John Tew, in his blog
Filiopietism Prism, recently had a post titled Why Start and
Continue A Family “Autograph” Book?
John talks a bit
about why you might want to start such a book and the history behind such
books.
I had such a feeling
of deja vu as I was reading his post?
Why does the idea of an autograph book seem to “ring a bell?”
Did I have one as a
child? I do remember getting one for my
kids at Disney World so the characters could sign their autographs.
My high school and
college year books have some similar characteristics in that I “collected”
signatures in them.
And, the neat thing
about this idea (whether I silence the bell ringing in my head or not) is that autograph
books are another source of hand-writing and signatures. Even if your ancestor’s didn’t have one, they
may have signed the autograph book of another!
Additionally, they might identify those with whom your ancestors interacted
– friends, associates and neighbors. The
more names we have the better our chance of learning all about our own elusive
ancestors.
Have you found any autograph books kept by your ancestors or
others in the community?
If not autograph books, something similar?
Were they helpful to you?
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Thank you for the mention Diane!
ReplyDeleteYour readers might like to check in at Heirlooms Reunited, a blog by Pam Beveridge. She has quite a collection of old Autograph Books and does the great service of stating on her blog where and when the books she has were created. She also is then provides an extremely helpful listing of the names of people whose signatures are contained in the books. The URL is http://heirloomsreunited.blogspot.com.
I inherited a few autograph books from my mother and aunt and have made one into a reproduction book through an online print service. It has become a good way to share a single heirloom with the entire family; anyone can own their own copy and enjoy it without damaging the original.
ReplyDeleteJohn's idea of creating a contemporary family autograph book is great. I can't wait to start one.
Not only did my g-grandmother's autograph book have friends and family's signatures, it included a list of who attended her wedding and a list of the wedding guests and gifts. The names helped me to add to her family tree on her father's side. There was also a loving dedication from her father along with a poem written to her by her soon-to-be-husband. Priceless!
ReplyDelete