It wasn’t until I was
asked to write a 600 word newsletter article about how to write a genealogy
monograph that I realized how difficult that particular assignment was going to
be. There are so many details to share that I didn’t know if I could accomplish
it in only 600 words. But I did!
Our genealogical society
recently sent out an opinion survey asking members what topics they would like
presented at future meetings. The top subject in the returns was – Writing a
Family History.
The challenge is breaking
down this process step-by-step so those who are uncomfortable with writing, or
have absolutely no idea where to start, are given that confidence. Over the
winter I’ll work on a Keynote presentation about the different forms of sharing
family histories. In the meantime, here is what I wrote for our society’s
newsletter:
As genealogists we know
that genealogy is more than names and dates. It’s about your ancestor’s lives.
It’s about family stories that might or might not be true. It’s about social
history and how your ancestor was affected by what was happening around them.
In your research you will discover what they did for a living, their religion,
what social organizations they belonged to and even health history.
At one conference we
attended the speaker urged his audience to write up their family history now.
Concentrate on one ancestral line; share it with family and repositories. We are never done, but the information
you have now (carefully cited) could help others in their research. An
important benefit of writing your family history is that process will quickly
tell you where the holes are in your research.
A monograph is a “written
account of a single thing.” A monograph is similar to writing a book - to
capture the reader’s interest, start with some interesting fact, character or
event. I began my Hardenbrook monograph with a photo of my great-grandmother,
Laura (Wortman) Hardenbrook and a quote I remembered her saying, “I will never give up the Hardenbrook name!”
 |
| Harry and Mary Nunn |
I began my Nunn monograph
with an “I imagine” prologue of what my grandfather, Harry Nunn, might have
felt when he learned of his sister’s death:
“He sat down and closed his eyes as flashbacks of
his childhood overtook him. They had survived, most of them, because of Lizzie.
The acrid smell of unwashed bodies, dirty diapers, overcooked onions and
cabbage in that small crowded Manhattan tenement came back to him like it was
yesterday. Eleven babies had arrived; some didn’t survive. Despite all this Lizzie cared for them
when their mother couldn’t. Harry never mentioned his childhood. He didn’t
remember much about his parents, but he never forgot the day the authorities
arrived.”[1]
We learn later in the
monograph that the “authorities” was New York City’s Department of Public
Charities Out-Door Poor. Harry and his siblings, except Lizzie, were scooped up
and sent to St. Joseph’s Home in Peekskill, NY. The story is tragic and it took
me nine years to uncover it.
Once your readers are hooked,
you then fill in the back-story, and write about what happened to each of the
family members.
I develop a descendant
line, and then research each family member, adding as much social history as I
can find. Where they went to church, what organizations they belonged to, their
occupation, and any other interesting facts.
Writing my Hardenbrook
monograph I learned about the Willard Psychiatric Hospital (originally intended
to be the location of Cornell University), and the Seneca Ordnance — that land
was taken by the government at the start of WWII in a similar fashion as
Quantico. Writing my Nunn monograph I learned about the number of children
orphaned during the late 1800s, the orphan trains, and St. Joseph’s Home. In
2010 I was able to stand on the land where my grandfather and his siblings once
walked and played. Was it coincidental that our visit to Peekskill was on All
Saints Day?
A table of contents will
help you stay on track. When you’re done, develop an index. If this is
something you don’t know how to do, find someone who can help.
If you aren’t sure about a
fact or what your ancestor might have done in a situation, you can always use
the words probably, or I imagine …
Good resources are Producing a Quality Family History by
Patricia Law Hatcher and You Can Write
Your Family History by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack.
I am happy to help anyone
wanting to write a monograph and with indexing.
[1] I imagine
this scenario happened when Elizabeth died 2 January 1947. Harry (Pop) kept his growing up years
carefully concealed. The passing of Elizabeth must have affected him deeply.
