When writing our family stories, we hope that they will also serve as somewhat of family history as well as a memory of an individual or group of family members. We would like to know the dates of births, deaths, marriages, immigration and more. One of the places I have found extremely helpful is a website called Family Search. It's a genealogical website sponsored by the Mormon church.
There is no religious material on the site, and, best of all, it is free for anyone to search for family members. I had heard it mentioned in a group of ladies at a luncheon so I thought I'd look into it. I was happily surprised when I did. I filled out our family tree, both mine and my husband's side of the family. The amount of information that came forth was both surprising and interesting. I never knew that my great-grandparents on my father's side immigrated from Quebec, Canada. Nor did I know their first names until I started the search.
One of the things I like about the website is that once you are signed in, you receive new tidbits of information off and on in the form of an email. One day, I received a copy of my paternal grandparents' marriage certificate, totally unsuspected. The only problem I have had with the site is that I am apt to spend too much time there. It's as addicting as facebook! Still, that's up to each individual as to how long you linger.
The Family Tree chart I used is the one above. You can download it here. You can also find many more through your favorite search engine.
Doing a family search might trigger memories of a family member which could lead to writing one more family story. After my father passed away, my mother gave me a few items that had been in my dad's family. He lost his parents at a very young age, had two older sisters who were both married. The sisters divided up what was left of their parents' belongings and my then teenage dad got left out, except for a few pieces. One was a lovely gold watch, similar to a pocket watch but worn on a chain by ladies. The watch had been the last gift my paternal grandmother's father gave her before her marriage. It has lovely etchings on the front with her initials gracefully done in the center. I knew that much of the story, but finding her marriage date on the family search website let me know exactly when she had received the beautiful watch. Being the only girl in my family, my mother felt I should have it. I have passed it on to my only daughter recently with the request that someday she gives it to her only daughter. I also learned the name of my grandmother's parents when doing the search. Previously, I had known their surname but not first names nor dates of their births and deaths.
Family genealogical searches and family stories are often laced together, as the story of my grandmother's watch illustrates. If you have never checked a family search website, give it a try. You may want to delve deeper and deeper.
