Family History Month - ENGAGE

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter E ~

Are there members of your family that might not share your interest in genealogy but they are willing to provide you with information (names, dates & places) or memorabilia (family papers, photographs or slides, family items, family recipes) or an interview about their life and times.  Give some thought to how you could engage these family members who may have the knowledge to help you fill in the blanks in your family tree. 

Make a list of the elders in your family and engage them today - this necessarily involves some prep work but there are several great sites that can give you direction as well as suggested interview questions.  Schedule times to meet with the elders in your family and have them tell you their stories and share their history (be sure to record their voices, take photos of their memorabilia, ask for copies of family recipes and/or scan documents).  Once you have engaged these family elders make sure you follow up with a written summary of their interview(s) and a thank you note.  Everyone has a story to tell and future generations will be thrilled to have these memories.  Think of all the leaves you can add to your family tree!

(photo by digital artist Francesco Marino and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)