A father’s name on a birth certificate, is that a fact? 

As enthusiastic genealogists and family storytellers we all have our preferred tools that we use on a regular basis for our research and story writing. Genealogists need tools to research family history – to scan databases for documentation (evidence of ancestors’ vital facts) and tools to store the results of our research. Family Historians need writing tools to prepare stories for sharing.

The Wescott family. I grew up with my mom's paternal side, the Wescotts. We heard many stories of my grandfather's father and his grandfather. My grandfather told stories of how his great-grandfather was at the first Wright Brothers' flight, but he did not witness it because he was taking a nap at the time. Oh, the lore of the family history!  

Anna was struggling. She had been worried for weeks, and now it was confirmed- cancer. There was no cure. It was at times like this that she yearned for her husband. When he passed away four years ago, her youngest son was still at home, but now the loneliness was overwhelming.

My mother was doing some organizing around Christmas last year and stumbled upon a few items she had long thought missing and one in particular she had not ventured to find.  My grandmother's best friend was a quiet lady who had worked with her for many years in a local factory. Each year they exchanged Christmas gifts, like the pair of crocheted red, green, and white stockings that hang in our home around that time of year. 

Photo by Stacy N. Hawks (c) 2008