KENNEBUNK — “Do you ever wonder why people hold onto certain objects?”
That was the question posed to the genealogy group at the Kennebunk Free Library Saturday, by presenter Pam Stone Eagleson, who has been conducting genealogical research for more than 30 years. It prompted attendees ”“ about 40 in all ”“ to think about their own troves of family artifacts and hidden gems, and kick-started her program, entitled “Grandma’s Treasure Chest,” a journey into the process of digging for the deeper truths behind those old stores of knick-knacks in the attic, each one the keeper of its own story.
Eagleson is the owner of Gen-nections, a Maine-based genealogical research service that offers assistance to those in search of their roots.
Her talk focused on what she called “attic archaeology,” and used research into her own family’s history to highlight strategies for verifying the authenticity of those dusty old items ”“ many of which can shed a light into the sometimes murky past.
“We dream of finding a trunk in the attic filled with an ancestor’s past,” said Eagleson. “They bring our ancestors to life.”
That prompted murmurs of assent from those in the group, which was founded in 2009 and whose membership has grown over the past year. Lori Parkinson, one of the group’s founders, is especially happy to see interest in genealogy swelling, and credited Eagleson with being a tremendous help in equipping people with the requisite knowledge to embark on their own research.
“I’m thrilled the group has picked up momentum and has really kept going,” said Parkinson. “People want the truth. They have so much to discover.”
Many of those discoveries can be made through old photographs, which often have notations of dates and family members from their original possessors, said Eagleson. But, she said, it’s always wise to beware of the veracity of those notes ”“ our ancestors may not have been sticklers for historical accuracy, and there are ways of verifying whether the scribblings on old photos are mistaken or true to history.
In the case of photos, there are specialists whose job is to date them, using clothing styles and other evidence as clues, said Eagleson. It can also be helpful to determine whether an old photo is a tintype ”“ a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a sheet of iron that is blackened by painting or ironing ”“ or a daguerreotype, where the positive is embedded on a silvered copper plate. Such a distinction can help to greatly narrow down the timeframe in which a photograph was taken, and can either prove or disprove the notations made by hands belonging to another time.
Other artifacts tell their own stories. Diaries, which Eagleson called a “genealogical goldmine,” can serve as a direct link to specific events, even emotions, that might otherwise have been lost in the inexorable flow of time. Letters provide similar clues, and even objects such as textile samplers can pinpoint the era, and the environment, in which their creators lived.
Some objects provide a less obvious but immensely helpful link to history. One example is the family Bible, in which 18th- and 19th-century families would often keep logs of births, deaths and other family milestones.
“For some families, it was the only book they had,” said Eagleson. “The children would learn to read and write from it.” The date of a specific Bible’s publication can be checked against the hand-written dates kept in its margins and blank pages, determining if the entries were written at the time of the events in question ”“ and thus providing a clue as to their accuracy.
Group member Dell Pierce said she found the talk beneficial to her own genealogical research, which is limited to the few obscure items left over after much of her family’s possessions were sold to antique dealers.
“When I look at an object, it’s not instantaneous to me how to approach it,” said Pierce. “It’s the approach that I really took away from this. I think her presentation was fantastic.”
Another effect of the presentation was to give attendees pause to think about their own artifacts and possessions, and how to make them easily accessible and decipherable to the generations that follow. That, in essence, is the answer to Eagleson’s initial question ”“ why people would hold onto certain objects.
Fortunately, said Ellen Ahrens, modern technology can help to preserve current history. In her estimation, the best tool in this regard is the Internet.
“You can upload documents and give your family permission to access them,” said Ahrens. “Those documents should be saved ”“ I know that they’re safe and in another place. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it, and I would hate to lose everything.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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