About six years ago I wrote basic family
histories for my main ancestral lines to share with my family. A
couple of years ago I wrote the stories of several individuals from
my tree who I found interesting. Now, the stories I need to write
are about my grandmothers. I've been thinking about this for a while
and it is starting to nag at me more and more.
When I wrote about people in my tree
before, they were largely people for whom living memory is almost if
not completely extinguished. The reason I need to write about my
grandmothers (and yes, I should write about my grandfathers too) soon
is because there are numerous people who know more about them than I
and can proof my drafts.
Initially, I didn't feel compelled to
write about my grandparents because I knew them. There isn't the
element of mystery there is with long dead relatives. However, if I
get these stories written soon I can draw on numerous living
resources to add details. Considering how much I learned about my
long dead kin I can only imagine how much more complete a picture I
will be able to paint of my grandparents.
While writing I will naturally think of
questions to pose to living relatives. The answers will certainly
enhance my stories, but anyone who has conducted a family history
interview knows that it is sometimes difficult to extract memories
even from willing volunteers. Sometimes you don't know what question
to ask to draw out the mini stories in their lives. The thing I'm
most looking forward to is providing my stories to my family and
asking for comments. With an outline of my grandparents' lives in
front of them, I'm sure memories will be sparked. I can insert
specific questions in the draft and because they are in context,
there is a greater chance I'll get some helpful responses.
If my goal is to better understand my
ancestors, what better way than to write their stories while there
are still people who can flesh them out? And then after I finish
those stories I need to start on my great-grandparents. While it's
true that my living resources for those stories are fewer, I can
probably still glean a few details I couldn't get from any other
source.
I think I'll go get started right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment