Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Tuesday's Tips~Getting' by with Help from Our Friends-Laura Hedgecock



 In this edition of Tuesday's Tips,  our friend Laura Hedgecock from TreasureChestofMemories.com shares her tips for getting our relatives to share the stories we need to add to our family history. 

4 Tips for Collecting Stories from Relatives

I wanted to title this post "Pulling Stories out of Relatives" because we all have a few relatives who aren’t natural talkers.  With these loved ones, conducting an oral history interview becomes an exercise in pulling the proverbial hen’s teeth, if hens gave monosyllabic answers to well-thought-out questions.
We also all have those relatives who like to share their favorite stories, which is great.  What’s not so great is that they don’t tell you the other stories. In addition, the not-this-story-again eye-rolls around the dinner table definitely harshes the storytelling vibe.
You’re probably familiar with the situation. After you’ve known your father-in-law twenty years he mentions he moved three times in second grade.
“WHAT?” you ask.
“You didn’t know that?” he says like you’ve been totally disinterested for two decades.
Sigh.

My favorite 4 tips for drawing more stories out of less loquacious relatives:

1. They probably won’t write their stories down just because you ask them to.
It’s not that they’re necessarily opposed to the idea. It’s that your priorities aren’t theirs. All of us have lower priority things on our to-do list that we never get to unless they turn into an emergency. Chances are, you’re going to have to help the process along in some way, such as interviewing them. 
2. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare for Oral History Interview
You’ve seen the lists, such as this one from UCLA’s library. Test your equipment, formulate your questions, know how long you’ll stay, etc.
In my opinion, one of the most important preparation steps is to take time to look at the things you do know about your relative’s life in the context of history. In addition to helping you formulate your questions, reading up on the historical and cultural events that impacted your loved one will also help you be an active listener.  
3. Know when to break Rule # 2
The pomp and circumstance around scheduling, prepping for, and conducting an interview can inhibit spontaneity. Obtrusive recording equipment can cause your interviewee to clam up, as can the fact that you’re more focused on your questions and recording their answers than on their story. Instead, immerse yourself in a meaningful conversation with your loved one.  Be present and listen with your heart. (You can read more about this at Listening Skills and Conversations: Keys to Collecting Stories and How to Preserve Meaningful Stories à la Humans of New York.)
4. Get a Little Help from Your Electronic Friends
StoryCorps, for instance, has a mobile app and their website has tons of wonderful conversation-starting questions. If you use their mobile app to record the interview, you can upload it to the Library of Congress. 
StoryCorps also has videos of some great conversations.  Watching them is inspirational, as is following the Humans of New York Facebook page. You get all sorts of new ideas on what you don’t know about your loved ones.
If they’re willing to keep up their end of the bargain, StoryWorth can be a great help. (Having the grandkids ask them can be more persuasive.) You can buy a subscription for your relative to receive short, doable weekly prompts.  They can either email their responses to StoryWorth or record them via their phone and StoryWorth posts them on a private website.

The bottom line: Connect while you’re Listening. 

Your caring, attentive listening will do more to help relatives regurgitate memories and stories than all the good questions you compile. Besides, you’ll remember the time together long after you’ve forgotten the who they took to the prom.

Bio

Laura Hedgecock is an author, storyteller, and speaker who’s passionate about helping others tell their personal and family stories.  Her site, TreasureChestofMemories.com is full of family history and storytelling resources. Laura is the author of  Memories of Me: A Complete Guide to Telling and Sharing the Stories of Your Life and Blogging for Family History: How to Launch a Blog and Make It Successful.






Thank so much for these great tips, Laura! With your help, we will all collect more stories!



Have you been able to gather stories from your relatives? What is your favorite? We'd love to have you share!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Sunday, May 20, 2018

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!




You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section or you may also put a link to a blog post telling about what had you dancing this week.

My Happy Dance moment this week:





Writing posts about our ancestors is one of the best ways to make contact with others who are seeking information about them. From time to time I receive a message from someone who found me via my blog and wants to connect. It happened again this week. An email came from someone who was helping with locating family members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Division who had served in WWII. My great uncle Edman George Roberts (1922-1943) was one of those men.
A photo collage was created using a photo of Edman to honor his service. Edman did not come home from the war but is still listed as Missing In Action. In addition to the photo, a jump will be held in his honor in a few weeks. His photo will then be placed on the wall of the plane along with others who have been so honored.
 The discovery lead me to a researcher who is looking into the company Edman was assigned to when he went missing, the story the family has told of his plane going down seems not to be true after all. Was Edman captured and held hostage? Time will tell as more research is done by those gathering information about the details of Company G.
My services have been requested to help find the descendants of other members of this company. Some made it home, but others like Edman are MIA.
As so many times before, family stories need to be researched and the truths pulled out of records that may be available.
A family mystery? Yep! That has me dancing this week!!



What had you dancing this week?
                                                                                 

                                                                                              Share your discovery!
                                                                                  
                                                                                         Let the dancing commence!




Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Sunday, May 13, 2018

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 13-May 19





May 17~
   Emily Elizabeth (Vaughn) Bradford (1797-1865), my paternal 4th great grandmother, died 153 years ago in Sumter County, South Carolina and may have been buried there in the Dargan Cemetry. Many of the graves have been relocated and at this time there is no record of her burial.

May 18~ 
  My maternal 4th great grandfather, Philip Roberts, III (1798-1852), was born in Kershaw County, South Carolina 220 years ago.  His parents were Philip Roberts, II (1763-1854) and Sarah (Kirtley) Roberts (1765-1838).

Who are you remembering this week?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!




You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section or you may also put a link to a blog post telling about what had you dancing this week.

