NCHAYWOO-L Archives

From: WHITECASTLE1 <>
Subject: [NCHAYWOO] And what about YOUR history?
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 10:09:53 -0400

I submit this for the List’s consideration -

You have searched through the census, been to the courthouse, sat for
hours looking at roll after roll of microfilm at the library and you’ve
come up with a pretty complete history of the life of great granddad
Jeremiah. You have all of the important dates noted and doubled checked
them. And, most important, you have all of the sources cited. You have
entered the data onto your computer files and sent it off to one of the
half dozen family tree groups. Success.

But how many times have you sat back and asked, “I know from the census
that Jeremiah lived in Indiana in 1870, but WHY did he move there from
North Carolina in 1863? And how did he meet great grandmother Molly?
What was it like when they made their way back to North Carolina in
1880?”

When dealing with ancestors who have passed away a hundred or two
hundred years ago, it’s unlikely you’ll ever find those answers unless
you stumble across a diary or a packet of letters..

Let’s fast forward 50 or 75 years from now. YOUR great grandchildren are
wondering about YOU. Why did YOU move from Detroit to New Hampshire in
1975? How did YOU and great Grandmom meet? WHERE did YOU live at the end
of 1999?

They are asking the same questions about YOU as you were asking about
your ancestors. But guess what: YOU can do something about it.

I urge every genealogist to begin a history of their life and times. I
don’t mean for you to sit down and write an autobiography (although if
you are so inclined, go for it!)

Get yourself a tape recorder and start recording your life’s
experiences. You can use a camcorder, etc, but I’m for the simplest
means possible. You’re driving to work on the freeway an hour each day;
a little hand held recorder would do the trick. Turn off the TV early
one evening and grab your recorder. You’re taking a nice long walk on a
Sunday afternoon - bring along your recorder.

What to record? EVERYTHING. List every job you every had and describe
what it was like. List every place you’ve ever lived and describe the
house, apartment, cave, what ever. Give dates. Pretend you’re on the
phone with your best friend and you’re playing catch up on family news.

You’ve probably seen those books in which you ask your grandparents what
it was like when they were kids; their favorite candy; what school was
like etc, etc. and then write down their answers. Use that as a guide
for YOURSELF. You get the idea.

As I tell my kids, while I’m still semi-coherent (although they’ll
probably dispute that) I want to put down on tape as much as I can
remember.

Suggestions: Start off each taping session by giving the day’s date:
“This is 21 August, 1999. Today I’m going to tell about how I met my
wife.”

Label the tapes so you know what you’ve recorded.

Break off the little tabs on the end of the cassettes. That prevents you
from taping over earlier recordings.

I urge you to begin now, today, right after you log off your computer.
There’s no guarantee as to how long any of us have on this planet, so
don’t put it off.

Little things that might seem unimportant to you now could be very
important to your descendants 75 years from now.

Most of all, have fun with it. Your descendants will thank you.

Good hunting and recording. Jack Jay Jenkins

This thread:

• [NCHAYWOO] And what about YOUR history? by WHITECASTLE1 <>