What to do with all those Christmas cards
Published Tuesday December 23rd, 2008
Roots to the Past
It's that time of year again when our mail box is stuffed with letters and cards. At our house, the holiday mail begins the first week of December and by the time the 25 rolls around, we have more than 50 cards decorating the kitchen.
They come from as far away as British Columbia and as near as 10 minutes up the road. We all value cards during the holidays, but do they have some genealogical value?
Yes, Christmas cards are significant to genealogy research. Most cards come with a return address label stating the name of the individual and their current address. I check this address against last year's information and if it is the same, I discard the label. If it is different, I add the information to the address book noting the year it changed.
I don't cross out the old address, but note that it is no longer valid and record the year it ceased to be used. Another option is to tape the address label into the address book or to the back of the card and record the date.
Over the years, my address book has grown. It includes almost every known address for family members regardless if I send them a card. I always buy a large book, so it will last 20 years or more.
I also make sure there is room to record the names of everyone at that address. In a glance, I can see when and where my family moved throughout the years. When the book outlives its usefulness, I throw it in the keepsake's box.
The other significant genealogical value of cards is the notes written inside. Our family always signs for everyone in the house, including their kids and ‘the one on the way.' Years later, these cards reveal who married who, when family dynamics changed and the children as they entered the family.
Christmas decorations were at a premium at our home when I was growing up. Each year, my Mom saved the cards and put them around doorways to create a festive atmosphere. One year, as we stood about reading the new cards mixed in with the old, someone commented about my mother's sister being pregnant.
The next day when she was talking to her sister in Newfoundland, she asked about the pregnancy. Much to our surprise, our aunt wasn't pregnant; the card had been sent a few years earlier.
And that is why it is important to record the date on the back of each card before storing them away.
Researcher's file
Seeking information on John Nicholson (born c.1832, Scotland) and his wife, Maria Eliza (born 1835). What was her maiden name? Both probably died in PEI. Their children (all born PEI) were Margaret (1867), Charles Edward (1874, Kildare, Lot 3 - 1960, Westmorland Co., N.B.; married Elizabeth Queen Allen), William Alfred (1876, Res. Camilton - 1949, Westmorland Co.), Clarance Regina (1878, Res. Camilton, Dock Road) and Ada (1880). Contact: T Mckay, 53 Kellys Drive, Fredericton, N.B., E3B 7R3; e-mail: tmckay22@hotmail.com
Diana Lynn Tibert is a freelance writer living in Milford, N.S. Submit a query. It's free!: RR#1 Milford, Hants County, N.S., B0N 1Y0; e-mail: tibert@ns.sympatico.ca
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