My Happy Dance moment this week:
Some of you may know I am the host of the In-Depth Genealogists weekly genealogy talk show GenFriends. We get together and discuss genealogy TV and other things going on in the community.
Season 3 of Relative Race was so much fun to discuss and cry over!! This week, we were able to talk with Luana Darby, AG the researcher for Team Red AND Troy and Nicole -Team Red themselves!!
After watching them on their journey to discover relatives, it was wonderful to be able to talk about their feelings and get insights from Luana on the process of researching for the show.
We were so happy to have them join us!
My Happy Dance? Getting the inside scoop from Luana and the Red Team!

If you would like to see our interview, click on the link below.

http://theindepthgenealogist.com/an-inside-look-at-red-team-from-relative-race/




What had you dancing this week?
                                                                                 

                                                                                              Share your discovery!
                                                                                  
                                                                                         Let the dancing commence!



Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,





Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Mother-Photos Through the Generations




moth·er
ˈməT͟Hər









bring up (a child) with care and affection.
"the art of mothering"






  1. .
                                                                             a woman in relation to her child or children.
















This post was written for week 19 of Amy Johnson Crows blog prompts for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.



Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing woman in my life who have show examples of mothering.


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,








Monday, May 7, 2018

Methodology Monday~Ancestors in the News




Newspapers are a rich source of information about your family. Many valuable pieces of information can be found helping you to put flesh on the bones of your ancestors.

Have you searched for the obituary of your ancestor and stopped there? Take another look, you may be surprised. Even the poorest of families may be mentioned.

What Can You Find?
1-Obituaries
Typically the first thing we look for when searching in a newspaper. Besides a death date and place of burial, clues to family members may be included.
2-Memorials
These pieces written to honor the passing of a loved one may be found to commemorate a certain amount of years since someone passed. 
3-Legal Announcements
From the sale of property after death to a lawsuit pending against someone, the legal columns in the paper can provide dates, family names and other information.
4-Jury, Pension, Club and Community Lists
No matter the financial situation, your person of interest was part of a community. Lists of persons involved in events are often listed. Not only will you discover what types of things they were involved in, but it will set them in a time and place.
5-Stories
Our ancestors made the news in many ways. Were they victims of a crime or a natural disaster? Did they get in trouble with the law or help someone in the community in some way? Papers had to fill the columns and stories we wouldn't think newsworthy were published.
6-Social Columns
If your person went somewhere, had visitors or attended an event in town or elsewhere, it may have ended up in the social column. These little gems provide names of extended family and friends we can research to find even more information. They also are fun to read a catch up on the gossip of the day about our family!


The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, South Carolina)23 Jul 1910, Page 6, col 5, digital images, Chronicling America 
(http:www.chroniclingamerica.gov: accessed May 6, 2019)


7-Community and Church Columns
Read about what was happening in the community and churches your ancestors belonged to. They may not be mentioned by name, but you will have an idea of things going on in their lives.
8-Weather and News
Could weather or news events have affected your family? These can e-be clues as to why they may have made the choices they did. What about large events like the circus or a fair coming into town?
Even small rural farmers may have made an effort to bring their families.
9-Sales Ads
What stores were available to your ancestors? What were the styles of clothing or foods listed for sale? What were the prices? Be sure to check out the want ads too.
10-Serials
Many newspapers ran serial stories. In a time with no TV or radio, these stories became a favorite family activity as they would sit together to read the latest installment. 
What was entertaining your ancestors? 

Searching
There are many newspaper sites online. People often ask which is the best. The answer is whichever one has the papers you need!
Look for the help section and understand how the search function works to make sure you are getting the most out of the results.
You may find you have to look through original papers or microfilm.
With all searching remember that names can be spelled a variety of ways. Woman are often listed as Mrs. so and so and not with her first name. Initials may be used for either a man of woman's first name.

Articles including obituaries may have been picked up by other newspapers from around the area or county. Try expanding your search to places your ancestor may have previously lived or may have other family members. If the event was big enough, such as a natural disaster, it might appear country of worldwide. The story may be just as it was written in the hometown paper or more or different information may be included in other papers.

Newspapers can be a boon of information leading you to understand your ancestors.
Don't stop at the obituaries, look or any mention and enjoy what you may find!

Have you discovered your ancestors in the news?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Sunday, May 6, 2018

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!




You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section or you may also put a link to a blog post telling about what had you dancing this week.

 I LOVE attending genealogy conferences. This week the National Genealogical Society held it's annual conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Unfortunately, I was unable to go. I was able to listen to two days of livestream presentations though!

What a lineup speakers! Day one I learned about 
Researching African American ancestors who were enslaved-LaBrenda Garratt
Revolutionary War Loyalists-Terry Koch-Bostic
Y DNA Tests-Diahan Southard
Why cousins are important in DNA testing-Angie Bush
Native American DNA-Blaine Bettinger.
Each of these talks related to either my family or my clients. I came away filled with new thoughts and ideas for research!

Day 2 was just as powerful:
Researching the locations of your ancestors for context and history-Angela Packer McGhie
Figuring out  same named people-Elizabeth Shown Mills
The GPS and DNA-Judy Russell
Using analysis strategies for problem solving-Elissa Scalise Powell
Again, all of these BCG Skill building presentations were things I needed to hear and will be working to put into practice. 

My Happy Dance this week was the opportunity to sit at home and learn from each of these wonderful genealogists. Did I wish I was there in person? Oh, yes! But very grateful for the technology available to bring these lessons into our home. 


What had you dancing this week?
                                                                                 

                                                                                              Share your discovery!
                                                                                  
                                                                                         Let the dancing commence!



Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,