Writing an Autobiography - Family History Review Blog

Nov 26, Preserve Family Memories - 2015 Family Year in Review

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 02:53:42 -0500

Preserving Family Memories. A Year in Review: Preserve memories of you and your family over the past year

Apr 13, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 03:35:36 -0400

This book just released today, April 12th, 2016. It sounds like a very good book for "discovering creative and meaningful ways to keep the memory of loved ones alive." I am looking forward to receiving my copy from Amazon. According to the book's description there are " 85 imaginative ways to celebrate and honor family and friends we never want to forget." Be sure to check it out. http://amzn.to/1XuD1Jz

Nov 26, Sharing Life Stories and Legacy - News - Resources - Links

Thu, 26 Nov 2015 03:47:33 -0500

Working together to interview, write and preserve life stories and legacy.

Jun 25, Grandpa Was a Mover

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 23:03:57 -0400

Great Article about one particular grandpa

Jun 5, Personal and Family History Forms and Examples to Strengthen Your Family Ties

Fri, 5 Jun 2015 01:18:27 -0400

The writing and sharing of personal and family histories will do more to bring you closer to your children and your children to you than just about anything else.

May 30, Negative Scanning Service ~ Review ScanCafe - 800 Photo Scans Article

Sat, 30 May 2015 04:25:47 -0400

ScanCafe is a negative scanning service that I have used twice. My latest order -over 800 images to scan. Most of those were negatives.

May 29, Fathers Day Poem, When is Fathers Day 2015? Memories of Dad - June 21st

Fri, 29 May 2015 15:14:10 -0400

A Fathers Day poem entitled "A Father's Hands" Wow, I love this. When is Fathers Day 2015?

May 29, Personal Journaling Ideas

Fri, 29 May 2015 03:44:21 -0400

Personal Journaling with a forensics twist

May 20, You As Family Historian?

Wed, 20 May 2015 15:40:09 -0400

You, a family historian? Your descendants will someday number in the thousands! Will they know anything of you?

May 19, Non-Traditional Family Traditions with Grandparents, Parents, Siblings

Tue, 19 May 2015 04:15:54 -0400

Many traditions have been lost to our families. Many current traditions that you hold dear are in danger of being forgotten unless families take an active part in preserving them

May 7, The Benefits of Throwback Thursday.

Thu, 7 May 2015 18:16:09 -0400

For awhile now, I've noticed my friends on Facebook doing this thing called Throwback Thursday. They take the occasion of a Thursday to post some of their older pics of themselves or family members. Well, I did my first stab at Throwback Thursday today! Why not, right? Having given it some thought, I quite like the idea. 1. It gives us a chance to share memories, in picture form, with family and close friends on Facebook. 2. It gives us reason to dive into our old pictures to find several to share. 3. It distributes copies of these photos to family members, increasing the odds that those particular pics will never be lost (in the event that my computer crashes or my house burns down, etc.) 4. If you tag your kids, it will mean that they will always have a copy of some of your favorite pictures of them. This is a much better plan than having one of a kind pictures stored away in a closet at my parent's home...like many of my childhood pictures. (I'm working on it) :) 5. The pictures that you post will make many people smile....or laugh, in some cases. So, have you ever participated in Throwback Thursday?

Nov 5, HeyDay App - The Automatic Journal

Wed, 5 Nov 2014 09:05:00 -0500

I'm currently checking out the HeyDay app. It is free and it helps organize your photos, stories and places you go "so you'll never forget another day." It works for both Apple and Android devices. http://www.hey.co/

Sep 19, Photo App to Automate Journal Writing - iPhone Journal & Android - Heyday

Fri, 19 Sep 2014 22:45:34 -0400

Find a photo app for easy journal writing. Ideas to keep an automatic journal with iphone or Android devices

Jun 5, How Not to Lose Your Digital Family Photos

Thu, 5 Jun 2014 16:41:14 -0400

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of backing up your irreplaceable family photos. A few years year ago I made a big mistake. This mistake would have cost me thousands of digital family photos that I had on my computer's hard drive. These pictures were ones that I had taken over the previous 5 years. It would have been a huge loss! Without going into great detail about how it happened, I accidentally hit a button that started to wipe clear my hard drive. I unknowing started the system recovery function of my computer. When it was all finished, my computer was just as it was the day that I bought it...nothing on the hard drive! The only thing that saved me was that I had purchased an Carbonite online backup subscription. So once my hard drive was wiped clean, I was able to log into Carbonite online backup and download every last one of my pictures, back to my computer! Phew! What a relief! Carbonite costs about $55 a year. After getting my family photos back, I think that was about the best $50 I ever spent. Their online data backup service is very easy to use and it is completely automatic. Of course, Carbonite is not your only option. Mozy remote backup is another popular online data backup service (Mozy.com) Since then, ways of backing up your family photos has changed a bit. Many of us use Facebook to share, at least, our best family photos. Of course Facebook is free and, in my case, I would have been able to recover many of my "lost" photos because I had shared them via Facebook. There are also digital storage experts like Seagate. One of their newer digital backup tools is called LyveHome. It will make is possible to collect into one spot, all of your family photos and video regardless of which device you'e used to capture them. It includes two terabytes of storage space. If this is a sign of things to come, I am excited about the future of digital photo storage, preservation and organizing.

