October is Family History Month!

I love listening to clients share the stories that go along with their family photos. These stories create the base for their family's history. Stories from multiple generations, about certain people and certain events. These stories are often told among family members at the dinner table, and then re-told time and time again at family gatherings. 

The memorable stories of our lives and of others in our family take on special importance because they are true, even if everyone tells different versions of the same event. These tales are family heirlooms held in the heart not the hand. They are a gift to each generation that preserves them by remembering them and passing them on.

Photographs have a special way of triggering the memory of these stories, which is why it is important to preserve both - the photograph(s) and the stories. 

Here are some tips to collect your family history:

1. Sit down with a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle and go through an old family album. Use the voice recording app on your phone to record your conversation so that you can write out the stories to go with the photographs. Keep an archival safe pencil on hand to jot down names, dates and events on the back of the photographs.

2. Use Ancestry.ca for free at your local library. If you can not afford a subscription to Ancestry.ca / .com you can access it for free at your local library. Your library may also have a local history section which is a great place to research family members. 

3. Visit your local Archives! They may have a treasure trove of documents, records and items mentioning or related to your family. 

Once you have been able to collect stories from your family, why not create a photo book. You can combine both your family photographs and the stories they tell into one nicely bound book. This will surely become a treasure for family members and future generations!