Over the years, family history can be forgotten unless we tell the stories again and again to honor our ancestors and let future generations know about their lives.
Mayflower connection rediscovered
No one in my hubby's family had ever heard of any Mayflower connection until a cousin I met via genealogy showed us the research paper trail.
This wonderful cousin linked the Wood family to five people who were on the Mayflower: Mary Norris Allerton, Isaac Allerton, Mary Allerton, Francis Cooke, and Degory Priest.
Looking ahead: keep the stories alive
We don't want this key detail of the Wood family tree to be lost to those in the future!
Every Thanksgiving, we send greeting cards to our grandkids, naming these Mayflower ancestors. We add a different focus each year to flesh out these ancestors. One year, we said who did and didn't survive that first winter after coming to the New World. Another year, we wrote about Mary Allerton Cushman being the last of the Mayflower passengers to pass away, in 1699.
Tell your ancestors' stories
My family's history is different from my husband's side of the family.
My four immigrant grandparents left Eastern Europe and came to New York City at different times and in different ways. All sought a better life for themselves and for their descendants.
By retelling the stories with a slightly different emphasis each time, we're doing our best to prevent these ancestral connections and motivations from being forgotten in the future.
No matter what your family's history, keep those key details alive for future generations. This is Family History Month!
I've done something similar with special occasion cards highlighting ancestors. It's sort of like hiding veggies in cheese sauce to get the kids to eat them... Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tradition!
ReplyDeleteI've been slacking on my FB posts about family history lately, thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDelete