Organization forgotten.
There’s something special about a handwritten letter. About getting an envelope with pretty stamps in the mail. Those letters that we set aside for a moment while we make a cup of tea or coffee, so we can sit and really enjoy it. These connections tie us together tighter than a phone call or text message can.
Naturally, when I finished reading through the stack, I grabbed my tin of older letters and kept going. There are birthday cards, wedding announcements, birth announcements with photos, and sadly, death notices. Letters on fragile blue Airmail paper, and Christmas greetings in beautiful cards.
My Oma’s spikey Kurrentschrift, my Tante’s Sutterlin, and Opa’s distinct handwriting got a little shakier as he got older. Although all are written in correct style, I know their individual handwriting as well as I know their faces.
I looked again at the photos with inscriptions on the back. And the photos without.
Note: Please remember to put details on the back of the photos! Or someone down the line will be wondering… Who WAS that child??
As the tech changed, I would get handwritten faxes from my cousin. The paper faded with age, and there’s still a curl. Later came the emails that I always printed up and tucked into my box. But there were still handwritten cards, postcards, photos, and even drawings by my cousin’s children.
And I felt connected to my family. I realized how much each of these letters and cards means to me. And I felt remiss that I’ve also taken the quick-and-easy route of WhatsApp or email. When did we stop having the time to sit down and write letters?
It’s a funny thing, growing up thousands of miles away from extended family with a different language and culture. The threads that tie us together are stretched so tightly. But the letters, the common memories, hold us together. It makes me feel a part of something bigger.
Maybe because of this, over the past few years, I’ve been digging deeper into our family tree. Years ago, my maternal Opa hired someone to build our family Stammbaum. I’ve sifted through stacks of typed papers (How do I know it was typed? Crossouts and whiteout show). There’s even a dubious-looking family crest. And on my father’s side, there’s a Stammbaum written in tiny cursive. Oof. I actually use a magnifying glass!
Still, much to my delight, the digging has paid off. I’ve matched names to online birth certificates and wedding registrations. And I’m meeting cousins who are a few times removed, online. We share stories and photos. Old black-and-white photos of great-grandparents I’ve never seen before, and modern snapshots of our families today. I print those emails to put in my tin. These connections make my world both bigger and smaller. Bigger because there are more people in it, smaller, because we found each other. I’m over the moon, because now it’s time for a second tin.
And now I think I will buy some new stationary!
Beautiful memories that we all have.
I love that!
I’ve done quite a bit of German genealogy. The one question I have, did Germany do Census’s? I have never come across any Census records and was just wondering.
Hi Deborah,
That’s a great question. It is frustrating, isn’t it? American Genealogy is comparatively easy. Just look up all that lovely information in a census. Unfortunately, a national census didn’t happen in Germany until the late 1800s, after the beginning of the German Reich of 1871. Before that, there were local censuses. I found this article on Family Search that explains it a bit, and gives alternative places to search for information- https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/German_Census_Records
I don’t know if you’ve seen this? Katherine Schober of Germanology Unlocked has some great classes for reading the old German records. This lecture is a nice jumping off place for German Genealogy. I’ve just signed up for the longer program. -> https://bit.ly/3M0LSaP
Hope that helps!
What a delightful column today! Beautiful photos, loving memories, and personal insights. Thanks for sharing. ❤️🌹🇨🇦
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
love reading what You write about in your news letters and recipes ;So Oma ; Werther ;opa Berlin; mother Dortmund Father Gams Switzerland; Oma & 0PA only German; with WW 2 and loosing Grandparents ; English took over; had to go to Altstatten Switzerland visit cousins on farm to get back to speaking German again; Mother left 4 Brothers in Berlin; one Brothers Son made it in the German movies ‘Helmut Lange’ ; never got to visit many relatives in Germany; but visited Switzerland 5 times with my German speaking relatives on my Fathers side. Wanted to visit the grave-sites of great grandparents? Hopefully my children will ? Did take a bus trip in Germany ; went to see Hitlers Mt Retreat; mad king Ludwigs castles Etc. etc. now can just read about every thing that you write about as I am now ’99 yrs young. Karen you are the very BEST ; love you ! love your recipes and all the newsworthy items; and the history; holidays etc. Viele liege Gruss von Connie Jett
Dear Connie,
Your words absolutely made my day. Thank you so much.
As you said, 99 years is still young! Maybe you will get a chance to visit.
Viele liebe Grüße, Karen
I always saved all my letters from family back in the ‘Old Country’. I hope my children and grandchildren will appreciate this part of our history. So few people write by hand anymore. I could always tell who the letter was from, just by recognizing the writing on the envelope.
Yes! Handwriting is so personal. My daughter recently started sending me post cards, just to say hello. I love it.