It’s family history month, and if you had to, could you tell your family history in five Artifcts or less? Sound impossible? We weren’t sure, so we decided to put it to the test. 

We reached out to one of our super Artifcters, @Grandmom and asked her, if she had to choose just five Artifcts to tell her story, could she? And if she could, what five would she choose?  

Thankfully, @Grandmom was up for the challenge, although she did preface it by saying “Are you sure, just five? That’s all I get?” Yep, that all you get, at least for this ARTIcles story. “Well, good thing I have my timeline, at least I know where to start!”

Over to you @Grandmom to walk us through your family history, Artifct by Artifct. (The below excerpts are from an interview we did with Grandmom; the words in quotes are direct from the source!)

________________

GRANDMOM'S FAMILY HISTORY IN JUST 5 ARTIFCTS

Artifct #1: The Beginning

The Milking Chair My Grandfather Built

“Well, I guess I better start at the beginning, sometime in the 1860s. One of my oldest Artifcts is the milking chair my father’s father made his wife. They lived on a farm in southern Georgia. He built it for her because she was so short, that none of the regular chairs were a good fit. He built it right after the Civil War, I don’t think he used a single nail, only pegs. You don’t see that these days.” 

Click to view the Artifct and hear the story in Grandmom's own words. 

Artifct #2: Childhood in Rural Georgia

Mother's and Grandmother's Wash Boards

Next up? “Well, that would have to be Mother’s and Grandmother’s wash boards. I still have them after all my moves. We grew up in rural Georgia, and we didn’t have much back then, but Mother always made sure we were well dressed and presentable. I still remember her using these boards to do our laundry. I even used them when I was younger! It’s just what you did back then. I can’t imagine what the kids would do today if they had to use washboards. I can tell you; they probably wouldn’t do laundry!”   

Artifct #3: Traveling Far Far Away

Snake Tales

“The next one is one of my favorites—my snakeskin! I still remember [my friend] Shirley’s reaction, ‘I’m not going to do it Martha, you do it, you shoot the snakes!’” What makes the snakeskin so special? “It reminds me of all the crazy adventures and travels that Bobby [my husband] and I had when we were first married. I never could have imagined living overseas, or going on safari, or doing all the crazy things we used to do. I was telling [my granddaughter] about what we did back then, and she didn’t believe me at first. I had to show her the pictures AND the snakeskin. I was something back then!” For the record, we still think you’re something @Grandmom!   

Artifct #4: Family Time

Our Trusty Station Wagon

“I guess my next Artifct would be our old station wagon, and the photo of the three boys [our sons] in the back. [It's a private Artifct.] Back then we didn’t use seatbelts; I’m not even sure if we had them in the way back! But man, those boys loved that station wagon; Bobby and I did too! We took it everywhere—Brazil, Europe. I still remember I once got a speeding ticket in Rio while driving the station wagon. I had never gotten a ticket before in my life! So many memories. I can still hear Bobby yelling at the boys to quiet down back there or else. The boys remember too!”  

Artifct #5: Small Momentos of a Life Well Lived

International Spoon Collection

Sounds like travel and all your adventures overseas are a big part of your family history and story @Grandmom? “It was our life back then. We didn’t think twice about it when we were doing it, but it was what our family did. It’s what our boys remember. Living overseas teaches you so much. So, I guess my last Artifct would have to be my spoon collection.

I have one from every place I’ve ever lived or visited! I have at least two hundred! The one spoon I didn’t have until recently was Monrovia. I couldn’t find one when we were living there, but then Joy [my daughter-in-law] found one on Ebay and now my collection is complete! It’s amazing to think that had life been different, we could have stayed in Georgia. I know my boys are thankful we did not do that.” 

And there you have it! Five Artifcts; five stories; five memories of a life well lived and well-traveled. If you had to choose, what five objects would you Artifct to tell your story? You can write to us at editor@artifcts.com and let us know, we’d love to hear from you! 

