Record your Genealogy with a Heritage Scrapbook

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Heritage Scrapbooking

Create a Family Heritage Book with or without old family photos!

New to Genealogy? Get Started Here

Heritage scrapbooks contain multi-generational family photographs, mementos, and information about the family history, culture, and traditions of one's ancestors.

You may think it is not possible to do a heritage album without possessing generations of family photographs.

Not only is it possible, it is very desirable to assemble other materials to craft a heritage album that not only contains old photos but also information about the family history, culture, and the traditions of one's ancestors not easily captured in photographs.

Getting Started

Begin by assembling photographs, documents, mementos, and family history.

Create your FREE Family Tree

and discover things you never knew about your own family. Construct a free family tree to trace your own genealogy, fill in the gaps, and learn more about your personal family history to help create a more complete and detailed heritage scrapbook.

Start by entering what you know about yourself and your family. You can invite your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins and other family members to contribute what they know to add to your online tree - fill in names and dates, tell stories and upload photos.

Ancestry.com will use what you enter to try and find more about your family in the world's largest online collection of historical records and family trees.

It may be possible to find additional photographs of ancestors.

Ask family members for photos they will allow you to scan.
Find unknown distant cousins on the internet who may possess photographs by posting a query on the Rootsweb surname mailing lists.
Search the historical photo archives on the internet.
County History Books contain thousands of county resident photographs as well as biographical sketches and were very popular in the early 1900s. Many of these books have been recently reprinted and may be available in the county library where your ancestor lived. If you don't live near a library with the book, request an interlibrary loan from your local library. These family history books are also now available online. ( Family & Local History Books )
Search the photograph archives of the Historical Society located in your Ancestor's county.

Adding Family History, Culture, and Traditions

Creating a heritage scrapbook is telling your family story by using photographs, memorabilia, documents, family memories and stories which can be displayed singly or in combination in your scrapbook to tell your ancestors' life stories. With each family history document or memorabilia, intertwine the item displayed into the journaled story about the person.

Add family history documents associated with person
- Birth / Baptismal/ Marriage/ Death certificate - Order Birth and Death Records Online!
- Census Records ( )View historical census records for FREE )
  Display a copy of your family's census sheet in your heritage scrapbook and use the census records to help you:
  - Find birthplace and birthdate of head of household, his children and parents
  - Identify family relationships
  - Find ancestor as a child to identify his parents.
  - Learn year of immigration, naturalization status, and birthplace of parents.
  - Learn veteran status to request pension records.
  - Learn ancestor's address so that you can photograph ancestral house.
  - Learn ancestor's occupation.
- Wedding Invitation
- Military records. Learn how to find them.
- School records
- Work records
- Letters
- Family Bible Notations
- Immigration Records - Passenger Lists ( View for FREE)
- Historical Postcard of town where person lived. Hint: search eBay!.
- Map of ancestral town or country.
  - 1895 U. S. Atlas Map
  - Global Ancestry Map Center
- Historical Newspaper articles
  
  Historic Newspaper Collection ( View for FREE )
  - Headlines of the day person was born
  - Birth announcement
  - Wedding announcement
  - Death notice
  - Accomplishments
  - Headlines of important events during person's life
Add photographs of family history items associated with person
- Photograph of church where ancestor married
- Photograph of wedding dress
- Photograph of ancestral house
- Photograph of items person crafted (quilt, crochet work, clothes, needlework)
- Photograph of important landmark in ancestral town
- Photograph, clip-art or stickers of ancestor's occupational objects. Examples:
  - Blacksmith shop or anvil for blacksmith or wheelwright
  - Shoe shop or old-fashioned shoe for a shoemaker
  - Train for train conductor or train brakeman
  - Old-fashioned accounting ledger sheets for accountant or bookkeeper
- Photograph of military medals
- Photograph of jewelry including rings, earrings, or pins.
- Recipe for ethnic food
If the family history memorabilia is small enough, mount it on the scrapbook page with a memorabilia pocket. Otherwise, take a photo of the item and use it on your page.

Adding Personal Narratives

Interview older family members about the person you wish to include in your scrapbook and weave these memories into a narrative. Use clip art, stickers, and photographs of family history items associated with the person that gives a feeling for the time period in which the person lived. Suggested interview questions.

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