Family Stories - Write Them Down! - Put them in a 3-ring binder!

The nice thing about genealogy is that you get a glimpse into your past, and you do find out about family names and longevity. If you are lucky you will learn what diseases your ancestors did/didnot have.

Although all this can be useful, the "data" is the bone, but the "stories" are the meat, and sometimes even are the "succulent dessert", topping off the meal!

In my Gallinger book, my cousin Lily Worral (professional genealogist and teacher) had the appreciation of stories to include them wherever she encountered them. God bless Lily!!!

Especially interesting was the one about a short, feisty relative who's outbursts made her husband and father run and hide in the barn to avoid her wrath.

(Oh, I could picture the feistiness of my 5' tall mother there, who was very charming and companionable, but if her "ire" was raised, grown men would quake. Hah...)

Once I had a boyfriend who did not accept my breakup with him... he put sugar in my gas tank, slashed my car seats, etc. One "visit" from my angry mother and I never saw him again in town. (In her I could see the spirit of the ancestor who could make grown men run for their lives! hah....)

Don't assume your children are going to remember the family stories you tell them.... They probably aren't really listening. Few kids are fascinated with history, especially yours! Secretly they are probably hoping they won't even grow up to look like you!

But do take the time to write down the stories you know, and put them in a 3-ring binder! Label it "Family Stories", and be prepared for people to laugh at you!

(Hah... who cares? People probably laugh at you anyway.)

Right now I bet my girls don't remember that my Dad had six sisters, and they were wonderful, highly intelligent ladies who were sooo well respected for their refinement.

My Aunt Grace was loved by everyone... she worked for a lawyer in Niagara Falls, New York, and knew the law so thoroughly that she was often consulted by other lawyers. She also had her own insurance business on the side. She went to lunch at a little diner in the building she worked at... Hat, veil, gloves... the whole deal. One of the long-time waitresses there loved to wait on Aunt Grace because my aunt treated the waitress with the same respect that she would give to a judge. The waitress loved her and referred to her as "Gracious", rather than "Grace McGrath"....

Now, when people read in the family genealogy about Aunt Grace, the facts don't really relate who she really was. The little stories paint a heart-warming picture.

So please write your stories down... a little every day! You don't have to be "Ernest Hemmingway".... just be "you"... Someone else can correct your grammer and spelling in the future, but they don't know your stories!

Love to you all! :)