### 

A very special thank you to @Grandmom for sharing her Artifcts and story with us. For those of you curious about this amazing woman, she lived to be 85, had three grown sons, 10 mostly-grown grandchildren, and had lived in six countries and traveled to well over 50. She was married to the “love of her life” for over 40 years and was proud to be her family’s keeper. Why did she Artifct? “To tell the histories and stories behind all my stuff. If I don’t the boys will have no way of knowing what is what.”

We thank @Grandmom's family for letting us reprint this ARTIcle (which originally ran in 2023) as a special tribute to her and the amazing life she lived.

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve all heard the expression “greeting card holiday,” sometimes even used against one of your personal favorites. So many love-hate relationships out there with national days for everything from your dog to your sibling to coffee and doughnuts.  

Then there are the months generally preserved for themes of broad societal significance, like heart health, black history, hispanic heritage, and even family history. Hello October, and hello Family History Month!

This October we’re sharing a few ideas from the Artifcts Community to help even those of you who may think you have no interest in family history to find some value in a month dedicated to exactly that. Use the month as an excuse or opportunity to get to know and capture your own family history and legacy a bit better.

_________________

Hello, Family Genealogists (And Those In the Making)

An Artifcts community member once lamented to us, “I’ve spent so much time and money researching all of this history, and I have the files, but I really haven’t taken that next step to share with my extended or even immediate family. Without me they’d have to start over.”  

And then she told us that all her research is locked up behind a subscription-paywall. Hmmm. If you can relate, here are some tips to help ensure your family history is not lost to the next generation: 

• Purchase a second research subscription for someone who can pick up the research alongside you to carry it forward to the next generation. Guide them through the myriad of resources online and through special archives and libraries as well as in your own family collection. If you have a tech-savvy grandchild in the family, this may be the perfect way to spur intergenerational connection AND keep the family history/research going. 
• Take a class or catch a speaker! You can find a plethora of them by searching online or go local. Check your library, community center, museums, or local genealogical society for special events this month (and beyond). Confernce Keeper has a wonderful listing of genealogy related conferences and events, a lot of them for free too. Share what you learn with your family and friends. 
• Create a family videography to highlight key moments in your family’s history, roles family members have played in historical events, and the modern-day family branches. For beautiful, professional videographies, we adore Lori and her team at Whole Story Productions.  
• Self-publish a book(let) to document your research findings in black and white. Distribute during a family reunion, taking preorders (and payments) ahead of time. If you need an assist in your family history, we recommend our partner at Legacy Tree Genealogists. 
• At Artifcts you can share the family history behind old photos, cherished heirlooms, even Grandma's china! Your family members need not be Artifcts members to view the Artifcts you share with them. Want to make sharing your Artifcts with your family even easier? Create family invite-only circles for easy group sharing, and off you go! We recommend using a special tag like #NickersonFamilyAssociation to easily sort your collection. Some of genealogists at Artifcts also use the ‘Location’ field when they create an Artifct to list a URL or folder path where additional information is stored. 

Memorable Family Dinners, Recipes, and More

You’ve been away from home for months or years, you return, and as you walk in the door, dinner is on, and you get that first smell of your favorite dish. Do you have the recipe? Who came up with it? Do you know the key steps? Special or secret ingredients?  

Some family favorites are born directly out of the original farm-to-table concept, before it was so hip, and those origins become a key part of the family recipe story. You grew potatoes and found a million ways to prepare them. You had fresh citrus, wild asparagus, or vibrant rhubarb all around you, and the specialties of your youth reflect it. Capture that history! 

• Start a virtual family dinner club. You could create a group online to swap recipes or go a step further and once a month someone is the virtual host. Send the recipe ahead (as an Artifct!) so everyone has the ingredients on hand. Then run your own cooking show and enjoy the meal together after. 
• Collaborate on a special family recipe cookbook. Ask each member of your family to contribute their favorite recipe AND the story behind it. How did it come into your family? Are there any secret ingredients? Who made or makes it best?  Create a cookbook that builds all the family history and the stories that go with those recipes. You’d be surprised, but even one generation removed, family members will start to lose track of the details never mind the actual ingredients or instructions. 
• At Artifcts recipes, cookbooks, and treasured kitchen objects come alive through stories and histories, but also with supplementary video and audio snippets. Artifct your favorite recipes, add a video snippet of a crucial step, and share with your family. Our co-founder Heather Artifcted her mother's cranberry sauce AND included a video to show her teenage daughter how to know when you've got a good batch of cranberries. 

Share the History

The reality is not all families have a family keeper, that person who by choice or default holds onto the heirlooms, photos, recipes, and slew of documents that represent generations of a family’s history. Or maybe you are the last keeper or recent inheritor of all this family history and are thinking, “Now what? I really don’t want this stuff.” 

There’s a second reality that is important to recognize: family history is not only family history. Sometimes family history is part of local, national, or even global history. It offers clues to key figures, ways of living, and the social, political, and religious practices of a place in time. So, consider sharing pieces of your family history with the world through donations. 

• Philanthropic donations. Consider galleries, libraries, research centers, foundations, and museums with specialties that may overlap with your items. Donations are not necessarily only in the realm of inherently valuable objects. Often, you guessed it, the story behind the object is the key. Don’t know the story either? That’s okay. Reach out to an institution, share your items, and give them the opportunity to tell you!  
• Archival donations. Transform your personal family history into elements of a shared community history by offering your items to professional archives. What types of items might fit this category? As a starter: original works of fiction or non-fiction; scrapbooks, journals, letters, and diaries; original business materials (certificates, advertising, shares, board documents, voting records); media (photographs, slides, film, even websites too). You can learn more at the Society of American Archivists. 
• At Artifcts, before you donate, Artifct the items to retain the family lore and history that’s relevant to you, and then share with family. Make sure no one else is interested in the item before you donate it, and attach any documentation related to your donation to the Aritfct. You can then rest easy knowing your family’s history will be in the capable professional hands of institutions that will preserve and protect them for generations to come. 

Let's Talk Wills and Legacy

Hear us out. Wills may be about death, but they are also all about easing the burden on those we leave behind. We all too frequently ignore the items we've collected over time. And, no, they will not sort themselves into piles to sell, donate, or bequeath. First someone must go through it all, a family member or two, or maybe a specialist hired to help. And in the end, someone will have to make 1000s of decisions about what becomes of every single item. Do you really want to leave a burden as your legacy? 

Wouldn’t you rather everyone be better prepared and informed? Not only will making a plan and creating documents make it easier for your family to pick up the pieces, but they can also help loved ones understand why you valued the items you are leaving behind. We've got some tips to help:

(Dramatically) Simplified checklist: 

• Don’t have a Will? There are many wonderful estate planning attorneys in each community who can help you with this process. But this is an industry transformed by the digital revolution, and then some. If you are looking for a digital, self-guided approach, check out our fellow AARP AgeTech Collaborative partners at Trust & Will.   
• Haven’t really seen your Will in a while? Give it a checkup. There's no time like the present. Add it to your to-do list this month! 
• Confirm: Are the major themes covered?  
  • • • Estate 
      • Minor children 
      • Relatives with disabilities 
      • Retirement 
      • Powers of Attorney 
      • Living Will 
      • Stewardship of digital assets (profiles, accounts, photos, web pages, etc.) 
• Is there a list of tangible assets referenced in your Will? Your Will may provide for a separate “Memorandum” that can be updated and changed at any time without making any changes to your Will.  
  • • • No list? Start. Just take a first cut by looking around the house (or your Artifcts collection!). 
      • Already have a list? Double check that it covers at least those items of greatest financial or heart (sentimental) value. 

• At Artifcts, pick three or four of your most treasured items to Artifct and let your loved ones know why each item matters to you. Use the "In the Future" field to think through and record what you would like to happen to this item one day. Will it be passed down? Rehomed? Sold? Consider sharing the Artifct with your estate planner or attorney to list with other tangible assets referenced in your Will.   

_________________

Artifcting Starter Resources 

We have all sorts of helpful resources that we want to be sure you know about to take the pressure off and let the fun begin: 

Inspiration Checklists

Videos on YouTube

Artifcting Quick Tips

###

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We live in a world of information overload, and if you’re digging into family history, that overload threat is potentially multiplied by generations.

