If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I may have a solution for you. The good folks at Scribed, a free web-based document sharing service, are offering to digitally scan just about any written document you have for free. All you do is mail them the documents and they digitally scan and host them on their site. Then the documents will be available for download by anyone you chose, and safe should disaster strike.

Here are the details from their website (http://www.scribd.com/paper):

Convert Your Paper to iPaper is a program at Scribd where we will scan your paper documents and publish them on the internet completely for free. You just send us the documents in the mail – we’ll take care of the rest.

Is this really free?

Yes. We offset the cost of scanning by serving relevant advertisements on scanned documents.

What kinds of documents can you scan?

Scribd uses highly advanced scanning technology provided by our partners to scan and OCR documents at high volume. Our scanners can scan almost any written documents, but be sure to contact us for details about your particular materials.

How do I participate?

Email paper@scribd.com with information about your paper documents. Please include an estimate of the number of pages you have. A Scribd representative will reply with information about how and where to mail the documents.

Are there any additional restrictions?

Yes. To use the “Convert Your Paper to iPaper program”, you must:

1. Have full legal rights to any content you send us.
2. Not be in a hurry. It will take time – weeks, at least – to get your content scanned.
3. Agree to have your content published on Scribd.com.

Also, please realize that Scribd may choose to not scan materials at our discretion, and that this program will be available for a limited time only.

One of the ways I get closer to my ancestors is by trying to experience life the way they lived it. Sometimes I do this with their recipes, and sometimes I do this by reading books they did, or listening to music they did. So as I was reading this book, I was interested when I came upon this little paragraph written by my Grandmother Genevieve Tietjen Hassell (b. 27 Jun 1916, d. 27 May 2002) as she recalled memories of her father Amos Tietjen.

As a family we took time out for camping trips. Some of the outstanding ones were the time we went to Chaco Canyon with Uncle Dick George’s family. Another time when we went just below the Bluewater lake, that it rained all the time for one week. We stayed in the tent and enjoyed the folks telling stories and playing games with us. At night Dad would play the harmonica and recite the “Preacher and the Bear.” He had it memorized “A Preacher went out a hunting, and etc.”

As this was not a familiar song to me I jumped over to Google and the search produced so many results, that I was almost embarrassed for not having heard of this song before.

The University of Colorado has a digital copy of the sheet music. It was written in 1904 by Joe Arzonia and can be viewed here: http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/cgi-bin/sheetmusic.pl?RagPreach&Rag&main (One note, I have figured out that the word “coon” in this song is a nick name for preacher, so don’t let that throw you off as you read it. )

If you’d like to hear what it sounds like, you can watch or hear it in several places on YouTube. This was meant to be a song, but as my grandmother tells it, Amos would recite it. Here’s one version where it is more or less recited. Perhaps in a manner similar to the way my great Grandfather did it.

Here’s another version (audio only) by one of my favorite people, Andy Griffith:

And lastly, here’s a version I came across, and it was so cool to hear this old preacher belt out the song, and I just had to include it:

Now that I know what this song sounds like, it is so much easier to imagine, my grandmother and her family sitting in a tent near Bluewater Lake with rain pouring all around them while my great Grandfather plays the harmonica and recites this song.

So the next time you are reading your family history and you come upon a reference for a song/game/poem/etc. that you are not familiar with, take some time to do a little digging. Doing so is how family history becomes more than names and dates and actually comes alive.

Brigham Young University

Department of Independent Study

• Family History/Genealogy – Introductory
  • Finding Your Ancestors
  • Providing Temple Ordinances for Your Ancestors
  • Introduction to Family History Research
  • Helping Children Love Your Family History

• Family History/Genealogy – Record Type
  • Family Records
  • Vital Records
  • Military Records

• Family History/Genealogy – Regional and Ethnic
  • France: Immigrant Origins
  • France: Vital Records
  • France: Reading French Handwriting
  • France: Genealogical Organizations and Periodicals
  • France: The Internet and French Genealogy
  • French Research: Paris
  • French Research: Alsace-Lorraine
  • Germany: Immigrant Origins
  • Germany: U.S. Sources and Surname Changes
  • Germany: Jurisdictions, Gazetteers, and Maps
  • Germany: Reading German Handwriting
  • Germany: Calendars and Feast Days
  • Germany: Vital Records
  • Huguenot Research
  • Scandinavia: Jurisdictions, Gazetteers, and Maps
  • Scandinavia: Reading Gothic Script
  • Scandinavia: Church Records and Feast Days
  • Scandinavia: Census Records
  • Scandinavia: Probate and Other Records

