Dig For Treasure At Grandma's

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By The Tree Shaker-

There can be so many clues and missing pieces found in grandma’s attic. Of course you want to make sure that you get permission before wandering around in the attic, but you may find lots of treasures such as funeral cards, obituaries, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, school records or reports, photos, diaries and grandma’s old cedar trunks.
My genealogy research has been put on hold lately as I went on a dig in grandma’s attic, and I have found loads of photographs. Uunfortunately, most of these photos are not identified.
Tip: Start labeling your photos with information about who is in the photo and anything you may know about the scene or event that is in the photo. Your future generations will appreciate your hard work.
I love looking at old photos even if it’s not of my family. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their photo. The type of clothes they wore, the hairstyle and facial features can tell you if this person was a wealthy person or a poor farmer.
It would be wise to try to take either a scanner and computer or at least a digital camera when going on these treasure digs. If you find photos or any certificate in the attic, you can record them.
Once you either have physical copies or digital copies of these photos you can start to organize them and get them saved on your computer. You can email them to family members to see if they can help you identify anyone in the photo. It’s fun to look at old family photos and see the family features that may have been passed down to another generation.
Diaries may not hold a lot of genealogical information but still hold stories of family gatherings in years past that may give you a clue to another relative. School records and reports are another find where you could find a story that a family member wrote about their grandfather or you might find a family tree report that a family member compiled in school.
Of course newspaper clippings, obituaries and funeral cards are a good source for genealogy records. From these you may be able to fill in some of your missing gaps of information. It is a good idea to scan these and make a digital copy, especially since due to age of the newsprint, it can get damaged easily.
Have fun digging in grandma’s attic!

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There can be so many clues and missing pieces found in grandma’s attic. Of course you want to make sure that you get permission before wandering around in the attic, but you may find lots of treasures such as funeral cards, obituaries, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, school records or reports, photos, diaries and grandma’s old cedar trunks.
My genealogy research has been put on hold lately as I went on a dig in grandma’s attic, and I have found loads of photographs. Uunfortunately, most of these photos are not identified.
Tip: Start labeling your photos with information about who is in the photo and anything you may know about the scene or event that is in the photo. Your future generations will appreciate your hard work.
I love looking at old photos even if it’s not of my family. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their photo. The type of clothes they wore, the hairstyle and facial features can tell you if this person was a wealthy person or a poor farmer.
It would be wise to try to take either a scanner and computer or at least a digital camera when going on these treasure digs. If you find photos or any certificate in the attic, you can record them.
Once you either have physical copies or digital copies of these photos you can start to organize them and get them saved on your computer. You can email them to family members to see if they can help you identify anyone in the photo. It’s fun to look at old family photos and see the family features that may have been passed down to another generation.
Diaries may not hold a lot of genealogical information but still hold stories of family gatherings in years past that may give you a clue to another relative. School records and reports are another find where you could find a story that a family member wrote about their grandfather or you might find a family tree report that a family member compiled in school.
Of course newspaper clippings, obituaries and funeral cards are a good source for genealogy records. From these you may be able to fill in some of your missing gaps of information. It is a good idea to scan these and make a digital copy, especially since due to age of the newsprint, it can get damaged easily.
Have fun digging in grandma’s attic!

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