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.
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