Heritage Hints From Mama – Getting in Touch With Your Living Ancestors

Getting In Touch With Your Living Ancestors-

My granddaughters, Katy Rose and Elle, with my father.

Hello from the Deep South, home of magnolias, sweet tea and sweltering hot summers!  I am Christy’s Mama and have been invited to share a little wisdom gleamed from my years of experience.  Some of it may come in handy and others may just be a little bit of rambling thoughts from my cobwebbed brain.  You can take either with a grain of salt.  If you have any comments or suggestions along the way, they will be welcomed.  Remember, I am getting old so coddle me a bit.  Well, here goes!

Today I want to talk about our living ancestors. Do you have a grandparent, older aunt, or uncle living?  If so, call today and set up a time for a visit.  It doesn’t have to be in person if they live a little far off from you.  A phone call will do nicely.  I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome and I’m sure your relative will be more than willing to talk with you.  They are some of your family’s most precious resources- connect with them!

Is there a favorite food you enjoyed as a child that was prepared by someone in your family?  Have you ever wondered about how family traditions started?  Or have you ever thought about tracing your family tree?  Your older relatives are the easiest way to solve these mysteries and sadly, once these relatives pass on, their knowledge goes with them.

Take a week or so, to think about growing up and some of the memories that come to mind.  Make a list of questions you would like answered.  You will probably be surprised at the things you think of.  Christy hears of so many people that enjoyed a certain food when they were small and long for just one more taste of it.  Most of the time it is an everyday food that was prepared from memory and just can’t quite be duplicated.  All it would have taken was a few minutes to watch it being prepared and taking a few notes.  But when that relative passed on, the  recipe was lost forever.  Don’t let this happen to you.

If you have ever thought of taking up genealogy as a hobby, your relatives are your best and easiest by far resource for getting a great start.  Ask about grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  Take detailed notes and list any names, locations, birth dates, marriages, deaths, etc.  Let your relative talk about whatever crosses their mind.  You will learn much more than names and dates.  You will learn about the where and why that made your family what it was.

If you are able to, take older relatives back to where they lived and went to school, church, etc.  It is amazing the stories that they will recall.  I have done this with my mother who is 80 years young and even though I had asked questions a thousand times with no answers, it was amazing some of the things she remembered when taken back to the places where she had carried on her day to day life.

Also ask your older relatives if they have any old family pictures.  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  By sure and list who the people are in the picture.  Believe me, I am speaking from experience.  You will probably forget Aunt Sophie’s sister’s name and where they were when the picture was taken.  Nowadays, it just takes a quick trip and a little cash to get a picture copied.  The old pictures don’t mean a thing if you don’t know who is in them.  Old pictures are some of my most prized possessions and I’m sure they will become some of yours too!

To get you started, take a minute and think about what you would have liked to know from relatives who have  passed on.  Then, you may just realize the importance of taking advantage of the resources you have before they are gone.  We are all busy and even though we have good intentions, it seems like we have a hard time getting around to some of the important aspects of our lives.  Please make an appointment to take care of a little family business before it is too late.  This is just a little advice from me to you.

I’d love to hear some of the wisdom or family history you have uncovered just by taking the time to talk with your living relatives. Please feel free to chat with me in the comments section below. I’ll read them all and look forward to answering!

I’ll be talking with you from time to time but until then, remember Mama loves you and I’ll see you soon!

~Mama

Me and my husband, Bill (Bill and Janice Davis)

“There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children – one is roots, and the other, wings.”

~Hodding S. Carter

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76 Comments

  1. I have some old Swedish recipes from my Aunt. Her mother came over to America from Sweden on a boat. (This would be my grandmother).

    Peppakakor Cookies …something she used to make and mail to us kids. They were rolled real thin and would arrive in pieces half the time.

    Cardamon Bread…cardamon seeds… used alot in Swedish baking…yummy.

    And can’t forget her Spritz cookies she made at Christmas time.
    And her Thumb Cookies.

    I have these recipes. She fussed alot with her baking and they take time to make, but she sure was a fabulous cook. I have great memories of her.

  2. My own grandmothers sister is still living and I am 60 years old. I very much enjoy visiting with her and she relishes talking to me about my roots. She is still very sharp and drives her own car. Recenty she took me for a ride and showed me where my grandmother was born, where she went to school and helped me to know the kind person that she was. You see my paternal grandmother had passed on long before I was born so I never knew her. I cherish the times I am fortunate enough to have with this great aunt of mine.

  3. Just last week i went on short trip to kentucky, and illinois to visit grandparents, they had so many stories to tell, and one memory would trigger another. but what upsets me the most is i wish i would have thought to record them, because i can retail the stories , but i may not remember the small details that made them so special for me as i was hearing them. I may not get another chance, but i hope i do. thanks for sharing with us.

    1. I love to record also. Just think how precious it will be to hear their voice again. I hope that you do have another chance with them. Take care, Mama

  4. My grandmother was the dearest soul on earth. How i wish now that I had taped or written down some of her stories. Growing up in a very small town our front yard in the evenings was the gathering place for a lot of our older neighbors. There was Papa Gale and Papa Rice (not relatives just what we called them) and oh the stories they could tell us and the wisdom they shared. I have told my kids how much they have missed not having the older people that I knew growing up. I think a lot of the younger generation do not know how to talk with older people. What a shame.

  5. Thank you for sharing some of your wisdom with us! Everything you said is so true, once their gone the information is also unless is documented by someone. I’ve also found out what also is needed and requested by physician’s nowadays is medical information from generations past. We all just need to keep a journal and pass it down from one generation to another, each adding their info also. Times are changing so much and families are not like they use to be, so for the past generations history to be kept it must be documented.
    You and your husband make a handsome couple! I also noted while looking at the photo that you both are leaning toward each other, that tells alot about ya’ll as a couple and how much love is shared between you two! We are so thankful for Christy and now your included also. Again, thanks, please keep posting and I hope you have a blessed day!!

  6. Hi Christy’s Mama,
    My mom is 87 years old and has just finished her second book that she has done for each of us and all the great grands. I helped her by typing and copying the first one called Magnolia Dreams. The new one will be our Christmas present from her. It is called I Remember. She is big in to genealogy. We have both sides of my family traced way back. Mother loves this and she works on helping others with their family genealogy when she is ask. One of the things that we did for her 80th birthday was help collect some of our family type stores and recipes. I have my grandmother Strickland’s gunger bread recipe since we did that. I also have a bunch of other family recips that would have been lost to our family if we had not done that. Oh by the way the gunger bread came out of the depression and it uses syrup for sweetner. My brother and my first cousin use to race to her home to get to eat the most of this sweet. I look forward to more from you and the ideas.
    Annette

  7. Thank you so much for this new addition at SP. You should be real proud because your daughter is already wise beyond her years and I know where she gets it. I got into genealogy in my later years which most people do when they retire, well that is far too late to glean that wonderful information of yesteryear. My mom’s baby sister and the last living member of the family of 8 is 85 and has Alzheimers now and gone is any chance of learning anything more. The point is that it’s the younger generation that must get into family history before it is too late. It should even be a course in high school, don’t wait until retirement because by then you could be in poor health and not even be able to travel around to see relatives who live in other states or provinces. Make it a part of your yearly vacations it could be very rewarding.
    Looking forward to posting #2… thanks Janice.

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