Family History Before Family Stories

 

This week's posts are all on the topic of Family Stories, your own life story, as well. Yesterday, I focused on why we should write these stories. Today let's look at where to begin.

That's always a good question at the start of a new project. Where to begin? Someone once said, 'Where to begin? Start at the beginning.' A bit confusing to someone wanting to launch a new project. Perhaps the beginning would be to write about your family's make-up first. A short family history.

Include the members of your immediate family, parents, siblings, any other family member who lived with you--possibly a grandparent. Add dates of your birth and your siblings, even your parents. Many years down the road, those dates will have some importance. 

Add the place where you lived growing up. Or places, if that is the case. Children of military personnel live in many places over the rather short space of the years in which they were children and teens. As well as the actual place, you could include a descrption of your home or homes. 

You could add something about your ethnic background. That is usually something of interest to future generations as they will share part of that history with you plus others as marriages took place. We become real mixtures of heritages as time goes on. I am one of the rare people who have a half and half ethnic heritage. My father's family was all French, while my mother's was Irish. Perhaps there would be a few other things added in if I had my DNA checked, but the half and half is fairly accurate.

Make reference to what your father's job was. And your mother--was she a homemaker or did she work outside the home, as well? 

Finally, add something about your extended family--grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Did they live close to you or far away? Were they loved by your family or distant by choice? 

As you write this short family history, you will most likely trigger some memories. As they flit through your mind, take some time to jot a note to yourself. You'll have a list to choose from for your first family story. 

This is not a difficult task. Once you start, it's easier to continue. Tomorrow, we'll discuss how you can format your stories. 

How to Begin Writing Family Stories

 

Today's poster tells us that family is a gift that lasts forever. If you want to help the 'forever' part, it is time you started writing your family stories. They will be lost forever if each generation does not do something to extend their life. 

Sure, we all tell those stories at family gatherings, whether at the holiday dinner table or when together for a wedding or a funeral. Funerals in particular seem to bring out stories of the deceased. When one of my brothers passed away, I heard stories before and after the funeral that I'd never heard before. And I told a few about him that some others had not heard. 

I had three brothers, and a few years ago, I printed and copied all the family stories I had written, put them in a 3 ring binder for each one and mailed them. It was a big project as it took some time and effort, but the reaction from each one who received a book was well worth it. Two of my brothers have passed away, but the books are still there for the children of each one. 

Everyone would probably agree that writing those stories would be a worthy project. The problem is that many think about it but never seem to get started. Why? Does the idea seem overwhelming? Perhaps, but remember that you don't have to do it all in one week or one month or even one year. 

The way to begin is with one story at a time. Think back to your childhood. What is something you remember clearly about one of your grandparents? Or a favorite uncle? Or a cousin you were close to? Choose one and only one. You could start with something to describe the person's physical traits, or their demeanor. An example using my grandfather might be:

      My Grandpa Studham was a quiet man. He and my grandmother were separated, never divorced, so they visited us at different times. One time, Granpa arrived with a gift for me tucked in his suitcase. A cigar box filled with pennies he'd saved! And then I could go on telling more about that gift and the grandfather who had been a coal miner and always seemed to have a cigarette in his hand.

Pick one person, one event, one time and start writing. As you write that first story, it may trigger thoughts of others. Work at your own pace. There is no deadline. If you write longhand, that's fine. If you type on a keyboard, you can print the stories and start a notebook to keep them in. 

You do not have to be a professional writer to do this. There is no wrong or right way to tell your family stories. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you write your stories:

A. give a sense of place

B.  physical characteristics

C.  the way a person acted, or his character traits

D.  how you felt

E.  how others in the family felt or reacted

F.  use dates if pertinent to the story

G.  be descriptive

All it takes is one story to begin. Only one. I bet you can do that.