Family History

This is something I didn't do on purpose at the beginning, but it has turned out to be a very useful thing. Years ago, I used a Daytimer to keep track of schedules, contacts, etc. Thankfully, today I can carry around an electronic version of that big notebook. But, it had some pre-printed sheets that seemed perfect to me for keeping a family history. Each year had it's own sheet, divided into 12 months, with a few lines under each month. I started using these sheets to keep track of important events that had happened in each month in 1992. The years have flown by, and now I have a continuous family record since then.

What might be on the history? Here are some examples:

• Michael Graduated High School
• Family Vacation to Florida
• Dear Hubby and I got tetanus shots (need booster every 10 years)
• Where we spent Thanksgiving (or Christmas or Easter or Mother's Day)
• So and So died
• So and So had surgery
• Put house up for sale
• Sold house on Such and Such Lane
• Austin got braces
• Barrett got an award at school
• Etc., etc., etc. - any significant event in the life of your family
  

Now that I don't use the Daytimer anymore, I keep track of this on the computer, and keep a printout with my calendar. Trust me, this is an extremely handy thing to have around. And there's no time like now to get started.

For a sample Family History form in Microsoft Excel format, e-mail me at debsft at yahoo dot com. (put e-mail address in the correct format -- I'm avoiding spammers)