52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: # 5 Document Your Family Medical History, Remembering Nicholaus Egetemeir

I was reminded this week of the importance of documenting my family's medical history. That's one of the reasons I started researching my family. Yet I've never written a list, relying instead on memory. This week I learned how very important it is to write it down and carry it with me on a mobile device.

My significant other, Joe, was being quizzed by a doctor about his family history. As the discussion progressed, Nicholaus Egetemeir crossed my mind. I almost reached for my iPad right then. My mistake. By the end of that quiz, I had totally forgotten about him. The next morning I awoke with Nicholaus on my mind and looked at Joe's family tree, confirming that Klaus was important medically.

Our lesson learned, I'll be putting our family medical history in writing so we don't forget key information. Also by writing it down, we can see where we need to gather more information. The story of Klaus we heard only by accident while reviewing a probate file with Joe's mother. She had never mentioned her youngest brother in previous discussions about her family in the old country.

Nicholaus Egetemeir

Nicholaus was born on December 7, 1946, in Blaustein (Ehrenstein), Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Klaus was a very talented skier with Olympic aspirations. Young Klaus died of an epileptic seizure on January 8, 1962, just one day after winning a local ski competition. His death at such a young age saddens me. 

Come Out and Play digital kit by Amanda Heimann for Scrapper's Guide (Digital Scrapper), Jan 2009