During my genealogical research, I have accumulated quite a few old photos and heirlooms. Some I received from relatives, both near and far, and others I’ve had passed on to me specifically to include in my genealogy records. One elderly lady I met was so happy to give me some photos she had of my ancestors (who were also related to her in some manner) because she was afraid they would be thrown out after she died, since they didn’t have any meaning to her immediate family. I was honored to accept them. She passed away a few months ago.
I’ve been wanting to do something special with the photos and other items I’ve collected over the years, and, since my other hobby is scrapbooking, I decided to make a scrapbook. I purchased vintage-looking paper, embellishments, and an actual vintage album I found on eBay, and got to work on my genealogy scrapbook. Some scrapbooking companies actually make supplies specifically to be used for these types of scrapbooks.
I chose photos that I felt best represented my family tree, including a photo of my great-grandfather, a photographer, wearing his camera around his neck. Another is of the gray house my great-grandparents raised their 11 children in, which has since been torn down. I also included some of the photos that my great-grandfather took of his boyhood town.
I also included heirlooms and other items, such as my grandfather’s WWII draft card (which, I included on the same page as a photo of him in his army uniform), stories that have been told to me, and photocopies of old family recipes.
There were also items that were too bulky to be used in the scrapbook, such as a silver dollar my grandfather passed down to me, that I wanted to document, so I took pictures of them, and included those in the album too.
I am happy with how the album turned out, and I am sure it will be a treasured keepsake for generations to come.
Note: The photo featured above is a scrapbook page of my maternal grandparents, as well as a copy of their marriage certificate and newspaper clipping about their 25th wedding anniversary.