I have a small immediate family but my extended family is gigantic. While I started researching my family tree over 25+ years ago, it wasn’t until fairly recently that I really began to speculate about the people themselves, and how they may have gone about their daily lives. To learn local history, I’ve Googled the names of the towns they lived in and as a result, have often discovered interesting local and regional news specific to my ancestors timelines. I’ve also taken virtual tours of these areas using Google Earth.
I’ve learned about the foods from where my ancestors grew up in Eastern Europe, then searched YouTube to find videos of native Hungarians who could show me how to properly make drop noodles for my Paprikash.
Interested in journaling about your own family history? Here are a number of articles that can help you get started:
Journaling Your Family History Journey at The Armchair Genealogist
It is important to not only record your family history but your own reactions, thoughts and impressions of your discoveries as you make your way through your research.
Keep a Family History Journal at Your Family Legacy
Don’t confuse a journal with a research log. Logs are for the discovered facts, such as your notes from viewing a census microfilm. A journal is for the thoughts, emotions, and memories from finding the facts. Recording the location of my great-great-great grandmother’s grave in a cemetery is a fact found in a library reference book. Finding her grave was a heady, emotional experience and worthy of a journal note.
Leaving Your Enduring Legacy at Easy Family History
One hundred or two hundred years from now, your descendants can know who you are. And they may find their lives forever changed for the better because of the legacy of uplifting, faith-promoting strength you left them.
Creating a Personal Journal at FamilySearch.org
Top 10 Memory Books – Journals with Questions for Preserving Family Memories at About Parenting
Need more inspiration? Here’s a Pinterest board on record-keeping, journaling & family history.
