tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post7249161935266610003..comments2024-03-18T08:33:25.907-04:00Comments on Inkwell Inspirations: Using Genealogy For Story RealismLisa Karon Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02175430876079208723noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-79955433988971986002013-04-11T09:41:25.909-04:002013-04-11T09:41:25.909-04:00Thanks, DebH. Knowing that you're a visual per...Thanks, DebH. Knowing that you're a visual person, I can see you clipping fun and interesting artwork too.<br /><br /><i>The Newmarket Era</i> doesn't have many actual photographs* - and what they have are dark and murky - but they have excellent drawings. You can see the years when cartoons became trendy because the papers have several of them on the front page, but then they are taperedAnita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-61841043169511739482013-04-11T09:25:44.956-04:002013-04-11T09:25:44.956-04:00DeAnna, thank you for bringing the V-mail to my at...DeAnna, thank you for bringing the V-mail to my attention. I've never heard of this. Yes, I see how it would save space.<br /><br />But it seems impersonal. I remember receiving a typed newsy letter from a relative one Christmas back in the 80's and thinking I wasn't important enough to receive a handwritten note. LOL. How arrogant, eh. <br /><br />The website about v-mail also Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-69219691702311269312013-04-11T08:50:16.496-04:002013-04-11T08:50:16.496-04:00That's cute, CJ. And that letter is a keeper f...That's cute, CJ. And that letter is a keeper for sure. <br /><br />That's the thing about keeping old things, eh... it's not an old treasure when it's new, and if we kept everything with the mindset that it would be a treasure down the line, we'd all be hoarders. (shiver)<br /><br />I can only believe that what survives is all in God's plan and there's a reason we Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-39152657932794556922013-04-11T07:40:01.089-04:002013-04-11T07:40:01.089-04:00hey anita
missed this yesterday (today is Thurs). ...hey anita<br />missed this yesterday (today is Thurs). i have loved seeing all the letters you've been posting.<br /><br />i've clipped news stories in the past for story ideas - i just never considered going way back in time to do so, but that's a great idea.<br /><br />as always, your post is a treasure trove of information that is uber interesting and creative.DebHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11685506948995225770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-62630329777967327812013-04-11T00:48:32.087-04:002013-04-11T00:48:32.087-04:00V-mail is something they did to try to reduce the ...V-mail is something they did to try to reduce the bulk of mail back during the war. <br /><br />A service man would write his letter on a v-mail form, it would be microfilmed (I believe) and then the rolls of film would be shipped back to the States, much more compact than thousands of letters. <br /><br />Once it was back in the States, the letters would be printed out and mailed to the DeAnna Julie Dodsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09006564626571868446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-38518716814668662852013-04-10T22:24:12.691-04:002013-04-10T22:24:12.691-04:00We've dabbled in genealogy in the past. I joke...We've dabbled in genealogy in the past. I joke that I quit just when the Internet made it easy. Heh. However, I started when I was a teenager, so my grandparents were still alive. <br /><br />My husband's family still has a couple of Civil War letters and diaries. Alas, most of them were destroyed in the 1930's by a relative who didn't appreciate what she had. One of the ones thatC.J. Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02026386802434435296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-63905699168035139342013-04-10T22:11:25.103-04:002013-04-10T22:11:25.103-04:00What's v-mail, DeAnna?What's v-mail, DeAnna?Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-15594716817025029202013-04-10T22:10:08.187-04:002013-04-10T22:10:08.187-04:00DeAnna, that's my biggest fear... that we have...DeAnna, that's my biggest fear... that we have a house fire or something and I lose the treasure. <br /><br />Some Canadian census records from 1870 are missing because of a fire. <br /><br />And recently, one Historical Society building in Minnesota burned down and all the records and artifacts were lost. I almost cried when I read that.<br /><br />I hope you do digitize the letters. I'dAnita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-61631012793574993622013-04-10T21:30:40.705-04:002013-04-10T21:30:40.705-04:00You know, I hadn't thought about it, Anita. I...You know, I hadn't thought about it, Anita. I suppose I should. I would hate to not make a record and then have something happen to the originals.<br /><br />Good idea!<br /><br />My favorite is the v-mail. :DDeAnna Julie Dodsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09006564626571868446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-55456622524680432932013-04-10T18:56:01.414-04:002013-04-10T18:56:01.414-04:00Dina, isn't that a treasure! Well, I guess it ...Dina, isn't that a treasure! Well, I guess it would depend if you're using the same 100 yr old mattress or not, eh. LOL<br /><br />We were gifted Grandma Ethel's slant-top writing desk as a wedding present although we married 2 yrs after her death because Nelson used to do his homework on it whenever he stayed with her while his dad was serving overseas. <br /><br />We brought one Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-90082655704417389352013-04-10T18:43:39.007-04:002013-04-10T18:43:39.007-04:00Oh, I know, Susie. Some of the stories I read in t...Oh, I know, Susie. Some of the stories I read in the Era even seem too strange for fiction.