FAMILY HISTORY TREES ANCESTRY AND CENSUS

The family is the basic unit of society. It is where the foundation of the individual is grounded. It is the imprint of identity that describes who you are. The family is sacred and the guarding of it's integrity should be of paramount importance. Fully integrating the family unit into an unbreakable bond requires much work through the pains of trial and error. To illustrate one avenue by which a family member can gain an appreciation for family and it's role and importance in the life of the individual we shall delve into a work that can be carried by all members of a family. It is the work of genealogy or family history. Any activity which serves to further the work of the bonding process between parent and child, brother to sister and descendant to ancestor is a worthy activity and should be pursued all our life long. In this article we shall examine various family history and genealogical activities that all may take part in and have ownership of. The end result being a more cohesive family with individuals loyal to one another in times of hardship or triumph.

As humans we love colors and objects that are tangible and bring meaning to the moment. Begin work, as a family, in creating a family flag or coat of arms. You can make this as intricate or open ended as you wish as long as the end result is one of complete loyalty and reverence for which it stands. Do some research and study on your family background and origin. You may very well find a picture of a family coat of arms to either adopt or adapt to make it more real and applicable to your family. There is no other feeling quite like finding a piece of your own history. You may even take your new coat of arms and have it imprinted on stationery, envelopes and other items which you handle on a daily basis. If you intend on creating a family flag you may have the input of all the members of the family. This may have a central theme or even a collage of all the various personalities present in your family. It may even be a representation of hope or goal for the family as envisioned by each member therein. It need not be set in stone as everyone's tastes and hopes changes from time to time. Set an annual date for which the family updates the family flag and renews it's purpose. The coat of arms and a family flag are great opportunities to give everyone a visual attachment in which they can have confidence and loyalty in.

To fully grasp the full weight of importance an individual has in a family it should be enthusiastically urged to start and maintain a family history. Start by filling out a family group record. This would have everyone's full names, relationship and vital statistics on it. These and other free genealogical forms can be downloaded and printed off the internet in many different places. In an age of the internet and available mass information acquiring family history information is easier than ever. As you expand your search for names you will quickly notice that your file is growing by leaps and bounds. Through this process of a little leg work you will soon compile dozen, hundreds and even thousands of family names within a few years. The knowledge gained from this activity is priceless as you will be able to pass this on to your rising generations.

Be engaged in the living as well. Organize and plan family reunions where you can gain needed information. More often than not if you cannot seem to find a certain piece of information someone in your family lines does have such treasure or knows how to get it. Split up the work. While a couple are working on ancestral names the rest of the family can be working on current family lines and getting the information of new babies born to them. It will not take long to realize that family history work encompasses more than just your own family unit. It quickly expands and multiplies into a great and wonderful work that will bring new meaning and life into your family.

There are priceless avenues of information. Family History Centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are dotted across the globe and are at the forefront of digitizing and microfilming census records for safekeeping and for easy access for interested parties. Catholic parish records are also a great tool as their Christenings are recorded according to family. Town, county, state and federal government census records can be accessed under the Freedom of Information Act. These are usually hand written in old form and can be difficult to decipher. For this reason trained volunteers from the LDS Church have been engaged in a massive census records indexing project to extract this knowledge before it gets destroyed or lost. Cemeteries are also vital resources. Take the time to investigate a cemetery where a loved one is resting. Chances are that you will find other family members there in which to place them in your family tree. Many families have family cemeteries where many members are at rest together. This is a treasure trove of information and is an important piece of knowledge for your children to know. In the United States of America many are descendants of immigrants. These records are also available from various ports like Ellis Island. Depths upon depths of records lay in basements and are ill kept. In an age when our youth are growing up with false identity rescuing these records for their sake is of grave concern.

Along with these activities it is also very important to establish family traditions. These are normal routines that your children will identify in their later years as having done as a family. These activities are defining moments in the unit. It can be as small as baking a cake every Saturday night to even setting aside one night a week solely for the entreating of family activities. Go and collect food for your local food pantry. As a family go and visit a rest home and have a conversation with a resident there. As a family weatherize your home. You can even sit around a table and go over family finances and budget together with a purpose.

There is no greater cause than that of the family. The correct nurture and upbringing is vital to the future families the children will have. How strong you develop the ties now will be a good gauge of how strong those ties will be in times of serious distress. The wholesome activities you perpetuate now as a family will have a real impact of how well the family will survive in the future. All these activities bring identity, purpose and confidence to the self and the family. Give them this for they are all worth it.