Kith and Kin – Borders Family History Society
DOWNSIZING the family home may never be easy at the best of times.
It can be quite a challenge and will present many quandaries, big and small – whether to keep the beautifully hand-made Welsh quilt gifted by a great-great aunt and still in perfect condition, or a favourite aunt’s Land Army dungarees, or a parent’s long service award or the primary school prizes. It can be a long list.
So, what makes the cut, albeit a temporary one? Photographs, of course, but there are so many of them.
A couple of old photo albums from one side of the family and a box of loose photos from the other side have been kept. Both sets of photos had already been scanned and the electronic files have been backed up which leaves several boxes of more recent photos to be checked and scanned.
Many of the photos will be near duplicates which could be discarded, reducing the number to be scanned and kept. There were no photographic slides in the boxes but there is one video which needs to be converted to digital format. Still looking for someone local who may be able to do the conversion but there are several companies further afield which provide this service so a little more research is needed to find the most suitable.
Diaries, even though they may be a shepherd’s work diaries which have lots of sheep counts – lots of them – for the markets, the lambing and the handlings but there are a few snippets in there which may add to the life stories of those in the family tree. Births, marriages, deaths, census records and valuation rolls help to record the working lives of our ancestors especially when they moved around for work.
Finding an old address book from the 1950s has been a bonus, and a good read. A few of the families in the family tree moved around a lot for work and the addresses are all there, so next time we meet up, we’ll be able to use them for a bit of reminiscing. Another unexpected find was the old drivers’ licences, the little cards with the stick-in slip of paper for the annual renewal fee of 5/- which increased to 15/- in 1958, £1 in 1970 and £5 in 1976.
By coincidence, another family member has been downsizing so there has been a lot to share, especially when two family history researchers get together. Four second cousins in the family kept in touch with each other for many years, sharing their family stories and photographs.
These, together with copies of the original OPR and Statutory Register entries, have all been compiled into family trees and life stories – a bundle for each family and generation.
Both researchers have been keen to build on the basics of B, M & D and have used many sources which provide background local history for the people and the places. Another good read. Now back to those photographs!