Holiday Gifts with Family History in Mind

There are so many ways to add a family history touch to holiday gift-giving.

At left, a personalized holiday ornament showing a beloved ancestor with name, dates, and the inscription "in memory of" with a dove. 

Below, a woolen scarf from the area of Scotland where my husband's McClure ancestors originated. A few years ago, we gifted these to his siblings for winter wear.

Below, a tall mug personalized with the century-old photo of a cute young lady from the family tree. Our relatives treasure mugs and tumblers with reunion photos and other meaningful family photos from today and yesterday.

Above, an example of adding family photos old and new to personalize a calendar. Calendars like these have been part of my family's tradition for 16 years. A niece actually asked to take over the creative side because she enjoyed the calendars so much! This is her 4th year making the calendar.

Below, an ancestor woodcut (scanned and enlarged from a 135-year-old newspaper) transferred to a T-shirt. My husband wears this one all summer long and we gave shirts to the younger generation, too.

Finally, are you looking for a gift for yourself or a friend/relative who loves genealogy? Please consider my book, Planning A Future for Your Family's Past, a concise guide to organizing, storing, preserving, and sharing family history for today and tomorrow. Thank you!

Label and Organize Genealogy For Today and Tomorrow

 

It's Family History Month, and I want to show one of my indispensable tools for genealogy. 

Above, my trusty label maker sitting on top of genealogy file folders for intermarried families Roth/Mandel, and Lebowitz/Markell, and Waldman. Rather than alphabetize, I prefer to group files according to connected families. 

I have separate file folders labeled for documents about donated artifacts (with my counter-signed copies of the deeds of gift), Civil War ancestors in the Wood family tree, and other non-surname records. 

Over time, I've culled these files to get rid of printed Census records and other redundant paperwork now digitized and attached to my online family trees. Still in my file folders are letters and notes from discussions with cousins, plus recent vital records, requests for genealogy info, and research plans. 

I also have digital files with scanned genealogy items, organized by surname or surname groupings or topic, backed up in the cloud and on an external hard drive for extra safety.

Plus I have archival boxes clearly labeled by family and contents ("Edgar Wood negatives" is specific enough to identify what's inside). 

Printed labels make my files and boxes look neat, legible, and accessible for today and tomorrow. I want my heirs to know what's what and what's where. 

For more ideas about keeping family history safe for the sake of future generations please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. 

At a Glance, Is This Your Louis Hartfield?

 

Quick! Which ancestor profile on Ancestry seems more credible and worth checking out, the top one or the bottom one? Same man (a very distant relative, you know I really like putting these folks on my tree), one with and one without a profile image.

By adding the man's marriage cert as his profile image, I wanted to turn a generic profile into one that might seem more appealing to other researchers interested in the Hartfield family from Galicia, Austria. 

Why? Because any researcher can now easily read the marriage cert and verify the name of bride, groom, and their parents, plus the date and place (and of course the two witnesses and the officiant). 

With a glance at the profile image, it's faster to figure out whether this might be their Louis Hartfield and they will then dive deeper into my family tree's sources for a closer look at his life.

Adding a document or personal photo as the profile image is my not-so-subtle way of suggesting that I can back up the facts for this ancestor with actual documentation. The more folks who have real facts for their ancestors, the better.

Please, go ahead and add my Louis Hartfield to your tree if he belongs there--along with the sources and the profile image. I don't want Louis or his wife Bessie or anyone on my tree to be forgotten, that's why their profiles are public. 

This how LOCKSS works: Lots of copies keep stuff safe. The more trees Louis and Bessie are attached to, the better the possibility that they will be remembered into the future. For more ideas about safeguarding and perpetuating family history, please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Four Larimer Brothers Fought for the Union

I'm in the home stretch of completing a booklet about my husband's ancestors and their in-laws who fought in all major wars involving the United States, from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the US Civil War through the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. I want to describe not only their military service but also their family lives. Most are not in my hubby's direct line, but my goal is to honor and memorialize those in the tree who served their country during wartime.

Four Larimer brothers, my husband's first cousins four times removed, fought for the Union during the US Civil War: Isaac Newton Larimer, Jacob Wright Larimer, John C. Larimer, and Harvey H. Larimer. I used clues from a printed Larimer genealogy book plus the usual research sources (obit, vital records, military records, news reports) to write a brief narrative of each man, with emphasis on military service but also including spouse(s), children, occupation, and other details of interest.

