The Armchair Genealogist

New Scrivener Tutorial - How to Use Comments

I've added a new Scrivener tutorial to our video library. This week, we take a look at comments and how to use them in writing your stories.

If you're new to Scrivener be sure to check out our Scrivener page and learn more about this fantastic tool for family history writers. You can find more mini-webinars in our Scrivener series on our You Tube channel.

Discover Your Ancestors - New Online Magazine

I was recently contacted by the publishers of a new online magazine, Discover Your Ancestors. Discover Your Ancestors produces a yearly bookazine and is now filling in the gap with Discover Your Ancestors Periodical. I am intrigued with this new online magazine and I thought I would share with you some of the details today. Discover Your Ancestors is a UK based magazine with a focus on newcomers to family history while also offering something for the intermediate level genealogist. I'll be taking some time this weekend to explore Discover Your Ancestors, I hope you'll join me, let me know what you think?

PRESS RELEASE

DISCOVERY MEDIA GROUP

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS

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Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 now on sale.

Discover Your Ancestors Periodical launches in May 2013.

After a very successful launch issue of Discover Your Ancestors annual bookazine, we are delighted to announce the publication of the second issue.

Both helping newcomers to family history research and reinspiring the more seasoned researcher, the long awaited Discover Your Ancestors issue 2 is available from WHSmith and other quality news outlets both in the UK and overseas.

“We are told that Discover Your Ancestors plays a vital role for budding family historians as it welcomes and encourages the next generation of family history researchers” says magazine publisher, Mark Galbraith. “For many of us family history research is interesting and can be made all the more so through really understanding how our ancestors lived their lives ” he continues. “It is time to show the uninitiated just how much pleasure can be had from growing one’s tree with the myriad resources now available”.

“In response to overwhelming reader enquiries and demand, we are very excited about the launch of our new online magazine – Discover Your Ancestors Periodical. This monthly online magazine has been developed in response to the many readers who would like to see more, but wish to read their favorite magazines using a variety of formats, Mr. Galbraith continues. “We launched this brand new service in May2013, and are now delivering our readers a top quality digital magazine every month for just £1 (GBP) per month on subscription. The subscription price has been kept low in order to encourage as many people as possible to sign up, whilst still retaining the high quality of absorbing content produced in print. We invite everyone - past print readers and brand new readers - to pre-register their interest at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk “

For back issue enquiries of Discover Your Ancestors please call +44 1296 631273.

My Interview on What's Up Genealogy?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with Caroline Pointer from the blog 4YourFamilyStory.com and the
genealogy show known as What's Up Genealogy?

Every Friday evening Caroline reviews the news of the week, offers tips and chats with a special guest on her Google+ Hangout.

Caroline was kind enough to invite me this week. We talked about The Armchair Genealogist, the writing program Scrivener and writing family history.

Unfortunately we couldn't get the video working on my end, so I apologize you can only hear me, but of course you can see Caroline and her panel. Technology never comes through when your counting on it. We also pre-recorded this episode due to Caroline's busy schedule this week.

Regardless, we had a great chat and I hope you enjoy this episode and check out all of Caroline's other episodes while your at it.

The Stovepipe: A Memoir with Many Lessons

When we write our family history stories, it’s important to tell our tales from a place of empathy. Sometimes, we have to wait to share those stories. Regardless of whether they are personal memories or they belong to our ancestors, the pain can often get in the way of recalling an honest account. A story-line that tells a difficult truth but does not live in a place of anger or revenge is key to telling true narratives that will resonate with readers. It is this very quality that is demonstrated so profoundly in Bonnie Virag’s memoir, The Stovepipe.

Regardless of whether you are a family history writer, a memoirist, a family historian or you just love a good book you will discover honest and incredible emotions in The Stovepipe. This is one of those books that will stay with you long after you have finished reading. You will think about these young girls over and over again, and it will certainly cause you to wonder if you really have anything to complain about in your life.

I was first introduced to The Stovepipe because it takes place in my neighborhood. The author, Bonnie Virag was born in Simcoe, Ontario. She grew up in the 1940’s and 50’s in the rural area of Southern Ontario known as Norfolk County. At the age of four, Bonnie was removed from her mother’s care by the Children’s Aid Society along with her twin sister Betty and two sisters and a brother. Their lives would intersect throughout the next fourteen years, as they became permanent fixtures and collateral damage of the foster care system.

