Did you know that items you already own—digital camera, scanner, editing software—plus a few simple instructions can help you make a video biography? Pick a family-member subject and try for yourself.
I learned the ending of my father’s family story long before I knew how it began. We’re not at the happily-ever-after part, but I’ll take what I can get. In the deepest reaches of my memory are images of my parents and maternal grandparents warning me to stay away from non-Jews. Their reasons were unclear to me, but I knew it had something to do with dead relatives in Europe.
Jennifer Munson spent several hours indexing Wisconsin mortality schedules to test the company’s new community indexing software. As she transcribed information about Willie Foster, a one-year-old boy who died of inflammation of the lungs, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
“I couldn’t help but wonder what this child looked like, if his mother loved him as dearly as I love my little boys, and how she ever managed to overcome the loss of her baby,” Jennifer said.
In 1650, my ancestors George and Hannah Langton testified for the prosecution in the witchcraft trial of Hugh Parsons, whose offense seems to have been knocking on the Langtons’ door about an hour after a cooking mishap. The Langtons lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, with the unpopular Hugh and his wife, Mary.
Do relatives scatter when you pull out the pedigree chart? Children roll their eyes when you mention looking at the photo albums—again? Make connecting with the family more fun for everyone with personalized placemats. And the best part? Just about anything will work: photos, hand-drawn pictures, old newspapers, vintage postcards, maps, and, of course, your famous pedigree charts.
Whenever my dad went out of town, Granny invited my mom, my sister, and me over for buttermilk pop. Mom and my sister thought this was a treat. I, on the other hand, didn’t. I refused to taste it because of the acrid odor it gave off as it cooked. There was no way anything that smelled that bad could taste good.
While searching for an obituary for Frank’s son at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, I stumbled upon an article in the Wewoka Daily Times Democrat dated Sunday, 11 January 1931. The article was titled “Frank Grall, For 38 Years a Peace Officer, Retires From His Office.”
Our Frank’s life read like an old western movie. When Alfred was appointed marshal of Shawnee, Frank worked as a deputy. There was no jail, so the pair chopped down trees and built Shawnee’s first jailhouse with their own hands.
I am trying to find the cemetery for my ancestor. He was an Indian guide, scout, buffalo hunter, and courier for Lieutenant Baldwin and General Miles. There’s a newspaper story about him riding for help for a cavalry unit under attack, and he rode with Wyatt Earp and Marshall Wormwood to arrest Big Nose George Parrott. But I can’t find out where he is buried. Can you help?
These days people may look at what’s happening around the world, especially when it comes to politics and politicians, and shake their heads in dismay, if not outright despair. Well, the news may be bad, but the scandals are first-rate. Pope Gregory put sins—and the scandals they create—into seven categories 1,500 years ago: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. American politicians have been putting their own twists on the big seven for a mere 400 years, but that’s been long enough to create some really great scandals.
“In 1946, Robert Leroy White came to our little town with his USN buddy. I was 16 and dated Robert during the summer. When he left, he left his family photos. I have kept them all these years. I am now 77 years old.”
There was a certain wistfulness to Mary Lou’s submission that tugged at me. It seemed that Robert rode into town, made an impression, and then left—only to pass away far too young.