Focus on Isaac and Marilda

At top, an excerpt from my bite-sized bio page about Isaac Newton Larimer (1828-1910), a farmer who enlisted early in the war, despite being married and the father of a growing family. To illustrate, I included a table showing his war service, drawn from the Illinois State Archives. I highlighted two events in bright blue. 

• During his first major battle, Isaac was captured (one of 55 held) and escaped after 23 days, rejoining his unit.
• At the Battle of Missionary Ridge, won by the Union, Isaac was shot in the face and nearly died. But he did recover and, with only one good eye, continued serving with his unit until the end of his enlistment period.
  

Three years and three months after joining the 35th Illinois Infantry, Isaac was mustered out and went home to his family farm. He and his wife Marilda McCreary Larimer (1835-1905) had 11 children, including a youngster who passed away in infancy. I hope Isaac and Marilda told their descendants stories about the early days, including the other three Larimer brothers who served their country. 

Sharing family history more widely

Creating a booklet such as this is one way to let future generations of my husband's family know about the lives of those who came before. Want more ideas about preserving and perpetuating family history? Please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

As a byproduct of this booklet, I'm repurposing the bite-sized bios of these men and women and posting online. For instance, I've submitted Isaac's service details to his Find a Grave memorial and also adopted his orphaned WikiTree profile, adding his bio and details. This has led to enriching other WikiTree profiles connected to Isaac, such as his wife's profile. There will be more profiles enriched as I continue to share family history in many places so these military ancestors will not be forgotten. 

It's My 16th Blogiversary!

My very first genealogy blog post appeared on August 25, 2008, concerning the search for my great-grandfather Meyer Mahler's death date and place. Since then, I've written nearly 1,850 posts about my family tree, my husband's family tree, genealogy research, family history preservation, methodology, issues, technology, book reviews, vintage postcards, old photos, and more. 

Now I'm entering my 17th year of genealogy blogging, still with many topics to explore. I'm working on a few posts about curating your family history collection (as in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past). Also in the works: posts about revisiting ancestors and research from years ago, getting insight into ancestors' lives through old newspaper items, and lots more!

Thank you, from my heart, to my regular readers . . . and a special thank you to the many cousins and FAN club members (friends, associates, neighbors of my ancestors) who have been in touch through this blog. The genealogy journey continues!

Contribute "Oral History" With or Without Artifacts

Earlier this year, my husband's Wood family sought to donate a 1950s book about the Hermit Club, an iconic club in Cleveland, Ohio, to an institution in that city or state. We had approached three institutions, but only Ohio History Connection wanted this book--the others already had copies in their collections. 

Curate and donate unneeded family history items

Donating books like this slims down our genealogy collection to focus specifically on materials directly related to our family tree. Just as important, these non-family items will now be available to researchers and other folks for today and tomorrow.

Cleveland State University (CSU) didn't want the book but was particularly interested in any oral history about the Wood family's involvement with the Hermit Club. CSU is actively recording and transcribing oral histories about the Cleveland area. I couldn't offer any actual recording but I could offer excerpts from a longer oral history. They said yes, please submit.

Transcribed and annotated oral history 

Back in 1984, my husband had interviewed his father, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) about his life, including his personal and professional association with the Hermit Club. The taped interview was long and mostly about immediate family, but there were key sections where Ed talked of the Hermit Club in detail.

With my husband, I wrote an annotated oral history based on the interview, explaining background so non-family members would be able to follow along. We inserted quotes from the transcribed oral history in indented paragraphs to show that they were drawn directly from my father-in-law's words. 

So, for example, on the first page we explained how Ed became interested in the piano, admired the Hermit Club, and ultimately was invited to join--unlike other musicians, who had to apply and cross their fingers that they would be chosen. Then we let direct quotes from the taped oral history tell that story in his own words.

Later on the same page, we introduced Ed's story of taking his future wife, Marian, on a first date to a musical evening hosted by a Hermit Club friend. Ed's quote reflects how vividly he recalled that pivotal evening, even more than 50 years later.

To go with the annotated oral history, I submitted a photo of Ed and his wife Marian, plus a close-up photo of the personal book inscription from the Hermit Club historian to Ed. Now these digital items, and Ed's story in his own words, are in CSU's collection, keeping Wood family history alive in an institution in his home town.

