September 9, 2024
Introduction: In this article – inspired by yesterday’s celebration of Grandparents’ Day – Gena Philibert-Ortega gives tips for recording your own memories of your grandparents, so that you can pass their stories down to future generations. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.”
Recently, I visited Disneyland in Southern California, which allowed me to share stories with my kids about visiting there when I was young with my paternal grandparents. We were able to ride the submarine ride, which was my grandfather’s favorite. Once known as “Submarine Voyage,” it is now rebranded as “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage” to coincide with the movie. It still includes some of the features I saw with my grandfather back in the 1970s.
By taking the time to tell stories about family members who died before my kids were born, I’m able to take those names from our family tree and help them understand the people behind the facts.
Did you know your grandparents or a grandparent? Did you spend time with them? What stories do you remember? Now’s a good time to write down your memories to include with your family tree so that your descendants inherit stories as well as facts.
The following are some questions that might help you start sharing your memories. Use these questions as writing prompts to write as much or as little as you want. Remember, you do not need to be a writer to write your memories.
- Describe your grandparent/s. What did they look like?
- How old were your grandparents when you were born?
- Where did they live? What did the outside of their home look like? Is there anything about the home that stands out to you or was your favorite thing?
- What did the inside of their home look like? How many rooms did they have? What did they have in their home? Think in terms of describing a room like the kitchen. What appliances did they have? What did they have that we don’t use today? Did your grandmother like to cook? What did she cook?
- What occupations did your grandparents have? Did you visit them at work? Do you own anything they used in their work or that documents their work?
- Were your grandparents members of any type of organization (Masons, Knights of Columbus, for example)? What do you know about their membership? Are other members of the family a member of that group?
- What do you know about your grandparents’ younger years?
- Did you know your grandparents’ siblings? Which siblings? Did you visit them? What were they like?
- Did you ever go anywhere with your grandparents? Where?
- Did your grandparents have a hobby? Collection? What are your memories about this?
- Have you inherited anything from your grandparents? What is that item? What is its history? Why is it important to you?
- What is your favorite memory of your grandparent/grandparents?
Add Context to Those Memories
Don’t forget to add images, photos, documents, and historical newspaper articles to these memories to add historical context. This will help your family better understand stories that occurred in a time period they are not familiar with.
For example, I don’t have a photo of my grandfather and me on the submarine ride – but I did take photos during this visit and I can use historical newspapers to add some information.
So many times in family history we concentrate on generations from the distant past, but documenting those family members we knew is also important. Take some time to write down your memories and include them with your family history.
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Note on the header image: grandparents. Credit: sylviebliss; Wikimedia Commons.
