We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors, to share the family story, to safeguard the family treasures. We are the storytellers of the tribe. We are the keepers of the records. We are the family archivists.

Inspiration from other Archivists & Researchers

As I got into serious research on the Eggleston family, I became aware of a wonderful book: Bygod Eggleston, Englishman & Colonist and Some of His Descendants, by Dr. Rosalie Eggleston & Linda Eggleston McBroom and published through the Mary & John Clearing House.

These two genealogists had done a tremendous amount of research on our immigrant ancestor. Theirs was a collaboration across the ocean: Rosalie lived in England and Linda in the U. S. Together they were able to put together a great early history of the family. Sometime later, additional research resulted in an article in The American Genealogist on the mother of Bygod Eggleston. Their research and documentation cleared up some errors which had been around for a long time. Continue reading →

“Prepare a Book of Remembrance” – This was never an item to be checked off a to-do list, but rather the creation of a dynamic entity, ever expanding with new discoveries and evolving in format through technological advances.

“Prepare a Book of Remembrance” was counsel I was given as a young woman. My Book of Remembrance was actually already begun, but I had no grasp of its significance.

Beginnings of My Book of Remembrance

I grew up being familiar with a “Book of Remembrance”, an expandable legal size binder full of pedigree charts and family group sheets, which my parents kept. This was kind of a requirement for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The earliest beginnings of my own Book of Remembrance was when my father gathered us kids at the kitchen table, showed us his Book of Remembrance and gave us blank charts to hand copy information on to. I also remember him telling us stories about the people whose names we wrote and showing us a few old photographs. I remember at least one time going to the local Family History Library with him and looking at microfilm. It was exciting to see our family name projected onto the screen, but it was all still rather abstract.

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