Category Archives: Writing Family History

Rev. John McNair’s Poetry

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Rachelle

Besides being a minister, an evangelist, a Chaplain in the Army and public speaker, John McNair was a poet.  He published his book of poetry Eighty Original Poems Secular and Sacred Chiefly Adapted to the Times  in 1865, after the … Continue reading →

Posted in McNair Family, Writing Family History | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Alfred Willis McNair: The Son We Hardly Know

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Rachelle

Sometimes you just don’t have many documents about a person to form much of opinion about them. They don’t take shape in your mind’s eye. There are no descriptions about their physical appearance or their personality and all you have … Continue reading →

Posted in McNair Family, Writing Family History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Deconstructing a Civil War Regiment Part III: Seeing the Forest and the Trees of History

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Rachelle

It is important in interpreting your ancestor’s Civil War experience that you read a lot of history books. For some of you that will be great news, for others you are wondering just how many do I have to read??? … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War, Genealogy General, Writing Family History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Telling Your Story: The Lessons of Memoirs

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Rachelle

I love to read memoirs about people I admire or who have an interesting tale to tell. The three I have read most recently have some important lessons about writing our own history. I don’t know about you but writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Genealogy General, Writing Family History | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Non-Fiction Writing: Lessons from Erik Larson

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Rachelle

I struggle with bridging the gap between writing dry informational biography and creating captivating non-fiction when writing about my ancestors.  I don’t want to add creative flourish if it is not completely accurate and based on some historical evidence.  There … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy General, Writing Family History | Tagged | 2 Comments

When Someone Doesn’t Like Your Ancestor

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Rachelle

It shouldn’t be surprising that our ancestors were not universally loved, even the most virtuous of them. Therefore, when we are writing a biography of an ancestor, how do we include their bad press? Watching the political race this season … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy General, McNair Family, Writing Family History | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Our Ancestors Ghosts Reaching Out

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Rachelle

There are hundreds of stories among genealogists of inexplicable coincidences and miracles that lead to finding dead ancestors, live distant cousins, or stories hidden for years. I loved the one about a young English girl who was planting a sunflower … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Genealogy General, Writing Family History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments