Compiling Family Names, Birthdates, You Know... Stuff.
It all started as a small project way back in high school. I know, I know. It isn't something that a usual teenager gets a kick out of... But it was way cool thing to do whenever I would attend family gatherings. I'd sit beside a member of the family, whip out my pen and paper (or notebook or whatever is handy to write on to), and then ask questions... "What's your name? When is your birthday?" These usually get them talking...
Then I'd shoot the questions that get them on to the long-term-memory-part of their brain: What's your spouse's name? your parent's names, their birthdates? When did you get married? How many siblings do you have? How about your grandparents? Children? Yup, you sure get them talking...
And then the family stories would come out... They usually begin with "I remember the time when..." It's AMAZING what you learn from family members. Their life stories are worth telling over and over again. Those were the times when I'd dream about compiling all of what I've been told and writing a book. Yup! Some were telenovela stuff: drama, comedy, love story... Hey do you know of a family member that got to do cool stuff during the past two world wars? I know I have one, somewhere in my files...
Organizing Family Histories
Fortunately for me, my family became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1984. The Church has a wonderful family history data base. It became easier for me to compile data and put them on an organized computer program known as Personal Ancestral File. So far, I have researched at least five generations from my own family during the ensuing years. Over time, I got to add more family members to my own tree. And then, I was informed of the existence of a book that the Suico clan of Cebu, Philippines published. Imagine my delight to know that I have more family members than I could ever imagine -- and to top that,we're related to the late Sergio Osmena, a President of the Philippines!
(Part 1 of 3)
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Hi! Im a member of the great Suico lineage too!!
ReplyDeletejust would like to share something about my grandfather, Javier Suico Sr. He was a man who loved his wife so much. I personally knew his sacrifices to sustain her medical expenses as she was suffering from diabetes.
I would always cherish those moments when I would see him stare at mommy nellie (grandma), take a deep breath and say, YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL. Ain't he sweet!!!
wahehehe... just wanna let you know that there's another great site that im into right now....
ReplyDeletePinoy Money Talk
~the earning student