Who wants your family's oral history?

Many institutions collect oral histories and written memories, so I encourage you to do an online search for the city or state where ancestors lived plus the phrase "oral history." 

Whether you are the interviewee yourself or someone in your family tree tells of people and places from the past, these stories add to the historical and genealogical record. Save them now for the sake of future generations.

Please, share your family's history--now!

"An Excellent Steward" for Family History Collections

Donate old family papers to an institution?

As a quilter, I've enjoyed Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts series for years. In her latest novel, The Museum of Lost Quilts, characters are tracking down long-lost quilts and documentation to help tell the story of a historic building and the town's past, from before the Civil War to after WWII.

The protagonist, Summer Sullivan, is finishing her master's degree in history and spending part of the summer curating a small but growing collection of antique quilts, also writing museum labels for photos of quilts that are missing but historically significant. Summer reads through old memoirs, letters, newspapers, and other documents in the college library's rare books room, in search of clues to identify and confirm details about these quilts, the quilters who made them, and the people who owned them over the years.

Private letters and more

Summer is fortunate when some local residents come forward with private letters and other materials they've saved from family history. She enthusiastically tells one woman: "If you're looking for an excellent steward for [ancestor's] letters, as well as the rest of the ... family papers, I highly recommend the rare books and special collections department" at the local college library.

The woman is receptive, responding: "For quite a long while, I've wanted these papers to be available for students and local historians. This might be the perfect way to do so. I'll need to think it over and discuss it with my cousins. While I own most of the collection, several boxes belong to other members of the family, and I'd like to have some consensus."

The woman returns several weeks later and tells Summer: "We've decided to gather all of the papers together in a single archive and donate it to a library or museum." She then asks for an introduction to the head archivist at the local college library.

Curate and donate your family history collection

As best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini emphasizes, local historical societies, college and public libraries, county archives, and many other institutions can be excellent stewards for family history collections. As you plan ahead for the future of your genealogy materials, please talk with your family and consider donating some or all of your collection to an appropriate institution, to keep the family's past alive for future generations. Those old photos and letters may contain clues that help historians in the years to come, just as Summer Sullivan solved some local history mysteries by reading private correspondence in family histories.

Bite-Sized Bio Head Start on FamilySearch

My husband's great uncle Charles Augustus Wood (1862-1895) died on July 18th, 1895, which is 129 years ago this week. 

Looking at his ancestor page on Family Search, I read the "Brief Life History" which is a good head start on a bite-sized bio, based on information and sources attached to this man's Details tab on Family Search.

Basics are included

I like that the brief history includes his full name, birth date and place, full names of parents and their ages when this son was born. 

Also the life history lists full maiden name of his wife, where/when married, and mentions their children. Then it ends with his death date and place, age at death, and burial place. This is an excellent head start or outline for a bite-sized bio. 

Although sources are attached to Charles August Wood that verify the info in his "brief life history," this type of bio is only as good as the sources attached to the ancestor's profile and your interpretation of the sources within context. 

Ideas to flesh it out

Here's what I'd add to flesh out this man's bio without making it too long:

• Charles's place in family birth order (he was 10th of 17 children born to Thomas and Mary). 
• Charles's occupation (he was a carpenter, like most of his brothers).
• Names of children and how many survived childhood.
• Cause of death, if known (his obit said "la grippe" but death cert said tuberculosis).
• Maybe add whether his widow remarried.

Brief Life History is only a starting point

Above is the Brief Life History of Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925), a sister-in-law of Charles Augustus Wood. I would improve in three key ways:

• Her brief bio says she was married "about 1898" although the source attached provides a specific date and place. Easy to improve.
•  In 1871, she did not live in a church (Saint Mary Matfelon); that was the civil parish where she was enumerated with her parents and siblings in Whitechapel in London, England. This is easy to clarify.
• Although the Find a Grave memorial for Mary is attached as a source, the brief bio doesn't mention her burial place. Again, easy to flesh out.

Still a good starting point

Take a look at the Brief Life History for your ancestors on Family Search. Maybe these will be a good starting point for a bite-sized bio for each ancestor that you can flesh out and share on other genealogy sites and with your family. As Diane commented below, these brief histories aren't a brand-new feature but if you haven't focused on them, see whether they jumpstart your writing projects!

