Preserving A Family Legacy

In the heart of the Texas Big Thicket National Forest lies a small community called Segno, Texas. It is a place where our family settled long ago. About a half a mile off of Hwy 943 down an red gravel road is Magnolia Hill Cemetery that was established in the 1800's as a family cemetery.

As a youngster, as far back as I can remember, I was always intrigued by my great, great grandfather's grave just inside the entrance of the cemetery. I was intrigued by the old photo that was placed on his headstone. It was a photo taken in the late 1800's or early 1900's. He was wearing a coat and hat and had a long handlebar mustache. He also wielded a double barrel shotgun in the picture, (to be posted here at a later date) with a serious expression on his face.

Being intrigued by this old photo, questions would linger in my mind. What kind of person was he? What type of character traits did he have? Was he the boisterous type, or was he a quiet a humble fellow? What was his goals and accomplishments? What did he experience in a by gone era of long ago?

I often thought how long ago it has been since he has passed on. When you look at the date as being in the 1800's, you realize that where I was standing, at one time his family and friends were gathered together paying their last respects. It is a sobering thought, but all the people that were gathered together that day that knew him, has all passed on as well. I certainly don't want to sound insensitive, but all that is left or known of his life is a cemetery plot with a headstone, signifying that at one point in time, he did exist. Nothing else.

How can you preserve your family legacy?

Since we are living a age of technology, we have tools available at our disposal that was not available back in that time period. Just a little information could provide a more complete picture of a person that could be passed on for generations to come.

I recommend buying a flash drive. On this flash drive, you could store the information including pictures, videos, audio sound clips, as well as any documents. I believe it should contain all of the hubs you published on Hub pages. After all, you wrote according to your interests and passions. It will give insight and a better understanding of who you really are to family and relatives in generations to come.

For example:

Do you see the photo included in this hub at the top? The picture is a picture of my Aunt Maud's house in Segno, Texas. I have very fond memories of the times that we would visit while we were growing up. I can remember waking up before daylight and hearing the handle of the pail squeak as Uncle Nick would go out to the barn to milk the cow. Drifting back to sleep, I would then awakened by a rooster crowing outside my bedroom window after daylight. I remember getting up and going to the screened in back porch feeling the coolness and freshness of the morning where there was a towel, pan of water, soap, mirror, and a comb, where we would get cleaned up before breakfast. We would skim the cream from the milk in the pail and spread it over the top of our oatmeal. Aunt Maud did not have indoor plumbing, but we knew what an outhouse was. I was amazed when I walked in her canning room where every wall was shelves of canned vegetables, from the floor to the ceiling. We would walk across the way from the front door and explore the blacksmith shop where Uncle Nick would make and repair wagon wheels. The foot operated grinding wheels, the anvils, and the large hammers. This was mystifying to us as kids. We stayed away from the log smokehouse that they used for curing meat. It was too spooky and dark for us and we were scared of it.

All of these intricate details provided, could be preserved that would provide a valuable insight of what I experienced as a kid growing up. You may not feel that it is not worthy of documentation, but in generations to come, as ancient as it may seem, family and relatives will have a better understanding and would appreciate it.

Go through your family pictures and scan them. Once you put them on a flash drive,you will not have to worry about fading. When I scanned some small pictures, it brought out more details of the background. I began to see things in the photo that you could not see before.

This flash drive that I mentioned could easily be placed with the will and other important documents. Special messages to loved ones from the deceased could be conveyed. The possibilities are limitless and they are preserved.