Some of us organize our research and learnings in folders, and folders within folders. Nothing other than the name of each folder provides us a clue as to how everything inside relates or where gaps in the content may exist.

Others of us rely on hardcopy photo albums and scrapbooks, often missing the contextual details and stories to bring those books to life when the creator of those books is not there to talk you through them. And how do you modify them once complete?

Whether you’re just getting started with fleshing out your family history or focused on closing gaps, we think timelines are a powerful tool to have in your corner. Dive in with us!

Enriching Family History with Artifcts Timelines

Digital timelines can be hit or miss. Many applications, from Google Photos to specialized genealogy software to Facebook, offer timelines, but they often are rigid in terms of editing and lose the context for each entry. That’s because those timelines simply place photos, for example, in sequential order or display SOME information while leaving other information (documents, photos, ...) in separate, disconnected albums or galleries.

We view the Artifcts timeline as the ultimate way to future proof your history by, first and foremost, revealing gaps in the life moments you've captured with your Artifcts. True story: When our co-founder Ellen first looked at her personal timeline, she realized she’d never Artifcted anything about her wedding! Oops.

Once you know your gaps, you can then create new Artifcts to enrich your history with the stories and memories that have been left out. Another approach would be to start with Artifcts you’ve already created and add in videos and audio and/or supporting documentation for more color and context.  

Here's a great example of enriching a family history. It's one thing to know who created this painting:

It’s another to hear first-hand what the artist was trying to capture and what the painting means, a generation later, to the artist’s son. Listen in -->  

Sharing family history in bite-sized mini-stories via Artifcts means you make feel-good progress a bit faster and family are more likely to tune in and listen to the whole story.

Put Timelines to Work for You!

As you Artifct, we create your timeline automatically.

Assuming you have created a few Artifcts already, you will find your timeline by visiting your homepage and choosing "My Artifcts." You'll see the timeline option marked with a yellow "New!"

If your timeline is a bit sparse right now, check out the public Artifcts in our founders' timelines for inspiration - @Heather and @Ellen have shared many Artifcts over the past few years. 

As you explore Artifcts timelines and think about your family history, test out the built-in timeline features, because you never know from where inspiration may spring:

• • • Switch between annual and decade views.
    • Flip your Artifcts from newest-to-oldest and oldest-to-newest.
    • Drag and drop to move any Artifct to a different year.
    • Add time period notes, per year, about key events or family history research gaps.

We have great FAQs about timelines and a quick video ready for you as well.

Share with Us 

We’d love to hear what you learn about your own history when you look at it anew as a timeline. Had you skipped key life events? Are there whole decades missing? What inspires you to fill in any gaps? You can write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com  to share!

Happy Artifcting!

###

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

October is Family History Month. And that got us talking about the meaning and value of family history. Have you ever thought much about it? What is “family history” to you?  

If you Google “define family history,” virtual AI machines spin out a definition that is seconded, thirded (Is that a word? No, surely not.) and otherwise backed up by a plethora of sites all talking about family health and medical history. Nope, not what we’re talking about. 

Scroll a bit further and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon church, defines family history as, “Identifying and learning about your ancestors.” What a convenient definition: narrow and deeply supported by the astounding archival records of the church and its home-grown Family Search software. 

As much as we appreciate our Mormon friends, there's more to family history than our ancestors, which on its own is already overwhelming. Just thinking of all those ancestors and what to track down about each one, from where, and what to do with what we learn makes us sweat.  

But here’s what we so easily miss in that process – our families today, aka ancestors to future generations. And that is much simpler and an easier place to start for most of us.

Family History & You

We want to help you focus on your family history in a much more personal sense.  

Pause and think about your family. Who comes to mind? A spouse and children, furry or human? A larger blended family? Or perhaps you immediately wrap in your parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, too? No matter who you have in mind, now think about the history of that family unit.  

In practicing this approach, our co-founder Ellen came up with these pieces of history for her family: 

Traditional “Family History” Elements 

• • • Lived in WI, NC, DC/VA/MD, and TX, with one daughter who is now more Texan than anything else. 
    • Lots of family travel, mostly road trips, with some far-flung adventures thrown in. 
    • Grounded daily life to work/school, sports, and neighbors. 
    • She and her spouse both worked for the US Federal government and spent the second half of their early careers working from home. 

