By Janice Marie Simon

During Women’s History Month, it’s easy to think about Susan B. Anthony and other women who lead the way for us modern day women. But have you thought about preserving the history of the women and men in your family, Savvy Aunties?

Our nieces and nephews need to know their history lurking in their own family trees, and we Aunties can help with that. Being an adoptee who found her birth family, I have four branches of the family tree to explore.

Because of my adoption and birth family, my family is a bit more complicated than some except when it comes to my nieces and nephews. Granted, some of them are not related to each other because they are literally in two different families, i.e. two separate trees, but I know it’s important for them to know the whole story when the time is right.

Write It Down
Write down the stories people tell in your family. It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer or not, just write it all down. Since ancient times, family members have told and re-told stories around the campfire, and these stories were handed down to each generation, each adding their own twist. It’s like a generational game of telephone.

Taking the time to write them down is a good first step. Every time there is a family gathering, I wind up writing down the stories and tidbits I’ve gleaned. One of my four grandmothers was a journalist during World War II, and two others grew up on a Kansas farm during the Great Depression. For one, her twin sister joined the convent and became a nun. One grandfather made moonshine. A great-grandmother fed the Dalton Gang when they showed up at her farm. They ate everything she cooked, and then placed a silver dollar by each of their plates.

My collection of Savvy Aunties is as diverse as they are. They are teachers, medical technicians, mothers, and singles. One founded the Tourette’s Association in Pennsylvania after her son was diagnosed, and another has cared for her quadriplegic husband for decades.

Videotape Them
If you don’t know the stories, videotape older relatives telling stories about their lives. You may be surprised by what you learn by asking questions. One of my former college professors told me several years ago that she learned a great deal about her aunt while cleaning out her late mother’s papers. Her aunt always came off as a very serious, almost scary person, and they didn’t have a close relationship.

Going through her mother’s letters, she found out that her aunt was quite the Savvy Auntie in her day. She supported a home for unwed teen-age mothers at a time when it was quite scandalous to support them. The insight gave my professor additional insight into her aunt, and she wished she had known this kind of information when her aunt was still alive.

Save The Papers
Save important letters, journals, and papers from your relatives in acid-free archival boxes. For centuries, historians have used letters and journals to document the lives of the famous, infamous, and ordinary. I’m not so sure how they’re going to do it in the age of e-mails, texts and Tweets.

Scan Your Photos
Scan in old photos to save for posterity. If you don’t want to scan them in yourself, there are several scanning companies out there who will do it for you.

Don’t limit yourself to photos. You can scan in rosary cards; birth, bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, and funeral announcements; letters and cards; diplomas; family crests; postcards and other items.

Dig Deeper
Websites, such as Ancestry.com, offer other details of your genealogy. You can uncover census, birth, wedding, and death records during online searches. Just know many of these websites require subscription fees, but you can cancel your membership when your research is completed.

Create The Story
Create a book for yourself using the stories, photos, and other artifacts for your nieces and nephews. You can create one big one that you share with them or individual ones for each child. What do you want them to know about their family? What can they learn from the successes and failures, the triumphs and defeats, the good and the bad?

Depending on the information in your family tree, you may need to dole out information in age-appropriate chunks, saving the whole story for when they’re adults. One day, I know I will have to explain to two of my nephews why I didn’t grow up with their dad.

Yes, we have to talk about it all. History shows us the past so we can learn and change the future. Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat ourselves.

Janice Marie Simon, MA, CPO