Genealogy can be kid stuff

A local expert says parents should start early teaching children about their family heritage

By Neda Spotted Wolf, Journal staff | Saturday, August 11, 2007

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

Bonita Ley's eyes fill with tears when she remembers the day -- after her father had died -- that her mother gave her and each of her siblings a videotape documenting four generations of their family's history.

"I was very touched," Ley said. "That was the most precious thing I've ever been given."

Ley knows the importance of having a family tree and how significant it could be to descendants. That's why she has been teaching children how to conduct their own genealogy research through workshops, books and fun hands-on activities.

Ley is a member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, a nonprofit organization founded in Bismarck, N.D., to share, educate and explore the Germanic-Russian heritage. That is her husband's ethnicity and why she became involved with it, she said.

She grew up in Keystone and taught elementary education in the Douglas School District for 28 years. She is one of the founding members of the Literacy Network, an organization devoted to getting children interested in reading.

"I just pick up books whenever I can find them," Ley said of the numerous children's books dealing with how to make family history research informative and fun.

She would like to see children get more involved in learning about their heritage. Some of the activities require the parents to recall moments from their own lives, which normally may not be shared with their children at young ages.

"Kids need to have that shared with them," she said. "They (parents) were so happy that they did it because it forced them to do theirs."

Ley refers to author Laura Ingalls Wilder as an example. Wilder began writing about her own youth when she was about 62, Ley said. When Wilder was asked how she could remember so far back, she would say that anybody could train their memory to go back further and further.

Ley encourages parents to get involved in getting children interested in learning more about their genealogy. She suggests listening to music, telling stories and cooking foods native to their heritage.

"What better thing to do than make a dessert from Ireland?" she suggested.

Learning can be fun for children, as well as for any adult who may want to begin their own genealogy.

Most of the people researching their genealogy around Rapid City already have been doing so for many years. A local organization, Rapid City Society for Genealogical Research, can offer assistance to people who want to begin tracing their family history.

Virginia Hanson of the South Dakota Historical Society said there are things a person can do before going to the a courthouse, library or local archives.

"You need to start at home," she said.

Begin by listing your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to form a basic family tree, or pedigree chart.

"Pedigree charts are the most common and the most important," Hanson said. "The charts will help you to know what information you need to look for. You can add any information afterward to help."

The second step is to determine what facts you want to search for and how in-depth you want it to be. Family group sheets or charts can help with this by showing what other people are looking for. They are free and available online.

One site to search is www.cyndis list.com/supplies.htm, then look under charts and forms.

The third step is to determine basic facts in your family history. This will determine where you will look, Hanson said. If, for example, a story that has been passed through the family has not been proven to be true, that should be noted.

Interviewing family members is important and would be a good time to use an audio or videotape. The interviews should be one-on-one and can be informal.

"It's a nice memento for 20 years down the road," she said. "I suggest having a list of questions you want to ask. And make sure to write it down," she said.

Family records are items that can be gathered from a person's own home and other family members.

"Old letters are a wonderful source," Hanson said.

After this information is gathered, anyone searching for genealogical information can branch out even more with the help of the Internet, the local library and archives.

Ley said when children came to her after doing some family history activities with their parents, they were excited about learning surprising facts -- for example, that their mother had been a dancer or that their father looked different when he was younger.

"The simple pleasures of life can make you the happiest," she said.

Genealogy: Where do you start?

- Begin with yourself and what you know about your family, such as immediate family members' names and their relation to you.

- Decide what facts you want to search for. The facts can be basic and include information about births, marriages and deaths, or they can be more detailed. Job descriptions and information about where relatives lived are examples of a family tree "getting more leaves."

- Determine what is fact and what is fiction. For example, oral history is an important resource; however if there is no documentation to back it up, it should be labeled as oral history.

- Interview family members. They are important resources and a great way to discover new information.

- Find family records, such as a family Bible, memorial cards and old letters. They all hold a wealth of information.

Source: Virginia Hanson, South Dakota State Historical Society