A Genealogical Treasure Hunt
Brought to you in association with The Ellis Island Foundation.If you're asking yourself, "Where does my family fit in? Where and when did we enter America? What are the stories and legends of my ancestors?" then you're ready to begin the real work — and real fun — of genealogy. Remember those blank spaces on your Pedigree Chart? Now you have to try to fill them in. That means it's time for one of the biggest challenges for an Ancestor Detector: the genealogical treasure hunt.
You're not looking for coins or jewels, but for something just as precious — -information that reveals something about your family, past or present. It might be a document with information about a long-lost relative, or a ragged old sweater, or a piece of woodwork created by an ancestor. It might even be a memory or a story, funny or scary or wonderful, about someone in your family. Anything that mattered to one of your relatives is worth seeking out and studying for clues about an ancestor. The three best places to look for items that might supply information are family collections, official records and documents, and relatives' memories.
Finding Family Collections
Here are tips on how to make the most of these sources.
- Information about your family is lurking in all kinds of places: family bibles, baby books, photo albums, old papers and documents, citizenship papers, school records. Ask your parents and other relatives if they have any of these, and if you can look through them.
- Many of these "treasures" may be old and in very fragile condition. Handle them with great care. Don't touch photographs, except on the edges. Handle old books very gently; their pages may crack or the spines may break if you are too rough with them.
- Look at the front inside cover and the last pages. There may be an inscription or notes made by the previous owners. If the owners of these things are nervous about your examination, suggest that they turn the pages or handle the items while you just look. Write down any significant dates you find on your Family Group Sheets, noting where you found the information.
- If you find an old family bible, inspect the inside front and back covers, and the exact middle of the book. Years ago, bibles were often used to record the dates of family births, marriages, and deaths.
- Citizenship papers, passports, old drivers' licenses, and school records often include a person's date and place of birth. They may also list the names of both parents (including the hard-to-find grandmother's maiden name).
- Family photo albums can be wonderful resources. You may hear stories about the circumstances under which a photo was taken, or about the people in the picture. Just seeing photos of ancestors sometimes jogs peoples' memories, and may bring to mind a long-lost name.
- Ask your relatives to talk about the people in the pictures. After they've identified who's who, you may want to ask them about the way people are dressed. Before about 1920, taking pictures was considered a great occasion and people often wore their best outfits. What were your ancestors wearing? What do the clothes say about them? Are they serious or lively, worn or new, dressy or everyday?
- Where was each photograph taken? Check to see if the name of the photographer's studio, its location, or a date is on the back. Was the photograph taken near where your family lived, or was the studio far away?
- If there is more than one person in the photograph, are the people related? Is everyone dressed the same way? Are their hairstyles the same? Are the women wearing head scarves and aprons and are the men wearing hats? If so, are they in the style of America or the Old Country?
Old samplers (decorative pictures sewn onto cloth) or quilts that have been in the family for a long time may have names and dates of birth embroidered onto them.
Gently look underneath and behind pieces of furniture. Ask if you can look at the backs of paintings. Sometimes you may find notes or inscriptions on these, too.
Perhaps you will come across a clock that your great-grandfather made. Does anyone know when great-grandpa made it, or why? Did he make others? How did the person who owns it today receive it? Is there a story behind it?
You may find hundreds of other fascinating items in family collections: Crocheted tablecloths or handmade dolls, a hat with a funny history, a portrait of a parent left behind in another country, a book brought across the sea by a young woman who loved to read.
Be sure to enter in your notebook any information you find. This could be as simple as writing a line or two on your great-uncle's Family Group Sheet about the trumpet he played in order to smuggle it past border guards. Or you could start a special Treasure Sheet, a page in your notebook filled with your impressions of what you saw. Write down the name of the person who showed the treasure to you, and where and when you saw it. You must keep track of where every bit of data comes from, because you may learn or discover conflicting information later. Knowing its source will help you decide what information is trustworthy.
Relatives' Memories/Oral Histories
Memories are the most precious of all family treasures. Nothing can capture the essence of your family the way your grandparents and other relatives can. They have lived through some great events, and can recall them for you first-hand. They may remember the smallest details of significant family moments that aren't recorded anywhere else. And these stories can bring ancestors to life.
When these spoken recollections are gathered, organized, and preserved, the information is called an "oral history." Oral histories do not grow out of rambling reminiscences — they are collected through carefully directed interviews. That's where you come in. As an Ancestor Detector, you get to ask the questions.
Whom do you think you should interview? Most genealogists would say, "Everyone in the family." After all, probably every family member knows something no one else knows. And one of those memories may help you solve a piece of your family puzzle.
The best place to start is with the people you feel most comfortable with. Begin by interviewing your mom or dad, then move on to other relatives you know well. When you feel like you are an experienced interviewer, you'll want to talk with your oldest relatives. They know the most about the earliest days of your family. They are, in fact, a precious link to the past. Someone born in 1920 can not only give you clear memories of the 1930s, but he or she may have heard firsthand tales of the 1880s from someone who was 70 years old in 1930. You may connect 100 years in one conversation!
But you won't always be able to sit down with your subjects. Some of them may live far away from you. In those cases, your interviews can take place over the telephone or by letter-questionnaire.
However you do it, conducting a successful oral history interview isn't always easy. Some of it depends on your relatives: What they know, what they are willing to talk about, and how much they remember.
But much depends on you and your ability to combine the best attributes of friend, hard-nosed reporter, and sensitive psychologist.
Excerpted from Do People Grow on Family Trees?Add a Comment (0)
