What are Significant Events from a Loved One's Life?

What do you know about your ancestors?  Do you know where they lived?  Do you know what kind of work they did?  What important events happened in their life?  Do you know what was happening in the area they lived in?  Did they take part in any significant events in history?

You can research where your ancestors lived and look up information on the history of that area. You can look at events that were happening in their lifetime. You will have some idea of the things that probably affected them. A war that their country was involved in surely affected them.  They may have fought in the war.  Some of their family members may have served in the war. They may have lost family members or friends in the war.  They may have been injured in the war.  They may suffer from PTSD because of experiences they had during the war. 

Weather events may have affected them.  Economic problems may have caused financial problems for them.  Political events could have involved them. You may learn a lot about your family even though they may not have written or recorded things that you have access to just by studying the history of the area they lived in.

My father was drafted for World War II.  He went for his physical.  He said after having blood drawn his arm was paralyzed.  He was rejected for serving in the war.  Fortunately, he did regain the use of his arm later on.  He had several friends and family members serve in the war.  His best friend and his nephew died in the war.  I have a photo of my parents after he received his draft notice. My dad is not smiling though nearly every other photo I have of my dad has him smiling.  That part of his life was not a very happy time.  My dad did consider not serving in the war as a blessing though it must have been hard when he was first rejected and thought he would have to live his life handicapped. 

 

Creating a timeline of the life of a family member can be a great way to start their story.  Include the events from history on the timeline.  Those events may give you insights into why your family member did certain things.  There are several websites that provide historical information about what happened on a certain day that you can search for.  

When a loved one passes away one way to honor their life is by creating a timeline using photos from their life.  Arrange photos from their life in chronological order.  Add events that happened during their lifetime if desired.  Write stories about significant events that happened during their life.  Add fun and interesting stories from their personal or family life.  Display at a funeral or memorial service or create a flipbook with timelines of periods from their life. 

Memorial Timeline Wall Art
by Family Story Keeper

What Memorable Clothing Have You Had?

What clothes do you remember from your life? Do you still have some special occasion clothes? Did you inherit any clothing? Do you remember any special stories behind some of the clothing you have? Where did you get the clothing from? Did you sew the clothing yourself or did someone like your mother sew the clothing for you? 

 Clothing can trigger many memories of stories in your life. A wedding dress or prom dress of course will have special memories associated with it.  You may have inherited clothing from a family member.  Clothing styles cycle in and out of fashion so older clothing may come back into style.

Clothing can bring up memories of events that the clothing was worn for.  Obviously, a wedding dress will bring back memories of the wedding day.  There may be a story behind the dress.  Maybe it was your mother's wedding dress.  Maybe it was given to you.  Maybe a family member or a friend sewed the wedding dress for you.  When you see the dress or a photo of the dress you will probably have memories come back to you of that special day and how you got the dress.  

My mother sewed most of my clothing while I was growing up.  When I was in third grade, my school teacher gave me a couple of store-bought dresses that her daughters had outgrown.  I thought that was pretty neat.  Now I realize that because she worked, she was not able to sew clothing for her family.  I feel I was pretty lucky to have my mother sewing clothes for me.  

Are you having a family reunion?  A special custom T-shirt or hat could be a memorable keepsake from your reunion.  You could get a T-shirt with the family name and the year of the reunion.  You could feature family photos in the design.  Having matching T-shirts would make it easy to recognize members of the family.  With a large family reunion, each branch of the family could have a different color of T-shirt or hat.  Then it would be easy to identify who belongs to each branch.  My father's brothers and sisters have been holding reunions for over 50 years.  With children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren there are a lot of family members.  Knowing who belongs to which branch of the family could be a very useful thing.

Family Reunion Together We Have It All with Tree
by storykeeper

Clothing is a big part of our lives.  We use it every day.  We wash our clothes and hang them up or put them away on shelves or in drawers.  We choose our clothes because of the way they look and feel.  The colors we wear and the styles and types of clothing we choose are ways of expressing ourselves.

The fashion of clothing or the types of clothing can give clues to who the people are in photos we have if we don't know who they are already.  You may be able to identify the year by the style of the clothing.  You may be able to identify the region or country by the type of clothing.  You might be able to identify a person's occupation by what they are wearing.    

Clothes will help you with memories from your life when you write your story.  If you are writing the story of a family member, the clothes will give you clues about their life.  Use clothing to help you in writing family stories.

    

 

 

Where Have You Lived and Traveled in Your Life?

