Treasured Heirlooms

What can you find out from heirlooms?

Toys and other collectibles:
Memorabilia can remind us of what was popular and the attitudes of the times. What did grandma play with?

Jewelry, silver and metalwork:
These items can signify social status, or they may be engraved with names or initials and dates. Sometimes these are given as awards, or may signify  an important event such as a birth of marriage.

Clothing:
A wedding dress or military uniform can show you your ancestor's size. Were they tall, thin, plump or short?

Thomas Fowler - my great, great-grandfather

Father: Samuel Fowler (12 March 1813 - 24 Dec 1893)
Mother: Ann Linton (21 Jun 1811 -  30 June 1891)

Individual Facts -
Birth - 28 May 1837 in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England
Baptism - 11 May 1853 in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England (age 15)
Emigration - 22 Mar 1856 in Liverpool, England (age 18)
Emigration Ship - 5 May 1856 in Enoch Train (age 18)
Pioneer Company - 26 Sept 1856 in Edmund Ellsworth company (age 19)
LDS Endow - 7 Aug 1857 in Fort Heriman, Utah (age 20)
Patriarchal Bl - 12 Feb 1858 in Fort Heriman, Utah (age 20)
Death - 14 Feb 1901 in Lehi, (Utah). Utah (age 63)
Burial - 16 Feb 1901 in Lehi, Utah County, Utah (age 63)
Obituary - 16 Feb 1901 in Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah (age 63)

Occupation - Law Enforcement (1871 to 1900)
Description - Medium sized build with dark hair and a large handlebar mustache most of his life.

Technology for Family History

Went to a Family History Fair yesterday in Elk Grove, California.
In the class on technology, Mr. Weber taught that the only technology you need to be successful is a pencil and paper.


But- with the enhanced technology starter kit it makes it a lot easier:

Family Group Sheet

Research Log

Pedigree Chart

• Pencil
• Blank Family Group Sheet
• Blank Research Log
• Blank Pedigree Chart

 

 

This is really all you need to get started!  AMAZING!

A Book of Family Stories

I think it would be wonderful to have a book full of family stories that could sit in the living room on a table to be picked up and read at any time.  These stories could remind us of the sacrifices that our ancestors made through their lives.

Sacrifices they made, moves they endured,  hardships that helped them become the people they became. Those who joined the Mormon church against the wishes of their parents, those who walked across the plains as part of a handcart company.

Family ancestors who moved their family to Canada and then lived in a tent for two years- and it is cold in Canada. Ancestors who were in Nauvoo, Illinois  and met Emma Smith shortly after her husband was martyred.

Nauvoo, Illinois

A I sat here tonight reading many stories, I feel blessed that my mother gathered many of these stories and typed them up and then they were duplicated on a mimeograph machine (now days they can be typed on a computer, and saved or set up in a desktop publishing system and produced into a book).

This is why I started my quest for family history  and stories and why I call  it a "gold mine". Nothing could be worth more to me than this as it helps me know where I came from and what my family sacrificed for the truth of the gospel.

As time goes on, these stories will also be made available on this blog for all to read and appreciate.

Hang out at a Cemetery?

You can find so much information on a visit to a cemetery. Some folks like to plan their vacations around checking out cemeteries for birth and death dates.

You may want to pack a lunch and have a picnic surrounded by your ancestors. Let your kids see how special this can be, not morbid at all.

Once again I suggest having a tote bag already packed for the occasion.  Make sure this tote bag is a bright color- just not green or brown.  Why? You will probably get so distracted as you go from grave marker to grave marker that you will leave your tote bag somewhere and if it is brightly colored it will  be easier to find.

Another suggestion is to have it waterproof so the contents will be protected if the ground it wet or snowy.

• notepad, pens and pencils
• research notebook with pedigree charts and family group sheets
• apron with pockets for carrying items as you go from tombstone to tombstone
• knee pads like you use in the garden- I always have to kneel down closer to see something on the tombstone
• garden shears to cut away overgrown grass
• little whisk broom to remove dirt and grass
• sunscreen- you will always end up staying out there longer than you planned
• bug repellent
• wet wipes- to wash your dirty hands before you eat
• digital camera
• spray bottle with water- you might need to wet the stone a bit to make the image show better for photographing

Gravestones are historical artifact. Don't do anything to harm them, and don't try to clean them.

Don't forget to take your camera!

Oral History Interview

When you are planning a trip to visit relatives and you want to do some oral history interviews here are a few tips that worked for me. I like to have a bag all packed and hanging inside the front coat closet, then I don't have to look all over for the things I need and run the risk of forgetting something very important.

