In early 2007, influential Shinnecock author, journalist, TV host and producer Alli Joseph received the news that her mother Barbara had been diagnosed with cancer. Six months later, and a month before Joseph would give birth to a new baby girl, Barbara died. Unable to retrieve a lost family legacy for her newborn daughter, Joseph worked to create Seventh Generation Stories to help others document their own family histories.

“My mother Barbara, the family historian, was diagnosed with cancer just before I found out I was pregnant,” Joseph said. “I spent much of that year desperately trying to capture my mother’s thoughts, voice and face on different media before she died just six months later. I felt cheated, my daughter would not have Grandma Bobbie’s wonderful stories at her fingertips, and I knew this could have been avoided. It is my greatest regret.”

After her mother’s passing, Joseph visited a close friend. When her friend relayed an interesting personal history to her, she was struck with an idea.

“I really felt as though my mother was giving me a nudge from the other side, because the genesis of the idea occurred when I was walking down a frozen street in Ann Arbor, Mich. A friend and I were just talking in a nonspecific way. She started to tell me a story about when she had been sent away to a boarding school in Europe by her grandparents. I had never heard that story before, so I wondered if her three children knew much about their mom’s life, ‘and what if they didn’t?’” Joseph asked herself. “Wouldn’t this be a good idea for a business?”

Though Joseph had contributed substantially in the media and entertainment world as a journalist, writer, host and television producer during her 20s, she now wanted to make a more significant difference in the world. She decided to turn her idea into action. After six months of research and development, which included consulting members of an accomplished group of personal historians, Joseph began her company in 2008. She now serves as founder and president, and is an active member of the Association of Personal Historians.

Joseph based her company name, Seventh Generation Stories on the Iroquois Confederacy’s belief that all action should take into account the well-being of the next seven generations. She uses today’s latest technologies to offer a wide range of history and documentation services, such as autobiographical as-told-to books, video biographies and tributes, business and community histories, ethical wills, custom-made heirloom quilts, and other legacy-based products.

Joseph admits starting a business during a recession wasn’t easy. But with her expertise and dedication, she now feels her two-year-old company is on the fast track. She attributes much of her success to today’s growing virtual world. “I have vendors who I work with remotely on an as-needed basis, not a staffed office. I don’t think the latter would be cost-effective since I run my business project-to-project. The way I work is a more effective way of maintaining low overhead. For example, I am working with a graphic designer on a book project right now. I’m in New York – she’s in Florida.”

Though business is growing, Joseph also says it is a bit of a challenge to overcome the stereotypes associated with delving into a family’s history. “One problem is that there’s an out-dated perception about doing personal histories: Many people think that this is something grandmothers and grandfathers do for younger people. It can be perceived as boring, because the term “family history” conjures up images of musty attics, old mahogany and crumbling photos. I can certainly see how that wouldn’t seem interesting to young people.

“I am trying to reshape the image of this work. I particularly want to appeal to younger people, and encourage them to embark with their elders on what can be a really exciting and emotional journey. It’s actually fun.”

Though Seventh Generation Stories serves clients from every culture, Joseph maintains her focus on serving the Native community. “We come from a matrilineal culture, and as a mother now myself I want to record the stories of our elder women for future generations of Native children. This is how it has always been, and we must never forget where we come from – even the hard parts – so that the future can be brighter.”

Joseph encourages people to start considering their legacy today instead of tomorrow. “Often we put off doing this work until it’s too late, and our family members are gone,” Joseph said. “There is no time like the present to save the past. In a down economy especially, family history is uplifting, and it is one of the best things you can gift your children that can never be taken away.”

For more information and pricing (projects begin at $850 and average about $5,000) visit the company Web site.