<br /><br />That's great about the 1880 township census. Yes, those finds are a wealth of information for your story, but more than that, if you use similar details and someone (an editor, etc) questions you on the validity of your facts, you have the proof to back it up.<br /><br />Good job!Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-5506781357625649282013-04-10T18:39:59.194-04:002013-04-10T18:39:59.194-04:00Have you thought of what you'll do with the le...Have you thought of what you'll do with the letters, DeAnna? <br /><br />I'm making a pdf copy of all the letters as well as the diaries Ethel wrote later on in life. I'd like to put them all in ebook form and hand them out to her descendants. I'm not sure how to do that yet though because I'm scanning each 3-4 page courtship letter separately. So far, I don't know of a Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-50485970436765918462013-04-10T18:39:55.714-04:002013-04-10T18:39:55.714-04:00My parents know a good bit about our genealogy. Al...My parents know a good bit about our genealogy. All my great grandparents were actually alive when I was born, and I have clear memories of a few of them. I spent a lot of time at the home of my last surviving great grandfather and most of the antiques from his home are now with my parents. I inherited one of the bedroom sets.Dina Sleimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214446103057806111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-19684889434840088692013-04-10T15:33:53.456-04:002013-04-10T15:33:53.456-04:00Great post, Anita Mae. I love reading about what y...Great post, Anita Mae. I love reading about what you've learned and how it's affected your writing.<br /><br />I am a bit of a genealogy junkie--I use genealogy research as a reward for myself--and it's given me help with background for stories, too. When poking around on a non-genealogy site for family stuff, I found a township census from 1880 that said how much land every body Susanne Dietzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09710634601407161821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-68777788208680610842013-04-10T15:00:42.247-04:002013-04-10T15:00:42.247-04:00Wow. Fascinating as always, Anita!
Those letters...Wow. Fascinating as always, Anita!<br /><br />Those letters are really a treasure. I have a box of letters my dad sent my grandmother during his time in WWII, and they're a neat little snapshot of history. Yours sound fabulous!<br /><br />Thanks for sharing. :)DeAnna Julie Dodsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09006564626571868446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-9824096952929579002013-04-10T10:59:22.070-04:002013-04-10T10:59:22.070-04:00That is cool, Suzie. I hope you find enough time t...That is cool, Suzie. I hope you find enough time to work on your genealogy as well as your writing. <br /><br />And speaking of historicals, although the Old West has always been my 1st choice of setting, because of the 1911 courtship letters, I'm gravitating to the first couple decades of the 20th century in my stories. Probably because I've absorbed so much detail, it's almost like Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-65234470182783654742013-04-10T10:13:45.673-04:002013-04-10T10:13:45.673-04:00Yes, Debra, old directories are an excellent resou...Yes, Debra, old directories are an excellent resource. As the fore-runners of the Phone book, they give lot and concession numbers (the address) for farmers, or the location if the person lives in a town or village.<br /><br />I have access to directories from 1837, 1870, etc for Toronto and York County, and others locations across Canada through different websites which have digitized these Anita Mae Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759232889762510956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-18586678576798579842013-04-10T08:56:06.509-04:002013-04-10T08:56:06.509-04:00This is great, Anita. I love genealogy. I had to s...This is great, Anita. I love genealogy. I had to stop doing it when I started school, but now that's finished and I can get back to it. <br /><br />So - very cool find: I've been working on a new historical, and the other day I came across my genealogy box. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I'm descended from one if the historical figures in my book. :)Suzie Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06296203324088418271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7502152359497137754.post-79785898962204368622013-04-10T05:43:47.106-04:002013-04-10T05:43:47.106-04:00I love what you're doing with the letters, Ani...I love what you're doing with the letters, Anita Mae. And I'm thankful for the people who have diligently worked on geneology for so many years and created such vast treasures of resources online.<br /><br />I hope to get a lot of my family items online as well. I have an amazing resource in digital form I use for one of my story series. It is like a phone book before phones and lists allDebra E. Marvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17853387871623424853noreply@blogger.com