Simply Jaimie

 Welcome to the 25 Questions Series Every person has a story worth telling, and every family has stories worth discovering. The 25 Questions series was created to make family history feel simple and approachable. Sometimes all it takes is one thoughtful question to unlock a forgotten memory, start a meaningful conversation, or inspire you to record a story that might otherwise be lost. Some lists are designed to help you discover the lives of your ancestors. Others will help you preserve your own memories and experiences. Whether you're interviewing a grandparent, writing your personal history, or simply reflecting on your childhood, these questions are here to help you capture the stories that make your family unique. You don't have to answer every question at once. Start with one. You may be surprised where it leads. 25 Questions to Help You Start Writing Your Personal History Your story matters. The experiences you've had, the lessons you've learned, the people you...

Welcome to the 25 Questions Series! Every person has a story worth telling, and every family has stories worth discovering. The 25 Questions series was created to make family history feel simple and approachable. Sometimes all it takes is one thoughtful question to unlock a forgotten memory, start a meaningful conversation, or inspire you to record a story that might otherwise be lost. Some lists are designed to help you discover the lives of your ancestors. Others will help you preserve your own memories and experiences. Whether you're interviewing a grandparent, writing your personal history, or simply reflecting on your childhood, these questions are here to help you capture the stories that make your family unique. You don't have to answer every question at once. Start with one. You may be surprised where it leads. 25 Questions to Help You Discover Your Family History Family history is more than names and dates on a family tree. It is the stories, traditions, and experience...

In Part 1, we traced Matilda Grant through the available records on FamilySearch until we reached the 1861 England and Wales Census. At that point, Matilda was listed as a widow living in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. With no later records attached to her profile, the next step is to search beyond FamilySearch. Since we know she was living in Staffordshire and had likely married before the birth of her children, Staffordshire marriage records on Findmypast are a logical place to continue the search. I searched the Staffordshire Marriages and Banns collection on Findmypast using Matilda's name and an estimated marriage year of 1865, allowing for ten years on either side. This search returned one result for Matilda Wilford. The record showed that Matilda Wilford married William Jones on 11 January 1864 at St. Stephen, Willenhall, Staffordshire. Matilda was listed as a widow, age 50, living at Mosley Hole. Her father was recorded as Thomas Grant. His occupation is difficult to deciphe...

Some of our happiest childhood memories were made while we were away from home. Whether your family traveled across the country, spent a week camping, visited grandparents, or simply took day trips to a nearby lake or beach, vacations gave us something we all needed—time together. Years later, we may not remember every destination we visited, but we often remember the people we were with, the unexpected adventures, the wrong turns, the laughter, and even the vacations that didn't go according to plan. Family vacations become part of our family story. They introduce us to new places, create inside jokes, strengthen relationships, and often become the memories we tell over and over again. They remind us that some of life's greatest moments aren't found in expensive destinations but in the ordinary experiences we shared together. These 25 memory prompts are designed to help you preserve those stories before they fade. As you work through each prompt, don't worry about writ...

When we research our family history, it can be easy to think of world events as something that happened in history books. Yet our ancestors lived through those moments. They experienced wars, political unrest, economic hardship, and uncertainty while continuing to raise families, care for one another, and make difficult decisions. Learning about the world they lived in helps us better understand the choices they made and the people they became. This is one of the reasons I chose to spotlight The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri. Set in Iran during World War II and inspired by true events, the novel follows Babak and his younger sister after the death of their father. Fearing they will be separated, Babak takes up his father's work as a teacher to the nomadic tribes. With a chalkboard strapped to his back and his sister by his side, the two journey across the mountains searching for the tribes they are meant to teach. Along the way, they meet a Jewish boy hiding from a Nazi s...

What is your favorite Fourth of July memory? Was it watching fireworks from a blanket in the park? Running through sprinklers before the barbecue? Waving sparklers after sunset? Or maybe it was simply spending the day with the people you love. One of the reasons I love Fireworks by Matthew Burgess is that it reminds us the best part of the Fourth of July isn't just the fireworks themselves. The story follows a family as they make their way through the city to watch the evening fireworks. Along the way, readers experience the excitement of the crowds, the anticipation of waiting, and finally the awe and wonder as the night sky comes alive. The book beautifully captures something many of us experience as children—that holidays are remembered not only for the events themselves, but for the people we shared them with. Years later, we may not remember every firework that lit the sky, but we remember who spread out the blanket, who held our hand in the crowd, and who sat beside us as we...