Along with jotting memories in a journal, you can incorporate this into a scrapbook with photos of memorable times and experiences. You also can add sketches to your journal and scrapbook pages.
One way I’m trying to keep a record of yearly memories is by building a scrapbook around the annual Christmas letters I write to friends and family. Some people add photos to these letters (so much easier in these days of digital cameras and computers).
This Christmas letter gives a recap of the year gone by and you can add to it as you have time. I also like to keep the letters and photos sent to me by family members and include them in the scrapbook.
(c)2005
(If you have questions or information to share, e-mail me: me.allen@juno.com. Type "Scrapbooking Blog" in the subject line.)
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Searching for Wallace
Wallace Enoch Allen, husband of Mary Jane McCracken, seems to have dropped into her life “out of the blue.” We’ve been searching for him for a number of years…first my husband's uncle with help from his cousins , then Howard’s grand nephew, , and now Howard’s great, grand niece, DeAnn Jensen, and his nephew, Jim Allen and Jim’s wife Mary.
Putting together the puzzle of one’s past can be fun and fascinating, yet very frustrating at times, too. Searching for Wallace has been all of these and we’re by nowhere finished in our search.
Getting to meet relatives in this search is enjoyable and finding out about the lives of those people you’re researching is interesting as well.
Searching for Wallace has become an adventure as we go down first one trail then another. We'll think we have figured out his ancestry at last, only to find that's another Wallace living in the same era. We now have two Wallace's whose lives might be one person or they could be two. Dates and places are so similar in some cases. Yet there is data in one that's not found in the other.
We're "meeting" many people of the past in our research and wonder how many are ancestors. As we keep searching, we'll find one day that missing piece that will put the puzzle together.
The bare essentials of his life: Wallace supposedly was born near Bangor, Maine around 1853 with a father whose name was George. No mention is made of his mother in any records. Then he lived in St. John, NB, Canada a year or two before marrying Mary Jane McCracken in 1876. They had two children before moving to East Boston, MA, in 1880, following Mary Jane's sister Elizabeth. They eventually purchased a farm in Everett, MA, which still is in the family. We find them in census records and business directories. Wallace died in 1916, although he wasn't living with Mary Jane at the time. She died in 1920. They're buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett.
(c)2005
(If you're related to a Wallace Allen, let us know. Perhaps we have a common ancestry. e-mail at: me.allen@juno.com )
Putting together the puzzle of one’s past can be fun and fascinating, yet very frustrating at times, too. Searching for Wallace has been all of these and we’re by nowhere finished in our search.
Getting to meet relatives in this search is enjoyable and finding out about the lives of those people you’re researching is interesting as well.
Searching for Wallace has become an adventure as we go down first one trail then another. We'll think we have figured out his ancestry at last, only to find that's another Wallace living in the same era. We now have two Wallace's whose lives might be one person or they could be two. Dates and places are so similar in some cases. Yet there is data in one that's not found in the other.
We're "meeting" many people of the past in our research and wonder how many are ancestors. As we keep searching, we'll find one day that missing piece that will put the puzzle together.
The bare essentials of his life: Wallace supposedly was born near Bangor, Maine around 1853 with a father whose name was George. No mention is made of his mother in any records. Then he lived in St. John, NB, Canada a year or two before marrying Mary Jane McCracken in 1876. They had two children before moving to East Boston, MA, in 1880, following Mary Jane's sister Elizabeth. They eventually purchased a farm in Everett, MA, which still is in the family. We find them in census records and business directories. Wallace died in 1916, although he wasn't living with Mary Jane at the time. She died in 1920. They're buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett.
(c)2005
(If you're related to a Wallace Allen, let us know. Perhaps we have a common ancestry. e-mail at: me.allen@juno.com )
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Researching Your Family Through Quilting
As I read my grandfather’s writings, Fifty Years Ago, Rural Life from 1876, I was delighted to realize he’d included information about his mother’s quilting at Trails End Farm, in Dutchess County, NY. I knew, from this, that my quilting heritage definitely traced back to my great grandmother, Mary Barker Coon, and beyond.
Papa Coon, as our family referred to Burton Barker Coon, writer and farmer, mentioned the women getting together for afternoon tea and cutting out pieces for quilt blocks. “They would take their sewing along and have a very pleasant time. All the girls were brought up to piece quilts, bake bread and do all kinds of housework….,” he related.
