A Daunting Task

Even when I was Frank’s age, or younger, I was fascinated by our family history. I would sneak downstairs early in the morning, crawl in bed with my grandmother, and ask her to tell me the story of one of my relatives. She told the stories over and over again, so to this day, I remember many of them. It seems they are permanently imprinted in my memory.

Last year I researched and finished as much as I could on the Slade/Schieferstein family history. I scanned the photos I have, and put them all in a photo album. Today I plan to work on the Allen/Marks photo albums and perhaps even get a Millard album done. That one is easy, I have very few photos from my father’s side of the family. 

It is a big job, and a tedious one. I suppose that is why so many people begin family history projects and why so few ever finish them. 

Doug’s father’s side of the family is particularly perplexing. His great-grandfather was orphaned. Doug was determined to get to the bottom of who his great-great-grandparents were last summer; we came up with a couple of theories, but nothing conclusive. 

My grandmother's mother's family was traced back to the mid-1500s by a man named Henry Allen, who was a writer. I believe I have her father’s family history back to the 1700s. 

My plan is to put the history, as much as I know of it, in the pages at the beginning of the each photo album. That way, even though they have a short attention span for it now, someday Frank and Beck will have it all at their fingertips if they are interested in learning more about their ancestors. 

This project has appeared on my to-do list for too many years now. I would like to make some headway before we see the end of 2014. It’s one of those I wish it was done but I don’t have the patience to finish it kind of tasks. Or, in a word, daunting.