Family History Month Approaches

How far back can you trace your family history?

Once it was quite common for families to keep track of their lineage, particularly for those in the upper echelons of society.

Some of us living today might recall having a family bible that listed the family’s births, deaths and marriages.

Anyway, today many of us can only trace back as far as our great grandparents with any real confidence.

With Family History Month occurring in August, that could all change.

According to local genealogist and author of My Footprint, Robyn Atherton, your family history depends on the steps you take to record it.

Her 20-page book, complete with sections and spaces to write in is easy to use, post and store and you can a copy for just $5.

Encourage your family members to fill in a booklet and recording your family history could become a shared experience.

The beauty of the recorded family history is that it can be passed down to the next generation and built on by them to pass on to the the next and so on.

“When you’re doing family history research you find that most people didn’t write things down,” Mrs Atherton said.

“There were things I started talking with my dad about that I knew nothing about.

“Encourage people to write about themselves in some capacity and put it aside for your family.”

Mrs Atherton said that writing down things like who your friends were when you were at school, your favourite colour or food, what you enjoyed doing, the music you listened to and whether you did any military service could make the task of researching family members and history so much easier.

We use the internet and old newspapers in the main when we are researching family history.

Perhaps you have a family member living with dementia - in which case you might be able to work through the book together because people with dementia tend to recall earlier memories far greater than their most recent experiences.

Who knows what you might learn?

My Footprint is available to purchase at selected local outlets including the Museum of Murrumburrah, Harden Post Office, Harden CWA Rooms and Which Craft and Coffee Cottage at Murrumburrah.

You can also order directly from Robyn Atherton by emailing robynatherton@bigpond.com or calling 0428 516 403.

• Topics:

• Literature
• History