For more about bite-sized bios, please see my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

What Did His Paternal Great-Greats Die Of?

My latest family history photo book, just completed, covers the lives and social/historical context of my hubby's paternal grandparents, great-grandparents, and their siblings, spouses, and ancestors. This is a full-color photo book with bite-sized bios of the men, women, and children in this part of the family tree, part of my plan to keep family history alive for future generations.

In the process, I'm documenting what folks died of, if cause of death is documented in the records. The very youngest in the Wood family tree tended to die from diseases that are treatable today, such as diphtheria and diarrhea. Ancestors who lived to adulthood usually died from a variety of other causes, including typhoid, tuberculosis, pneumonia, stroke, and heart disease, only very occasionally dying of cancer on this branch of the family tree.

Mary: Age and cardiac asthma

My husband's paternal great-grandma, Mary Amanda Demarest Wood (1831-1897) died of "age, cardiac asthma," which ultimately is caused by congestive heart failure. At top, an excerpt from the death records in a ledger in Lucas County, Ohio, showing her cause of death. 

Now consider that Mary was only 65 when she died, not nearly as ancient as her husband. On the other hand, she had 17 children, the first born when Mary was 15 years old (you read that correctly) and the last born when she was 44. This must have taken a toll on her health. Also, she saw the death of 10 children during her life, a handful from childhood diseases like diphtheria but also one drowned, others had health problems as adults. RIP, great-grandma Mary. 

Thomas: General debility from age

My husband's paternal great-grandpa, Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890), died of "general debility from age," as described in the ledger in Lucas County, Ohio. He was 80, and would have been 81 if he had lived just a few more weeks. 

Thomas was born into a family where many of the men were whalers, either owning ships or captaining ships or working on ships out of New Bedford, Mass. He became a carpenter, supporting his family by working on the railroad most of his life. In later years, he built coaches for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway out of Toledo, Ohio. 

Lots of years of physical labor could have both strengthened Thomas's body and slowly worn it down over the decades. When Thomas died in early 1890, his oldest son went to work as a laborer at age 17 to help support the household. A few unmarried adult children remained at home with the widowed Mary, who sometimes worked part-time as a nurse when her health allowed. RIP, g-g Thomas.

"Health" is Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors prompt for week 23 of her genealogy challenge.

Back Up and Keep Back Ups Current

 

It's the first of the month, time to back up all your digitized family history files and genealogy data. Think about protecting everything you've digitized or downloaded and filed digitally, in case of computer problems.

This year, I replaced my older external hard drives with a new, tiny but mighty external hard drive that has a lot of storage capacity. I kept the old drives, because they have all my personal and genealogical photos. But external hard drives eventually need to be replaced. It was time to replace BEFORE I needed to access the data due to some glitch or crash.

I use the tiny hard drive in the picture for my Mac "Time Machine" hourly backups. This small external drive is faster and more convenient than the 2020-era drives I used to use. I like that it takes up less space and it completes backups in a shorter time.

For extra protection, I also back up every day in the cloud and regularly duplicate special/important files to a USB, ready to transfer if needed. 

Download online trees and back up, too

In addition, I have family trees on multiple genealogy sites and occasionally download the gedcoms for these so they are on available on my desktop Mac and backed up in the cloud. 

On Ancestry for instance, go to "tree settings" when you're in your family tree, then select "Manage Your Tree...Export Tree" (see image at right) and be prepared to wait if the tree has thousands of individuals. But it's worthwhile as a backup!

On MyHeritage, the process is explained in this screen shot below...and you can query the site's Knowledge Base for more details. 

Backups provide peace of mind that our family trees and genealogy data are safe, current, and available. I wrote about the value of backups in my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Korean War Veterans in Booklet About Hubby's Military Ancestors

Throughout May, I've been updating the bite-sized bios of veterans in my husband's family tree, as I add them to an expanded family history booklet about ancestors who served in the military. I'm proud of their service and looking ahead, I want the rest of my family to know of their service in the years to come.

Originally, I focused on his Civil War ancestors (both Union and Confederate). Then I expanded my research and documentation to include his ancestors who served in WWI and WWII, and a handful who served in the War of 1812. Plus there is one, just one, direct-line ancestor who served in the American Revolution, on the side of the Colonies.

Now I'm adding hubby's second cousins who served in the Korean War. As I do that, I'm also checking that their "veteran" status is indicated on their Find a Grave memorial pages. 

