Family History

I don't know if it's the pregnancy, or the fact that my mother will be turning 60 this month, or the fact that I just received an email from my globe trotting cousin who has discovered more about my family then humanly conceivable, but I miss my family history project. In college, I was given a grant to begin researching my family history in the hopes of writing a book. (Toot, toot; there goes my horn again.) The book was put on the back burner when I got my own classroom and then my own family. Now, that I do not have a million and one additional responsibilities (just 999,999, now) my mind has wandered toward my family history project.

Family history is so important. Being a fairly new family in this country, my family does not have a significant paper trail to follow. With documentation comes stories that can be proven by more than just a cloudy memory from one of your aging relatives, but it is important to have both the memory and the paper.

Anyway, my point is that so many immigrant families from the turn of the century felt that America was like an orphan county with little history of which to build a solid foundation. Growing up, I felt the same way. My family was like an orphan family, of which I did not know as much as I would have liked. If one does not know their past, how can they build a future?

Family history is important to share with children and encourage them to have pride in who they are and what they are apart of. Any great family stories or family memorabilia? Share it with someone close to you. It makes a difference.

P.S. The Church has kept nearly perfect records of baptism records and so much more if you are looking for information on a specific loved one.