Bringing Your Family History To Life
Posted on 14th May 2018 at 18:24
Knowing about your ancestors and what they did is great, and learning about their lives by reading books and watching documentaries is interesting.
But what if you could take this to another level? What if you could actually live a day in the life of your ancestors?
At Footsteps we take you back in time and make that happen. You can spend the day with an expert who will be able to give you a unique understanding of your ancestors’ lives.
One of those experts is Colin Richards, and I recently had the pleasure of spending a day with him. We did a range of occupations that would have been done by people who lived in villages and small towns.
First, Colin got me chopping wood to make charcoal, a job a woodsman would have done, which would have been sold to the local blacksmith.
Next came the task of burning the wood to turn it into charcoal.
Once we had got the fire going inside an oil drum, Colin put the lid on, explaining that something as seemingly modern as an oil drum has been used for this job since the 1850s.
We then got the forge going and Colin told me I was going to make a free-standing candle sconce! Really? My only metalwork experience was filing an iron bar at school when I was 11! But I took a deep breath, put my trust in Colin, and followed his instructions.
It wasn’t long before I was really enjoying myself!
Were your ancestors blacksmiths, woodsmen or general village labourers?
Footsteps will provide you with a unique opportunity to really empathise with them. You will have a greater appreciation and respect for them too, and it will give you a new sense of perspective on your own life.
But here’s the really special part of this experience. You get to share it with other members of your family.
Bring your children along for a fun family day out with a difference, and enjoy an opportunity for you all to understand and connect with your heritage.
If you enjoyed this blog and it has inspired you to find out more about your family, click HERE to take the next step.
Tagged as: Live a day in the life of your ancestors
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