The meeting in March was a Members’ Meeting to which we were invited to bring along examples of the creation and storage of our family history.
A range of examples was displayed, and these generated a wide-ranging discussion. The work included:
- Complete family trees, printed and laminated and enhanced with photographs.
- Books produced for relatives interested in learning about their ancestors.
- Folders containing information about a branch of a tree, with a section for each individual.
- Photobook produced by an on-line photoshop, using old family pictures.
- Scrapbook of a branch of a tree, with a section for each individual and containing small keep-sakes.
- Correspondence from relatives, for example information about a family member who was a model for Whistler. Later verified by the Hornsea Society and Whistler’s own notes.
The discussion covered a range of topics, such as:
- Collecting postcards showing places where our ancestors once lives.
- Visiting churches and taking photos of church and gravestones.
- The importance of making family history come alive.
- Looking at locations of interest on-line using Google Earth.
- Putting a name into Google Search and seeing what comes up.
- How the spelling of names can change over the years and the difficulties this presents.
- Making contacts with relatives via family history sites, such as Ancestry.
- Using DNA and the connections this can provide.
- Using Scottish records and the use of the mother’s maiden name within a girl’s name.