Roadtrip through the San Rafael Swell | The Wedge (Little Grand Canyon) ...

Growing up on a farm my family didn't travel much.  As an adult, I have realized that some of the places we did go which weren't very far away were some amazingly beautiful places.  I still haven't seen all the places in the San Rafael Swell.  Seeing videos like this brings back some memories and gives me a chance to see places I haven't seen yet.  You may want to share videos with your family or friends of places you have been too.  Share photos that you have of places you have been.  Write about your experiences in traveling there. 

 

Loa Utah Travel Video

Another way to learn more about your grandparents or other ancestors is to look up videos of places they lived.  My grandmother was born in Loa, Utah.  Searching for videos I found the above video about Loa, Utah.  I didn't realize it was close to the Capitol Reef National Park.  The area is beautiful.  It is fun and interesting to see where she was born.  Look up photos or videos of the places your family members were born or lived.  It can help you get to know your ancestors even better.

Consider making a family tree using a photo of an area your ancestors lived in.  The following family tree mouse pad has a photo of the area my parents grew up in and that I grew up in.  The mouse pad is set up with templates that can be personalized with your own photos.

Family Tree Castle Country Photos and Quote
by storykeeper

Oakland View San Francisco Photo 2 Family Trees
by storykeeper

Create a family tree poster with a photo of a significant place in your family's history.  This photo is significant in my husband's family history since his maternal grandmother experienced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when she was living in Oakland.  Below is a video filmed in 1906 in San Francisco.

Following is a video of the destruction from the earthquake.

Add to your story or your family's story with information about places traveled to and lived in.

Important Buildings in Your Life

What are some of the important buildings in your life?

The homes you have lived in are important in your life.  So are other buildings you spent a lot of time in.  The schools you attended, the churches you worshiped in, the businesses you worked in, the places that you had fun at, the restaurants where you dined, your grandparents' houses, and many other places that you spent a lot of time at can bring back many memories in your life.  

The first school I attended had three classrooms and a lunchroom with a girl's and a boy's restroom.  I remember playing in the hallways when the weather was bad.  We watched a few movies in the foyer of the school on a screen that pulled down over the main door of the school.  We all brought our chairs out of our classroom to sit on.  We had eight grades in the school with three teachers.  The lunchroom was also a multipurpose room. I went to third grade in this school.  Then the school was closed and we were bused five miles to the next closest town.  I don't have photos of myself at the school, but I do of my sister standing in front of the building.

Another place that I spent a lot of time at during my childhood was church.  There was an older wooden building with a bell on top being used at the time I was born.  Before I was very old a newer bigger building was built.  It is what I remember from my childhood.  There was a chapel with several classrooms and a hall used for programs, plays, dances, basketball, and overflow for the chapel.  

  

As I started thinking about all the buildings I remember in my life, I realize several buildings bring back many memories.  I remember church meetings, songs being sung, plays, dances, weddings, funerals, dinners, the people I knew, the weather like hot summer nights, all of the people at my sister's and my mother's funerals.  

Writing about the buildings you remember from your life will trigger many memories for you.  Record those memories to add more to your life story.

Old Church Building Photo Family Tree Poster
by storykeeper

What Memories Do You Have of Valentine's Day?

How have you celebrated Valentine's Day?

Do you remember celebrating Valentine's Day as a child?  Did you make paper valentines for anyone?  Did you have special food for the holiday?  Did you have any parties for Valentine's Day?  As you grew up did you celebrate Valentine's Day?  As an adult do you look forward to Valentine's Day or do you try to ignore it?

When I was growing up, school was the big promoter of Valentine's Day.  We were asked to bring a box to school with a slot cut out of it.  We would decorate it and leave it on our desk until Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, we were to bring a paper valentine for each student in the class.  You could buy inexpensive valentines preprinted with messages and designs or you could make your own.  Then you just had to decide which one to give to each of your classmates.  Some would bring a valentine with a treat attached like a sucker or a piece of candy.  

As a teenager, I don't remember much celebration for Valentine's Day.  You could buy candy or treats made for Valentine's Day and we would do that in our family.  I didn't date so Valentine's Day wasn't a significant day.  

As a parent, Valentine's Day became important again.  I would make treats like heart-shaped cookies or cupcakes.  Helping buy or make valentines for my children to take to school was an important part of Valentine's Day.  A small gift or card for a spouse was important. A sticker on a lunch box or a sandwich bag with a message of love or a sticker on the bathroom mirror could make the day more special.  A handwritten note or letter could send a message of how important a loved one was.  