Then he mentioned “quilting bees” that were common in his childhood. “The quilting frames would be brought down from the garret, the middle of the sitting room cleared, the frames put together with clamps, and the corners laid on the backs of four chairs. Then the quilt, pieced perhaps by a daughter in the family, would be stretched on the frame, the cotton batting inserted, and all would be ready for the bee.”
He told how four or five neighborhood ladies came to help. “Needles and tongues would vie with each other in making bed spreads and history,” he wrote.
Papa Coon called each quilt a “sort of souvenir piece.”
“I used to like to hear my mother tell, ‘Now I had a dress like that, and an apron like that, and you had a little green sun bonnet, and a dress like that, and grandma a dress like that, and Aunt Susie one like that.”
He described the quilts: “ I could see them all in stately array. There were no loud patterns. The figures were small and the colors very bright and lasting.”
From my mother’s tales of sewing get-togethers when she was a child and Mary Barker Coon an elderly lady, I imagined my great grandmother stitching quilts in her younger days. Her son’s description of quilting when he was growing up substantiates that quilting occurred at Trails End Farm in the 1800s. He also indicated that his mother learned to sew quilts when she was a young girl, before she married and came to live at Trails End.
As you research your ancestry, you may find that you have a fascinating quilting heritage, too.
©2005
(If you have any questions or information to share, e-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com. Include the words “Quilting Blog” in the subject line.)
Papa Coon, as our family referred to Burton Barker Coon, writer and farmer, mentioned the women getting together for afternoon tea and cutting out pieces for quilt blocks. “They would take their sewing along and have a very pleasant time. All the girls were brought up to piece quilts, bake bread and do all kinds of housework….,” he related.
Then he mentioned “quilting bees” that were common in his childhood. “The quilting frames would be brought down from the garret, the middle of the sitting room cleared, the frames put together with clamps, and the corners laid on the backs of four chairs. Then the quilt, pieced perhaps by a daughter in the family, would be stretched on the frame, the cotton batting inserted, and all would be ready for the bee.”
He told how four or five neighborhood ladies came to help. “Needles and tongues would vie with each other in making bed spreads and history,” he wrote.
Papa Coon called each quilt a “sort of souvenir piece.”
“I used to like to hear my mother tell, ‘Now I had a dress like that, and an apron like that, and you had a little green sun bonnet, and a dress like that, and grandma a dress like that, and Aunt Susie one like that.”
He described the quilts: “ I could see them all in stately array. There were no loud patterns. The figures were small and the colors very bright and lasting.”
From my mother’s tales of sewing get-togethers when she was a child and Mary Barker Coon an elderly lady, I imagined my great grandmother stitching quilts in her younger days. Her son’s description of quilting when he was growing up substantiates that quilting occurred at Trails End Farm in the 1800s. He also indicated that his mother learned to sew quilts when she was a young girl, before she married and came to live at Trails End.
As you research your ancestry, you may find that you have a fascinating quilting heritage, too.
©2005
(If you have any questions or information to share, e-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com. Include the words “Quilting Blog” in the subject line.)
Friday, September 02, 2005
Scrapbooking Family Recipes
By using your scrapbooking techniques, you can develop an interesting recipe scrapbook or journal to use currently and to preserve cooking memories for future generations. My aunt saved recipes in a notebook, handwritten and frequently with notations of the person from whom she acquired it.
I’ve began to consider making a scrapbook or picture journal of some of the recipes, photocopying them in her handwriting, then attaching it to the page of a scrapbook. Illustrations and photos could accompany these, perhaps with journal entries about the person whose recipe it is.
Grandma Coon’s Recipes
With the recipes Auntie noted as Grandma Coon’s, I could post a photo of this lady. I have one of her with her husband and son (my grandfather) in front of their farmhouse. There’s another of Grandma posing for a photographer.
Since the scrapbook will consist for family information and pleasure, I’ll include some details about Grandma, gleaned from family research, my grandfather’s writings, and memories told by my mom.
Nanny’s Recipes
These recipes were referred to as “Ma’s Recipes” by Auntie and my mother. I always called her Nanny. So I can include my memories of food prepared and served at her home and at ours when she visited.
I have numerous pictures of this lady, both as a young woman and as the grandmother I recall. They will add interest and memories for my family.
Other Relatives’ Recipes
The list could go on, since I’ve collected, over the years, recipes from relatives on both my mother and father’s side of the family. There are cousins, aunts, and close family friends.
“And don’t forget yourself,” my daughter often reminds me when we’re collecting family memories and pictures. This would include the picture my mom took of me holding the first loaf of bread I baked….all by myself when I was eight years old.
Do You Have Family Recipes for a Scrapbook?
