One Bite At A Time
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Each Sunday I receive at least one email from FamilySearch
about a record found, a relative’s birthday coming up, a recent change in a
record made by someone else who is working on some of my relatives, etc. As the family tree grows, keeping up with it
can be overwhelming! It is like the big
Family History Elephant in the room!
However, when I was growing up, I was taught the adage, You
eat an elephant one bite at a time. So
this week’s “blog” is about some simple things we can do with our families to
eat our family history elephants….. one bite at a time!
As you go onto Family Search, open up the page of the closest
relative to you who has passed away. It
could be a grandparent, a parent, a child, or aunt, uncle or cousin. Here are some “little bites” you and your
family can do for that person:
Details:
1.
Check the Details. Are all the dates and places listed in the
standard manner or do they have a red !
by them. Are they complete? ~~ It is suggested we use the following
formats for dates and places:
a.
Dates –
25 May 1949 (DD Month 4 digit year)
b.
Places – Bremerton, Kitsap, Washington, United
States (City, County, State,
Country) If you do not know one of these
pieces, leave it out
2.
When you edit one of the fields, be sure to list
why you think it is correct in the box below the edit so others can refer to
your reasoning if they are trying to edit it at a later date. I often will leave the source reference in
there so they can refer back to the source I used. I especially like to leave the Find A Grave
Memorial Number in the Burial Edit box so they can go to that memorial page.
Memories
This is a fun one to work
with. We can add photos, documents,
stories, and audio recordings. Here is
where the family can have a great Family Home Evening! Gather the photos you have of that person. Add them by uploading them to your
computer. If you would like some help
with this, let me know. I have a couple
of easy suggestions.
Photos and Documents:
1.
If you
have uploaded the photo or document to another person’s page it will be in the
gallery. You will just need to select
it. Otherwise, you will need to upload
it from your computer files.
2.
When
adding photos be sure to add a title and a date. Tag those in the photo or list them in the
description. Explain what is happening in
the photo. Don’t forget to add photos of
headstones if you have them. Some
headstones include full birth and death dates and act as a source.
3.
The same applies to documents that applies to
photos. Add birth, death, marriage,
sealing certificates. Add high school and
graduation documents. Add military records or employment records - anything
that tells the story of your relative. I recently added my grandfathers
Chauffeur License. It is a fun memory
for his story.
Stories and Audio recordings:
1.
Add stories.
You and your children can write memories of this person – events,
feelings when you interacted with them, your testimony about them and their
beliefs, actions and example ~ whatever you would like. You can add drawings to the stories as
well. This is an excellent way to
remember and honor your relative.
2.
Add audio recordings. These could be ones your relative recorded
such as personal history memories or ones you are recording now about
them.
Each of these Memory ideas adds to your relative’s record
and becomes priceless to those who access this person’s page in the
future. They bring the “children” closer
to the “fathers” and when we are all together again on the other side of the
veil, they will help us have a deeper love for those we never had the opportunity
to meet here on earth.
Ordinances
Check to see if their ordinances are completed. If not, can you complete them? Do you need to have permission? Is there
something missing that you can fill in so they are ready when the Temples
re-open?
When you have added all the memories you would like to add,
go to the right side of that relative’s page and see if there are any Research Helps listed
there. This is where FamilySearch lists the “hints” and “possible records” that
may apply to that person. It is also
where FamilySearch lists any items that may need to be corrected or
adjusted. And in some cases, a note will
be there that states the family may have children or a missing child or two
based on the amount of time between births.
As we go through these research helps, we can add sources and other
information to our family member’s record.
Party!
When you have completed these tasks for your family member,
you can take it one step further. Put
their name and birthday on your family calendar. Each month, celebrate the family members you have
come to know and love because you have added to their FamilySearch page! This
could be a simple mention with a cupcake or cookie or a “this is your
life”-type of remembrance. Whatever you
feel like doing in your particular circumstance.
Next bite of this elephant? Move on to another relative and repeat the
above process. As you do this you will be fulfilling the promise of Elijah as
told in Malachi 4:6 “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”.
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