This month I’ve shared with you about family history work and shared with you the results of a recent family interview. I also encouraged you to share the interviews and information you found.

This week I wanted to remind you that no matter how many stories you share about your ancestors to ensure they are not forgotten, all is lost if you do not share your own history! Don’t force your family to rely solely on their own memories.

No one is expecting you to be the next great writer or even create a memoir to the likes of Henry Ford or Benjamin Franklin.  There’s no wrong or right way to do this.  It doesn’t even need to be crazy long or anything.  Include the more necessary details of important events and the like, and then whatever else you want to include.

I thought I’d make a list of important things to include in a basic personal sketch of yourself, mostly because I know how hard it is to know what to say about yourself!

• Full given name
• Birthday (year included!) and location
• Religion
• Religious ordinances: christening, baptism, confirmation, bat mitzvah, oaths, whatever
• Other important dates
• Awards earned
• Schools attended
• Marriages
• Divorces
• List of favourites
• First car
• Course of study for higher learning, with dates
• Service organizations you affiliate with
• Hobbies/passtimes
• Sports played
• Quotes that are meaningful to you AND why.

Finally, I’d recommend thinking about a few anecdotes from your life that you might want to share. This doesn’t need to be long, just a few sentences or a long paragraph is sufficient.

Help yourself become alive to your descendants.  Stories from your children or friends are good, but information straight from you is even better.  No one knows your life better than you do.

I hope this helps you, even if you aren’t a genealogy enthusiast.

–Lady O