A lot of what Ellen came up with is covered by public records—birth, death, and marriage certificates, along with newspapers and census and property records. Those are the very same records that genealogists would gather to learn about ancestors from 10s to 100s of years ago.  

Less Traditional, Maybe More Valuable Family History 

• • • Own family language, including regular words that have strange meanings as well as words that are entirely made up. 
    • Message boards, whiteboards and letterboards alike that exhibit the personalities of her family as they fill them in. 
    • The recipes for shrimp de jonghe and coffee cake that were stars of every Christmas at home. 
    • The homemade cards Ellen makes for her husband for every Valentines Day, Birthday, and anniversary. 

While traditional elements can tell you a lot and lead to a lot more questions, such as why all the moves, the less traditional family history gives you a feel for what the family dynamics and day-to-day life was really like. What makes the family tick, if you will. When it comes to family history, we care about both types of information and stories.

Family History: 4 Ways to Fill In and Protect Yours 

We challenge you this October to focus on your own family, however defined, and within a narrower scope of time – try just the last few years since COVID, for example. Less stress on the finding. More emphasis on the memories and the sharing. Pick even just one of the following to get yourself started.

Seminal moments.

CELEBRATE them, document them. How you do this is up to you. Conventional options are photo albums and scrapbooks. Grander options are a family reunion tied to an anniversary of some sort. For us, we’re of course more inclined to Artifct that, perhaps starting with Artifcting our Life Firsts checklist (download free here) and “best of” photos for favorites moments and memories, the details of which always fade too soon. 

Critical details.

We’re talking life, death and everything in between. To protect you and your family and all you have built together, take your first steps toward recording life data in a digital vault of your choice, like that offered by Trustworthy. Enter basics first: drivers licenses, passports, and car titles and/or loans. You’ll FEEL the progress. Let it motivate you to keep going: insurance policies, mortgages, 401ks, and more. 

Your photos.

No, photos are not all worth 1,000 words, but you’ll be devastated if they all disappear. We love the advice we’ve heard often from Cathi Nelson, CEO of The Photo Managers, to back them up to three separate locations, e.g., phone, flash drive, the cloud. You should do this often, and software like Mylio can help, but at the VERY least, back up all those pics this month.

Give a Story, Get a story. 

GIVE A STORY: YOURS! Skip the memoir for now. You’re getting overwhelmed even thinking about it. Write down one story of your own that you love to tell. Now share it with someone, in person and out loud, if possible. Storysharing is more powerful than storytelling because you engage the person in a way that is so much more memorable. Be sure to Artifct yourself telling it too. No one can do it justice the way you do, your voice, your words.

GET A STORY: A FAMILY MEMBER'S. Maybe you remember hearing it once, and you have forgotten the details. Maybe you’ve never heard how grandma came to be a physicist and the projects she worked on. Ask. Record it. Artifct it. Share it. And get more tips from, “Storytellers: Beware!”

Let This Be the Beginning! 

Whether you’re just getting started and want to go deeper or are already in the thick of family history and are looking for more ideas, even new fodder for family reunions and holidays, enjoy this shortlist of Arti Community favorites from ARTIcles by Artifcts: 

• • • Family History Month... Your Way!
    • My Family Wants to Share My Stories. Help!
    • A Family History in 5 Artifcts
    • Rescue Mission! That's More Than a Photo

Happy Artifcting!

###

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve all seen recent media articles of Baby Boomers confronting how their possessions should be handled after they’ve died. While the topics of “Swedish death cleaning” and “tidying up” are at the forefront, few articles discuss how “family history” should be passed on, too, so that it contributes to a family’s legacy. 

Even if you haven’t self-published a family history book, researched your roots for years, or even built a family tree, you’ve likely been a “steward” for at least some stories, heirlooms, and “stuff.” 

Family Keeper vs. Family Steward 

There is a big difference between a “keeper” of a family’s history and a “steward” of items which make up that history. Different mindsets seem to govern how each person approaches their possessions.  

