Spyglass & Scout

06/21/2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/21/nx-s1-5013645/mayan-vase-thrift-store

A thrift shopper from picked up the vase at a store near her home in Washington, D.C. It wasn't until she went to Mexico that she realized she might have a piece of history sitting on her shelf.

10/14/2023

National Genealogical Society 6400 Arlington Blvd., Suite 810, Falls Church, VA 22042-2318 USA Telephone +1 703-525-0050 or +1 800-473-0060 [email protected]

04/08/2021

I joked on my stories that my obsession with being the one thing that my descendants will end up remembering about me. The more I think about it, the more I think it would be appropriate. Jeni's Ice Cream is tied to so many of my memories. It’s basically the only thing I can taste post-COVID. I remember taking my late uncle Don Jeni’s version of his favorite ice cream. My daughter’s first food was a bite of Jenny’s ice cream. I make kind of a big deal out of being the one to take my nieces and nephews for their first scoop of Jeni’s ice cream. And who could forget how concerned my friends were when I took my now husband there for the first time and he ordered vanilla ice cream. (They considered it a major red flag.) And this is why I can't wait to be able to meet with clients in person again; it’s random topics, like a ice cream, that pull the best stories out of people.

10/26/2020

What's your favorite way to connect to your family history?

Today, I got to dig into a box of French cosemetics. My grandma Lenore used to save up to place orders so that she could get all the freebie bonuses. I still have the "free gift" green overnight bag she gave me. Last night, my daughter packed it for her trip to visit her cousins.
But back to that make-up. I don't know what Lenore's favorite products were, and her perfume has long since been discontinued, but it still felt amazing pouring over all of these French products from .
Connecting with your ancestors isn't the same as researching. Research needs to be exact, but you can connect to your ancestor with a bold lipstick, even if it's not a shade they would have chosen.
How do you connect to your family history? Bonus points if it's not something they would teach at a genealogy conference.

08/19/2020

Oh, come on!

This is just part of my husband’s most recent genealogy acquisition. Is anyone else in a feast versus famine marriage when it comes to genealogy finds? Our family trees are roughly the same size and are both equally rich, but man, does he have me beat when it comes to physical evidence of our ancestors existences! For every scrapbook I have, he has ancestor with a statue in the town square. Even the hospital that I was born in was named after his sixth great grandfather!

What about you? Is it feast or famine in your family tree?