What if you received a letter like this----------
Dear Wally,
You do not know me personally but you and I are related. I live in a peculiar place. The picture of my humble abode is shown above. It is a granite mountain some 20 or 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. We are a fairly large family. Actually there are about seven million families, which make up more than a billion of us. I have been waiting since 1776 for someone like you to find me. I have only lived in my present location a short while comparably speaking. If you were to find me and add me to your Data Base a lot of great things could happen to my family and I. It is not really a difficult thing for you to do, because I am trying to help you find me. It is just something I cannot do myself. It is just a matter of gathering up my vital statistics and putting them in your Data Base or giving the info to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many times you have started working on what you call “my line” but something always seems to get in the way. I have learned that “Families are Forever” while I have been studying here, while I wait for someone like you to find me. All I need is a little help from you. Of course some people think of a family as just the people living with us, but you and I know that family means ALL of our relatives, all the way back------. Well Wally you know I need your help and I am ready, so I urge you to do this as soon as possible. I am sure that you are aware that there are hundreds, or even thousands of people on mine & your family line waiting here for you to find them.
I sincerely Thank You for your help!
William John Baldwin
Born 12 Dec 1722
Died 17 Jun 1776
A STORY
When I first started blogging I tried to write a blog every two weeks, but in the long run that did not happen. I ended up doing several in one month and then none for a month or so.
Since my blogs are not on any specific thing it seems it ended up that I would write a blog about what ever I was thinking about at any time I was prompted. I suppose that is why my blog is entitled "Wally,s Musings."
For several weeks now I have been dealing with some health problems and I used that for an excuse to do almost nothing but sit around and read.
I finally decided that doing genealogy might be more productive, and that turned out to be a good decision.
I was talking to a friend and they told me about a Journal they had run across, that was about a Civil War soldier in 1864, who was related to them and there also was several places where a Baldwin was mentioned.
Well there were only a few pages of the Journal and I could not connect any of the Baldwin names to my line.
However I got just interested enough in Journal's, Diaries, Blogs and Life Histories to do a Blog, that perhaps might get my family interested in them.
I am a LONG TIME Journal keeper and Blogger and I love to read Life Histories and Life Stories, which may or may not be the same thing? Every chance I get I try to influence my EXTENDED Family to keep a journal or do a blog. I hope everyone is aware that you can make a Blog or a Journal (PRIVATE) if you want to do it on your computer?
One important thing is to start it NOW!
So if you are already a Blogger does this mean you don't need a journal? NOPE! They are not the same thing. Well of course all the things I have talked about are interconnected, but in my opinion they for sure are not the same thing.
A BLOG may not be an actual happening. They can be a compilation of several things. It could be an actual experience you have had and it may be embellished a little. It may be a little "tongue in cheek" thing. It could even be something that was written by someone else that you want to pass on. (Try to give the original person credit.)
A JOURNAL is of course true happenings about you and your life, that you update on a regular basis. Perhaps daily, weekly or monthly, whatever you feel comfortable with. So if someone lets you read their journal and it is all happy, smiley and upbeat, does that mean they live a fairy tale life? Nope I think that is just what they want someone else to know about them.
For the most part I write my journal for myself and my Blog's for other people AND myself. I always tell my kids they can read my journal's but only when I am gone!
I did an interesting thing when I read the few pages of the 1864 Civil War soldier's journal. I read what he wrote about and I presume that is what he was interested in at the time. He talked about Mud-- The moaning of wounded soldiers night and day-- He was hungry a lot of the time-- He was anxious for the War to be over--He misses his family and the girl he left behind.
Then the comparison as to what I wrote in the 1960's, which must have been on my mind. I was attending the Temple in Idaho Falls with friends-- I was called to the Bishopric for the first time-- I talked about Halloween and how my wife sewed all our kids and OUR costumes. They went from house to house all over the neighborhood and brought back more goodies than they could eat in a week.--- We lost our first Baby in 1965-- I talked about Deer Hunting in Joe's Valley and the fact it had become a tradition.
I just found it interesting that I could read out if a 1864 journal and that I had one written 100 years later that I could compare it to.
So in my own opinion, I think people write in their journals mostly for themselves. --What we do--what we see-- What is happening in the world-- What would we like to be doing that is different-- Every Day things that go on in our life. I even bought a full newspaper the day my grand kids were born and I think I was successful at least in some cases, as I gave it to them for a B-Day present when they turned 12 or 18 or some other age so they would know what was going on the day they were born.
Just let your mind wander and you will think about a lot of things you might want to recall 20, 40 or 60 years from now.
A Journal or a Blog, and especially a Life Story is a wonderful thing and the magic of it is that "only you" can write it correctly. No one can know your life story like you do!
Is there anything you would like to know about your Grand Parents or Great Grand Parents? Were they Farmers, Mechanics, Clerks, Truck Drivers, Lawyers or Preachers? Were they Tall or Short, poor or well-off?
Believe me you will be more curious as you get older than you are when you are young.