Apr 21, Digital Photo Storage: Will Your Digital Treasures Ever Be Seen By Your Grandkids?

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 23:07:28 -0400

When it comes to your family’s digital photo storage, what are the odds that yours will ever survive and actually be seen by your grandchildren? My

Apr 21, A Good Photo Scanning Service Will Save You Hours and Worry ~ Negatives

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 03:50:14 -0400

Photo scanning service - What a relief to finally get those slides, negatives and photos scanned

Jun 6, End of School Year Time Capsule Questions!

Thu, 6 Jun 2013 23:29:16 -0400

Click below to download a free chart. The chart, created by TodaysMama.com, is a great idea and a way to preserve childhood memories of the past school year. http://todaysmama.com/files/2013/04/EndofSchoolTimeCapsuleQuestions.pdf

Aug 4, Preserving Post Tsunami Photos in Japan

Sat, 4 Aug 2012 03:24:44 -0400

This tells an amazing and selfless story about a group of people that preserved thousands of damaged photos, damaged by the 2001 Tsunami, in Japan.

May 9, Growing Old and Leaving Your Home for the Last Time

Wed, 9 May 2012 20:32:28 -0400

This story makes me happy, sad and nostalgic all at the same time. It also makes me think of both my grandmas. One lived by herself, until cancer forced her to move to live with our family. She passed away in 1984. My other grandmother is 89 years old, this year (2012). She still lives by herself, although it is getting harder for her.

May 9, Great Inspiration for Oral History Preservation

Wed, 9 May 2012 20:11:29 -0400

This type of story invigorates me! This sort of work is so very important. After my mother-in-law passed away, we discovered that her voice was “accidently” captured on her answering machine. She must have picked up the phone late, when she received a call from a friend, and it just kept taping/recording. We basically have a 15 minute conversation that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. This is one of the only recordings that we have of her voice. It brought back tremendously great memories and it simply made my wife cry. At the point of discovery, she hadn’t heard her mom’s voice for several years. Michael B

Mar 28, Behind the Homestead Walls

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:28:47 -0400

An amazing blog post and even more amazing photographs of an old South Dakotan homestead. It is still standing and held many surprising, nostalgic treasures inside. http://thesimplecountrylife.com/2012/03/27/behind-the-homestead-walls/

Feb 10, Who Do You Think You Are Season on TV Tonight

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:20:23 -0500

Don't forget to watch Season 3, episode 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? This is a very inspiring show and one that is, for me, very enjoyable. Tonight's episode is about Marisa Tomei's Italian ancestors.

Oct 21, Memorygrabber has Encouraged me to Connect with My Family

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:42:15 -0400

I come from a very large family. I was adopted from Vietnam in 1974, which is how my mother began her business in international adoption. After having

Oct 16, Re-enactors Will Revive Historic Coast Figures

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 02:49:22 -0400

Fun story out of Mississippi: Sea captains and city fathers, long ago buried in South Mississippi cemeteries, will come back to tell their stories for Halloween. Brought to life by their descendants and actors from Biloxi local theater and area high schools will be eight Biloxians whose lives depended on the Gulf.

Oct 15, Featured Site - Are You In My Photo?

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:40:06 -0400

Everyone is in someone elses photos without even knowing it, and this is the place to find these unexpected connections. It is a free service. You never know who you might find. Great concept and kind of fun looking at all the old pictures from yesteryear. You can also post your own photos, of course.

Oct 7, Family Medical History

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 15:16:47 -0400

Keeping a family medical history for your children is a very important task and a very good idea. Here are two resoures: https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action http://scott-fox-blogs.typepad.com/MedicalForms/FreeFamilyMedicalHistoryForm.pdf

Sep 1, Remembering Pets in our Life

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 13:15:08 -0400

Memorygrabber was absolutely excellent for anything that you could want to know or remember. The only thing that I can think of that it did not have was

Aug 19, Oral History: Idea Inspired by His Dad

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:06:56 -0400

At StoryCorps, Frank spoke about how his lifelong fascination with the stars turned into a project of cosmic proportions. It’s the brainchild of Frank Kovac, a former paper mill storeroom clerk, who built this roadside attraction in his backyard. Entirely homemade, the project took nearly a decade to complete.

Aug 12, Found His Father after 40 years

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:33:07 -0400

Aug 11, Life Story Workbook now in British English version

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:26:34 -0400

As of August 2011, Memorygrabber is available in a British English version. This version reflects British spellings and wording/expressions. Apartment = flat, diaper = nappy, realize = realise, etc. You'll be given the option to download either version, on the download page.

Jul 16, My Precious Childhood Memories

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:59:19 -0400

When I was about 8 to 10 , I left my hometown as my family was transfered to another city. I love my hometown as I born there. I have sweet memories

Jun 23, New Yorkers Lost Wallet Found 40 Years Later

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:08:40 -0400

A very inspiring story. Shows the power of old pictures and how much can change in 40 years.

