 |
| Bear with my propensity of making a scrabbook page to go with a post. :) |
I was a part of many genealogists who felt that the story of
an ancestor was just as important as the vital data. You need both for the tree to be complete. It
has been satisfying to see software, websites, and especially FamilySearch to
become so involved in saving the stories.
The reason I specify FamilySearch is that they have promised to keep the
stories free and always. Even so, it is
a internet place and things can happen, so print out and save your stories in a
safe place or disperse among the family so no one person is the keeper of all
the data. Most genealogy software
programs have a feature for creating a story now.
But I digress. I have
been talking to some who are using a FamilySearch Partner Legacy Stories and
love the video and oral aspect of saving their stories. Others prefer to add their stories directly to
FamilySearch and I have to say that has some merit is you only want one step in
doing so. I write my stories on my blog,
save them in PDF format and add to my tree.
That way the story is on the tree for anyone that goes there, but my
blog reaches many more so I have the element of possibly finding a cousin just
looking.
While I was searching for my website URL’s I came across
several different articles that weren’t just researcher oriented. Forbes had an article on “Four Smart Ways toLeave a Legacy”. One of their ways was
to write your stories. Another website I
found warmed my heart. It is called TimeSlips.
They are engaged in documenting stories of those in nursing homes before
the stories are gone. I listen occasionally
on BYU Radio to a broadcast "The Apple Seed" 12 MST. It is great storytelling. They tell stories from peoples’ lives in the
past to person experiences. It is inspiring and uplifting.
However you go about it, telling the stories of yourself,
family, or ancestors is an important thing.
My hero shared his stories orally with his family and in writing his
personal history before he died. I have written
several of his stories on my blog for my favorite meme “Sentimental Sunday” Geneabloggers has created a pinterest board for the meme. Writing his stories has helped greatly in the transition after
his death. I am also writing my memories of
my Aunts and Uncles, since I have not been able to get their children to help. If
anyone knows of a motivation to use with them, please share. One of these days I will write my personal
history. In the mean time, stories and storytelling has become a way of life.
See you on the blog.
A great reminder that family history is so much more than places and dates. I must admit it is a long time since I used Family Search and so thank you to introducing me to their Legacy Stories. I have written family narratives for my own family, and adapted stories for my blog - but not posted them elsewhere. I never thought of writing my own personal story until I read about it through the Geneabloggers network. Somehow writing down memories of my own childhood, has brought my parents much closer to me and can be an enjoyable and at times emotional experience. I recommend it! .
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome!. Glad you found something useful in the post. Good for you. :)
DeleteIf and when you find someone with a solution to the cousin issue, I would appreciate knowing as well. I seem to be the only one in my family concerned about keeping the history alive. I never thought to add the stories to Family Search, something I will look into today. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you and Sue, Fran, I'm going to have to look properly at Legacy Stories, and I believe that family history is much richer than just born-married-died. Dates and names are the basis of our work, of course, but they're also a frame we can weave colourful stories on.
ReplyDelete