are lucky enough to still have your mom, you’ll be talking to her or taking her to brunch. That’s the time to pull out the tree and get her to help you fill in the blanks.  Here’s a form you can use if you haven’t started your tree already. (Treeform) Tell her that you want to hear stories about your relatives and you’ll be calling or visiting her soon for them.  Ask her what she did for her own mother on Mother’s Day.  Does she remember her grandmother?  Ask about the day you were born. Get the kids involved and have them ask her questions about her life.

If Mom has already passed, honor her by taking a few minutes to remember stories about her.  Look through your photo albums, note the stories they evoke.

Enjoy your time with Mom this weekend!

Plan to start with a family tree then take it one step further and capture a time through writing, photos, and adding video. It becomes much more meaningful.  In one family history video I interviewed a father and his children.  I was struck by how they reacted to the questions.  The quick knowing smiles, their voice inflections, their posture, it was so obvious to me that these people were related.  None of that can be captured on paper and yet future generations may see themselves or their children in those gestures.  Doesn’t it make you wonder what you inherited from your great-great grandmother or her great-great grandfather?  

You also have the opportunity to pass on your ethics, your faith, your life lessons, and history.  How you or your parents made it through the depression can be very inspiring to someone now who just lost their job.  Just sharing yourself can help a future child rethink or reprioritize family over things, people over possessions. What was it like the first time you saw your spouse?  What made you start your own business?  What do you remember most about your father or mother?  The answers to those kinds of questions may seem mundane to you but to future relatives they are priceless. 


It is a beautiful gift to pass on.

If you are planning to interview your parents or grandparents – or maybe even your great-grandparents – you will find it truly enlightening.  Expect the unexpected. I was 33 when I found out that my surname quite possibly should have been Sawyer.  Three out of my four grandparents, including my fraternal grandfather, were not raised by both of their natural parents.  Life was rough here in the United States in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  The stories I heard are fascinating to me.  They mean so much to me because they are real people whose stories are part of my life – and helped shape my life. 

Whether from humble beginnings or royalty, whether you find your family history or not, the act of working on this project will open your mind to a time gone by, it could help you feel grounded in today and see a hope in tomorrow.

Enjoy the journey!

Welcome to the Treasured Archives blog!  Here begins our journey together.  This blog is to help you compile your family history to pass on to the generations to come. Think about the family you feel you know.  For most of us, that goes back to our grandparents if we are lucky.  If we are really lucky, we have memories of our great-grandparents but most of us were young when they were alive.  When you’re young you don’t think too much about what others lived through or their history.  My great-grandmother traveled from Illinois to Kansas in a covered wagon.  I really wished I’d asked her more questions about that!  By our own lives we can conclude that personal stories of events, people or eras are currently forgotten after 3 generations. Using today's technologies, we no longer are limited to others' interpretations of our memories.  Original stories will be available for generations to come but only if we capture, digitize and archive now.  So….

THIS WEEK’S GOAL:   GET STARTED!!!!

You do not have to decide what the end result will be to get started.  You may not have decided whether to make, a movie, a book, or simply a family tree with notes.  That’s OK!  Anything you do will help later whether it is you that brings the family history up to date or the next generation.  Anything is better than nothing.

To begin, get a notebook or pad of paper or make a file on your computer – whichever works for you to add to each time you work on the family history.  Start with some notes on what you already know (the tree as you know it, stories you've enjoyed and would like to pass on), what you already have (photos, video, memorabilia, family Bible), and what you will need before too long (i.e., ‘learn to use my video camera on my phone.’) 

Then make a time plan.  “I’ll think about what questions I would like answers to and who best to ask on my way to work on Wednesdays instead of listening to the radio.”  Or “Tuesday nights I’ll record my favorite show so I can do 2 things toward my family history.”   Don’t get too specific on what you’ll do yet, just block out some time in your week and add it to your calendar.