| Digging into your family's past and writing about | | | | How do you begin your family history? |
| the people and events you discover can be a | | | | *Talk with your parents and record their |
| fascinating endeavor. | | | | memories on paper, on audio cassette or video |
| A family history helps children and grandchildren | | | | tape. |
| develop a sense of belonging, a feeling of | | | | *Visit other relatives and get their recollections |
| continuity between the generations. I've also | | | | about life in days ago. |
| found in my family history interesting people who | | | | *Take photos of living relatives, of old homes |
| act as a springboard for novels and non-fiction | | | | where they lived, of the cemeteries where |
| books. What began as simple compilation of | | | | ancestors are buried. Search old photo albums for |
| information for future generations, became the | | | | snapshots of other relatives. |
| spark for stories to share with others. | | | | *Don't rely solely on your memory as your |
| Research Began With a Relative | | | | parents and relatives relate their stories of |
| My research and writing began when my mother, | | | | younger years. Write down or put on tape what |
| at 91, asked me to take on the project of writing | | | | they tell you. |
| her memoirs. I'd heard some of the stories of her | | | | *Go through any old letters you might have |
| younger life, but had forgotten many and never | | | | saved from your parents and relatives, as well as |
| knew about others. I soon learned she had nearly | | | | those you've written them. These will give you |
| a century of living to relate, and I discovered I | | | | insight into common everyday events that most |
| was learning the history of a remarkable woman. | | | | everyone has forgotten. |
| | | | *Go to the cemeteries where your ancestors are |
| Getting to Know Family | | | | buried and jot down the dates and names for |
| When you begin to search your family history, | | | | your family tree. |
| you'll get to know your parents and grandparents | | | | |
| in a different way. You'll see them through their | | | | Publishing a History |
| recollections and the memories of others, as they | | | | You may want to collect this history solely as a |
| were while growing up, struggling to provide a | | | | family record for yourself and your children. Or |
| living for a young family and contributing to their | | | | you might want to have it printed in booklet form |
| community to make a better life for others. | | | | for family and any others who areinterested in |
| My great grandmother was one of these. I | | | | what your family has done. Nowadays, with |
| discovered that she, wife of a judge and mother | | | | desktop publishing programs, you even can publish |
| ofseven, living in war-torn Hungary, elected to | | | | the family history yourself, without having to take |
| follow her first-born son to the United States | | | | it to a printer. |
| —and to bring with her the rest of her children, | | | | Keep Memories Alive |
| which included my grandmother. Until then my | | | | Family histories are fascinating. Don't let yours be |
| great grandmother was merely a picture in a | | | | forgotten because someone neglected to write |
| photo album; now she has become for me a | | | | down the tales of yesteryear and record the |
| courageous intriguing woman, a woman who could | | | | family tree. If you don't do this now, some day |
| inspire others if her story were told. | | | | you'll say, "I wish I'd written all that information |
| | | | down for my children and future generations. |
| How To Begin | | | | |