Grandparent Stories That Shaped Your Life: We lived nearly 1,500 miles from my only remaining grandmother while I was a child. So I only met her five, maybe six times. I remember her as a tiny, almost fragile woman, with a sweet, quiet disposition. But there was clearly another side! Photos […]
Gardening Memories
Gardening Memories Around here, brilliantly-colored seed catalogs begin filling our mailbox in early December. Their annual appearance is as much a familiar hallmark of this time of year as holiday cards and twinkling outdoor lights. Seed catalogs remind us that winter’s snow and cold is transitory – and soon we’ll have our fingers buried […]
Happy Food Memories – plus a few to forget
Some of our best memories revolve around holiday food. That special Thanksgiving cornbread stuffing? Fabulous. Christmas cookies drizzled with icing? Yum! Somehow or other, I wound up with Box #2 of our old family recipes – Box #1 resides with another sibling, I think. My own […]
A Heart for Helping
Writing a memoir is a big undertaking. And tackling that job all alone can make it feel twice as big! Luckily, helpers are out there. Whether you call these folks personal historians, memoir coaches, or developmental editors, all of them can help with various parts of the writing process. This month I wanted to […]
Five Things I Learned Doing My Family History
I recently finished my own family history, a six-month project that only took me, oh, about thirty years to complete. That’s right. I’ve helped dozens and dozens of other people write their memoirs or family histories. I’ve written a whole book about how to do what I did for others. But it’s taken me […]
Words to Live By
WORDS TO LIVE BY: One common theme in the memoirs I’ve worked on is a Words to Live By chapter. It could go anywhere, of course; but typically it’s the last chapter of the book — an effective way to leave your reader with positive and helpful thoughts. […]
Share the Hidden History in your Family Stories
I’m deep in the middle of compiling our family stories. It’s struck me how much hidden history there is in these simple tales. Things we never learned about in school. Aspects of history that never drew the limelight. Telling details or images that add depth or perspective to a larger historical picture. […]
Widows In The Civil War
When Life Gives You Lemons: Widows In the Civil War Love stories come with all kinds of surprising twists and turns. Handed down through my own family is the fascinating story of a Civil War widow – with a quirky happy ending. As the tale goes, Sarah Jane Dukes […]
When Memoirs Bring Up Feelings
Watch out for the “Memoir Blues”! Working on a Memoir – your own tale, or the story of your family – can tap surprising, long-buried feelings. Memories and emotions you thought you’d worked out long ago. And definitely not just the happy ones. I know. Because it’s been happening […]
Ever heard of ‘Bastardy Bonds’?
Ever heard of “bastardy bonds”? I certainly hadn’t. Not until I was researching my own family history, when TMCC genealogy librarian Sue Malek helped me discover a whole book about North Carolina Bastardy Bonds (with, yes, a few family surnames inside!) Turns out bastardy bonds were an early way […]
Preserving Your Family Photo Collection
Preserving Your Family Photo Collection Are you the keeper of your family photo collection? The one who inherited a giant, jumbled box of pictures, negatives and slides? Deciding what to do with all those family treasures can be a daunting prospect, indeed. But here are a few tips and resources to help! * * * * […]
Adding Visuals to Family History
Let’s face it; a family history packed with bare facts would be pretty boring. (Think page after page of names, dates and marriages.) But sprinkle in some visual details — graphics, or maybe even a picture – and that family history springs to life! So, what if you don’t have a photo from, say, 1835 to add […]