HollarBranch · Family Memories
History lives in
what we remember.
Names and dates tell us who came before us. They don't always tell us what it was like to know them.
You don't need exact dates.
You don't need to remember everything perfectly.
You don't need to be a historian.
Just tell us what you remember.
BeginWhy Your Memory Matters
Some things were
never written down.
A census might tell us where someone lived. It won't tell us which door everyone used when they came to visit.
A photograph might show us a kitchen. It won't tell us what was usually cooking there, who sat at the table, or what the room sounded like when the family gathered.
A death certificate can tell us when someone died. It cannot tell us what their laugh sounded like.
Those memories are part of history too.
Remember Them Honestly
People are more complicated
than a family tree.
HollarBranch isn't trying to turn the people who came before us into heroes or villains. We're trying to understand who they really were and what life around them was really like.
Wonderful memories matter. Difficult memories matter too. People could be loving and difficult, generous and flawed, funny and frightening. One memory does not have to erase another.
Tell us what you remember—not what you think the family wants remembered.
Your honest memories—even the complicated ones—are among the greatest contributions you can make to this history.
Add Your Memory
What would you
like to remember?
Start wherever your memory takes you. There is no right place to begin.
Tell a Story
Share something you remember in your own words.
Begin → 02Remember a Person
Tell us what someone was really like to know.
Choose a person → 03Remember a Place
Describe a home, road, church, mine, school, creek, hollar, or gathering place.
Remember a place → 04Everyday Life
Food, work, school, cars, holidays, mountains, chores, traditions, and ordinary days.
Explore everyday life → 05Share a Photograph
Help preserve a photograph or document—and tell us the story that isn't visible in the picture.
Share something → 06Something We Didn't Ask
Some of the most important memories begin with a question nobody thought to ask.
Tell us →Your Memory Stays Yours
We preserve who
remembered the story.
What you share is preserved as your recollection.
Memories may later be compared with photographs, records, newspapers, maps, documents, and recollections from other people. Sometimes those sources will agree. Sometimes they won't.
HollarBranch does not erase those differences. They are part of the historical record.
Contributions are reviewed and researched before becoming part of the published HollarBranch history.