This week’s technique hits close to home for me, as my Mother In Law passed away suddenly last week and my Father In-Law is battling Terminal Cancer.

Gathering Your Family History

Scrapbooking is not just a hobby. It’s about preserving our family history and trying to collect as much past history as we can to preserve it. A Family Tree or chart is a good way to keep track of all the names that you have gathered. Include it in the front of your scrapbook for people to reference.

Below are a few ways to organize the charts:

1. Horizontal Chart - starts with the main family member’s name in the box at the bottom, and builds the ancestry up and out.

2. Vertical Chart - builds a person’s ancestry up from the bottom and to one side.

3. Fan Chart - ancestry fans out from the bottom.

4. Hourglass Chart - ancestors go up from the center, with descendants charted downward.

Below is a list of questions to help gather that history from your family:

1. What is your full name and why were you named it?

2. Were you named after somebody else?

3. Do you have a nickname?

4. If so, what was it and why were you called that?

5. Where were you born and when?

6. Do you remember hearing your grandparents describe their lives?

7. What did they say?

8. Do you remember your great-grandparents? What do you know about them?

9. Who was the oldest person you can remember in your family as a child? What do you remember about them?

10. Was there a chore you really hated doing as a child?

11. What would you consider to be the most important inventions that have been made during your lifetime?

12. How is the world now different from what it was like when you were a child?

13. What kinds of books did you like to read?

14. Do you remember having a favorite nursery rhyme or bedtime story? What was it?

15. What were your favorite toys and what were they like?

16. What were your favorite childhood games?

17. What were your schools like?

18. Did you like school?

19. How did you get to school?

20. What was your favorite subject in school and why?

21. What subject in school was always the easiest for you?

22. What was your least favorite subject in school and why?

23. Who was your favorite teacher and why were they special?

24. How do your fellow classmates from school remember you best?

25. What school activities and sports did you participate in?

26. Did you and your friends have a special hang -out where you liked to spend time?

27. Were you ever given any special awards for your studies or school activities?

28. How many years of education have you completed?

29. Do you have a college degree? If so, what was your field of study?

30. Did you get good grades?

31. What did you like the most and the least about it?

32. What did you usually wear to school?

33. How old were you when you started dating?

34. Do you remember your first date?

35. Name a good friend that you have known for the longest period of time? How many years have you been friends?

36. Do you remember where you went on the first date with your spouse?

37. How long did you know them before you got married?

38. Describe your wedding proposal.

39. When and where did you get married?

40. Describe your wedding ceremony. Who was there?

41. Did you have a honeymoon? If so, where did you go?

42. How long have you been married (or were you married)?

43. How did you find out that you were going to be a parent for the first time?

44. How many children did you have all together?

45. What were their names, birth dates and birthplaces?

46. What was the funniest thing you can remember that one of your children said or did?

47. If you had it to do all over again, would you change the way you raised your family? How?

48. What did you find most difficult about raising children?

49. What did you find most rewarding about being a parent?

50. Did you spoil any of your children? How?

51. What advice do you have for your children and grandchildren?

52. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

53. What was your first job?

54. What kinds of jobs have you had?

55. How did you decide on your career?

56. Did you make enough money to live comfortably?

57. How long did you have to work each day at your job?

58. How old were you when you retired?

59. Who was the person that had the most positive influence on your life? Who were they and what did they do?

60. What wars have been fought during your lifetime? How did you feel about them?

61. If you served in the military, when and where did you serve and what were your duties?

62. If you served in the military, were you ever injured in the line of duty? What were the circumstances and what were your injuries?

63. How tall are you?

64. What color was your hair as a young child and then as an adult?

65. What color are your eyes?

66. Where have you lived as an adult? List the places and the years that you lived there.

67. Why are you living where you are today?

68. Do you wish you lived somewhere else (If so, where wo uld it be)?

69. Describe your general health.

70. What major illnesses or health problems do you remember having?

71. What do you do regularly for exercise?

72. Do you have any bad habits now or in the past? What were they?

73. Have you ever been in a serious accident?

74. Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, what for?

75. Have you ever had surgery? If so, what for?

76. If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?

77. What was the most stressful experience that you ever lived through? What helped you get through it?

78. What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you personally?

79. What kinds of musical instrument(s) have you learned to play?

80. Would you consider yourself creative?

81. What things have you made that others have enjoyed?

82. How would you describe your sense of humor?

83. What are your hobbies?

84. What did you like to do when you were not working?

85. What is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to you?

86. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

87. Have you ever met any famous people? Describe what happened.

88. What organizations and groups have you belonged to?

89. Have you ever won any special awards or prizes as an adult? What were they for?

90. What has been your favorite vacation? Where did you go and why was it special?

91. What was the favorite place you ever visited and what was it like?

92. What pets have you had?

93. Is there anything you have always wanted to do, but haven’t?

FAVORITES

1. What is your favorite color?

2. What is your favorite style of music?

3. What is your favorite musical instrument?

4. What is your favorite song?

5. Who is your favorite singer?

6. Who is your favorite movie star?

7. What is your favorite movie?

8. What is your favorite sport?

9. Who is your favorite athlete?

10. Who is your favorite artist?

11. What is your favorite painting?

12. Who is your favorite poet?

13. What is your favorite poem?

14. Who is your favorite author?

15. What is your favorite book?

16. What is your favorite season?

17. What is your favorite tree?

18. What is your favorite flower?

19. What is your favorite holiday?

20. What is your favorite animal?

21. What is your favorite meal?

22. What is your favorite fruit?

23. What is your favorite vegetable?

24. What is your favorite candy?

25. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

26. What is your favorite cookie?

27. What is your favorite drink?

28. What is your favorite restaurant?

29. What is your favorite board game?

30. What is your favorite card game?

These are meant to get you started on your journey, but there are certainly more questions and ideas out there!  Customize to your list to suit what you hope to capture about your family heritage!