In the case of cousin James "Jim" Simmons (1930-2009), there was no Find a Grave memorial. He had been cremated, no burial listed, according to the death record. So I created a page for him, and before it was finalized, Find a Grave asked me to check that it wasn't a dupe of a page for someone with a similar name who had been cremated. Not a dupe, so I went ahead.

On Jim's page, I indicated a "V" for veteran (top red arrow), and wrote the dates of his service in the bio section (lower red arrow). Then I linked his memorial to the pages of his younger brother (also a Korean War veteran) and to his parents.

On Memorial Day weekend, thank you to all the veterans who have served their country. For those in my family tree and my husband's family tree, I'm doing everything I can to keep their memories alive for future generations--so our valuable family history doesn't get lost to the mists of time. See my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, for more ideas about preserving genealogy for the sake of those who come after us.

PS: I've submitted a suggestion to Ancestry.com to request that it provide a "V" designation we can use to designate someone as a military veteran in our family trees. The company is giving it consideration. After all, if Ancestry-owned Find a Grave can do this, it would be great to be consistent and have a "V" designation available on the family tree side as well, IMHO.

Preserving Bite-Sized Bios of Military Ancestors

During the 2020 summer of pandemic lockdown, I had lots of time to create a research-based but very readable booklet about the 18 Wood ancestors in my husband's family tree who served in the US Civil War. I sent the booklet to descendants, knowing several were keenly interested in that war and had visited battlefields in the past. Over time, I discovered additional ancestors who served for the Union, but I never updated the booklet. Until now.

With Memorial Day on my mind, I'm currently expanding this booklet to include Wood ancestors who served in:

• The American Revolution (1 militia man in Massachusetts)
• The War of 1812 (4 men in Ohio, 1 man in Massachusetts--son of the Revolutionary War patriot)
• The US Civil War (20 serving for the Union, 3 serving for the Confederacy)
• World War I, Allied side (8 US/Canadian/British ancestors)
• World War II, Allied side (7 US/Canadian ancestors)
  
• Korean War (2 US ancestors)

My goal is to honor the military service of these 40 ancestors and briefly tell their family stories in context. For instance, I was surprised to learn not long ago that my husband's uncle enlisted as World War II was ending, becoming a Staff Sgt with 1958th Service Command Unit of U.S. Army, which escorted military prisoners. Even though this man was 35 years old, married with two children at home, he chose to serve in the military for a year. I want his story to be remembered, along with the stories of all the other veterans in the family tree. Every story matters, and I will continue to post these bite-sized bios on genealogy websites to share what I know now--part of my plan to ensure a future for my family's history so these names and lives aren't forgotten.

As shown at top, I'm using two royalty-free color images to illustrate the title page. Color catches the eye and attracts readers to my short paragraphs. I'm updating the index to include all names, all military branches, all units, any honors and awards, and adding a special listing of the few who were unfortunately killed in action.

Just as important, I'm explaining the exact relationship of each ancestor to my readers, such as: John N. McClure, Union Army, 2d great uncle of my husband, 3d great uncle to the following generation. This helps my readers understand the family relationship to people they never met but will come to know through my bite-sized bios featuring their military service.

"Preserve" is Amy Johnson Crow's prompt for week 19 of her #52Ancestors  genealogy challenge.

Artifacts + Context = Family History Story

 

I'm finishing a 20-page photo book about my husband's paternal grandparents, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) and Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925) and their life together. It's a bite-sized family history project, focused on one couple and their background and children. A page in the book is devoted to postcards...with a photo and context for these artifacts. The caption reads: 

James Edgar Wood's relatives were spread across several states. They stayed in touch via penny postcards and visits. Two of these cards were sent by Dorothy Baker (daughter of Ada) to her first cousin Wally, and one was sent by Aunt Nellie Lewis (sister of James). All are addressed to 12513 Lancelot Ave in Cleveland, a home built by James, where the Wood family lived from 1910 to 1912. The colorized photo shows this house in 1911, with Ed and Wally standing in front.

This page appears late in the book, so readers will already be familiar with the names, but they may not remember the relationships, which I included in parentheses. 

The colorized photo, passed down in black/white in the family, shows the very house where these postcards were delivered more than a century ago. The addressee and his older brother are pictured in front. The house was built by their father, James Edgar Wood, and it's still standing today, as you can see here. 

