Storytelling: Painting a main character
“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd Storytelling is an important part of family history. Passing down stories about our lives and the lives of our ancestors makes history real. Characters make stories come to life. ...
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 ...
Letter #7: December 27, 1889
The series continues A letter from Josiah INTO IRONWOOD My mother found letters authored 129 years ago by my great, great grandfather, letters, in fact, partly responsible for the start of this blog. The author's daughter is our malevolent matriarch. Alfred Josiah "Si" Smith was his name and his family lived in Ironwood, Michigan. As ...
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 ...
A journey from 1891-Post 3
Installment number three A true gem. A few weeks ago my mother handed me an autograph book. It originated on my father's maternal side, the Smith family, who lived in Stevens Point, Wisconsin at the time of these writings. The book belonged to the Reverend Charles Smith and his wife Maria Polly Bixby Smith (below). ...
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 ...
A journey from 1891-Post 2
Installment number two Searching and surprises I'm a very lucky woman genealogically speaking, that is. My mother recently handed me this autograph book, a book once belonging to my three times great grandparents the Reverend Charles Smith and his wife Maria Polly Bixby Smith. To see the first post about the book, who signed first, ...
A journey from 1891
Discovering a treasure What are the chances? When one considers more than time, when we think about the journey--this book began in Stevens Pt., Wisconsin and now resides in Oregon--not simply the hands it passed through, the eyes that read its pages, or the thoughts that went into its making, but the risk of damage ...
Family history: Storytelling using grandma’s cookbook
Creating an ancestor profile using a book Tell a story with grandma's cookbook I began collecting cookbooks years ago, a habit for which my husband prefers I receive therapy. Or was that for hoarding fabric? Never mind! The point is, while I can say I have too many cookbooks, a few in my collection are ...
The Malevolent Matriarch 