In The StovepipeBonnie recalls with great clarity her time in foster care until she is 19 years old. Please don’t let the subject matter stop you from reading The Stovepipe. It is the grace with which Bonnie handles this difficult subject that makes her book a fantastic read. Bonnie has found the most empathetic and gentle place to tell her story. This memoir is not filled with revenge or hatred. While there are many painful moments in this memoir, the reader shares a wide range of emotions with Bonnie and her sisters and brother. You will laugh, cry, cheer them on and yes get angry, after all isn’t that what we want in a great book.

Bonnie’s healthy perspective with which she writes this book is a lesson to us as family history writers. Let Bonnie’s book be a wonderful example of how we can tell those painful stories.

This moving story of a young girl finding her way under very difficult circumstances; demonstrates the power of sisterly love and the will to survive with grace. Through this honest and stirring memoir, Bonnie not only draws from her own memories but also consults her sisters in the writing of this book and enlists the records of the Children’s Aid Society.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Bonnie at a local author’s fair. I have great respect for any writer who can turn a very difficult time in her life into a work of art shared with such poise.

I hope you pick up a copy of The Stovepipe or download it to your e-reader. I know you will not be disappointed. While Bonnie may have grew up in a small town this book is no small feat. Her story and writing has received national acclaim. The Stovepipe was awarded a Kirkus Star and designated as Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012.

There are many lessons in this memoir, resilience, family love and of course, let’s not forget how we must do better for the children caught in the foster care system. For the family history writer, learn to tell an emotional and painful story with compassion through Bonnie's example. Please read The Stovepipe.

Since the author's fair, I have been in contact with Bonnie and she has kindly agreed to an interview. We will talk with Bonnie about her process in writing her book. This interview will be an exclusive in our June newsletter of Storylines. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for our first issue of Storylines due to arrive in your mailbox early next week and grab a copy of The Stovepipeand give it read so you'll be ready for our interview next month.

The Long Distance Interview

Often we use the excuse of geography as a reason not to conduct a family history interview. In this day of technology and all things of instant communication, there is just no reason why we cannot connect with relatives in far off places.

The long distance interview is a little more challenging and limiting than a face-to-face interview, but no less valuable. Today we have at our disposal Skype, Google+ Hangouts, email and telephone all of which are excellent options when conducting a family history interview.

When I was conducting interviews for my family history book, I wanted to reach out to a Great Aunt. She was elderly and living in a nursing home in Florida. I had not seen her in many years and I could count on one hand the number of times I probably saw her in my life. However, this aunt was the last living child of my great-grandfather and I knew that she held some important stories and information.

I reached out to her son, who was living near the nursing home and caring for his mother. I had never met him. I managed to get an email address and sent him off an introductory letter.

I was thrilled when he replied and was open to my requests. We exchanged about four emails over the course of a month. I included about 3-4 questions in each email. His mother was in failing health and I knew I had to be respectful of her energy and of her son’s time. I didn’t want to overwhelm her or him so I restricted my questions.

While I could have spent hours interviewing my great aunt, I had to choose just the right questions. I knew my opportunity was going to be brief and I didn’t want to waste a single question. I focused my queries on the things I knew I could not find in a document or vital record. I asked her to tell me about her parents, their personalities, and how they interacted. She shared some very vivid memories of her mother, an Irish woman who died of a stroke very young. She recalled the Christmas Eve her mother died and how her life changed from that day forward. She was twelve years old at the time. She described her mother working around the house singing Irish lullabies, she described her mother’s interaction with her husband and I was given a window into this relationship and family that I never had access to before.

Her son was very gracious. I think he appreciated the task of asking these questions, perhaps he learned some stories from his mother that may have never occurred without those email prompts. In return for his kindness, we sent him a copy of the family history book. My great aunt died a few months after our long distance interview. Her son sent me an email a short time later, thanking me for the book and including her stories.

While I had wished for an in-person interview and more time with her, I was very grateful I had reached out across the miles and conducted that long distance interview. I was appreciative for the stories she shared. I was able to add so much more detail to my narratives for the family history book because of her interview.

Don’t let geography be your excuse! Make that phone call today, send that email, reach out to your family who are miles away and interview them for their family history stories.

If you would like to learn more about conducting a family history interview including conducting a long distance interview and group interviews, download my free ebook, The Complete Guide to the Family History Interview.