Summer is family reunion time and it was for our ancestors too. What records and artifacts might our ancestors have left for us to find?<\/p>\n
Photographs<\/strong>: The most obvious and prevalent artifact left for us are photographs. If your family is like mine, it\u2019s possible that you have found photographs with groups of people in them, but the quality is poor. Still I would encourage you to look at the whole picture. It\u2019s possible that you might find the reunion was at a favorite fishing hole or the family farm. Other than people what do you see in the picture? Automobiles? Games such as croquet? Blankets, but no lawn chairs or picnic tables? Based on those things and the dress of the family members, can you guess the year this reunion might have taken place? Identifying the people is important too. Can you see faces well enough to compare to other pictures you might have? Do you see resemblances among the family members? Are they infants or children? Is there a relative who might have been a child and could help you identify the family members? What story can you tell based on the photograph?<\/p>\n List of attendees<\/strong>: Don\u2019t be surprised if you find a list of names for your family reunion with their home next to it. Families had to have a way to organize these reunions. My aunt just found notes in my grandpa\u2019s handwriting from 2 years of family reunions. Grandpa was the secretary and marked down who attended and who had paid their money. This was a great find and helped me find missing family members, but also it gave me something to consider when I saw who made the effort to attend.<\/p>\n