A keeper often has a protective sense of ownership of items and sometimes becomes defensive when asked to share them. You may have encountered an aunt or an uncle who is sitting on family photo albums, boxes of heirlooms, etc. They tend to treat these items as “holy relics” and have a wealth of stories to go along with each item. And when you ask them how they plan to pass those items on to someone else in the family, often they evade the topic or are at a loss for words (and plans). 

A steward takes a very different approach, like someone tending a garden. Not only have they taken the time to preserve photos and heirlooms against damage and loss, but they’ve also documented the stories that bring those items to life in fixed form, not just in your memory. And after years of cultivating that family history “garden,” they are willing to pass the items to a younger generation of stewards who can continue to preserve the family’s legacy. 

Cultivating Your Family History Garden 

Going from keeper to steward can be challenging. Here are some tips and tricks on making that journey:

• Take a deep breath. If you are in possession of years of photos and other family items, start with small mini-projects to avoid becoming overwhelmed. This could mean simply sorting photos from slides and negatives. The next project would then be to decide what gets scanned and how to scan them. Then move on to the next project, and the next project, and so on. 
• Create a stewardship plan. If you find yourself jumping from project to project without making any progress, create a simple plan. Name the task, write a short description, enter a start date and desired end date. Add a notes section so that if you do jump to a new project without finishing the current one, you note where you left off. 

• Set priorities. Some stewards will “rank” their projects using a “1, 2, 3” method. A 1 signifies high priority projects such as interviewing the oldest relatives in the family. Use a 2 for medium priority projects such as documenting family stories and getting them in a fixed format. And finally, 3 is for low priority projects such as file renaming of scanned photos. 

• Leverage technology. Today many tools are available to assist with completing those family history projects, and it can be difficult to determine which tools are the best. Look for tools that help you document family stories and heirlooms—like Artifcts—and allow you to share that process and results with other family members.  

Artifcts can help you build a virtual “family history library” that is easy to pass on to others in the family. Consider using the QR code available for each Artifct you create and place it on or near an heirloom. The next time family members visit, sit back, and wait for the younger ones to scan the code with their mobile device to learn more about that heirloom. I also recommend printing the QR code for your entire Artifcts collection and including it with your important documents, like your will, deeds, and insurance policies. 

Conclusion

We all want to be good caretakers of our family history, but the mere idea of passing away can cause the work of stewardship to be delayed. Remember, you don’t have to go it alone. There are so many products, tools, and services that can help you go from keeper to steward.  

And there’s no reason why you can’t involve the younger generation NOW rather than waiting until it is too late. Create a series of family projects using Artifcts to document family heirlooms and to share their stories so those precious items finally have a voice and can be heard. 

______________

If family history and genealogy are on your mind, we have additional ARTIcles by Artifcts that might interest you!

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Connect the Dots so History Can Live on 

Often genealogists and/or the "family keepers" find themselves on lonely hunts for the details of the near to distant past that help them piece together their family history. If you truly seek to preserve memories and keep the family history alive, the scattered facts, photos, and memories locked into family trees and timelines or behind paywalls might be your best tools and your biggest hurdles. 

Here are a few of our favorite combos of photos, video, and audio for a family history experience that will stand the test of time and engage the next generation: 

• • Ship manifest + family photo + audio of Grandma's and Grandpa’s version of events;
  • DAR certificate + family lineage to the Revolutionary War + who applied, why, and what you know about the patriot;
  • Mom’s corporate articles of incorporation + her business logo + an audio recording of her telling the story of building her company;
  • Baby’s baptismal gown + photo of the wedding dress it came from + generations of pictures of those who wore the gown.  

Don't Forget! 

• • Artifcts’ invite-only circles are perfect for modern family history and reuniting family heirlooms every day. Not just during family reunions! Don't wait until it's too late.
  • Never share personal information about living relatives without their permission. Privately share the Artifct, leave a note, see what they think!
  • Use "Location” on your Artifct to record where you have stored other related files online or in hard copy and select an option from “In the Future” to help make your wishes known. 

_________________

 Have another tip or approach for genealogists and family history enthusiasts?  

Share on social media or write to us at Editor@Artifcts.com.

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.