Vintage Family Records

Happy Monday Friends...

If you have followed me with any regularity, you
already know that Ancestry.com is my passion.

 

A couple of years ago after watching a few episodes of 'Who Do You
Think You Are', I became really interested in finding

out as much as I could about my heritage

& where I came from.

Through my research I came across these amazing
Vintage Family Records & have enjoyed
using them to keep track & record
some of my family lines.

I thought you might enjoy playing with them too!!

They are so beautiful & nothing made today can
even compare to these lovely vintage images.

With the Fourth of July  right around the corner, I like
to remember the history of my ancestors & what
they have done to keep our Nation Free.

Several of my 6x Great Grandfathers & Uncles

fought in the Revolutionary War out of places

like Ohio, Pennsylvania & Virginia.

 

We fought in the War of 1812,

the Indian Wars...

& the Civil War, both for the North & South.

My story is truly an American Story...

& looking at all the hero's in my family tree,
including my Father, it's a great reminder that
Freedom does NOT come Free!

I hope you enjoy these images of vintage Family Records,

all found through The Library of Congress.

 

For me, doing this kind of research is like being the family detective.

Hunting down clues, looking for a confirmation on a hunch

& sometimes even chasing ghosts.

But I am the keeper of the past...

the holder of the archives...

the memory of a family.

It's what I do,

it's what I've always done.

I look to the future in the hope that another generation will

follow me & find value in these things, as I do. That they too

will want to know more about where they came from &

will continue to tell the stories of our American Family.

Maybe they will even remember a distant grandmother who's

great, great grandparents were the children of men who

fought in the Civil War for the North & the South,

proving that in the end, we are all just American's.

XOXO

vintagesusie

For the Love of Tombstones

 

Greetings Sweet Friends...

 

 

Some may think I've been feeling rather morbid lately,

but really...I haven't! I just have a true

Love for Vintage Tombstones.

 

 

Whether you call them tombstones, headstones or

gravestones, to me they all have a

Sense of GRACE...

 

 

a Remembrance of Love & Mourning, Craved in Stone.

 

 

 Living in Southern California, my local cemeteries

are nothing like the ones I've seen in Boston or

New Hampshire or Maine. Those are just

soooo historic & glorious, having stones

that are over 300 years old.

 

 

I can remember visiting Harvard in Cambridge Mass &

right across the street from one of the main

entrances was a tiny cemetery.

 

 

In that tiny cemetery, there was a stone of a sea

captains wife buried in the late 1600's,

I was instantly hooked.

 

 

But, So Cal still has some amazing tombstones...a stone craver

is an artisan, a Michelangelo in his own right.

 

 

There is beauty in these creations of sadness. 

 

 

Find A Grave has been such a great help to me as I've been

doing genealogy work over the last 5 years.

 

 

Their volunteers & contributors have amassed an enormous

amount of valuable information that has allowed me

to find out vital stats that I might otherwise

have never known.

 

 

The images of tombstones I've gotten from Find A Grave,

has given me the ability to visually attach to my

ancestors. I then add all of that information

to Ancestry.com to hopefully help

someone else find their

story.

 

 

Just as I can't get to Illinois to take pictures of some

of my ancestors graves, there are other's who

can't get to California to take pictures

of their family's tombstones.

 

 

So, I have volunteered to take those photographs for them.

 

 

I'm excited walking through the cemetery, trying to find

a name that's been requested & I get a lot of joy

when I find one &  know that someone

else will find joy in the

images I take.

 

 

These photos came from Pioneer Memorial Cemetery

in San Bernardino, it's right at the bottom

of the mountain that I live on.

 

 

It's one of the older cemeteries in my area & it is

filled with beautiful tombstones.

 

 

Look at the craving on this stone, so intricate & filled with

grace. Did I mention, I LOVE old tombstones.

 

XOXO

vintagesusie



Vintage Vacationing & 1968 Shasta Compact Travel Trailer

 

Happy Memorial Day Sweet Friends!!!

I've had a WONDERFUL Weekend filled with good

Food, Family, Friends & Yard Sales...PERFECT!

 

 

One of mine & my husbands true Passions are for

Buying, Restoring, Vacationing & Selling

Vintage Travel Trailers.

 

 

We see each & every one of them that find there way

into our lives, as diamond's in the rough...

 

 

just waiting for someone to bring them back to

life & their original beauty.  

 

 

This is one of our most recent finds,

a 10', 1968 Shasta Compact Travel Trailer

& she is sooooo darn cute!

 

 

She needs some real restoration done inside in

the dinette/bed area, but her joy is that she

is mainly all there & all original.

 

 

We just listed her on eBay today, which makes me sad...

but I know we can't keep them all.

 

 

This is probably our...I know, don't freak out,

60th or so Vintage Trailer that we've had over

the past 15 years...

 

 

we have 3 in the yard as we speak, but I love all

of them & each one for a different reason.

 

 

Why do I love this one, you may ask...

well, I'll tell you!

 

 

Her body is so straight & clean.

She is small & COMPACT, which means easy to tow.

She has one of the most original interiors that we've had in awhile...

 

 

the vent, sink, stove, frig, gas light, electric lights, back splash,

countertop, tabletop, handles & flooring are all ORIGINAL!

 

 

Did I say that is AWESOME & very RARE!!!

 

 

Sadly, the window in the back was broken out years ago,
letting the rain & snow come in, ruining the back
interior, but oh..she still has so much life left!

 

 

If you're interested in finding out more about Vintage Vacationing,

there are a lot of sites you can on the web now that will

give you information on restoration &

different kinds of Vintage Trailers.

 

 

There are also camping groups you can join where everyone

has a Vintage Trailer. It's so cool to go out & see what

everyone has done with their trailers. One of my

favorites was always SPAMBOREE...

AWESOME FUN!

 

 

And if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend going to

Bisbee, Arizona & staying at the SHADY DELL RV Park.

We loved it! You can spend the night in a Vintage Trailer,

eat at their little, old fashioned diner & wander the park

checking out all the nostalgic setups they have.

 

Happy Vintage Vacationing Friends &

HAPPY TRAILS!

 

XOXO

vintagesusie