Issue 42.15
Part 1
October is designated in many places as Family History Month. It has been in the United States since 2001. Genealogists everywhere have adopted the month as their own. If you are new to family history or have devoted years to it, celebrate this Family History Month with your family this October by trying these ideas.
Get started tracing your family tree. If you are curious about your family tree, but just aren’t sure where to start, then you don’t have any more excuses. There are great resources and simple advice on how to get started researching your family tree at https://familysearch.org.
You could create a family cookbook. A cookbook of collected heirloom recipes is a wonderful way to preserve memories of favorite meals shared with family. I made one a couple of years ago and my daughters and daughters-in-law just love it. My sister wanted one too. I included recipes from my mother, my mother-in-law, my grandmothers and some of my own that were favorite meals we enjoyed when my children were living at home. The boys love it too, especially the desserts. I took pictures and personalized the recipes and created a book online and had it printed for Christmas presents.
Record your family stories. Every family has its own history with events, traditions; personalities and humor make each family unique. Collect the singular stories and memories either digitally by voice or enter them into a computer program to share online, in FamilySearch as memories or in a book. This is one of the most meaningful ways you and your family can honor your older relatives and preserve family traditions. Record the immigration story of each line of your family. Recording family stories on audiotape, videotape, or in legacy journals, bring family members closer together, bridges generation gaps, and ensures that your family stories will be preserved for future generations. It is estimated that the stories are lost, if not recorded, in only three generations.
Uncover your family health history or medical genealogy. Tracing hour family history is a fun, potentially lifesaving project. Experts state that about 3000 of the 10,000 known diseases have genetic links that run in families. It saved my live when I had a myocardial infarction at age 42, knowing my father had a heart attack and died at age 45 and his father, and his father, also died of heart issues.
Continued next week.
For more information, contact Shanna Jones at shannasjones@msn.com