The Benefits of Stories
The Benefit Of Stories
Although facts are an important part of the process of learning about those that are in your ancestral line, it’s also important for you to consider the stories that these people can tell you, too.
Stories can do quite a bit for you. Obviously, they are important to note for your own understanding of who these people were that are in your family lines. If a person is
someone that your grandmother remembers, she can tell you lots of stories about growing up with them.
This allows you to get to know these individuals and really to learn who they were. That’s important for creating a family history that offers you a real in depth look at the people, their personalities and their characteristics. In effect, it brings these people back to life for you.
But, stories can do much more for you as well. Let’s say that your grandmother starts to talk about her cousin Sue that she grew up with. You don’t know Sue so this is something that you want to hear about.
As you listen to her talk about Sue, you learn details about where Sue moved, who she married, where she went after she was married and even children that she may have had.
This means that you now have a more complete family history and family tree that are available to you. You can now pursue Sue or her descendants and get another branch of your tree growing.
Stories can make all of these important facts come to life, which is something that you need. While this is just one example of how they can be beneficial to you, imagine what can happen when you start talking to many people and how their stories can add up to very detailed people.
On the other hand, if you walked up to your grandmother and simple asked her about her family tree, she may mention Sue but that’s about all she may remember. But, opening up memories is a great way to learn about your family tree in much more detail and with many more benefits through the process as well.
It’s important to talk to as many people as you can that are still alive. The fact is that these people are sources of information that you can then use to help propel you throughout your journey. This is the easy stuff, the information that is readily available. Take full advantage of this information as it will be the easiest to get.
It’s important to record the information that is provided to you as well. Even if you are taking written notes, you may be able to go back to your recordings and hear another clue or detail that you missed. Or, you may be able to use this information later for other information that you uncover although right now it may not seem important.
Keep lots of tapes and a recording device available to you to make the process as smooth as possible. Keep these items safe, throughout the process, too.
