52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History
28 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: family history, family tree, genealogy, professional genealogist
Week 9: Sounds
Describe any sounds that take you back to your childhood. These could be familiar songs, jingles, children playing, or something entirely different.
I was born in the early 1970s and grew up listening to the music my mom loved. Neil Diamond, John Denver, Barry Manilow, Abba, and a bunch of music from her teen years. Those songs take me back to our house in Downers Grove where I am in the living room my dad built on to the house.
1980s music takes me back to Jr. High and High School when I was old enough to go to school dances and date. I know Bon Jovi takes me back to those days and it is funny that the songs I loved then, my kids love now.
If I hear the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, I’m taken back to my junior year in high school when I played that for my solo at District and State Music Contests. Those were good times. If I hear the theme from “Robin Hood” I am taken back to the fall of 1991 when I was in the marching band at SMSU (now Missouri State). I can still hear the music and feel my feet move forward at one point then horns raised to blast the audience at just the right moment. What a rush!!
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History
21 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in 52 Weeks of Genealogy Tags: family history, family tree, genealogist, genealogy, generations
Week 8: Technology
What are some of the technological advances that have happened during your childhood? What types of technology do you enjoy using today, and which do you avoid?
A few weeks ago I was cleaning out boxes of old treasures and came across a few letters I wrote my uncle in the early 1980s. Those letters contained talk of the Commodore 64 computer and programs to put on a cassette tape! My how far we have come since then! My kids probably wouldn’t believe how computers used to work.
Today I enjoy my laptop, scanner, digital camera, and printer. I haven’t hit the IPhone yet but will get there soon.
Follow Friday – Genealogy for Kids
18 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Blogging Tags: childrens genealogy, family tree, genealogy research, generations, kids family history
Check out my new Genealogy for Kids blog. This site will contain tips on how to get children interested in their family history. Check back often as hands-on projects will be added and read some kid guest author posts.
52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History
14 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in 52 Weeks of Genealogy Tags: family history, family tree, genealogy, generations
Week 7: Toys
What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?
I had several favorite toys as a child. There was my Rub A Dub Dollie, Good Humor Ice Cream Truck, this bead machine that made necklaces (I can picture it but can’t tell you what the name of it was), my Weebles, my Sesame Street Playhouse (which I still have), McDonald’s Play Store (I wish I had this), and my Disney video thing. It had cartridges that you stuck into a machine to play a movie. I don’t think it had sound.
Today I think the Sesame Street House is made in some form from time to time but the rest is a product of the 1970′s.
Activity: Conduct an Interview
24 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized, Writing Tags: ancestor, ancestry, family, family history, family tree, genealogy, researching family history, writing family history
Now that you have begun gathering information on your family, it is time to do a little writing. The best place to start is with your parents. Here are a few questions to get you going. After you conduct the interview, write up a short story about what you learned.
- What is your full name?
- When and where were you born? What hospital?
- What are your parents names?
- When and where were they born?
- When were they married?
- When did you get married?
- What schools did you attend growing up?
- What was your favorite subject?
- Where did you live growing up?
- Did you go to college? Where? What did you study?
- What are the names of your siblings?
- What are their birth dates? Who did they marry and when?
- What is your occupation?
- What did your parents do for a living?
- Did your parents go to college?
- Are you right or left-handed?
- What color are your eyes?
- What color is your hair?
- What about your parents eye color?
- If you are interviewing your mom, ask her what her maiden name was.
After the interview is over, write a short story about your parents’ lives. This is the beginning of the story of your family.
