October Family History Month is prompting people in BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL to start preserving their family stories before more of them are lost. Andrew Thomas, chairperson for the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project, said the first step is simple: begin with family, especially older relatives and the photo albums they kept.
“Each one of us have family histories and oral histories,” Thomas said. He told people to begin with grandparents, elderly cousins, uncles and whoever keeps the photo albums, and he pointed to old photos, memorabilia, graduation photos and old wedding dresses as the best starting material.
Andrew Thomas and family records
Thomas said family history month encourages people to learn more about the history that brought them to the present. He said photo albums, newspaper articles and obituaries can help people understand genealogy, which gives readers a practical place to start when they do not know where to begin.
The Bloomington-Normal Black History Project, Thomas said, works like griots, or West African oral historians and storytellers. He said griots preserved family lineage, land ownership and politics, then passed stories down through communities.
Arlene Hosea in 2015
Arlene Hosea said she picked up the mantle of family historian in 2015. “I think it's so important because I think it's a chapter in my life story and in the life story of others,” she said.
Hosea said family history fills gaps and puts puzzle pieces into them. She also said family reunions can help generations connect and uncover how relatives are linked, which gives families a practical way to work backward from names to branches and shared stories.
Old photos and missing stories
Hosea said some family historians have passed away, leaving family stories incomplete. “We don't have all the parts,” she said, adding that people who are curious about where they came from should start anyway, even if the answers take time.
Her advice is direct for anyone in Bloomington-Normal who wants to begin during Family History Month: talk to the oldest relatives first, collect the pictures already in the house and write down names before those memories fade. The open question is when Family History Month began, but October is the month now used to push families toward the same task — preserving what can still be preserved.