Brigham Young University – Religion Department

• Rel 261 – Introduction to Family History

Genealogy.com University

• Beginning Genealogy
  • Part 1: Your Great Ancestral Hunt
  • Part 2: Record Groups as Building Material

• Internet Genealogy
  • Part 1: Getting Started on the Net
  • Part 2: Powerful Tools for Internet Research

• Tracing Immigrant Origins
  • Part 1: Introduction
  • Part 2: Post Civil War Immigrant Sources
  • Part 3: Between 1820 and 1865
  • Part 4: Pre-1820 Immigration
  • Part 5: European Sources

About.Com Introduction to Genealogy

• Lesson 1: Genealogical Basics
  
  • Why Genealogy?
  • Genealogical Basics
  • Charting Your Course
  • Recording Names
  • Recording Dates
  • Recording Places
  • Putting it All Together
  • Quiz

• Lesson 2: Family & Home Sources
  • First Steps
  • Clues from Family Sources
  • Gathering Oral Histories
  • Ask the Right Questions
  • Previous Research
  • Family Cemeteries
  • Citing Family Sources
  • Putting it All Together
  • Quiz 

• Lesson 3: Genealogy Research 101
  • Research Basics
  • Preparing to Search
  • What to Look For
  • Where to Look
  • Correspondence 101
  • Tracking Your Progress
  • Computer Software
  • Putting it All Together
  • Quiz 

• Lesson 4: Vital Records – Birth, Marriage, Death, Divorce
  • Why Vital Records
  • Birth Records
  • Marriage Records
  • Death Records
  • Divorce Records
  • How to Obtain Vital Records
  • Where to Find Vital Records
  • Source Citations for Vital Records
  • Putting it All Together
  • Quiz

Genealogy Research Associates

• Course 1: A Brief Overview of Family History Research Procedures
• Course 2: Record Groups as Building Materials

Miscellaneous Guides and Tutorials

• FamilySearch.com Reserch Guidance – Great compilation of tutorials and guides.
• FamilySearch.com Research Helps
• Rootsweb Guide to Tracing Family Trees – There are numeous guides here. Great site
• Ancestry.com Learning Center
• Board for Certification of Genealogists – Skillbuilders
• Dear Myrtle

I’m sure she understands now that she in no way shirked her responsibilities–far from it. I’m sure she realizes that the main purpose of Genealogy is to bring families together; And not just families separated by several generations, but families who are living. My mother spent considerable amounts of time researching her won family, and doing extraction work, but her main contribution to genealogy was the great work she did in her own family. Here is just a small sampling of the many things my mother did to fulfill her genealogy responsibilities. Hopefully, you will find some ideas that you can implement in your life.

Organizing family reunions, parties and get-togethers is a fantastic way to further the genealogy work in your family.

While I and my family stood at my mother’s bedside minutes after she died, we all agreed that she was the glue that kept the family together. My Mother was the main organizing force behind such family binding activities as: Family Thanksgiving Dinner; Family Superbowl Party; Family Soup Canning Party; Family Fourth of July Party; Family Cookie Making Party; Family Carmel Apple Dipping Party; and numerous Family Reunions of all sorts. In fact, she didn’t need a holiday or special occasion to get the family together. More than anyone I know, she planned and organized activities that kept our family together, spending quality time.

Keep a record of your life and the lives of your family

Another way my mother performed genealogy work was by keeping two newsletters she sent out to her family. One was a weekly newsletter which functioned much like a journal, telling the comings and goings in her life, as well as important news in the family. She also gathered short letters from her siblings and combined it in a monthly newsletter. I’m sure I speak for everyone who received these letters that they were the highlight of our week. Even as she was sick getting treatments in the hospital, she would send out this letter. Not having them in my in-box anymore is a great loss.

Learn and share the family stories to create a sense of unity and family pride.

My mother came from a long line of storytellers, and it is a tradition she continued very well. My mother learned all the family stories from generations back and was the first person I went to when I had a question about someone or some event in our families history. She had a great memory and knew most of her ancestors names and dates and was always willing to share the details of their lives and use them to help teach and instruct.

I wish I had a that conversation back with my mother. If I did, here’s what I’d tell her: No mother, you did not fail in your duties to do genealogy. In fact, I’d say you did more than most anyone I know. You have taught me to love all generations of my family, instilled in me a pride for who I am, and given me a love for genealogy work in all its forms. You have taught me that genealogy is not just the study of the dead. It can, and should, be a uniting force for families who are living.

Or view it here:

Memorial Slideshow for Jenna Lee