I have called myself a “family history enthusiast” and I think there are more of us in that bucket than I realized. I have been teaching the Family History Bootcamp this past year and found many in my position. An “enthusiast” is one who is filled with enthusiasm for something – in this case, preserving the family story.
I did keep a scrapbook of my high school basketball experience (our small town Texas newspaper was hard up for news), and I loved reading biographies. I later found myself captivated by the stories of those in our family who came before me.
It all began in my early twenties when my husband’s grandmother stirred something within me with tales of her early life experiences, the exploits of her steel mill Superintendant husband (whom I never met) and some family documents from the past. This spark led me to local genealogical society meetings with octogenarians in Boulder, Colorado, where I first started peeling back the layers of my family tree.
Life took over – moved, had kids, way too busy, and those early genealogical pursuits were set aside. But the seeds of curiosity that were planted took root, and would come to flourish years later. With aging parents and the realization that family stories could easily be lost, I found myself compelled to capture what I could. I worked in a bit here and there with a busy professional life and growing kids taking more of my focus.
However, later realizing I and my siblings were the oldest generation of our family still on earth, it nudged me back into recognizing I wanted to pull our family history materials together in a cohesive and memorable way.
I took official genealogy courses. In one of the early sessions, my professional genealogist teacher gave us the assignment of writing our own obituary. Wow! What a sobering – and shocking – effect that had on me.
How could I capture my life in a few paragraphs? Do I just recite dates of birth, death, places lived and name the survivors? How do I “sum up” my life? Does that really give the picture of who I was? This really made me grateful for the ancestor obituaries I found in our family materials boxes. They often provided more than just the facts! As my studies advanced, I realized that often the only “document” saved and passed on in families was an obituary.
More recently, my first course offering was helping people write their own life story. That has transitioned to embrace my (aging) perspective of the need to assist folks to preserve not only their stories but their family’s history and ancestor life stories. Then Deuteronomy 6:20-25 came to my attention and became the clarion call of my work – when our kids ask what is the meaning of the words the Lord commanded, we are to share His redemptive story and how we have learned and grown.
And my focus in guiding people has transformed. Recognizing that a family’s history and legacy materials are scattered, located in so many different and unsafe places, my job became clearer. I now help family enthusiasts build a permanent, interactive digital home for all their legacy materials – before any more time slips away.
In a previous blog, I told the story of Tonia Wellons who traced her slave lineage back 8 generations. That lineage was spoken aloud at every family reunion for the past 70 years. It carried the weight of their collective memory and the power of their shared triumph with every new generation memorizing and reciting it. And that is not just the names and dates, but she says they also share their story through “reminiscences of the old slavery days” and stories of hardship, but also of triumph.
She recounts how faith was the cornerstone that held the family together through centuries of struggle. “The strict moral teachings of our ancestors, their emphasis on respect and faith, created a foundation strong enough to withstand the storms of slavery, Jim Crow, and beyond.”
I love her ending words. Standing on the shoulders of eight generations, I carry forward not just their DNA, but their dreams, their courage, and their unwavering belief that this country, for all its flaws, is our home. We helped build it, we fought for it, and we continue to perfect it. That is my American story – one of transformation, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of family that have sustained us for over two centuries.
A recent devotional by Henry Blackaby came to mind. Looking at biblical stories that provide us with the details, experiences and life pictures of main characters from whom we can learn so much brings to mind Paul in the New Testament. He had a powerful walk with God, was used by God so mightily that extraordinary miracles occurred through his life. Even cloths that touched Paul were taken to the sick and they were healed. (Acts 19:10-12)
On one occasion, seven sons of the chief priest, Sceva, attempted to cast out demons the way Paul did. But when they confronted an evil spirit and attempted to exorcise it “by the Jesus whom Paul preaches”, they could imitate his words but they could not duplicate the power that was Paul’s personal relationship with the Lord. The evil spirit retorted “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul – but who are you?” (Acts 19:18)
It is a bit of the same problem as an obituary which just recites names, dates, locations – the facts. Although we are excited to have those pieces of our ancestral information, we really want to know “who they were’ – their faith, their trials and struggles, their stories of triumph and hardship, their relationships, foundations and so much more that truly defined “who they were”.
So, whether you just ended up with the boxes of family “stuff” or have been researching and putting together family documents, history, memorabilia and legacy materials – I am sure you resonate with me that you want to know “who they were” – really. And you want that to be shared with future generations to inspire and encourage them. And you, too, are busy and need a quick and clear path to accomplish this work. I’ve gotcha covered.
As I mentioned in the last blog, I have evolved the Family History Bootcamp based on all the learning I have experienced above and the fine-tuning help of my Bootcamp students. I will be sending you the details in the next week.
