Don't leave it too late!

Really all I wanted to show everyone was that I read an article on line from the Daily Mail (yes I know I tend to use that paper always, sorry everyone ) and it really struck home because I feel exactly the same way. It was written by a reporter Mandy Appleyard lamenting the fact that she has left it too late to ask her father about his life. It's one of the regrets I have too. Now I am so passionate about my family and ancestors I just wish I had asked more questions and written down more information. This is exactly how Mandy feels and all I really wanted to say was ask questions, record information however trivial it seems, make notes, and you will find the lives of your family come to life. Many of the comments below the article say exactly the same so it is something many people regret.

Really this was just a reminder to us all, especially those new to family history research. Don't leave it too late!

 

A couple of years ago I was quizzing my mother for what she could remember about family history or traditions, and she exclaimed in exasperation, 'Oh why didn't we ask the older generation while there was time!" I had to laugh, and pointed out to her that, at nearly 90, she now WAS the older generation. Fortunately for me, she did absorb a lot of her own family's tales, and listened to her mother-in-law's stories (more than my father did) and it is a source of pleasure to both of us when I am able to 'prove' the truth of a story. (One such notion was that her grandfather's brother had married her grandmother's sister, but only a search through FreeReg identified them, disguised as they were by the bride being a widow)

 

I got into family history some ten years or more after my mother died. I tried asking my uncle a few things, but all I could get was "You should have asked your mother". Not terribly helpful!