There is nothing quite like digging up the past! Whether it’s visiting your local library or visiting a research center to sift through primary documents. I find myself getting a taste of a topic and then wanting to know as much about it as I can. Believe me, its hard not to get lost in hours and hours of research–it’s so exhilarating. What’s even more exciting and engaging is when your research takes you into your family’s past.
I’ve looked into making a family history album in the past, but I have not had time to devote to it. My folks have boxes full of Frederick family photos and documents sitting in the attic–not a good spot for them! It would be good to go through them, organize, scan and print them in an album. Face it, this stuff won’t last forever. I just hope my future children and their children will cherish and take interest in it like I have.
Additionally, Molly’s folks gave me a treasure trove of her family photos and mementos. One of those items is her great great grandpa’s passport! I also have her great grandparents wedding announcements and other documents. There are also boxes full of photographs that I have yet to go through. These are such wonderful items that piece together to tell her family’s story.
You would think that writing this would be easy. I mean, it is my family’s story. The tough part is how to make a family history album more than just birthday, marriage, and death dates. These family members had personal experiences that I need to capture. I remember Grandpa Frederick telling me that shortly after marrying Grandma Millie in 1943 the “G-Men” showed up to take him to a physical exam for the draft. He said that he went through the examination, but that he would not be required to serve. Molly’s Great Grandma, whom I was fortunate enough to meet when we started dating, told us the story of the transatlantic trip her family took to Switzerland when she was a little girl. They were going to Europe to stay with her father’s family. She talked about walking on the deck of the ship as they crossed the Atlantic. These are just a few of the great stories that will fill the pages of a book.
I am really looking forward to doing this…it is long overdue. I am making it my goal to do at least one of these books before the end of 2017. I have a mass of photos and documents ready to go into one of these books; it’s just a matter organizing and making sense of it. There are a lot of examples of how to assemble a book like this on Pinterest that will guide me through the process. I will post my progress as I work on it in the next year.
Have you put together a family history album? How did you go about doing it? What was the most exciting details you uncovered about your family history? Share some of your project stories in the comment section below.
Austin M. Frederick 
Who is the lady in the high neck dress? She is absolutely stunning!
Sent from my iPad
>
That is my Great Grandma, Ella (Zillmer) Frederick
So cool, Austin! Loved the read, and so hope for many more!
I couldn’t count the hours I have spent going through my family history.
When I first got a computer, I had Family Tree Maker and went through a book that my folks had that was printed in 1969, with all the descendants of Mathias Schleremaker( 5th Great Grandfather), who came from Strasbourg Germany in 1710, or there abouts, to Gap,Pa. He changed his name to Slaymaker. My Dad’s mother was a Slaymaker and I grew up knowing 1 of her brothers and had met another. We do have a few pictures back to my Great Grandfather William D. Slaymaker.
Around that same time, I started researching the Tuckers, and by way of the internet can get back to Richard Tucker of Maryland, who moved to Virginia about 1800. He was my Great Great Grandfather.
Mom’s parents were both Dutch and came here at a young age.
It’s so easy to lose track of a whole day digging through this stuff.
Family history is so cool. My mom has thousands upon thousands of names in her Family Tree Maker we got her for Christmas a few years ago. She has been doing this for a long time.