One of the things I most enjoy about Genealogy Journeys is that I learn about so many different perspectives, products, and services of and from our sponsors. Recently, Sara Cochran had a chance to visit with our sponsor, Deeper Roots, and its owner, KC Reid. I think you will find KC's approach to family history, both teaching it and becoming a working part of it, unique and fun to read. Check out their interview, below:
QUESTION: KC, Welcome to Genealogy Journeys! We are
thrilled to have you as a sponsor and are excited to have an opportunity to get
to know you a little better. When did
you first become interested in family history?
ANSWER:
My mom was pretty sneaky – she would tell me stories that were relevant
to something I was doing or learning as a kid.
For instance, when I had to invent something for a 6th-grade
project, my mother tossed out the little tidbit that my great uncle had been
one of Thomas Edison’s assistants. When my invention was a complete flop, I
took solace in the fact that at least one person in my family had success in
that area!
She would do that for other things, too,
like tell me about my grandfather’s childhood during the Great Depression when
I was studying economics, or about ancestors who had fought in a war when I
studied history. She gave me an incredible gift, which I didn’t realize or
appreciate till I was an adult myself – she gave me a personal connection to
the material, making it more meaningful and more memorable for me. And at the
same time, she taught me about her ancestors. I’m pretty sure it is her fault
that I love helping clients understand what their ancestors’ lives were like!
(Love you, Mom!)
ANSWER: One of my clients had an extremely rough
childhood – she petitioned for and received emancipation as a teen and was legally
adopted by her best friend’s parents. Her main question was “what kind of
families could have created parents like mine?”
I discovered her ancestors were pillars in their community – hugely
involved in community projects to improve agriculture and farming, lots of
volunteer work with organizations like the Salvation Army, and so on. They had
devoted their entire lives to service. So
when I handed her the research, I said, “I think you will be surprised by your
people.”
She stopped in mid-stride with her mouth
open. She looked at me with a quizzical expression, and said “Wait, I have
people? I never thought that I had people.” When she realized she had good, honorable,
loving people as her ancestors, suddenly a hole was filled in her heart – a
hole she had not realized until that moment was there. It was such a moving and humbling experience
for me, to be able to help her make that connection, to fill a void, and enrich
her life.
While all our experiences may not be so
dramatic, there is something fulfilling, completing, about finding out who are
people are. I have experienced it for myself, and I love helping others to feel
that, too.
QUESTION: Sort of on the subject of tying the past to
the present, how about the future? Your
brochure mentions interviews and preserving family memories for the next
generations. What are some of the methods you use to make sure your clients
leave a legacy their family will treasure and share?
ANSWER: One key is making a physical product. How many of us have all our pictures in
digital format and never actually look at them?
Having a tangible item – usually a book – to hold, that you can take
with you to the comfy sofa to look at with grandchildren or nieces and nephews,
is a much better way to create memories for them than staring at a screen. One
thing people often forget is that layout can be just as important in creating a
connection as the information on the page.
Another thing that helps our family stories
to resonate with others is the story.
I love crafting that story by mixing interviews with vignettes on the social
practices of the time, photos, and descriptions of how a particular ancestor
participated in historical events.
Tying the ancestor stories to an enduring
family interest transforms information into meaningful connection. One rather
artistically gifted client asked me to make a book for her mother, who was an
art history professor. I created profiles
of artists and their works from towns that featured in the families’ history –
a teeny town in Russia, Boston, and Baltimore – and created a timeline along
the bottom of key pages showing how the family’s life experiences overlapped
with developments in the art world. This helps the family feel closer to their
ancestors because it ties in with other things that have meaning for them. It’s almost like helping them to get to know
each other as friends.
QUESTION: I also noticed that you are able to help
plan a trip to an ancestral homeland. If
one of our readers was interested in visiting one of these and asked for your
help, what could they expect? Say for instance, they wanted to visit places in
Georgia associated with their ancestors and understand their life and
experience there during the Civil War.
ANSWER:
Add a family trip or vacation to that heirloom book we just mentioned,
and you’ll really capture the interest of the younger generations. These kinds of projects are so much fun! I was a travel agent while I was in college,
and I still love travel – it is such an enriching experience.
This is just the type of Trace and Travel
requests I get – I’m planning a trip to go somewhere and want to visit places
relevant to my ancestors. For this Georgian Civil War example, stops along the
way would probably include homesteads that still exist, war museums and
battlefields of course, and landmarks related to battles your ancestors
participated in. There may be historical
festivals, cemeteries or churches, Civil War reenactments to participate in or
watch… For one client, I found a book published locally that contained their
family in it and recommended a stop at that tiny book store to purchase a copy.
I have even give meal recommendations because the eatery provides some unique
context for the ancestor!
For each stop on the itinerary, I include
how it relates to the ancestor(s), formatted in such a way that you can take it
out while you are there on site and read about your ancestor’s experience there.
I also include hours of operation, contact information, and sometimes even a
recommended time of day to visit each place if it means you’ll be able to catch
a demonstration or special event. If it is
a by-appointment-only type of affair, I’ll provide information for that
possible experience as well.
QUESTION: Many of our readers are, as you probably
expect, genealogists themselves and enjoy the research process, which is why
your service of getting help designing a research plan caught my eye. When you work with a client on creating a
plan, do you only work with research in progress, reviewing what they’ve done
so far and offer suggestions of where to look next? Or do you also teach the
process of creating a research plan?
ANSWER:
Yes and yes! I find that people
learn better when they can apply what they learn to something that already has
their interest. In that regard, having
research in the works will make it easier to learn for most people, and it is
easier for me to develop specific recommendations. But you don’t have to have a
specific project to learn how to build a research plan. How to create a
research plan is also something I can help our fellow genealogists learn.
QUESTION: I’m sure some of our readers would like to
know how to get in touch with you. Aside from your website at http://www.FindDeeperRoots.com/, how might they get
in touch? Or is that the best way to reach you?
ANSWER:
My website is a great place to go – you can use the form to email me, email
me directly, or even just call my cell phone.
It’s all there along with links to my blog, Facebook, and Pinterest
accounts. If you lose the website, just
Google me – KC Reid family – and I’ll come right up. If you call and get my voicemail please leave
me a message - I’d love to hear from you!
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