• digital or cassette tape recorder (bring a microphone it there is not one built in)
• AC cord
• supply of cassettes if using a tape recorder
• labels for the tapes
• extension cord
• extra batteries
• notepad and pens
• list of questions, or a book on oral history with sample questions
• address book to note relatives' names and addresses the person you interview may give you
• a research notebook with pedigree charts and family group sheets
• watch or cellphone so you don't overstay your welcome (one hour is a good amount of time for an interview)
• photocopies of any documents you've gathered to show the relative- they may be good conversation starters
• photographs that your need to identify
• magnifying glass, in case the relative needs to have the picture amplified
• cell phone or other digital camera to take picture of items or documents that cannot leave that home

A lap-top is also really good to have when you go to an oral history interview.

Write on . . . Wednesday?

McGill University

I love lists and projects so this is what I decided to do today- I am going to make a list of high schools and colleges that any of my ancestors attended.

Then I want to write or call at least one of the institutions to  find out what I need to do to get a transcript.

I think it would be really cool to actually have a transcript from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where my grandfather (Douglas Bradshaw Fowler) went to Medical School.

University of Alberta, Edmonton 

Or a copy of my dad's transcript from University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada where he (Allan King Fowler) went to Pharmacy School.

Let's see what I come up with. . . 

William George Davies - Monday Memories

Earliest Recollections

I have been trying to remember my earliest memory.

How old was I when I have a conscience memory and  what was the situation surrounding it.  I have to be careful not to make the "memory" something that I saw in a photograph.  I was borne in Lethbridge, but lived the first years of my life in Edmonton.  My dad was in school and latter had graduated from University of Alberta in Edmonton, but in the summers my folks would move home to Lethbridge and live in a little house on the farm.  My older sister and I were June babies.

Some random memories were about the day my parents had been gone for an hour or so, when they came home they called us all in from the back yard, and  I remember my dad had a stern voice.  When we came in the house I remember thinking it was strange that my mom still had her coat on.  We were all told to sit on the couch.  Then my dad said, "I know you girls have been wanting us to have a new baby- so here is an addition to our family" and my mom opened her coat and pulled out a little white puppy. We named her "Lady Pup", she was a terrier/Pomeranian mix.

I can remember going to the farm where my other grandparents lived, Grandma and Grandpa Davies.  I remember they had a horse and I went outside with Grandma and had to step over a big puddle of water to get inside the barn or chicken coop.  I remember sitting on Grandpa's lap and he had a Chinese bamboo back-scratcher hanging on the wall by the table. He would take that and scratch my back, I remember liking that a lot. Also, while sitting on his lap I got to see him roll his own cigarettes, and other thing I remember was that he would tear two small pieces of something like a brown paper bag and lick his two pointer fingers so the paper would stick on them and then he put his hands below the table edges so that I could only see the pointer fingers with the paper pieces on them, and he did the little rhyme about "two little Dickie birds" sitting on the tree, and when he had the "fly away" the paper would come off the finger and then they birds fly away and return. This grandpa (William George Davies) died when I was about 4 years old, so that may be my first memories.

Other memories of things that happened while we lived in Edmonton: (we moved to Richmond, British Columbia and I started 1st grade there)- so all these memories happened before I was five years old

• white cat with blue and green eyes
• birthday cake made to look like a doll with a dress
• having my tonsils out

• 

  Howdy Doody

• the day my mom discovered my neck/head was crooked
• surgery to correct my crooked head
• cousins coming for Christmas
• getting a nurse doll for Christmas
• going to "Play School"- the Canadian equivalent of kindergarten
• field trip to the television station
• having to sit at the table, long after the others - to finish my dinner
• I didn't like onions- they squeaked on my teeth
• our "Lady Pup" having 6 puppies
• watching my favorites on television - "The Friendly Giant" and "Howdy Doody Time"

I am amazed at the memories as they come rushing in....when I sat down this morning to start the post I really wasn't sure how many I would even have.

What are your earliest memories?  Take time to think and to write them down.

What Do I Want To Know?

Since I want to start looking for my family roots it’s important to figure out exactly what I hope to learn. 

How much interest do I have and who and what interests me?  Maybe I will want to fill out a family tree, or maybe I want to research my entire family history. 

From past experience I know it is important not to get started until I:

•          Define my goal

And I need to remember to:

•          Not give up easily when things get difficult, and to
•         Enjoy the journey, no matter where it takes me

And above all, I shouldn't get discouraged because:

•          Family history is not always quick and easy 
•          There is no way that I am going to find out everything in one day

Hang in there...