Almost everyone has recipes memories they could include in a scrapbook. These might trace back for several generations, or they may be recipes you’ve collected and found favorites.
Do you have recipes you accumulated in your travels? My daughter asked for a Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe where she and her husband dined on their honeymoon. This could be included on a scrapbook page along with a photo of their trip.
We have family favorite acquired on a backpacking trip into the mountains of Wyoming. The outfitter’s cook created a dish of sausage, potatoes, cabbage, and onions that tasted delicious after a day of trekking at 10,000 feet. He didn’t have ingredient amounts, so we, by trial and error, came up with a version at home that tasted almost like his.
The list could go on and on and will make for a fascinating scrapbook. Look for recipes in your family and life...create your own recipe memory scrapbook.
©2005 Mary Emma Allen
(I write, journal, and scrapbook from her multigenerational home in Plymouth, NH. If anyone is interested, Iwill teach workshops in scrapbooking your family recipes and memories. E-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com )
I’ve began to consider making a scrapbook or picture journal of some of the recipes, photocopying them in her handwriting, then attaching it to the page of a scrapbook. Illustrations and photos could accompany these, perhaps with journal entries about the person whose recipe it is.
Grandma Coon’s Recipes
With the recipes Auntie noted as Grandma Coon’s, I could post a photo of this lady. I have one of her with her husband and son (my grandfather) in front of their farmhouse. There’s another of Grandma posing for a photographer.
Since the scrapbook will consist for family information and pleasure, I’ll include some details about Grandma, gleaned from family research, my grandfather’s writings, and memories told by my mom.
Nanny’s Recipes
These recipes were referred to as “Ma’s Recipes” by Auntie and my mother. I always called her Nanny. So I can include my memories of food prepared and served at her home and at ours when she visited.
I have numerous pictures of this lady, both as a young woman and as the grandmother I recall. They will add interest and memories for my family.
Other Relatives’ Recipes
The list could go on, since I’ve collected, over the years, recipes from relatives on both my mother and father’s side of the family. There are cousins, aunts, and close family friends.
“And don’t forget yourself,” my daughter often reminds me when we’re collecting family memories and pictures. This would include the picture my mom took of me holding the first loaf of bread I baked….all by myself when I was eight years old.
Do You Have Family Recipes for a Scrapbook?
Almost everyone has recipes memories they could include in a scrapbook. These might trace back for several generations, or they may be recipes you’ve collected and found favorites.
Do you have recipes you accumulated in your travels? My daughter asked for a Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe where she and her husband dined on their honeymoon. This could be included on a scrapbook page along with a photo of their trip.
We have family favorite acquired on a backpacking trip into the mountains of Wyoming. The outfitter’s cook created a dish of sausage, potatoes, cabbage, and onions that tasted delicious after a day of trekking at 10,000 feet. He didn’t have ingredient amounts, so we, by trial and error, came up with a version at home that tasted almost like his.
The list could go on and on and will make for a fascinating scrapbook. Look for recipes in your family and life...create your own recipe memory scrapbook.
©2005 Mary Emma Allen
(I write, journal, and scrapbook from her multigenerational home in Plymouth, NH. If anyone is interested, Iwill teach workshops in scrapbooking your family recipes and memories. E-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com )
Thursday, August 18, 2005
The Fun of Discovering Your Roots
Discovering one's roots and incorporating it with scrapbooking becomes an enjoyable activity. When I can tie it in with my writing and art, it becomes even more exciting.
Finding the stories behind my ancestors, learning about their lives, and discovering why various traits have come down through the generations enables me to understand myself better. These stories also are enjoyable to hand down to future generations.
I've discovered second and third cousins through my research and find it fun to exchange family data with them. I didn't have any first cousins when I was growing up and always wished I had. So finding "cousins" in later years and sharing family genealogy stories becomes an added bonus.
Traveling throughout the country, to areas where they migrated and settled, expands my knowledge of history. Incorporating much of this into scrapbooks and journals saves it for my daughter and grandchildren.
(c)2005
Finding the stories behind my ancestors, learning about their lives, and discovering why various traits have come down through the generations enables me to understand myself better. These stories also are enjoyable to hand down to future generations.
I've discovered second and third cousins through my research and find it fun to exchange family data with them. I didn't have any first cousins when I was growing up and always wished I had. So finding "cousins" in later years and sharing family genealogy stories becomes an added bonus.
Traveling throughout the country, to areas where they migrated and settled, expands my knowledge of history. Incorporating much of this into scrapbooks and journals saves it for my daughter and grandchildren.
(c)2005
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