Ancestry Quick Tip Jamboree Clues in Home Sources When you are cleaning out attics, closets, and old houses, be alert for books, recipe cards, and old letters-as well as old receipt books. And do think "outside the box." If there is a recipe box in the family, don't forget to check for names on the recipe cards. My grandmother had a wooden file box with hundreds of file cards-many written in fountain or quill pen-where the woman who gave her the recipe wrote her name on the card. I have found some of these people lurking in the family tree, and it was wonderful to see a written artifact like this. Some of the older cards do not have names, but the recipes are extremely old and give one an idea of what they liked to eat! This family was also in the habit of putting their names inside the front covers of their books-either their own or those given/received as gifts. So don't forget to go through all those dusty old books in your grandmom's attic. One was passed down from the original immigrant to his son and then to his granddaughter-they all signed and dated it. Another bad habit they had was to use any available piece of paper for a bookmark. This was where I found my grandmother's birth certificate and Social Security information-she had put them in a book for "safe-keeping," and then she forgot and left them there! Also check old scrapbooks and receipt books-especially the blank pages. They tended to "save" things back there, so they wouldn't lose them. Sometimes they'd write notes to themselves about something that was important to them. Bottom line-as inconvenient as it is, throw out nothing until you have thoroughly gone through it with a fine-toothed comb, and do think "outside the box." People may have left their treasures in weird places. Margaret Davis Sewell, N.J. Writing Your Life's Lessons Now that I am in the "autumn" of my life and both of my parents have been gone for many years, I have found myself deeply interested in family history with many unanswered questions-questions that my parents could have answered. I've decided that this is not going to happen to my children. I have begun to write little stories about my life, with inserted pictures, in a document file, adding the rearranging sequences of events as I remember them. I have also encouraged my husband to do the same. It's amazing the little things you find you have not thought about in years when you start writing them down. I really wish my parents had done this. These stories will make interesting reading for our grandchildren as well, when they are in the "autumn" of their lives. S.J. Meese Ohio California Databases When researching branches of my family, I routinely check the wonderful databases in California (births, marriages, and deaths) for possible relatives who have "strayed" from their home base. I am regularly rewarded for this small effort. Not only has California been a magnet for these relatives during the past 150 years, but its birth, death, and marriage databases are probably the best of any state, and they have powerful search engines. Being able to search on the mother's maiden name and father's name in the deaths database, for example, can be a boon to finding those hard-to-find married women in your family. Sandy Miller Note: For a list of databases for California or another state, just follow this link. Select a state on the map to see a list of all the databases available for that area.