This Story Again

By Joseph Howell, Founder of Nomadic Roots Research

As a youngster, I remember spending hours listening to relatives tell the same stories, again and again. The picture above features my grandmother, Alta M. (Fitts) Howell, my great-aunt, Eileen Virginia (Fitts) Lindskog, and my great-grandmother, Katherine “Kitty” Maude (Hunsaker) Fitts. Families like to gather and share stories, memories, and remembrances of days gone by.

Sometimes, as a kid I would get a little frustrated and think to myself,

“This story again?”

I realize now that as a child I didn’t appreciate just how special those stories really were.

Until they were gone.

It was only two months between the passing of my grandmother and my father. Two months that brought life changes that forever changed my perspective on how quickly life can change. I was married only a few months myself and expecting my first child. I suddenly felt like I was standing in between generations; losing my links to my family’s history at the same time that I was about to bring a new generation into those families.

Their deaths left many questions unanswered.

There were stories I wanted to hear again. Questions I wanted to ask. Memories I wanted to capture forever.

I knew that if I wanted answers to those questions, I would have to start finding them for myself.

What began as a quest to learn about my own family tree became a passion. I began interviewing relatives, gathering documents, researching records, and studying anything I could about family history and genealogy. The more I learned, the more I realized that every family has a story that deserves to be preserved.

Family stories can offer valuable clues to help us learn about our past. Names, Places, Occupations, Military Service, Migration, and  Family traditions. Stories are facts that are often filtered through emotions and personal biases. Sometimes stories are told accurately. Other times the truth is stretched over time. But they can provide wonderful starting points to help us uncover the facts.

My personal journey has turned into over 30 years of genealogical research. Along the way I have earned an Associate Degree in Family History and Genealogy from BYU–Idaho, completed the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program, and worked as a Family History Consultant for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But one thing I learned along the way is what made my journey so worthwhile:

Listen to the stories.

Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and relatives while you still have the opportunity. Ask questions. Record the answers. Preserve photographs. Save letters. Protect family Bibles. Keep family records. Those stories that you may tire of hearing now may become priceless one day.

I started this journey because I didn’t listen carefully to stories when I had the chance. If I could go back, I would listen differently.
I want my children, my grandchildren, and future generations to know their family history. That is why I am devoted to teaching others how to find their own stories.
Now, as I think back on those “stories I had heard too many times”, I would give almost anything to hear some of them just one more time.