What things do you do for Valentine's Day?  What was the most special valentine or treat that you made for Valentine's Day?  What was the most memorable valentine that you received?  Include your memories of Valentine's Day in your family's story.

https://www.zazzle.com/valentine_blue_yellow_heart_fractal_classic_round_sticker-256297514846217806

          

Are You Related to Any One Famous?

Have you been told that you had a famous relative?  Who was the relative?  What did they do to be famous?  How close was your relationship?  Did you personally meet the famous relative?  Have you read any stories about your relative?  

I grew up thinking I wasn't related to anyone famous.  My parents told me that I had a great grandparent who was a leader in our church.  That was as close as I came to feeling related to somebody famous.  I just found out that at www.familysearch.org you can find out if you are related to famous people.  I counted that I am related to 30 of the United States Presidents.  I'm also related to Marie Antionette, Winston Churchill, Queen Victoria, and Princess Diana.  I am related to Sir Isaac Newton, Samuel Morse, and the Wright Brothers.  I am related to William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, John Wayne, Jane Austen, Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby, and Charles Dickens.  I am related to 32 passengers from the Mayflower.  I will have to take the

time to find out how I am related.  How far back do I need to go to find a common ancestor?  What were their lives like?  There is much to learn from this information.

If you have an account at familysearch.org, go check out your famous ancestors.  If you don't have an account, create one.  There is no cost in creating an account.  Just think of all the things you might learn about your ancestors. 

My paternal grandmother's great grandparents and their children have been written about in a series of books.  The information in the books was based on facts taken from diaries and journals and on accounts written about the places they lived and the things that happened when they lived there.  Some things were added to make the story interesting, but the facts were kept and only things that were logical to assume happened were added.  I am so grateful to my cousins who choose to write these books.  It truly made these ancestors feel more real to me.  They are not just names in a family tree, but they were real people who had joyful times and sad times in their lives.  What they learned was passed down to me and has affected my life.

Include any stories you know about your famous ancestors in your life story.  What our ancestors experienced in their lives has probably been passed down to us and has affected our lives.  Learning more about your ancestors broadens your view of the world.  Share what you learn with your family. 

Four Generation Family Tree Gold Border Faux Canvas Print
by storykeeper

What kind of heat did you have in your home?

Heat is an essential part of our lives when we live where we have cold winters.  There are different ways of heating our homes.  Record what kind of heat you had in your home and compare it to the heat you have now.  Have you had any times when you didn't have heat?  What did you do during those times?

When I was growing up we had a coal-burning furnace.  It had a hopper that had to be filled with small lumps of coal.  Depending on how cold the weather was, it might have to be refilled twice a day.  That was one of the chores I remember doing.  If we forgot to fill the hopper and it ran out of coal, the furnace would start to smoke.  Instead of nice warm heat throughout the house, there would be smoke.  We would have to evacuate the house, open all the windows and doors, and wait for the smoke to clear out.  I did like the warmth of the coal fire.  The heat vent was right beside my bed.  I liked to stick my feet out of the covers and over the heat vent when the blower turned on.  It was so nice to have warm feet.  

My grandmother had a coal-burning stove in her house to provide heat. When we would visit with her, it was nice to sit close to her stove and get warm.  One winter when I was attending college in the city where she lived, I would go to her house on my lunch break and bring in coal for her stove.  My aunt checked on her in the morning and at night.  That was a wonderful time that I got to spend with my grandmother.

When I first got married, we moved into an older house that had two natural gas floor heaters.  They provided pretty good heat, but with a baby, learning to crawl, it was scary that she might get burned.  We soon replaced the floor heaters with a central furnace that provided heat to each room.  We also installed a wood-burning stove for backup heat.  I was grateful for that stove one October when a heavy early snowstorm took down tree branches all across the city.  One of the trees in my yard took down the power line to my house.  So many power lines were down across the city that it took three days before the power company could get to my house to repair my line.  So I built a fire in the stove, and we were able to stay in our house despite the freezing temperatures outside.

Now I live in a house with radiant electric heaters in the ceilings.  It is easy to just turn on the heat when the temperatures get cold.  I do have a fireplace so I could use it as backup heat if needed.  But sometimes I do miss that warm coal heat we had when I was growing up.

 

 

Fireplace Cat Poster
by AquaBubbleCreations

Record your stories about heat as part of your life story.