Wealth of info in Family stories
What information is hiding in those old letters your grandmother saved?
Does that box of unlabeled photos haunt you? Most genealogists learn very quickly to label their photos with names, dates and places, but what about your parents, or grandparents photos? Often, old letters and circulating family stories may help you to identify old photos from the descriptions they contain. Of course, there is nothing that can beat the memories of older relatives. If possible, make a little trip to grandma and take those photos with you. Remember, storage in acid free media (pages or boxes) and labeling with acid free ink will help preserve those priceless images. You may also want to scan your photos and save a couple of copies on disks. Here is a portion of a letter My grandmother (Irene Rogers 1900 - 1978)wrote to my father (Franklin Miller 1929 - 1973)when he began asking about her relations many years ago. as noted by Mabel Irene Rogers Benjamine Rogers was born in Caernarvonshire, North Wales and married Marguerite Jones also of Caenarvonshire. They appear to have migrated to Prince Edward Island Canada and settled on :Lot 16″, county unknown. The Rogers men were described as: Huge with big, red or black curly beards and brillint blue eyes. They looked like Pirates. All were musical and sword melodiously in rumbly bass voices–Irene Rogers Miller Benjamine Rogers had black hair and beard, son Joseph had red, and son Thomas had blond (light) hair and beard. I have hundreds of others with tidbits that keep adding to the overall tree of my family. Old family letters can be one of your best resources, and they will also allow you to ‘get to know’ those long gone relations.