The importance of having, keeping and sharing a family’s history is emphasized in this speech given by David Adelman at the last RootsTech Conference in Feb 2014 titled:

‘Storytelling Super Powers:  How to Come Off as Your Family’s Genealogy Hero’

Some highlights include how you can achieve ‘Super Hero’ status amongst your own family. David states that one person can make a huge difference in this life.  Studying your family’s history can be brought forward and made alive, pertinent, and useful to our own lives.

What does a Genealogy Hero look like? They are:

• Determined – to fight for the truth and find the information they need.
• Have Super X-Ray Vision – to see things others cannot and find mysteries.
• Stealthy – with the ability to be various places and not be noticed right away. A Ninja quality to be behind the scenes and get people to open up.
• Full of Stamina – like the Hulk who channels his determination into purpose and doesn’t give up.
• Courageous – and tell the stories that might be painful when uncovered.

A Harvard graduate, David was so moved by the stories of his deceased grandmother gathered by his mother, he started his own family storytelling video company ‘reelgenie.com’ a few years ago.

This video has clips of cartoon super heroes demonstrating the qualities of a genealogy hero. This might be a fun one for the whole family to watch.  

For more about storytelling, check out the following sites:

Storytelling Websites and Resources from the University of North Texas, School of Library and Information Sciences.

National Storytelling Network is dedicated to advancing the art of storytelling.