I have wanted to create an ancestry wall in my home for some time now, and I decided I was going to complete it as part of the #MakeitMeaningful challenge with Ancestry! Parker and I chose the wall when you first walk right into our home. We wanted something meaningful in that spot and I think the ancestry gallery wall accomplishes that.
There are a lot of options for an ancestry wall
If you look up ancestry walls on Pinterest you are bombarded with some interesting options! I knew that I wanted mine to look minimal, streamlined, yet not totally matchy-matchy. You want to make sure you know what look you are going for before you begin.
The ideal ancestry wall
Enter, my friend Mary and her extraordinary ancestry wall pictured below! #GOALS right?! I grew up with Mary and her family, they have always been very into genealogy and sharing their ancestor’s stories. I love how she has displayed her family members in such a beautiful way on the walls of her home. After seeing what Mary did with her wall, I knew anything was possible!
Ancestry walls are never “complete”
At this point, my wall is made up of seven different pieces. This number will grow and change over the years to include many more pieces. I am going to walk you through how I chose the pieces for my wall and how I did it all at less than $100.
The supplies you will need
- Frames: I had the best luck with IKEA and Walmart frames. They are affordable and come in neutral color palettes. I also like the 10 x 10 square shape for gallery walls. I did a mixture of black and white frames with an oval-shaped frame mixed in for good measure.
- Photo printing: I printed my photos with Walmart photo. They seemed to have the most options for random printing sizes which is what I needed. You can also do one-hour photo pickup which makes it an ideal weekend project!
- Layout: I used plain sheets of paper cut into the sizes of my various frames to measure things out on the wall beforehand to see how I liked the layout. I highly recommend doing this step before starting anything else!
Where to find photos
My family has a smattering of photos of our ancestors, none of which are digital and in the same place. So, I searched high and low until I was excited about my photo collection.
We have a portrait of Parker’s dad Rory, who passed away 5 years ago from cancer, that I really love that was given to us in a beautiful frame. I decided to build our entire ancestry wall around that photo. We miss our Papa Rory and it is nice to see his smiling face in our home.
Start by looking at the photos you already have
To begin to build the ancestry wall I started by looking at cherished photos of our loved ones in my own collection. I found one of me and my grandma at my wedding that exudes happiness for me and another of Parker’s grandma who was a florist holding a bouquet. These were great photos to build off of in the beginning.
I have always loved my maternal grandparent’s wedding photo. It is formal and my grandma chose to wear a tiara that looks much more like a regal crown and I just love every little thing about it! From the flowers to her dress it brings me joy seeing my grandparents as a young couple in love.
Classic wedding photos
To get my hands on their wedding photo (to make a copy), I was given early access to my grandmother’s life story. In my extended family, it is customary to write your own history. Some are short, some are long, but all of them have treasured photos included.
Official portraits from the past
Parker joined in the photo gathering and found a portrait of his paternal grandfather from his pilot days. He has his goggles on his head and leather jacket and the photo is one of my favorite parts of the ancestry wall!
Use your DNA results to help in your search for photos
I started to look back at my family history thanks to Ancestry and my DNA results which make it easy to track my family’s roots in Europe. After researching for a bit I came across a story about one of my ancestors named Margaret who came across to America in 1884 with many young children having recently been widowed. I was able to find a picture of the S.S. Wyoming ship that she was on while on her journey to America. Ancestry DNA kits are the perfect holiday gift and right now they are only $59!
The ship my ancestors sailed on to America
I knew I wanted the photo of this ship on my wall as a reminder of what my ancestors have gone through to live in a beautiful place with the freedoms that I enjoy. Not only that, but I am reminded of the grit and strength of my ancestors and that hopefully some of that has passed on to me.
The Hackett castle
Parker’s family hales from Ireland and I wanted some part of his Irish heritage included in our ancestry wall. As I was talking with him about this he showed me a picture of Hackett castle in Ireland and I knew that was the perfect thing to include from Ireland. It is covered in beautiful green ivy and again, reminds us of the people that have come before us.
You can include other heirlooms on the wall, not just photos
I balanced all of the photos on the wall by including a banner that is screen printed with a special message from Parker’s dad Rory. Rory signed every letter that he sent to Parker while he was on his mission with this phrase. It is special to us and another part of our family. I hope to add more special heirlooms like this in the future.
Teach the younger generation about your family
Our new ancestry wall is a great teaching tool when it comes to Lila learning about her family. She loves looking at the photos and learning who these people are and how they are a vital party of our family story. I am grateful that I will be able to continuously add to the wall over the years and continue to learn stories about those who have come before me.
Your ancestors are watching out for you
I truly believe that we are surrounded by angels here on earth. And what other angels would be more concerned for you and your family’s well-being than your own ancestors? I think we can find strength and courage from our ancestors and their stories on a daily basis. I am blown away by the hardships and trials that they pushed through in their lives. I am also so grateful for the relationships that I had with many of them here on earth and I want to remember them on a regular basis.
