What Happened to My Family?

            Federal census records are wonderful things.  They list family relationships, ages, dates of naturalization and immigration, and where your ancestors lived. But they were only done every ten years. What about the time in between? Lives can change dramatically in ten years – births, deaths, marriage, divorce, relocation, occupation change.  You may look for your ancestor in the same place as the previous census and not find them. You may wonder what happened in their lives during that time. There are actually many resources available to search for your ancestors during these years.  Here are just a few to get you started:

            State Census Records – Did you know that some states took their own census? FamilySearch Wiki lists the states that took their own census and the years it was done. There were also specialized census records taken, such as veterans and Native American census’.

            City Directories – City Directories have a wealth of information available  They list names, addresses, and sometimes occupations and family relationships. The ads on the pages are a great way to understand your ancestor’s lives at the time.

            Newspapers – Historical newspapers can fill in the gaps with current events, and even list births, marriages, and deaths that you may not find anywhere else.  Newspaper archives contain newspapers as far back as the 17^th century.

             Local Histories – Learning about the history of the area your ancestors lived in can tell you a lot about their lives.  Local histories will usually document natural disasters they may have experienced, such as famine, drought, floods, earthquakes, or wars or other turmoil or hardship that would have motivated them to leave the area.

            Maps and Gazetteers – maybe the boundaries changed for your ancestor’s town, county, or even state in those ten years. You may be looking for them with the wrong residence information. FamilySearch Wiki is an excellent resource. If you search for a specific geographical area, it will usually trace the boundary changes over time for the area you are researching. 

Hot Chocolate and Christmas Carols

               Drinking hot chocolate, baking cookies, singing Christmas carols around the piano, roasting chestnuts over the fire – all these things remind us of the Christmas season. They are traditions most of us are familiar with. But, have you ever wondered when they started or why we do them? What do these traditions have to do with family history?

               The answers to these questions may just draw you closer to your ancestors.  Traditions are powerful ties to the past because they are passed down from generation to generation. They are the way we do things; things we don’t necessarily even think about, from the way you cook your turkey, to your great-great grandmother’s famous cookie recipe, to which treats you leave out for Santa. The holiday season is a great opportunity to investigate the stories behind these traditions before they are forgotten. Have you ever had questions such as:

•             Why does Grandma carefully pry the tape off the wrapping paper and then carefully fold it and save it for another day?

•             Why does Grandma hang Christmas cards on her tree for ornaments?

•             Why does Mom spend hours basting her turkey in the oven when she could use an oven bag?

•             What is the meaning of the wooden shoes Dad puts out on the hearth every year?

These are just a few examples of questions that may have some wonderful stories attached to them.

               One tradition I grew up with was Christmas caroling.  I remember my mom spending all afternoon making dozens of doughnuts to hand out to the dozens of neighbors and friends we would sing to on Christmas Eve.  We did this because my Mom did it when she was growing up, and her mother did it too. The neighbors may have thought it was a bit strange that we were still caroling in the 1980s, but it didn’t feel like Christmas without it. We would come home freezing cold and exhausted, looking forward to warming up with steaming mugs of hot chocolate and cold, but delicious, doughnut holes that mom made just for us. Over the years, the caroling even evolved to include instruments as we learned to play them.

               Every year my kids go Christmas caroling as well. They get to experience the icy winter nights that freeze your nose and lips, the surprised and awkward reactions of the neighbors, and the heavenly hot chocolate to thaw them out at the end of it, just like the generations of family before them. Just kidding! My kids refuse and think Christmas caroling is weird BUT I hope they will pass down this tradition to their own children someday, as well as making some new ones.       

If you want to find out more about your ancestors, try sitting down with your mom, grandpa, or great-aunt Susan with a steaming cup of cocoa and get the conversation started. Chances are, you will be rewarded with heart-warming, funny, and surprising stories that you will want to record in your family history. Perhaps that will make your traditions, (and your cookies), even sweeter.