Ideas for our Family Histories...

Aug 27, 2021 11:01 pm

Hope you're having a great week! I found some inspiration for family histories this week.

For families with teenagers

Teenager Pro Tips is a hilarious Facebook page where a guy posts satirical tips from a teenager's point of view. Here are a few examples:

when trash is full…put more trash on it
the ground is your closet’s largest shelf…use it accordingly
if you scrunch up a towel correctly you can make it stay wet f.o.r.e.v.e.r

It would be fun to create a memory book with photos of how our teenagers live superimposed with bad teenage tips/advice.

Here's an example:

You can use Canva.com to import your photos and superimpose them with text. After you've created all your images with text at Canva, download them to your computer and upload them to a Memory book site like Mixbook, Chatbooks, etc, and create & print/order your family history. Go to the OnGenealogy booth at RootsTech and watch How to Create Free Family Tree Art to see what you can create with Canva. There are tons of online Canva tutorials so if you're creative, the sky's the limit!

A Then and Now Memory book

Or a Then and Now Memory book could be a lot of fun. Check out this Sun, Sand, and Modesty Slideshow from the Historical Society of Ocean Grove (scroll down until you find the right slideshow). Find photos of your ancestors participating in an activity and then contrast it with current family in the same activity. How did we dress, etc?

Finding Free Images

The problem, as always, is finding free images you can use. I take thousands of photos and was surprised when I couldn't find certain photos of my teenagers' messes that are such vivid pictures in my mind. I guess I never took the photograph. So my new goal is when I see something funny, temporarily annoying, etc, Take the Photograph, so I can share it when enough time has passed that everyone finds it humorous.

If you go to the OnGenealogy booth at RootsTech, scroll down to Downloadable Resources and you can download "How To Use Free Photos and Images Without Worry". You'll want to be careful about where you find/share images because we don't want to violate any copyright rules.

New and Updated Listings

I've been focusing on New Jersey records this week and if you have ancestors there, the public library resources are GREAT! Check out New Brunswick Photo Collections for some beautiful postcards. Or in the OnGenealogy search window, type "Postcard" in the Find window and select "New Jersey, USA" in the Near window and it will give you more collections (expand or reduce the search radius if your search doesn't return enough results). Here are some new listings. There will be many more to come!

Red Bank Public Library Genealogy Resources

Ken Lew Genealogy Resources

Sadie Pope Dowdell Public Library South Amboy NJ

New Brunswick Free Public Library Genealogy Resources

Fanwood Memorial Library Genealogy Resources

Cherry Hill Public Library Genealogy Resources

Cape May County History Online

Nutley Public Library Genealogy Resources

Lyndhurst Public Library Genealogy Resources

Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library

Ramsey Free Public Library Genealogy Resources

Verona Public Library Genealogy Resources