Remembering a Life; Or Why a Family History and Photography Business Makes Sense

A few weeks ago, my family and I lost an amazing, unique and special person – my grandmother. She was my last living grandparent and truly one of the most one-of-kind people I have ever met.

As a genealogist, I had interviewed her a few times over the years and had written down some of her stories and remembrances (of course, it’s never enough. I wish I had written down more). After learning of her passing, I grieved as I read over my notes from my interviews with her and looked over her old photographs which I had scanned and digitized years ago. As I did so, her personal history set against the backdrop of world history seemed to perfectly explain how she became the person she was. . . . And, her story just seemed to beg to be told.

So I eulogized her, drawing on her own words from my interviews with her. I taught myself how to use the basics of a new video editing software to string together still images and home movies set to the perfect background music. The images gave context to the words I wrote.

This was my way of remembering my grandmother. It also probably served as a therapy of sorts since our family couldn’t be together to memorialize her. The process of remembering her this way crystallized something for me. It helped to explain something I may not have been able to put my finger on quite so well before. Family history and photography are two sides of the same coin.

We all have family photos. Genealogists probably all wish we had more photographs of our ancestors, especially of those whose lives predated the availability of still images, or for those whose images may have been lost to us for one reason or another. But those family photos we do have? Well, there are some that seem to withstand the test of time. There are those that are frame worthy, and that help tell our family story in some ways more than words ever could.

I think of the framed photograph always hanging on Grandma’s wall of my Irish immigrant great-grandparents circa 1912. How handsome a couple they were, my great-grandmother with her velvet dress and hanging brooch near her left shoulder; My great-grandfather in his suit, stiff collar and tie. Then of course, there’s my grandparents’ wedding photo, and the side by side photos of Grams and Gramps in her neighborhood on Chicago’s North side.  He’s in his police uniform. She’s posing on the hood of a V-8 Ford.

You see, as a genealogist, I am very aware that we are creating our own personal history every day of our lives. Today will soon be considered history, and although we maybe don’t wish to dwell on the thought now, someday in the future, we will probably look back on today with nostalgia – like when our kids are grown, or when we ourselves are among the elderly. And probably, someday, someone will be memorializing our life. I hope we will leave some written record of our lives, but if not, almost all of us will leave images.

I’m here to tell you, there are some images that we will leave which will likely withstand that test of time and be passed down through the generations, and there are some that won’t survive or be looked at twice. I feel compelled to say, the Snapchat selfies of the subject wearing dog ears and whiskers may not be among the former group.  It is my belief that the ones which will become iconic to our personal history will likely be one or more of the following:

1.       Professional photographs

For many of our ancestors, professional studio images are all to which our ancestors had access. Obviously, personal cameras are a relatively modern luxury. Yet even today, with our abundance of technological devices with photo capabilities, the value we place on professional images for their quality in terms of aesthetics and the cost of their investment helps ensure they will be preserved. Professional images are also most likely to be printed on archive quality paper, preserved in multiple sizes and saved in a “safe place.”

My grandmother’s memorial video opened with one of the only photos I have ever seen of her as a young child. It came from a small group of a professional studio images taken of her and her brothers closest in age. She was three at the time, wearing a light-colored ruffled dress, knee socks and Mary Janes. Her tight curls framed her round face, which looks remarkably similar to my daughter’s face today. When my Irish-immigrant great-grandparents commissioned those photos, they could not have known that 90 years later, their great-granddaughter would use this image to help tell the story of their daughter’s life. I assume it was something of a personal sacrifice on their part to pay for those images. They are today priceless family heirlooms.

My advice: Set aside the time. Invest in your memories.

2.       Images that give a sense of time and place.

My grandmother’s life was in many ways a microcosm of Chicago history. She played in Lincoln Park as a girl, ice skating on the Lagoon in the winter and visiting the Zoo in the summer. She once told me she used to stare for hours at the famous gorilla, Bushman. She met my grandfather because his “beat” as a Chicago Police Officer was close to her home. The photos showing her and her family with the City of Chicago as a backdrop hold such meaning to us now and were most definitely among those chosen to help tell the story of her life.

3.       Images of EVERYBODY together.

Though I should talk, since I love to take photos of my family, many times our family photos are missing something very important – the one behind the camera! As I scoured our old family home movies (which my cousin had digitized years ago. SO grateful she did!!!), I found that Grandma wasn’t in many of the clips because she was the one taking the video! I treasure (and used in her memorial video) the few clips I could find of her.

I recently heard a story of a mom who had a health scare. The circumstances of this scare made her realize something that many of us can relate to -- she possessed so few pictures that included her and her children together. Moms (and I’m talking to myself here) – get the photos with your kids! Don’t worry if you feel that you would rather lose 10 pounds before you do. Someday, your kids will only have photos of you. They are going to want to see how you loved on them and took care of them when they were little. Take the photos.

4.       Images that document family milestones and vacations.

There is another photograph I included in my grandma’s memorial video. It is a photo of Grams, Gramps and their three children on vacation out West. They are posing by a rock formation that looks like something you would find in Utah or Colorado. My grandpa’s face in that photo says so much. I am telling you, I can see the pride and happiness in his face. You see, Gramps grew up during the Depression, and his family was poorer than most. As a child, he literally went hungry many times. As a young man, like many of his generation, he went to War. He came home, got married and started a family. He worked hard. He was frugal. He saved his money. I can imagine how happy it made him to be able to afford to take his family on an epic road trip. But I can also see that happiness, because it shows in his face on that photograph.

My website opens with the phrase, “We all have a history. Isn’t it time you found yours?” For me, the personal journey to better understand my ancestral past could be described in so many ways: eye-opening, fun, rewarding, priceless, educational, therapeutic. The list goes on. But lately, I’ve also been thinking along these lines, “We all have a history. How will yours be remembered?”

I know it is unusual to see a website dedicated to two seemingly unrelated things such as genealogy and photography. I am also pretty sure that a business advisor would tell me to separate the two into separate sites. But to me, it makes perfect sense. I am honored when people ask to find out more about their family history. I am equally as honored when someone asks me to capture their family history with photography. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?