Heritage Scrapbooks
A Lasting Legacy
What are heritage scrapbooks? Why are they such a cherished item? Heritage – (her-it-age) Something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth.
 Click image for larger view Heritage Layout
Heritage may mean different things to people based on their age and place in time. Discovering your heritage gives you an appreciation for who you are, and the challenges and experiences that have influenced who you have become.A heritage scrapbook can encompass something as simple as the past 20 years or as complex as the past 200 years. Your heritage is about your background and traditions. A heritage album will be cherished for many years by future generations that may be curious about their past.
Planning and preparation are important for this type of album. Selecting, gathering and organizing information are some key steps for heritage scrapbooking.
Select Information
 Click image for larger view Heritage LayoutDecide on the scope of your heritage scrapbook. What period of time do you want to cover, and what family members will be included. Next, select what type information you wish to include. Interview yourself. Take inventory you have and your memories of people, places and traditions that are important and valuable. Interview family members and friends. Gather and duplicate (if necessary) photos and memorabilia.
Interviewing
Interviewing family members and family friends is a great way to learn about your ancestry. People are more willing to help you in a face-to-face interview. Having prepared questions is will help focus on the information you want to gather.
Tips on Interviewing
Plan at least 2-3 hours for an interview. Make sure the storyteller is comfortable. Record the interview, don't miss the details. Maintain eye contact. Ask who, what, when, where and why questions to expand the conversation and gather details. Research some of the historical events that happened during the person's lifetime. Ask questions to prompt greater details. Interview couples separately, then interview a second time together.
Suggested Topics for Interview
 Click image for larger view Heritage LayoutChildhood – challenges, favorite memories of early childhood and teenage years. School days and higher education. Young adult – Challenges and favorite memories. Jobs and volunteer work. Courtship and marriage. Family – challenges and favorite memories of raising their family. Civic, political and religious activities. Personal interests and hobbies. Plans and dreams for the future.
Gathering Information
Let your relatives know you are working on a heritage album project. Let them know you may need to ask them some questions. They might have photos, memorabilia or other items and information on some of your relatives. If there are no living relatives you may need to piece together information from historical documents.
Resources for Finding Information
Acid Free? Not sure if your memorabilia is acid free? Copy or scan news paper clippings and old documents and print on acid free paper to prevent damage to your album and photos.
Some types of photos should not be cropped. Scan and print copies of these photos. Delicate photos can be scanned and reprinted as well. - Birth certificates
- Baptismal certificates
- Bible records
- Budget records
- Cemetery records, headstone inscriptions
- Census records
- Church records
- Citizenship papers
- Death certificates
- Deeds
- Diaries
- Diplomas
- Divorce records
- Estate papers
- Epitaphs
- Family papers
- Funeral program
- Guardianship records
- Hometown historical societies, books
- Immigration records
- Journals
- Licesnses
- Libraries
- Marriage Licenses
- Military Records
- News paper clippings
- Naturalization records
- Obituaries
- Old letters
- Passports
- Photos and albums
- Parish registers
- Recordings made by family members
- School records
- Town/county records
- University Transcripts
- Voting Records
- Wills
- Wedding invitations
- Yearbooks
When interviewing a relative, bring photos and memorabilia with you. They may be able help determine who is pictures, when the photos were taken and maybe even a little about the photos.
Organizing Information
Now that you have gathered the information, it's time to decide how you want to lay out your album. Choosing a consistent design will create unity and make your project easier. There are a few things to consider when laying out your album. Tip If there is a large amount of information, consider arranging information by line (mother's or father's).
If you decide an album can be made for each side. Who Comes First?
- Oldest generation first, then work forward.
- Present generation (or youngest) first, then work backward.
What Order?
- One family line at a time – Mother's side, then father's side.
- Show each generation – Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc all together.
Who's Included?
- Immediate family only – Those directly listed on your family tree
- Extended family – Include siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins...
Create an Album
Once you have organized the information it's time to start your heritage scrapbook.
Choose an Album
The first step is to decide what size album to use. An 8 ½ X 11 or larger is probably best unless you have a small amount of pictures and memorabilia. Also in a smaller album you may have to scan and resize some memorabilia.
Page Layout and Design
There are a few things to keep in mind as you lay out your heritage album. Choosing Colors Select colors that will compliment the photos you are using. Typically more subdued colors are used in heritage scrapbooks. Embellishments can help set the tone for your pages. They can help fill in parts of the story. Most of the photos will likely be black and white and aged. A heritage scrapbook may have more memorabilia than other albums. Leave plenty of room for journaling. Lay out everything in the album before you adhere anything to make sure things are in the correct order.
Journaling
 Click image for larger view Heritage LayoutJournaling is an important part of a heritage album. Many times we do not have a lot of photos of our ancestors. Much of the information we have comes from printed documents, stories and journals. Journaling allows us to expand on the details of our family. You must make time to journal, you will not find the time. Remember to journal in bite-sized pieces. You can journal the five basic questions: who, what, when, where and why. Try enhancing the memory with bullet journaling, or a brief paragraph of your memories. Ask yourself or those in the photos (if possible) questions to involve all of the senses in the jornaling process.
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