moonbridgebooks

A fairly easy way to record family history is to buy one of the many memory books available. These books have pages with questions to prompt memories and stories that can then be written directly into the book. You can find a “top ten” list of these family journaling books on genealogy.about.com. I suggest you do a search in Amazon.com for the books in that top-ten list because there you will find reviews from people who have actually used those books. “To Our Children’s Children,” the original version, or the second “To Our Children’s Children: Journal of Family Memories,” by Bob Greene, have received consistently good reviews. “Your Story: A Guided Interview Through Your Personal and Family History,” by Gift to the Future 2000, has also been rated well.

There are a few drawbacks to these books. One complaint of many journaling books is that there isn’t always enough room to write. Another complaint is that the books don’t really allow for deviation from the traditional – what about a second or third marriage, or single-parent household, or a childhood in another country. Some books seem to have way too many questions, or perhaps there are too many questions that bring up bad memories best left unwritten.

Many people have loved these journaling memory books, though. They can make a great gift for new grandparents. Review the selection of books carefully before buying so you will be happy with the format and questions. If you cannot find a book that is right for your family, perhaps you would prefer to just look over the questions to get ideas of what to ask your relative (or yourself). You can then write whatever you want in your own memory album or booklet – more on that later.

These books should not be viewed as a chore, but rather a pleasant pastime to be completed bit-by-bit throughout a year or more. There is no need to follow any order of questions or need to answer everything. Have fun and enjoy the flood of memories. Good or bad, memories are what have shaped us and in turn have helped shape our children.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com

Making scrapbooks is very popular these days and a great way to combine photos and stories in a creative, fun way. Scrapbooking memories is a good idea if you do not have that many family stories about your subject person, but plenty of old photos. It is NOT a good idea if you’ll have lots of siblings clambering for a scrapbook, too. Of course, you could tell them to make their own. If you think there will be a lot of family members wanting to put their hands all over your album, it might be a good idea to record memories in a more durable format, or at least use acid-free sheet protectors.

Scrapbooking can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. Hobby stores, like Michaels or Hobby Lobby, carry all basic supplies. A friend might lend you some equipment if this will be a one-shot deal for you. Beware – scrapbooking is addictive! Make sure you will be able to find time for this hobby before you start buying loads of equipment and supplies.

You will probably want to attend a Scrapbooking Club at least a few times, or take lessons from a friend or hobby store. There are plenty of websites online to help you learn basics, such as www.genealogy.about.com or the articles on http://www.scrapbookinghow.com/. One bit of advice is to stick to a color scheme in order to coordinate and make the book flow well, and if you are a beginner, keep the format and layouts simple. Be sure to use archival quality (acid-free) papers and pens and photo-safe glues or adhesive tapes for fastening down the papers.

For those with little time and just a few tidbits of information, you can create a simple, but nice, photo album of memories. Use an archival quality photo-safe album, the kind where you can slip photos into their slots. Type or hand-write on acid-free paper the stories or captions explaining the photos and insert the paper, cut to size, into a photo sleeve. I use some scrapbooking techniques on my own family photo albums to jazz them up a bit – cutting photos into shapes, making collages of little photo cutouts, adding cutouts from used greeting cards, etc. Double-sided tape holds the items in position.

Whether you are a beginner or an old pro at scrapbooking, creating a heritage scrapbook will be a sure delight for you and your family.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com

When deciding on a method to record a family member’s memories, think about the scope of the project. Our oldest elders now have been through major historic times, from the Depression to World War II to the development of television and computers and other great technological advances. There may be an immigration to talk about. What a lifetime of stories to tell! If you’re not up for writing a big book, you’d better whittle down the number of questions to ask them.

For you with not so much time (that would be most of us) who have grandparents or great-grandparents with so much to tell, you’ll want to focus on certain major points of their lives. Always include the basics of birth, parents and siblings, general childhood, marriage and birth of their own children. Consider also how talkative and forthcoming your subject person is about their life. From there, you decide how much time and effort you can spend on the project and what your talents are in this area. Those considerations will help you choose the recording method to pursue.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com