How do you engage children in family stories or in fact any stories? I have been contemplating this recently and luckily was able to attend an interesting talk by Kate Simpson, a children’s author during the GSQ Mini Seminar on 4 June, Sharing Family History: telling, writing. In her talk, she spoke about preserving stories for the next generation of your family and the importance of knowing your audience and making sure your story was focused on their age and … Continue reading
What a year! In February I celebrated my 70 birthday; in early April, Les and I attended the wedding of our youngest daughter Kate to Michael; and by the end of 2021, we will be grandparents to two children. Kate and Michael’s daughter in July and Rachel and her partner Emma’s child in November. My excitement knows no bounds as my dreams will finally be realized when these two are born – I will be a grandmother. On these cold … Continue reading
My first grandchild was born last year and I spent six weeks with him a month after he was born. He lives in Chicago so while I was there I spent some time thinking about how I could pass on some stories of his Australian family without just giving him a list of relatives with names and dates. One day during my visit, I was in the American Writers Centre on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, which had just opened, reading … Continue reading
Sometimes interpreting a particular resource is not so much about the information that is provided, but what is not. Family Tree Chart #4 is a basic, handwritten diagram of the descendants of English couple John Johnson of Carlisle and Isabella Atkinson of Durham. While John’s birthdate is not recorded, the year 1842 is given for Isabella’s birth. No marriage details, ie date, location or religious institution, or particulars regarding death, are provided. Ten children are attributed to the marriage. Minimum … Continue reading
