| If you're doing your family's genealogy, you're | | | | used.Textiles and needlework may reflect the |
| probably familiar with the charts and the family | | | | interests of the women in the family. There are |
| trees, fan charts, lineage charts, etc., with all the | | | | many different types of needlework that are |
| names and dates of your ancestors. Your charts | | | | used by someone at any time. However, there |
| may go back 5, 10 or 15 generations, with all the | | | | are some forms that were more prominent |
| documented dates of birth, marriage, death. But | | | | during a particular time period. Quilts, comforters, |
| how much do you really know about those | | | | embroidered sheets and pillowcases, tatted collars, |
| people? Try to add a little "color" to your | | | | needlework samplers, Berlin work, lace making, |
| ancestors, by giving a fuller picture of each | | | | tambour work, trapunto, all had their periods of |
| person. Do you have any photos of them, any of | | | | popularity. Identifying what type of work it was |
| their belongings, or stories about them? Granted, | | | | may help narrow down the time period in which it |
| the longer they have been gone, the less chance | | | | was made, which, in turn, may narrow down the |
| you have of finding any of their things. However, | | | | women who might have made it.Sometimes there |
| you can try to document as many of the more | | | | are items passed down through the family. They |
| recent ones as possible.Photographs are good to | | | | may be furniture pieces, clocks, a special vase, |
| show us what they looked like. If you're lucky | | | | china sets, family Bible, military ribbons, quilts, |
| enough to find photos of someone from childhood | | | | wedding or christening gown, jewelry, or any |
| through adulthood, you will have a pretty good | | | | number of things. It's important that the stories |
| idea of what they looked like, as well as possibly | | | | that come with these items are recorded and |
| what other members of the family looked like. | | | | preserved.Don't forget to document the stories. |
| You may get an inkling of their income level from | | | | Write down the ones you recall hearing years ago. |
| the clothes they wore or other items in the | | | | (Double-check for accuracy with other family |
| picture. Remember, though, that they very well | | | | members.) You might even do some oral history, |
| could be dressed in their best clothes, whether | | | | sitting down with older family members and |
| for the photo, or because of the occasion. If the | | | | recording their memories of family, growing up, |
| photo was taken by a professional photographer, | | | | school, church, jobs, etc. Wouldn't it be interesting |
| any other items in the photo may very well be | | | | to find out that that serious-looking man in the |
| the photographer's props.Diaries, journals and | | | | photo was your great-grandfather, and that he |
| letters can give a good insight into what was | | | | actually had a sense of humor and loved jokes? |
| important to the person writing them. They may | | | | Oral history is best collected with the use of tape |
| also speak of other family members and relatives, | | | | recorders. These tapes should then be transcribed |
| as well as friends. This may help you to better | | | | into a format easy to store and share with other |
| piece the family together, or even locate them in | | | | relatives.Lastly, don't forget the living! Family trees |
| census records, since oftentimes family members | | | | start with a living person and work backwards. |
| and neighbors would move to a new area | | | | When a future family member starts their tree, |
| together or join family and friends who migrated | | | | you may not be around anymore to answer |
| earlier.Books that a person owned (or even | | | | questions, so be sure to include photos, stories, |
| wrote) may tell you what his interests were, or | | | | and documents about yourself and other living |
| how well-educated he was, be it formal education | | | | relatives. Make your family tree truly a living and |
| or not. Any stories or poems they wrote would | | | | long-lasting tree.By paying attention to these |
| reflect their interests and feelings. Cook books | | | | types of sources as you do your genealogy, you |
| may have been hand-written, in which case they | | | | can easily turn some of your "Black & White" |
| might have been that cook's favorites, or family | | | | ancestors into "Full Color" people.Janet Nugent |
| favorites written for a new bride. Or printed | | | | holds a MA in Historical Administration and worked |
| cookbooks with notes written in, or pages | | | | at local history and living history museums for a |
| marked, might also be an indication of well-used | | | | number of years. Genealogy is one of her |
| recipes.Tools might tell you more about a persons | | | | passions, along with preserving the more tangible |
| occupation, or merely a hobby. You may have to | | | | aspects of family history, and using these |
| do some detective work to find out what | | | | heirlooms to tell the story of family members. |
| unusual-looking tools were and how they were | | | | |