Category: Butterfield
Storytelling: Use vintage greeting cards
Hello. I've been gone for quite a while. Some of you know that my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer a while back. He passed in December. It's a journey I never dreamed either one of us would experience, me as caregiver or he with such a diagnosis. As he often said, "It just happened. ...
Storytelling: What might our ancestors’ health status reveal?
Great grandma, not such a mystery Proof is in the pudding I'd heard the stories. Most weren't wonderful. Orah was unkind, and while I wish dad was here to tell me more, he doesn't have to be. I have at my disposal the very best proof: great grandma's own words. What follows are excerpts from ...
Full circle
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." ~ Arthur Ashe Family reunion...of sorts Meeting up with a long lost cousin A year or so ago I found my step-cousin Milton on Ancestry. Receiving a response of any kind on that site often does not happen; I was pleasantly surprised when ...
Storytelling: Grandma and grandpa’s cabin
Stories of a family vacation spot Location, location, location After talking with my cousin Miltie, it occurred to me that another way to tell a family story is through memories of a shared vacation spot. From the time I was a little girl, I heard stories about "the cabin," or "hood canal," or just "the ...
Storytelling: Learning about family through another’s eyes
A view of grandparents--and parents--through a cousin's eyes "You learn something new every day." Miltie's grandpa Eddie married my grandma, Lalla, making Eddie's daughter, Delores, and my father, Rodney ("Merle"), step-siblings. That means that Lynne and I gained three new cousins--Virginia, Patricia, and Miltie--when our grandparents married (and they gained us!) 🙂 I learned something ...
The song of family
"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." ~ Oscar Wilde Today I received something precious. My cousin Milton sent four photos I'd never seen. Have a look: From left: Bill Lawyer, Carol Sather, Rod Geier (dad), Margaret ...
Family history: Storytelling with a theme or topic
Choosing a subject or topic to tell a story Day-to-day aspects of life 100 years ago or more When trying to capture what life was like 100+ years ago, it is difficult to know a person's personality or character from a photo. While photos may not reveal an ancestor's personality, we can come away with ...
Photos: Help identifying unknowns
Identifying unknowns The place for help with family photos Steps you take now may help in the identification of your photos. Where did you find the photo? Was it with the Smith collection or in the Butterfield tubs? Chances are, the person belongs to that family. File or label it accordingly. Have you tried to ...
Family history: Record using various methods
When writing is not your thing Think of your "go to" method to communicate When I began this blog, I was intently focused on the written form of ancestor stories. My goal is to teach my children about their past, and as a writer, making notes or creating a few short paragraphs is a piece ...
Photo matching: The importance of
Learning to group and match photos Overwhelming? Yes, but keep at it For some of you, this may not seem like a valid topic or something you should read. If your collection is small, it may seem that matching does not matter. For those of you with an overwhelming pile of photos (I come from ...
The Malevolent Matriarch 