Next up is gathering records about the immediate family...spouse, children, siblings, parents. If they were all born in the US, this should be fairly easy.
You should also ask your parents if they have any family scrapbooks and/or boxes of mementos. Ask your parents about their lives. I've found that people remember the past in different ways. Some have cold recall and can just roll off many facts and stories. Some need a trigger, like my dad. They need to hear a name or see a picture to get that light bulb to turn on. Memories can also be selective. It's important to listen to all of the stories but keep in mind that some may be true and some my be 100% fabricated. Most seem to be somewhere in the middle, they started out as factually correct but over time evolved into either a more pleasant story or just a shorter one that's easier to remember. I've killed off a few stories over the past several years.
One story I had always heard about my maternal grandmother Bessie Schneider nee Berger was that her maiden name had originally been Berg but that her father changed it to Berger when he came to the US because it sounded less Jewish (personally I don't see the difference). When I was able to find their ship manifests and and records from Lozdzieje (Lazdijai), Lithuania, I discovered that the original surname was actually Bergzon/Bergson, never Berg. So much for that story. I had also always heard that Bessie (Hebrew name Peshe) had to say she was older,16, when she came to the US so she could work instead of going to school. The problem with that story is that she is listed as 5 years old on some WWI evacuation lists and she was 19 when she arrived in the US in 1929.
One romantic story I heard from my uncle was about my grandparents Irene & Harry Klein. Supposedly, when they were dating, Irene didn't have a good winter coat. She was raised by her grandparents (her mother Lena committed suicide when Irene was a baby) and, supposedly, they couldn't afford to get her a good coat because they had to spend the money on coats for their daughters. As it turns out, all 3 of these daughters were married ladies with their own families by the time Irene & Harry were dating. I'm not sure if any of this story was true or how it originated. It is a fun story though.
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
Friday, December 7, 2007
Where to start...with yourself
Imagine 100 years in the future and one of your descendants wants to know about you. First, starting at the beginning of your life with a copy of your birth certificate. If you don't already have a an original certified copy, it's good to order one anyway in case you need it for something. They can be ordered for a few dollars from the city or state Dept. of Health (it may be an agency of a different name...just go to your state's homepage and search for "birth certificate"). I recommend ordering 2 copies and storing them in different locations.
I also made a copy of my high school and college diplomas and my CPA certificate. If you travel a lot, put your expired passports in the file. A copy of your marriage certificate, wedding invitation, wedding menu, should also go in the file. Divorce records too if you want that information to be known (maybe not the financial stuff). Some things that may be hurtful now can actually add some spice to the family story for future generations. My gg-grandparents Abram & Sarah Klein were divorced in NYC in 1931. Sarah is always referred to as a "whore" (along with her sisters) when I mention her name to my aunts. I don't know about her sexual activities after the divorce, although later in life she was living with a man, an old friend, without being married. As it turns out though, it was Abram who couldn't keep his pants buttoned. Sarah divorced him for cheating on her. I was able to obtain a copy of the divorce papers which read like a Yiddish spy novel. She sent two friends to catch Abram in the act in an apartment near his Coney Island butcher shop. Their testimony is in the divorce records. I know it's a serious subject, especially since her oldest sons were already out on their own and she might have to survive on her own during the Great Depression but maybe it shows that Sarah got a bad rap. I've heard that she wasn't a very pleasant person so she may have had to make ends meet however she could.
I also made a copy of my high school and college diplomas and my CPA certificate. If you travel a lot, put your expired passports in the file. A copy of your marriage certificate, wedding invitation, wedding menu, should also go in the file. Divorce records too if you want that information to be known (maybe not the financial stuff). Some things that may be hurtful now can actually add some spice to the family story for future generations. My gg-grandparents Abram & Sarah Klein were divorced in NYC in 1931. Sarah is always referred to as a "whore" (along with her sisters) when I mention her name to my aunts. I don't know about her sexual activities after the divorce, although later in life she was living with a man, an old friend, without being married. As it turns out though, it was Abram who couldn't keep his pants buttoned. Sarah divorced him for cheating on her. I was able to obtain a copy of the divorce papers which read like a Yiddish spy novel. She sent two friends to catch Abram in the act in an apartment near his Coney Island butcher shop. Their testimony is in the divorce records. I know it's a serious subject, especially since her oldest sons were already out on their own and she might have to survive on her own during the Great Depression but maybe it shows that Sarah got a bad rap. I've heard that she wasn't a very pleasant person so she may have had to make ends meet however she could.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)