family

  • New Year’s Eve Traditions Today

    Dec 31

    New Year's Eve has been either a random night on which everyone agrees to celebrate per the modern Gregorian calendar, OR it's a festive opportunity to have a party, attend a party, toast your loved ones and bid the past year goodbye to welcome the promise of a fresh start. For present times, the years 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge with C...

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  • Traditional Sunday Activities

    Dec 1

    There were several activities the family traditional did every Sunday. Here are a few that would be good to learn more about from any relatives and include in the family history. The first would be going to the family's local church for Sunday services. This may have been followed by taking a Sunday drive to another part of town or out of town,...

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  • Card of Thanks – For the Deceased

    Jul 27

    Another overlooked resource for information about a deceased ancestor besides an obituary is the Card of Thanks. Many times in a newspaper there may be placed ONLY a Card of Thanks and no obituary. Such notices can provide some basic info on the ancestor or the family. The early Card of Thanks was actually to thank the communities, organization...

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  • Our Female Ancestors as Brides

    Feb 19

    How has the planning of a couple's wedding changed over the decades.? Today, it is usually a couple who work together for what they would like for the wedding and reception. Yet, in years past it was very much just the bride-to-be and her mother. Another change is that usually, a bride made her own wedding dress or her mother / aunt / ...

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  • Time Capsule

    May 31

    Many groups, schools, families, cities, and organizations have created a 'time capsule' to be put away or placed in a building's cornerstone, not to be opened for 50, 75 or 100 years. What treasure to see first-hand what one generation thought was important for the future generations to see and examine. To find such a capsule years from now ...

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  • Planning the Family History Thanksgiving

    Nov 13

    Of course, there is plenty to get down the days and weeks leading to Thanksgiving Day. However, dividing up the necessary chores can help a great deal. Yet, one very important activity that really needs to be prepared and done when the whole family is together for Thanksgiving, is to gather some of the family memories. Just like ...

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  • Birth Spacing

    Jul 7

    As you are filling in the family tree including any extended families (aunts-uncles), you do want to include all the children born to each couple, not just your own direct lineage. However, that can be difficult, with a couple having many children, babies dying young or other children not living to adulthood. So use the basic principal of...

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  • Digital Collections

    Jan 3

    America’s vast libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions have contributed to the Digital Public Library of America. All of the materials (over 30 million) found through the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)—photographs, books, maps, news footage, oral histories, personal letters, museum objects, artwork, gove...

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  • New Years Traditions

    Dec 31

    Your grandparents and their parents knew how to celebrate the coming in of a new year. Here is a look at some of those forgotten traditions. New Years Tree See not just a Christmas tree but putting up a different tree and decorating it for the new year. This dates back to the 1600s. Placing on the tree in the house or place of work was very com...

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  • One Photo Story

    Dec 9

    Be ready for the Christmas season with relatives by locating one or two special vintage photos of a family member who would be present with the rest of the family during the holiday. It might be your Mom, a great uncle, a cousin, or an older brother. Find a special older photo of that person, more of a casual and candid shot, doing anything. In fa...

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