Genealogy Jottings

Every year I set a due date for myself—November 30. I write a genealogical report or character sketch on some ancestor and distribute it to relatives for Christmas. Seriously, I need to finish the writing by November 30. I need December for general Christmas craziness.

Did I meet this year’s deadline? With everything else that came up this fall, including a huge hailstorm that totaled our car, our roof, and so much more, I was not even close. Here it is, 10 days before Christmas, and I still have not finished. But I am making progress.

Last night I completed the draft of the narrative. Now I just need to polish it up a bit and add some graphics. Then I will assemble my story, some photos, and Christmas cards into manila envelopes and take a trip to the Post Office. I can hardly wait to go stand in line for two hours to get everything mailed.

I know, I know I could do all this electronically. Yet, I cannot help but think that people are more likely to keep and treasure hard copies of these stories and ancestral photos. Digital copies keep only so long as someone pays to store them—where? And what happens to everything when they die? I hope I am creating an heirloom, so I do it this way.

Only 15 days late, I am almost done with the 2014 installment of my family history.