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Marcha Fox
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The Family History Fun Factor: How to Gather and Preserve Family Folklore Kindle Edition

by Marcha Fox (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
As a genealogist, what would you give to spend one day with one of your ancestors? To witness everyday details of his or her life, whether it involved a favorite recipe, cooking methods, gardening, transportation or how children spent their day?

Genealogy and stories related to major life events are often found in journals and other sources, but what about activities such as holiday celebrations or games children played on balmy summer evenings? Wouldn't you like to go one step beyond vague stories about walking four miles to school through two feet of snow or canning peaches on a woodstove?

On a more recent level, what are your favorite memories about growing up? Did you carry on the same holiday traditions as an adult? Where and when did they originate? Generations ago? Or more recently?

Which begs the question, what will your progeny know about your daily life? Where do you even begin to record, much less organize, such things?

What do you even call it?

It's not genealogy, not family history--so what is it?

All these delightful details about everyday life are what comprise family folklore!

Andif you want to learn how to preserve these precious family memories, The Family History Fun Factor tells you exactly how. You'll learn which genres are included, see examples, even find a checklist and resource list.

If you've procrastinated writing your personal history (and who hasn't?) this is the perfect place to start! No research is required, it's all inside your head. Just recall those everyday activities that make life worth living. Wait until the next holiday, if you like, then record what you do in the Family Folklore Idea Collection Sheet in the appendix.

Easy, peasy.

Subsequent generations will thank you for it.
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  1. Print length
    67 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    December 14, 2013
  5. File size
    7.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

When I was in college majoring in physics, I also pursued a minor in English. As part of that, I took a folklore class which gave me the idea for this book. I hadn't realized how everyday life reflects a culture that is often lost, particularly to subsequent generations. Let's swap that around a bit so it's easier to tell what I mean. If you've ever done any genealogy, how would you like to know more about your great-great-grandparents' daily life? The jokes they told, what they did to relax, what their typical meal looked like? Time marches on, all too quickly, and before you know it instead of being the child or the parent, you're a great-grandparent! If you have no idea where to start, this book will guide you, step by step. And the best part is that in these modern times, most of it can be easily achieved with your smart phone. What are you waiting for?

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HBZ6XTY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kalliope Rising Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 14, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 67 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0988333536
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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Marcha Fox

Marcha Fox

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Marcha Fox writes in a variety of genres from cross-cultural thrillers to hard science fiction and astrology. While raising six children she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Utah State University which resulted in a 21+ year career at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. When she retired she turned to writing full-time, which had always been her dream.

Her most recent literary work is the cross-cultural trilogy, "The Dead Horse Canyon Saga," coauthored with Pete Risingsun. A masterful blend of modern day conspiracy thriller with Cheyenne history and cultural practices, the first two books collected a total of ten awards with the grand finale released in January 2025.

Other fiction work includes "The Star Trails Tetralogy," a multi-volume STEM-friendly science fiction series designed for youth with an interest in science. The series is also available as audiobooks narrated by T.W. Ashworth.

Much to the horror of her physics professors, she's a practicing professional astrologer with clients around the globe. She has written two full-length books on that subject, one for beginners and one about eclipses.

She has a passion for feline fur babies and lives in an 1898 farmhouse on three acres in rural New York State, having previously lived in California, Utah, and Texas.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Karen Ingalls
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    If you want ideas, encouragement, and how-to's with the family history, here is the book for you. Ms. Fox writes in an easy to read fashion with humor and sensitivity. I made notes and wrote down certain page numbers for future reference. It is short and a quick read packed with ideas for all ages.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Benedict Stuart, Author
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Culture
    Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Yes, family history could be fun. Excellent guide to preserving culture, everyday traditions, habits, crafts, recipes, ancient objects, old photos, stories, songs etc. By all means we should know our past, analyze it, feel it in order to create or better understand our present and future.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • kathleen aispuro
    5.0 out of 5 stars FUN, FUN, AND MORE FUN
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book has given me all kinds of ideas how to go about putting family stories together. I have recommended it to numerous people and the author is great.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Stephendschmutz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read. Interesting subject!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I never knew how important folklore and folklife were until I read this book. The book is well written and I can relate to the material very well.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Robin Leigh Morgan
    5.0 out of 5 stars TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ABOUT FAMILY TREES
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2017
    I read this book via an Amazon KINDLE Unlimited download.

    Did you know that your grand-uncle Franklin rode with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders? Did know that your late aunt Betty was a nurse in a MASH unit during the Korean War? Did you know your great-great-grandmother was a Suffragette? If you’ve said NO to these questions there’s only one reason and one reason for this to be the case. There’s been no one keeping track of your family’s history.

    The truth is you’re not alone for there’s only a small minutia of families who have. I believe this is because most of us are under the impression there’s nothing special about our families. We’ve probably said that none of us have done anything important like becoming a member of a small town’s board.