By linking these separate artifacts and providing context, I created a story that I hope will stick in the minds of the younger generation, part of my overall plan to keep family history alive for the future.

Colorizing James and Mary and Their Cleveland House

 

As I prepare a family history photo book about hubby's grandparents, James E. Wood (1871-1939) and Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925), I'm colorizing a few old b/w photos to catch the eye of younger descendants. Of course, I'm noting that the photos are colorized. This book (and others I've created) are helping to keep family history alive for the future.

Above, the photo as colorized by Ancestry. James has more color, the second floor of the home has more color, but Mary appears less colorful. Overall, this photo is more interesting to look at and brings out more details than the original. I tried the sharpen tool but Ancestry couldn't detect the small faces.

Below, the same photo as colorized by MyHeritage. Here, Mary has more color and the sign advertising James's carpentry/building business is red and very visible. Note the tiny palette and magic wand symbols at bottom left of photo, added by MyHeritage to indicate that this image is both colorized and enhanced. I prefer this version and have inserted it into the photo book.

Put Yourself into Your Family's History

As I write about my husband's paternal family, I've found a few ways to insert ourselves into the narrative and photos. 

For example, this page in my latest photo book is all about hubby's great uncle, Capt. John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954). John was one of three brothers who joined the British Army as young teens or preteens, working their way up through the music ranks. All three served 15-20+ years in the British military before they came to Canada and became bandmasters. All three attained the rank of captain and were well-known in their regions. Capt. John D. Slatter gained worldwide fame for leading one of the original kiltie bands.

Not only did I tell of John's distinguished military career (which began at the age of 11), his WWI service, and his personal life, I also accentuated the theme of military service through the generations by explaining that two of his sons served in WWI and a grandson served in WWII. 

Also, I wrote that hubby and I had been to the 48th Highlanders Museum in Toronto to learn more. My husband was honored to be allowed to hold Capt. Slatter's special sword, and to see the many medals he was awarded, now displayed in the museum. Who knows, maybe descendants will one day visit the museum and be inspired by this ancestor. 

The two color photos on this page put us into the context of family history. It's part of my plan to keep ancestral stories and faces alive for the future, with us in the picture too!

Share "Work in Progress" Genealogy

These genealogy fan charts will appear on pages 2 and 3 of my latest family history photo book. The book focuses on my husband's paternal grandparents, Mary Slatter (1869-1925) and James Edgar Wood (1871-1939). The colorful charts attract the eyes of readers and show, at a glance, the names and the dates (where known) of their ancestors. 

Thanks to one of the Wood cousins, who began his genealogy quest more than 40 years ago, we have a lot of solid, sourced info about James Edgar Wood's paternal family tree (on right). That same cousin tried for decades to learn more about Mary Amanda Demarest (1831-1897) with little success. 

I joined the "research team" 15 years ago and despite promising leads, we never have been able to prove her parentage with high confidence. This cousin did an intensive analysis of the 1840 US Census in New York City, Mary Amanda's birthplace, and narrowed her possible parentage to the household of Henry Demarest and Catherine Nitchie Demarest. 

Should I include these names on the fan chart or not, given the lack of proof? I returned to the research, looked carefully for fresh leads, came up empty, and decided to go ahead and put them on the tree. I'll explain elsewhere in the text that this is the best guesstimate at this time.

Similarly, the fan chart on the left is missing a lot of names and dates. Despite many years of digging, I haven't been able to go far back on Mary Slatter's family tree. I've been reviewing and reworking my research in search of new leads, without any breakthroughs. This branch of the tree is a real challenge, due to "John" and "Mary" married ancestors in multiple generations, few solid maiden names, common surnames, a lack of specific hometown info, and uneven record-keeping. I do know a great deal about Mary and her siblings and parents, so that's going to be my main focus in the photo book.

Despite the many missing slots on the family tree, I believe it's important to share my "work in progress" genealogy (after 26 years of digging) so descendants know what I know already. Each photo book ends with my name as the creator, and the month and year of printing. This will alert future generations that the information is as of that date. 

Sharing (through photo books, online trees, bite-sized bios, and more) is all part of planning a future for my family's past before I join my ancestors.

Family History: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

I'm preparing a photo book about the background of my husband's grandparents (Mary Slatter Wood, 1869-1925 and James Edgar Wood, 1871-1939). The content will the most wide-ranging of any family history project I've done to date.

