Susan Farrell Bankhead, Certified Genealogist (sm)
Goldmine in a Cardboard Box
When I talk about genealogy, Bruce’s eyes glaze over, and he makes grunting noises to make me think he’s listening to me, but I know he’s really thinking about how he’s going to plant the garden, finish building the shed, or plan our next trip.
Imagine my surprise then, when I came home from a day of research at the Family History Library to find Bruce had spread a box of his mother’s family papers around on the living room floor! When she was alive, Bruce’s mother, Doris (Davis) Bankhead, had done a lot of genealogy work on their family lines. At her passing in 2002, Bruce inherited a box of her research notes, letters, etc. But, there it was! Bruc
e had been going through his mother’s papers … looking for family!
I thumbed through the papers. It was heaven. I found ancestor journals, typewritten compiled histories, research notes, charts and reports! It was a genealogist’s dream … To a genealogist, a box of family papers is a gold mine. It’s better than a hot fudge sundae. It’s better than Disneyland. It’s better than a trip to the Family History Library. I would love to have a gift like that.
Do you have a gold mine sitting in a cardboard box?
So would I but some of us have to work really hard and never give up so that eventually, we are successful.
That was great!!!
Thanks Ruth and Sharon for your comments. I love hearing from you!
My grandmother, Bessie Chaplin, left me such a box! She is the one who inspired me to begin searching my family history. Included were about 100 pages of hand written stories from here life. Some stories are repeated several times, many overlap others, she must have started to write her life story many times, but never went back where she left off. I transcribed those pages several winters past, but have yet to begin to compile what she wrote into a comprehensive life history. Also in the box are photos & tintypes going back several generations. Everytime I look at starting, I seem to find something less daunting to occupy my time! In the box were included what she could find out about the Chaplin’s, just enough to get me started in my search. However most of the information she had compiled dealt with her family names(Stevens, Hildreth, Webster and Allen) I am not related by blood to those families.
Terry: Thank you for sharing about your grandmother’s box of family history. That is a treasure indeed. Lucky you! I agree it’s hard to take time to compile the information, but she trusted you would do it. She must have thought very highly of you!