Passing It On

Recording family stories is easier than ever

 

There was a time when tape recording was not an exercise for the timid. Equipment was heavy, bulky and expensive and the results were uneven. Plus, as the photo illustrates, not everyone responded the same way to the practice.

But almost all of us appreciate hearing stories from people close to us in their own voices. It's well worth the effort to get them and it's not nearly as difficult as it once was.

I was reminded of that recently on a visit with my mother-in-law. My wife and I have received a number of family items from her in recent years, but were unsure of the stories behind the items. We photographed each item and took the photos to her for identification.

While she told the story behind each item, I recorded her comments on a small digital recorder that I set on a table near her chair. After she was done and as I retrieved the recorder, she asked what it was. I explained and she commented that she hadn't even noticed it.

We got the information we wanted, in her own voice, and will add it to our own family history materials. The recorder I used was inexpensive, about $25, and I used the built-in microphone. With a lapel mike, I'm sure it would do even better.

There's a wide range of digital recorders available. You should be able to find one that works within your own comfort zone.

Digging deeper into Grandpa's past. Reporters and investigators have long used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover information about people they are looking into. All manner of government records are available under the FOIA, and access is not limited to journalists. Now comes a site that makes it easy to check for FBI records on deceased persons. The Get Grandpa's FBI File site will help you compose the actual letter, give you an idea on what sort of expenses might be incurred (they're minimal) and will direct you to appropriate field offices. Check it out.

Just for fun. Like to do jig saw puzzles? The JigZone site has hundreds that you can do online and has a feature where you can upload a photo and convert it to a puzzle. You can then share the puzzle with family and friends.

Coming up. July is Family Reunion month. Reunions are great occasions for launching family history projects. If you want some help in how to start such a project, contact me.

Flickr photo courtesy of Paul Smith UK.

Jottings from the world of personal history

 

Ethical wills have been much in the news lately.

For those unfamiliar with the term, an ethical will is a specific form of legacy letter in which a person passes on hopes and beliefs in much the same way that a legal will passes on material goods. An ethical will is a non-legal document.

Of all the people killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it is estimated that less than a third of them had a legal will. Even fewer had ethical wills. While the financial details of a person's estate can be sorted out after that person's death, their hopes and beliefs are gone forever without an ethical will.

These newspapers have carried articles on ethical wills recently: Philadelphia Inquirer, Orange County Register (reprinted in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel), the Chicago Tribune and Montgomery Advertiser. (Caution: Newspaper links are notoriously fickle; these may not work by the time you read this.)

Nice job, Kathleen. Lots of people try their hand at writing for the Internet. Some are good writers; most are not. It's a particular joy when you find a site that's a delight to read. Kathleen Bell has just such a site. She writes a lot about her family - past and present - and she does it with such style and grace that you feel as if you've been invited to a chat in an old friend's home. I'm sure she won't mind if you drop in.

He said it. "If we want our stories to be known, we need to do it ourselves. We can't wait for other people to do it for us." - Wilbur Howard, founder of Lansing (Mich.) Area African-American Genealogical Society.

Just for fun. Click on over to www.anagramsite.com and plug in a few family names to come up with some interesting combinations to spring on folks at your next family gathering. (Example: Actor Tom Cruise comes out "So I'm cuter). How about you?

Flickr photo courtesy of BugMan50.

Having fun with your family's history

History, the kind I learned in school, wasn't usually my favorite subject. Memorizing dates, names and places tended to be  dry and tedious exercises, unless there was an interesting story attached.

Family histories are different. Their relevance is easier to understand with connections to people we actually know or have at least heard about from those people who are closest to us.

For some, though, even these connections are not enough. History is history.

One entertaining way to involve everybody in family history is through playing table games. Two of the more popular games available today are FamilyLore and LifeStories.

FamilyLore uses story cards covering 20 categories, from ancestors to pets. Half of the questions posed on the story cards are generic, with the other half blank, to be filled out with questions from the participating families. Eventually, many families ditch the generic cards and use just the family cards.

LifeStories touts its storytelling game as "a way to warm up a family gathering, rekindle a friendship or renew histories."

If you have some reluctant storytellers in your family, these board games may be a way to make them active participants in your own family's history.