Like many of you fellow genealogists probably know, when you keep going further and further back through the generations, information pertaining to any particular person you may be researching gets more and more scarce. And, at some point, your family's history becomes more of just an impersonal paper trail of birth, marriage, and death records. You long to find something more personal, a photo or a journal, just to get a glimpse of what that person looked like or what the nature of his/her personality was. You say to yourself, "If only they had saved more..."
I think about this question of "What to save?" a lot, because, just by my innate interest in family history and perserving memories, I have become the keeper of my family's memories. I am the photographer and the saver of momentos. I save receipts and ticket stubs from family vacations. I take photos of local signs and the places where we stay and eat along the way. I take extra brochures and business cards from tourist spots, so I can cut them up and include them in my scrapbooks. I understand that some people would see that as going a little overboard, but wouldn't you just LOVE it if your grandparents or great-grandparents had done that along the way?
My grandmother was somewhat like me, because she DID keep a receipt that meant a lot to her and we just recently found it in some of her old stuff:
I think about this question of "What to save?" a lot, because, just by my innate interest in family history and perserving memories, I have become the keeper of my family's memories. I am the photographer and the saver of momentos. I save receipts and ticket stubs from family vacations. I take photos of local signs and the places where we stay and eat along the way. I take extra brochures and business cards from tourist spots, so I can cut them up and include them in my scrapbooks. I understand that some people would see that as going a little overboard, but wouldn't you just LOVE it if your grandparents or great-grandparents had done that along the way?
My grandmother was somewhat like me, because she DID keep a receipt that meant a lot to her and we just recently found it in some of her old stuff:
Source: Personal Collection of Jennifer Bellan Kowalski
This is my grandparents' reservation receipt for their honeymoon. From a genealogical perspective, it's not all that valuable - it lists their names and city of residence, but that's it. The sentimental value is much higher, of course. This piece of paper represents the start of their life together - just the two of them. Due to my great-grandfather's social and business standings in the Italian-American community, my grandmother had a large and ostentatious wedding and reception, probably much against her wishes. I can almost hear her breathe a sigh of relief when she and my grandfather arrived at this little inn in rural Indiana. Nobody they knew or had to talk to, no place they had to be - just a week of relaxation and spending time with each other.
So, if you are a saver like me, I say, "Keep on saving!" My great-grandchildren will have all these digital photos and probably a bunch of government documents about me, but it's the little, seemingly mundane stuff like receipts, ticket stubs, recipes, etc. that will help them know what I valued and what was special to me.
©2012, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
So, if you are a saver like me, I say, "Keep on saving!" My great-grandchildren will have all these digital photos and probably a bunch of government documents about me, but it's the little, seemingly mundane stuff like receipts, ticket stubs, recipes, etc. that will help them know what I valued and what was special to me.
©2012, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
