Keeping a Journal

JOURNAL WRITING

Taking the time to write JOURNALS, DIARIES or PERSONAL HISTORIES may seem tedious and unimportant to us in this day and age. After all, just how important is it in the eternal scheme of things what I ate for breakfast?!? Thank heavens, some of our ancestors did not feel that way. These personal writings give glimpses into the daily activities and feelings our ancestors experienced.

While I was working on another line, my father sent photocopies of a journal written by a woman in the mid 1800's. Dad's cover letter said something to the effect that it wasn't written by one of our ancestors, just someone who had a similar last name. Perhaps I could trade it with someone else who might need it. With further study on my part, I found this wonderful journal was written by the OLDER SISTER of my direct line ancestor!

That made the parents they shared in common my DIRECT LINE! The description of leaving England, the boat trip and overland trials; dreams of the warmth and comfort of home while sleeping on the plains are experiences this older sister shared with her parents who brought her with them on the journey as a 9 or ten year old girl. Again, while the authoress was not my direct-line, HER PARENTS certainly were. In fact, these migration experiences could not have been chronicled by the younger sister because she wasn't born until after the family settled in the west. How delighted I was to share with my family the interesting tidbits of detail afforded by this 130 year old journal!

YES, it even matters what you ate for breakfast, if that's what you choose to write about! I recently ate some home made bread baked in the actual brick oven used by a 6th great-grandmother on my father's side. The home of Conrad Weiser and his wife Anna Eve Feg (or Feck) in Womelsdorf, Berks Co, PA has been restored as an example of PA German life in 1700's. They served gooseberry jam on the bread much as my ancestor would have enjoyed! We drank some herb tea poured from a jug cooled in the waters of the springhouse, just as my forefathers had done centuries before me!

So start today! Write down your recollections. My father-in-law writes one anecdote per page each Sunday afternoon. He copies them Monday and mails one to each of his children and grandchildren! I provided special NOTEBOOKS to preserve those precious remembrances! He doesn't worry about getting things in order, they can easily be rearranged using this one page/one story method.

The following should give you some ideas for beginning your journal TODAY, including recollections from your personal history. Your descendants will LOVE you for it!


Places I've lived
My parents would die if they only knew....
Favorite teacher
Life wasn't easy when....
The best part of growing up was when...

Grandma(pa) had the unusual habit of...
He/she taught me to...
I remember their home was...
Remembering them gives me a feeling of...

Making friends has always been...
There are times when following the crowd can...
True friendship means...
Being out on my own...

The advent of the war meant...
I remember life before...(telephone, tv, computers, etc.)
When the US put men on the moon I felt like...
When the Berlin Wall came down it made me think...

I met that SPECIAL SOMEONE when...
I felt a bit...
We managed to overcome the odds and...
To this day, my spouse doesn't know I secretly wish to...
Our own family traditions included...
The most rewarding time spent together was when...

If I could share anything with future generations...
Seems you can accomplish anything in this life if...
My favorite saying is...
My hope for my children and grandchildren is...

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