It will cover the good, the bad, and the ugly of hubby's paternal family tree. 

If I don't convey the stories I've been told and the research I've uncovered, that info won't necessarily be passed along to future generations. I never want my family history or my husband's family history to be lost. 

Whether our ancestors' stories are happy, sad, regrettable, or something in between, I'm doing my best to share with relatives right now. The big exception: I'm not sharing the one or two stories that might be embarrassing or damaging to people still alive. Those particular stories are tucked into my surname files, to be inherited in the far future and rediscovered by my heirs, long after the people involved have passed from the scene.

The good

Mary Slatter, born in London, England, was a devoted, loving mother of four boys and a calming influence on her volatile husband, James. I have Mary's sons' own comments on this subject to add to the photo book. Given Mary's family background, this is an amazing outcome. In fact, the Slatter siblings all turned out well, despite their difficult early years. See the ugly below.

The bad

Well, James Edgar Wood had a temper and his four sons suffered as a result. I have James's sons' own comments on this subject, to be quoted in the photo book. No wonder the sons left home as soon as they were old enough, after their mother Mary died of a heart ailment. All stayed in touch with each other as adults.

James was in the building business in Cleveland, Ohio. He'd put up a house, move his family in after the framing, and they'd live in one finished room or even the attic (!) while he slowly completed the interior. Then he would sell the house even as he had another framed. James, Mary, and the boys moved every other year or, if he worked quickly enough and sold quickly enough, they moved every year. How do I know? Over the years, the addresses on the many postcards sent to one of the boys changed over and over as they moved from one new home to another. The sons didn't have fond memories of their many childhood moves.

The ugly

Mary's father was often out of the picture when she was a child. Poverty-stricken, desperate to survive, Mary and her mother and some siblings were in and out of workhouses in London for several years. Worse, Mary's mother was admitted to an insane asylum, and eventually died there. An ugly period in my husband's family history, but important to be included in my photo book so the names and stories won't be forgotten.

But still...

Despite this ugly start to their lives, the Slatter children grew up and did well. Mary was a dedicated wife and mother, her sister Ada was the same, and their three brothers were all respected military bandmasters in Canada. 

This photo book will have the good, the bad, and the ugly, ending with the resilience of Wood and Slatter ancestors over the generations. 

Donating the Hermit Club Book

My late father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) was a long-time member of the Hermit Club in Cleveland, Ohio, a cultural center for music. 

As a young man with a flair for playing the piano, Ed aspired to be a member of this well-known and rather exclusive club, which regularly sponsored musical plays and concerts.

In fact, he had his first date with his future wife at an informal musical evening hosted by a Hermit Club member. He discussed that date in an oral history recording made decades ago, and the member's name is shown in this book.

The Hermit Club's history was written by William H. Thomas, and Ed's copy was inscribed with a dedication by the author (see below).

Now our family is going to donate this specially-inscribed book to give it a safe home in a repository that collects artifacts about Cleveland. Not only will the book be part of the archival collection, so will Ed's connection to the Hermit Club and how it led to romance with Marian Jane McClure (1909-1983).

After approaching two repositories that already had copies of this book, I found a new home for it in the library of Ohio History Connection in Columbus, Ohio.

If you have items in your family history collection that relatives don't want, I urge you to make arrangements to keep them safe before you join your ancestors! For more detail on how and why to donate items, please see my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Looking Back at 2023 Genealogy Results

As 2023 begins to fade into the history books, a look back at what I thought my priorities in genealogy would be this past year--and what they really turned out to be.

My planned genealogy priorities for 2023

One year ago, I set five priorities for my genealogy activities in 2023: (1) continue writing/posting bite-sized ancestor bios, (2) resume my photo album project, (3) redo research about ancestors of particular interest, (4) continue my genealogy presentations, and (5) further my genealogy education. Oh, and I wanted to clean out the unneeded scribbled notes in my surname files.

My actual genealogy priorities in 2023

Family-history photo books (a variation on bite-sized ancestor bios) turned out to be my absolutely top priority this past year, something that wasn't on my list at all. Why? Because in February, relatives asked questions about what our ancestors did during World War II. I wanted to provide answers that could be saved and reviewed again and again.

