Something for Posterity

(Published in Fife Family History Society journal Vol 12 No 3)

 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to read an ancestor’s diary? Or to find their school report, or a drawing that they did as a child? Think how much more this would tell you about the person than just knowing their date of birth or death.

Of course, this is impossible. Even if these things ever existed, they have long since been lost or destroyed.

 

The beginning of the year 2000 is a time for looking to the future as well as the past. What are we doing to make things easier for the family historians of the future?

 

Here are some ideas of what you could do:

 

Write a diary.

It may seem like a chore, but it is worthwhile. It need not be very detailed - you could just put in the important events, like when you start a new job or buy a new house.

 

Don’t throw anything away!

School reports and jotters, letters, certificates, drawings and newspaper clippings are all worth keeping.

 

Talk to relatives.

Find out their stories and record them before it is too late.

 

Write down the story of your life.

You are the best person to write it.

 

Label all of your photographs

Even if you think it is obvious who, when, where and what they are of, you may not remember the details in 25 years time!

 

Put your photographs in an album.

The Americans have come up with the idea of Memory albums - these contain not just photographs but all sorts of mementos, and are laid out more imaginatively than an ordinary photo album.

 

Family history is not just a case of searching as far back as possible and compiling names and dates. It’s about the stories of people’s lives. Will people know your story?