Ever wonder what inspires us to keep digging for family history in libraries, databases & musty old records offices?
The excitement of discovery and the sense of kinship in finding treasures like this - Ian's Grandmother's birth certificate - and the data it holds. We've both got files full of these sorts of things now. I particularly get excited over documents (like marriage certificates) that contain signatures of family we didn't known existed until we searched for them.
As this blog evolves, we'll post more of these records. Just as with the pictures we're collecting, as a researcher, it's not fun knowing you have the only copy. As we share these things with you, it's reassuring to know our copy is not the only copy.
INFO FROM BLOG HELP SECTION ON HOW TO SET YOURSELF UP TO POST:
"Next, type the email addresses of the people you're inviting to the blog;
they'll receive a confirmation email soon. Note that they must have blogger accounts, and if they don't already, they'll be prompted to create one.When you're ready to send the invitations, click Save Settings. You'll receive an email when the new team member has successfully joined the blog."
Did you receive a team blog invitation?Team blog invitations went out to a number of our family members today. If you're one of them, welcome! I hope you'll be patient as we learn to administrate the blog. Right now you can comment on posts we've done. As an approved team member, you will be able to add your own posts but setting everyone up requires some behind the scenes work that is in progress as you guys respond. Again, welcome! In the meantime, if you have something you'd like posted now, email it to us and we'll post it for you. We'd also appreciate your help in touching as many family members with this opportunity as possible. We obviously don't have email addresses for everyone in our families. If you have addresses for anyone we probably don't have, please take a moment to send them to us so we send them an team member invitation as well. Remember, you can add comments any time to the posts already up on the blog and we'd be happy to add posts for you until we get you all active. Posting pictures by using links is more efficient for the blog, so remember to click the links to see them. If you don't see anything specific yet to your branch of the family, hang in there, we're getting to it and feel free to make suggestions of things you'd like to see. Thanks for visiting and please come back soon!
Anney & Ian
My thoughts on family research:
Did you know it's actually common for people not to know their grandparents first names or anything beyond them? With great-grandparents and great-grandchildren in attendance at the Richardson Family Reunion again this year we routine surpass that norm.
I think attending Essey & Richardson family reunions all of my life had a fundamental impact on who I am. Very few of my friends and peers’ families had reunions at all and I was always aware of how much family I had and actually knew compared to them.
At reunions, Dad would always say, “Those are your cousins – it doesn’t matter how far removed – go play.” I really enjoyed being part of a mob of kids but at each reunion, my favourite time was spent tagging along after him while he explained how each person was related to the next – Don Hall’s oral family history. These days I wish I’d followed him around with a tape recorder instead of just an ear. Dad had a reverence for family and reveled in those moments when everyone was together and enjoying simple pleasures on a summer day.
For me the family tree I started 25 years ago is just an extension of my family – an attempt to write down what Dad carried around in his head, and a way also, to remember and never forget those who have passed and can’t be with us literally on days like Sunday’s reunion.
Ian was hooked by the genealogical bug during our 2004 Scotland holiday while helping me with Mum's family tree. He had to wait until our Australia visit in December 2005 to start his own research but in the short time since (thanks to some very helpful family members and online searchable British databases) he’s nearly caught up with me.
We both use Family Tree Maker (computer program) to store our trees. This program makes copying the trees to CD and/or generating and printing charts and reports very easy. I realize not everyone is as passionate about history or our ancestors as we are but if any family member is interested in seeing what we have or having copies of documents, etc. we’d be happy to share. After all the more people who have copies the less chance there is that our research will be lost again.
Sharing Treasures:
(Reunion time always makes me think about this sort of thing more so while I’m focused, I’ll just finally get this down on paper…)
At last year's reunion, Ian and I distributed
CD copies of Mum & Dad's slides. Their total collection was roughly 600 slides with probably 300 being of family functions and relatives. It took several weeks of scanning in our free time to digitalize, in some cases adjust, and repair them with Photoshop.
(Technology has made duplication and storage so easy that it just takes a little time and patience to spread these treasures out among family [and friends]. We've got a good quality scanner that will do slides, documents and pictures and a digital camera that on macro setting will take good quality pictures of pretty much anything you might want to copy. If any family members have pictures or records they’d like copied and burned to CD and don’t have access to this sort of equipment - we'd be happy to help.)
We both believe strongly in sharing precious photos and documents.Ian and I feel a copy and share philosophy greatly reduces the probability that in time
treasures, like old photos, will be lost to deterioration, damage or in my case - being put in the proverbial safe place I can't ever locate again. As with any family, though we have common ancestors, it's a numerical reality that there are more of us than there were of them. Using this easy technology to share your treasures with other family members who don't have and may not even know they exist, you're helping to keep memories and bonds alive and for me that's what family is all about. That's largely what hooked me on family history research.
At last year’s reunion, Donna McLachlin generously gave Brian, Glenn and I copies of a picture of our Dad that I’d never seen before. I believe Donna said it had been in the photo collection of a family friend who allowed it to be copied and shared. In the pic, Dad’s a teenager feeding a lamb through the fence adjacent to Aunt Jean & Uncle George’s place on the farm.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/skudtz/YoungDadatthefarm.jpgThis year, Donna surprised us again with copies of a second unknown photo – this one of our parents at the Richardson Family Reunion on 23 July 1960. Mum and Dad married on 19 November 1960.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/skudtz/MumDad1960.jpgPart of my hope is that this blog becomes a forum for sharing this sort of treasure more immediately.
Also a very Happy 65th Birthday to Ron Carruthers.
The Richardson Family Reunion 2006 held this past Sunday in Rutherford was, as always, a wonderful time. Ed and Pauline Richardson, Pat Carruthers and Marj Zavitz in particular work hard each year keeping this tradition going. It's the highlight of my summer having that chance to just hang out with family. And the family keeps growing - lots of new babies this year - some at the reunion and some on the way. And as Ron said, we had a very good turnout of younger folk which is a great sign for future reunions.
Ian and I really enjoyed horsing around with the kids during the games portion of the day. Examples of indoors games were guessing pennies in a jar, goodies in a jar, the weight of a watermelon and a memory game. Outdoors, we had three legged races, egg balanced on spoon races, watermelon seed spitting and the especially popular ‘pseudo cricket’ game Ian devised with the help of Brian's borrowed "pilons", a couple of tennis racquets, 2 tennis balls and a lawn chair. The kids actually asked after the meal if they could play again. Ian got a kick out of bringing an Australian tradition to a very Canadian reunion.
I have wonderful and now poignant memories of past reunions in Springbank Park so for me watching the kids enjoying the games and playing well together was a special time. As always, the meal was great - the potluck food varied and delicious and the company perfect. Each family contributing a game and types of foods for the reunion each year is part of the wonderful mix that makes each reunion unique and familiar at the same time.
Ian got some great video and pictures of this year's reunion. We'll post them asap.
Well it's been a while between posts. Not what I had planned but then life's like that. To not 'bog down the blog' I'm breaking these thoughts up:
Happy Birthday notes out this month to Aunt Ina Simpson, Doug Parkin (Ian's brother) and Brittany Faflak (my stepdaughter).
Ian's 'stepdad', Vic, is recovering one day at a time from the major stroke he suffered earlier this summer. Ian's Mum, Kate, is working hard at helping him get better and we've got our fingers crossed that he continues to improve - hopefully beyond even where he thinks he can get to.
