Joy in the care home

Gosh, that's a tremendous amount of work and yes, I can see see how the researcher would have to have a good working relationship with the subject.

I was thinking back to that series that was on TV last year -
Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds - and how that interaction succeeded in animating so many of the residents who were otherwise rather lethargic, lonely and depressed.

Maybe this might be something suitable for Age UK befriending schemes for people living alone and suffering from loneliness and isolation if they could be matched with volunteers with a keen interest in genealogy.

Well done grannyactivist

It is difficult enough trying to compile a family history of one's own family without attempting to do someone else's.

Perhaps you should write a book now giving tips and hints on how to go about this daunting task (well, it seems daunting to me!).
I have all the information, now need to pull it all together in an interesting format.

Melting I have done a lot of 'memory' work with residents, but never seen anything that's had such an exciting result as this, however I totted up the time it has taken me and each file has taken me a minimum of thirty hours to compile and one took almost fifty hours - so I don't think other homes will be taking it up as an activity unless they can find a volunteer who does it as a hobby and even then they would have to know the residents well enough to understand them and any potential triggers.

Ah, yes, I can see how you have to be very careful not to cause distress to residents whose failing memories lead them to think certain loved ones are still alive.

I love the idea that this is animating and motivating people.
Maybe this is an idea you could be pitching as an activity to other care homes.

It was only yesterday that I handed over the files and none of the residents has the capacity to engage in research for themselves, but I was taken by surprise at the gleeful elation of the recipients. As I was going through the information it sparked so many memories, not only in them, but in the other residents too. There was more conversation going on between residents yesterday than I have ever known before. One woman asked me yesterday if I would do her family history too, but confided that she has some Italian ancestry so thought that I would probably only be able to access her English forebears - little does she know that a distant relative has put online the whole Italian history, complete with photographs, translations of letters etc. I was so excited I got carried away with the compilation of her file and didn't get to bed until the early hours.
I'm taking great care with noting deaths though; one resident, aged over 90, never forgets that she's a widow, but often tells me that she'll tell her mum something because she phones her every week. Her mother's birth, christening and marriage were all duly noted, but I didn't put any information about her death in the folder.

I have tried myself but not got very far so know it’s Hard work taking a lot of time, but what a a lovely thing to do for someone. I am sure they and their families will be very grateful.

What a super idea. Nowadays, there is so much to be found both on Ancestry and other online resources. The ability to discover who else is researching a particular person and to be able to view their gallery has been a revelation to me, I have been able to see photos of direct ancestors who were hitherto only names and dates. You only have to watch WDYTYA? to see how a relatively ordinary story can be brought to life by photos and documentary evidence.

Do you go beyond online resources to draw up your residents' trees, visit libraries and country records offices, for example?

Have any of the people you have given your research to picked up the baton and gone on to expand their tree?

In the early days of my own interest in genealogy, long before the advent of Ancestry, freebmd and all the other online resources, I recall how much useful data and potential leads could be found simply by listening to an older person talk about their memories.

I recall there was a lot going on in 1999/2000 to do with recording oral histories as part of millennial projects but don't know to what extent that still goes on.