Jun 15, Daddys Girl Memories

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:54:33 -0400

Since a very young age, I have always been ‘Daddy’s Girl’. Through the many adventures and mishaps between the two of us, there are plenty of stories to

Jun 15, Memories of Dad and Cub Scouts on Fathers Day

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:27:38 -0400

When I was younger, I was a member of the Cub Scouts. My dad was always one to help me and my brother as we grew up with all activities we did. When

Jun 6, Highlight Site: NewGrandmas.com

Mon, 6 Jun 2011 14:40:43 -0400

Carol Covin, also known as Granny Guru, has built a really nice site that highlights, among other things, the wisdom of mothers and grandmothers and the importance of writing autobiographies. I think you'll enjoy a visit to her site.

Jun 5, Singer Trace Adkins Loses Irreplaceable Pics in Fire

Sun, 5 Jun 2011 15:39:42 -0400

Thankfully popular country music singer Trace Adkin's children were able to get out, but Trace and his wife lost many irreplaceable items in a house fire. Gone are many of their family pictures, including those from their wedding. We have to safeguard those things. Do what you can to digitize all of your old photos, then get them backed up, so you won't lose the only copies that you have.

Jun 4, Site of the Day: - FamilyChartMasters.com

Sat, 4 Jun 2011 15:46:09 -0400

I only recently discovered FamilyChartMasters, but they have so many cool family history trees, charts, etc. Click the more Yes, some of them can be pretty spendy, but I think you'll like what you see there.

Jun 2, StoryVault.com - Life of a Boy at the end of World War 2

Thu, 2 Jun 2011 13:21:08 -0400

This video was posted on a great site called Storyvault.com . I highly recommend that you visit this site and post a story of your own.

Jun 2, If you would not be forgotten....

Thu, 2 Jun 2011 11:14:35 -0400

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin Read other cool quotes at: FamilyHistoryProducts.com/quotes-on-memories.html

Jun 1, Don't Throw Out Those Local History Books!

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 16:30:37 -0400

...In both cases those quaint local history books are likely to be tossed in the trash.

May 26, Not Too Late for Grandpa

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:59:06 -0400

Here's what my family did after the passing of our grandfather last August. It's not an original idea by no means but I think it is worth mentioning to help others who may have "missed" some chances already.

May 23, Sharing Family Stories with our Kids

Mon, 23 May 2011 01:45:29 -0400

It always puts a smile on my face when I hear a young child (age 9 in this particular case) tell stories about when they were young...too young for the child to remember the event firsthand, actually. This tells me that parents are actively telling and sharing individual and family stories with their children. This inspires me to talk more with my kids. Kids love these sorts of stories. Take the time to tell your kids about when they were younger, about when you were younger and about their grandparents. Your life will be much richer for it. https://www.familyhistoryproducts.com/family-stories.html

May 18, Getting Started on My Genealogy and Family Tree

Wed, 18 May 2011 21:05:36 -0400

Q: I am trying to get our family tree together so I can get my indian card. Do you have any suggestions on how to track down my family and a good way to

May 18, “What's your life like now, Dad?”

Wed, 18 May 2011 19:39:51 -0400

I'm a big fan of StoryCorps. This is a short audio of two daughters interviewing their father, who is suffering from the onset of Alzheimer. It is so very important that we all have conversations like this, before it is too late. To hear that audio clip, click on the "Click for more info", link below. Here are some tips on conducting a good oral history interview

May 17, A bit of Nostalgic News: Last Roll of Kadachrome

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:31:28 -0400

This is a bit of old news, but one that I wanted to mention here. The last roll of Slide film (Kodachrome) was shot and processed. I used to use Kodachrome all the time, back in the 1980s. I'm sure probably did as well. Sad to see it go, BUT I'd never go back to it. I love digital too much. Related page: 35mm slides to digital

Apr 14, Do You Have British Roots? Apply for a New British TV Show

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:58:20 -0400

Dragonfly TV in the UK is currently making a new TV series that will be called "Guess the Relative". They are seeking Americans and Canadians that have distant British ties or roots. The show will be about family history and distant relatives. In the show British contestants will spend a week with three Americans/Canadians, one of which will be distantly related to the British contestant. At the end of the week, the British contestant will attempt to figure out which of the three that they are related to. If selected for the show, it will give you a chance to travel to Great Britain, live in the English countryside, and potentially meet distant relatives, that you never knew existed. To apply: http://www.guesstherelative.tv

Mar 16, Family Search Experiences

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:14:33 -0400

I recently asked some site visitors about their attempts to research any of their family tree. If so I asked them how they went about it. Here are a

Mar 4, Used Various Sources for My Family Tree Search

Fri, 4 Mar 2011 00:12:21 -0500

Tracing back the heritage of my family tree was quite a daunting task. I started by asking my parents about their parents, and my great grandparents.

Mar 3, Exploring Your Family Tree is Worth The Work

Thu, 3 Mar 2011 23:18:39 -0500

Exploring my family tree has been a hobby of mine since I was a young girl participating in 4-H, and I submitted a family tree portfolio as my project