    But, there’s the rub. While none of us might feel we’ve done anything important, who’s to say that there won’t be in our family who will. And when that time comes, how will that future ancestor know who came before him and what they did in their lives; that individual would have a void in his life.

    Ms. Fox in her book seeks to help us remedy this situation by giving her readers an easy to follow guide in how to go about creating a family history for our future generations. There are ways of going about trying to backfill information about our family tree, and the author gives information to doing this as well.

    While this might seem like a demanding task it can easily be turned into a fun family activity to gather all the bits and pieces, including oral histories from various members of the family, regardless of where they might physically be.

    For wanting to instill a sense of pride in our family for today and futures generations, I’m happy to have given Ms. Fox 5 STARS for her endeavor here.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Balroop Singh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Provides excellent ideas and inspiration
    Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019
    The Family History Fun Factor: How to Gather and Preserve Family Folklore by Marcha A. Fox is an excellent guide to preserve family history. It offers many ideas about collecting the experiences of family members so that they remain alive for posterity. Most of the people never think about recording the cherished moments and memories. I don’t have a single picture of my childhood. I have no idea what my grandpa looked like. Some hazy memories of what my grandma told me about her life come to my mind when I think of my family folklore. My mom has no memories of her parents as they died when she was too young and had to face troubled times of partition of her country.

    I have always wished to know more about my family. Marcha inspires that instinct and emphasizes the need to gather and preserve family folklore. She tells us that whether it is cooking methods, family celebrations, festivals, transportation or how children spent their day – the next generation would be charmed by it. Technology may have made our lives easier yet family’s little activities, which seem insignificant to us, could be interesting if they are recorded. When an I-pad generation is told that we started our writing lessons on wooden slates that had to be washed and plastered everyday and a wooden pen and inkpot was required for writing, they look at me with disbelief and awe!

    I am glad I stumbled across this book. I would like to recommend it to everybody. Thank you for the inspiration Marcha. Family folklore is precious and worth making the efforts to preserve it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ms Fiza Pathan
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Meaningful Book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2019
    I loved this little book about trying to preserve family folklore. The book was well written, well edited & well deserving of all praise. I loved all the ways mentioned by the author, Marcha Fox, for trying to preserve our family 'folktales' for our descendants. I liked the examples she gave & also some of the instances of her own family folklore. Being raised in a large maternal joint family myself, I have always taken the trouble of trying to record our times together in my diaries. But there are other ways to do so which is mentioned very astutely by Marcha Fox in this little book titled 'The Family History Fun Factor'. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially to those people trying to preserve their own family folklore & are stuck about how they can do so. I really liked this short little book a lot & the author really impressed me with this very novel idea about the ways we look at family folklore & how we try to save it for our descendants. Kudos to Marcha Fox on a job well done! I hope to read more books penned by her in the near future.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Bill Tinney
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas for Family Fun
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2014
    We bought this book in hopes of rekindling interest in family history in our children and were not disappointed in the novel and helpful ideas we found. A great source of simple and practical suggestions for remembering, gathering, and recording memories before they are lost.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Roopkumar
    5.0 out of 5 stars I liked her book reviews and came to know that she ...
    Reviewed in India on December 3, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Marcha Fox is one of my goodreads friend, I liked her book reviews and came to know that she is also an author. The book "The Family History Fun Factor" is about a bit of time travel for our children and grand children. I bought this from Kindle Unlimited and the book is free to download till December 6th 2016.

    The opening words from the book:

    What would you give to spend one day with one of your ancestors? To witness everyday details of his or her life, whether it involved a favorite recipe, cooking methods, transportation or how children spent their day? Genealogy and stories related to major life events such as immigration, migrations, arranged marriages, childbirth, deaths or occupations can often be found in journals or other sources but what about everyday activities such as holiday celebrations or the games children played on balmy summer evenings?

    The book is about capturing and recording our daily routine on author's own words, Your daily routine may seem less than exciting and not worth recording, but to someone in the far distant future it could hold as much charm and interest as life a few centuries ago does for you. Recording or capturing our family experiences and keep it alive for the future, she termed it as Family Folklore.

    Most of us are doing this but after couple of years due to unavoidable circumstances we simply leave the task or throw it as trash. Imagine how many of us has done that.

    The author has given one example: "Even if he was a horrible storyteller I would LOVE to hear my grandfathers’ voices, both of whom died before I was born. Wouldn’t you?"

    That had happened in my life and I tried. When mobile phones were new my father who unfortunately did not have the chance to use, after his death while talking to my uncle (father's brother) who has the similar tone of my father, the experience gave me an idea to record his voice and show it to my son that the tone resembles my late father. Like I mentioned earlier I had lost it.

    The author has given a format to record our experiences and also at the end she has given online resources which will help us in culminating our family experience and share to our grand children and great grandchildren.

    I like to thank Marcha Fox for this book and giving a lot of ideas to record it as family folklore.
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