In response to the questions, I created my first-ever family-history photo book about ancestors in WWII. It was only 6 inches by 6 inches, with colorful front and back covers (see image above, from back cover) and 20 pages of info about my Dad (US Army), my uncles (US Army), my aunt (WAC), and my parents' cousins who served in the war (in the US Army, US Army Air Corps, US Marines, US Navy, and National Guard units). 

This tiny book was a big hit with the next generation! So I went "all in" on family-history photo books during the year, creating one about my maternal grandparents, one about my paternal grandparents, and one about my Mom and her twin sister. All were well received. Just last month, I completed a photo book about my husband's maternal grandparents, and last week I reordered copies for other relatives after previewing and editing one copy. In all, a very worthwhile priority that will continue into 2024.

In addition, I wrote many bite-sized bios of ancestors to post on WikiTree, Fold3, Find a Grave, and other sites, as I originally planned for 2023, and will continue into 2024. 

I began cleaning out handwritten notes from my surname files, saving the info as comments on my trees or otherwise consolidating for less paper clutter. This is something I usually do on the fly while looking for other info in those files. 

What slipped to 2024

When those photo books jumped onto the front burner, other priorities had to wait. Now on the back burner is my photo album project, which will show up on the "to do" list for 2024 (more on that in another blog post). 

Also slipping to 2024 was some (not all) of my in-depth research on particular focus ancestors, particularly those from Eastern Europe. I'm pursuing a couple of leads and may yet have an interesting breakthrough before the end of 2023. 

Genealogy presentations and education

I gave more than a dozen virtual presentations live in 2023, and already have dates lined up for 2024. Continuing my own genealogy education, I watched dozens of excellent webinars (both live and recorded) from a variety of sources: Legacy Family Tree Webinars, Virtual Genealogy Association, WikiTree Symposium, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Center for Jewish History, Jewish Genealogy Society of CT, Kentucky Genealogical Society, and other genealogy groups around the country. I really appreciate the opportunity to learn from experts.

Tip: Always download the handouts when available! Maybe I can't use all of the info or instructions right away, but I might want to consult the handout in the future. I have one digital file where I store handouts and conference syllabi from the past decade. Thank you to the many speakers who put so much detail into their handouts! 

"If You're Not in The Photo, You Weren't There"

On vacation or at family gatherings, my wonderful Sis strongly encourages friends and relatives to be visible in at least one photo. She reminds them: "If you're not in the photo, you weren't there." Translation: You'll remember you were there, but others won't know you were there unless you're in the photo. 

Who was there, who wasn't there?

Also true in family history. Years from now, who will know you were at that birthday party or holiday dinner or reunion if you don't appear in any photos from the event? Uh, people might remember you being there even if you're not in a photo, but it's a picture is worth 1000 words, right?

More than once, I've speculated about why an ancestor was not in a photo...sick or at work or out of town or estranged or actually behind the camera? Sometimes I can confirm my speculation, but often I just have to wonder. There's no one left to ask.

Photographer, step into the picture!

My late father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) was a lifelong shutterbug, and thanks to him, we inherited a rich cache of photos and slides--usually with captions or some kind of identification. 

In most cases, Ed was taking the photos of family and friends. But he also made sure to appear in at least one photo when on vacation. At top, a photo of Ed and his wife, Marian McClure Wood (1909-1983), on one of their cruises to Europe. This photo, pasted into one of his albums, was accompanied by a caption detailing the name of the ship, the special event, and the date. 

I'm sure Ed and Marian smiled when they looked back at this photo and the wonderful memories of that vacation. As the family historian, I smiled too--and preserved it for the future so future generations can see them at dinner.

What to keep, what to toss

My hubby and I took time to sort through Ed's vast collection of personal photos and slides after he passed away. We retained and digitized his photos of people and places/buildings important to family history. 

Even when we couldn't immediately identify the faces, we held onto photos of people because in time, we hoped to learn more (and sometimes we later identified who was who). Happily, his collection included photos showing Ed at different points in his life--as a boy, a musician, a husband, a new father, a retiree.  

In the end, we tossed the many, many images of famous landmarks and city skylines after determining there was no real genealogical value. (See my book Planning a Future for Your Family's Past for more about curating and keeping ancestral photos and slides safe for the future.)

So please, if you're the usual family photographer, remember to step into a photo or video during each event. Be part of your own family history! And as reminder, be sure to back up your digitized photos and genealogy research regularly.