I've been so involved in this baby book of Diana Lewis and
wondering what her childhood must have been like. Then as time went on
realizing that I was not only holding some of her childhood memories but also
information that stretched into her adulthood, and even had the opportunity to
see who she married. There were numerous reasons that I chose to share this
particular piece that I purchased off of eBay. One of those, which I believe is
obvious to many of you, was to bring awareness of the additional places to
locate information about our ancestors. I received mixed comments from some of
you; for the most part there was shock as to who would sell such a piece of
family history. I’m sure there are many different reasons these items end up on
sites like eBay, cleaning of the estate, families don’t know what to do with
it, they might be the last surviving member of the family or simply the saddest
possibility is that they have passed away and the family just doesn't want
it.
The other reason
I wanted to share this was because of all the hidden information within the
book. I touched on this in some of the postings. We know when we are conducting
our research we look closely at the “official documents”, birth and death
certificates, census records, marriage license. But let’s not forget about the
photographs, they can offer not only hand noted information on the back, but also
information within the photograph. You can look at the style of clothing,
background, were they in a city or country side, the weather, neighborhood or even
the make and model of a car and of course the obvious others in the photograph.
Sometimes you might only see a stamp on the back showing where the photograph
was developed. You might be surprised how that can also be
helpful in viewing your photographs; you might have the name of the store, the
date it was developed and even state and city.
Of course I can’t
forget to bring some focus to the information that can be found in some newspaper
clippings. I strongly believe the clippings included in this book are a perfect
example of information. Not only did I have clippings of the birth
announcements but her years through school. I was able to find out about the
clubs she belonged to, what the purpose was of those clubs, the difference she
helped to make in the community. The information offered on her school
achievements showed not only those achievements but also listed some of her classmates
and even their parents and their addresses. Of course you can’t forget there is
always a chance you might be lucky enough to see a photograph of your ancestor included
in the article.
I must also
mention one not so common find are the play flyers or event brochures. The ones
that I found in the baby book of Diana Lewis are fun and informative. You had
the opportunity to see a role she had in a 3rd grade play and see
who her classmates were and the role they played. Of course the Eastern Slope
Chapter that listed those who were soon to be installed along with those who were
already installed. It was a small peek into an organization that many aren't
aware of. Again I had a list of those she knew and even a couple dates to show
when she became part of the organization or club.
I have other
pieces of family history that I’ve collected over the years and over time I
will continue to share what I have. Now I must point out I’m not related to
Diana Lewis or anyone named in any of the documents that I found. I just
thought this was interesting and maybe someone who enjoys my blog might recognize
one of the surnames listed and possibly aid them in their research. I look
forward as always to hearing your comments and feedback and thank you for the
visit.
