{"id":202,"date":"2015-08-30T01:44:57","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T05:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=202"},"modified":"2015-09-18T10:33:42","modified_gmt":"2015-09-18T14:33:42","slug":"searching-for-branches-on-the-family-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=202","title":{"rendered":"SEARCHING FOR BRANCHES ON THE FAMILY TREE"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

My latest book, HALLEY, has just been released by NewSouth Books: www.newsouthbooks.com\/halley
\nHave you noticed that most people develop an interest in family
\nhistory just after most of the older members of their family are dead
\nor sliding in that direction? I confess that I only had a few good
\nsources left when I suddenly realized that when the last of these
\nolder relatives were gone, the history would die with them. I did
\nhave an advantage–as a kid I loved to listen to stories, even the
\nones ending with, \u201cAnd what you can learn from this story is….\u201d
\nKnowing enough so that you know what questions to ask helps a lot.<\/p>\n

I began visiting and collecting family stories back when my kids were
\nyoung. I took my tape recorder and my camera for each visit.
\nSometimes I visited long-time neighbors of relatives and got family
\nstories from them that my own relatives had forgotten, or chosen not
\nto tell. Most of the people I interviewed in the seventies and
\neighties are gone now, and every so often I get a call or letter from
\nsomeone who has heard I had a tape of their grandparent or aunt, and
\nnow they want a copy. I\u2019m happy to oblige.<\/p>\n

Besides loving stories, I have another advantage: I have two surviving
\naunts. Both have always been known for having the best memories in
\nthe family. The aunt I\u2019m closest to–I\u2019ll call her Mollie–is a joy to
\nvisit and is happy to relive any of the old days I want to hear about.
\nHer sister \u201cDorilee\u201d is another case entirely. Aunt Dorilee has a
\nsour disposition and is always alert for ulterior motives, so my
\nvisits to her have been infrequent. Finally, however, I decided I had
\nto see what stories she could tell me. Armed with my tape recorder,
\nmy camera, and some old family photos I showed up at her house one
\nday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d she asked when I identified myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping I could get some family stories from you,\u201d I answered
\nwith a smile.<\/p>\n

She stared at my camera. \u201cI don\u2019t remember nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

My smile began to feel forced. \u201cWeren\u2019t you were still living with
\nMaw and Dad when my parents got married?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMighta been, but I don\u2019t remember nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uninvited, I sat down, pulled out my tape recorder, and set it on the
\ntable next to my chair.<\/p>\n

Dorilee\u2019s frown deepened. \u201cWhat\u2019s that contraption?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA tape recorder,\u201d I said. \u201cI want to record every word you say
\nbecause I\u2019m sure my memory isn\u2019t as good as yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYours would have to be better\u2019n mine,\u201d she said without taking her
\neyes off the recorder.<\/p>\n

I pushed the \u201con\u201d button. \u201cDo you remember how you felt when William
\nshowed up with his war bride after World War II?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t like Hilde then, and I don\u2019t like her now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you meet your husband?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo far back to remember, and why does that matter anyway?<\/p>\n

This is how the entire visit went. Later, when I reported to Aunt
\nMollie, she said I\u2019d gone about it entirely wrong.<\/p>\n

As if I didn\u2019t know!<\/p>\n

\u201cNext time don\u2019t take anything but a pocketbook and something she can
\nsell at the flea market,\u201d Aunt Mollie advised. \u201cGo in the summertime,
\nbut before it\u2019s too hot, and first drive by her house to see if she\u2019s
\nin the yard. If she is, stop and give her whatever you brought and
\njust sit down and talk about the weather for a spell. After while you
\nstart telling some family story–only make sure you tell it wrong.
\nDorilee will take it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m ready. If Dorilee can just hang on until next summer!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  My latest book, HALLEY, has just been released by NewSouth Books: www.newsouthbooks.com\/halley Have you noticed that most people develop an interest in family history just after most of the older members of their family are dead or sliding in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}