Well it seems like I do not know how to end this Blog. Perhaps a couple of feelings I have had as I try to arrange my thoughts to pass on to my extended family?
No journal is always thrilling all the time. However I think I can honestly state that if you keep a journal or a blog they will be a source of enjoyment for someone in your family, long after you have passed on.
Perhaps I should leave a caution or a gentle warning---You will not be able to sit down for a couple of nights and write your life story from beginning to end. Obviously we will not know if we are writing the final chapter?
It took me two years to write mine- up until 1988 and then five addendums after that and I am still not current. (You know the old saying--So little time-so much to do.)
So I am still Blogging in 2016--And as I said my blogs are for anyone to enjoy OR NOT. The paragraph at the beginning is a short talk that I wrote to give at a Genealogy Lesson to try and encourage people to get involved.
THE REST OF THIS BLOG IS TO TRY AND ENCOURAGE ANYONE IN MY FAMILY TO GET STARTED---OR ANYONE ELSE I CAN MOTIVATE!
Wally
7 October 2016
A STORY
When I first started blogging I tried to write a blog every two weeks, but in the long run that did not happen. I ended up doing several in one month and then none for a month or so.
Since my blogs are not on any specific thing it seems it ended up that I would write a blog about what ever I was thinking about at any time I was prompted. I suppose that is why my blog is entitled "Wally,s Musings."
For several weeks now I have been dealing with some health problems and I used that for an excuse to do almost nothing but sit around and read.
I finally decided that doing genealogy might be more productive, and that turned out to be a good decision.
I was talking to a friend and they told me about a Journal they had run across, that was about a Civil War soldier in 1864, who was related to them and there also was several places where a Baldwin was mentioned.
Well there were only a few pages of the Journal and I could not connect any of the Baldwin names to my line.
However I got just interested enough in Journal's, Diaries, Blogs and Life Histories to do a Blog, that perhaps might get my family interested in them.
I am a LONG TIME Journal keeper and Blogger and I love to read Life Histories and Life Stories, which may or may not be the same thing? Every chance I get I try to influence my EXTENDED Family to keep a journal or do a blog. I hope everyone is aware that you can make a Blog or a Journal (PRIVATE) if you want to do it on your computer?
One important thing is to start it NOW!
So if you are already a Blogger does this mean you don't need a journal? NOPE! They are not the same thing. Well of course all the things I have talked about are interconnected, but in my opinion they for sure are not the same thing.
A BLOG may not be an actual happening. They can be a compilation of several things. It could be an actual experience you have had and it may be embellished a little. It may be a little "tongue in cheek" thing. It could even be something that was written by someone else that you want to pass on. (Try to give the original person credit.)
A JOURNAL is of course true happenings about you and your life, that you update on a regular basis. Perhaps daily, weekly or monthly, whatever you feel comfortable with. So if someone lets you read their journal and it is all happy, smiley and upbeat, does that mean they live a fairy tale life? Nope I think that is just what they want someone else to know about them.
For the most part I write my journal for myself and my Blog's for other people AND myself. I always tell my kids they can read my journal's but only when I am gone!
I did an interesting thing when I read the few pages of the 1864 Civil War soldier's journal. I read what he wrote about and I presume that is what he was interested in at the time. He talked about Mud-- The moaning of wounded soldiers night and day-- He was hungry a lot of the time-- He was anxious for the War to be over--He misses his family and the girl he left behind.
Then the comparison as to what I wrote in the 1960's, which must have been on my mind. I was attending the Temple in Idaho Falls with friends-- I was called to the Bishopric for the first time-- I talked about Halloween and how my wife sewed all our kids and OUR costumes. They went from house to house all over the neighborhood and brought back more goodies than they could eat in a week.--- We lost our first Baby in 1965-- I talked about Deer Hunting in Joe's Valley and the fact it had become a tradition.
I just found it interesting that I could read out if a 1864 journal and that I had one written 100 years later that I could compare it to.
So in my own opinion, I think people write in their journals mostly for themselves. --What we do--what we see-- What is happening in the world-- What would we like to be doing that is different-- Every Day things that go on in our life. I even bought a full newspaper the day my grand kids were born and I think I was successful at least in some cases, as I gave it to them for a B-Day present when they turned 12 or 18 or some other age so they would know what was going on the day they were born.
Just let your mind wander and you will think about a lot of things you might want to recall 20, 40 or 60 years from now.
A Journal or a Blog, and especially a Life Story is a wonderful thing and the magic of it is that "only you" can write it correctly. No one can know your life story like you do!
Is there anything you would like to know about your Grand Parents or Great Grand Parents? Were they Farmers, Mechanics, Clerks, Truck Drivers, Lawyers or Preachers? Were they Tall or Short, poor or well-off?
Believe me you will be more curious as you get older than you are when you are young.
Well it seems like I do not know how to end this Blog. Perhaps a couple of feelings I have had as I try to arrange my thoughts to pass on to my extended family?
No journal is always thrilling all the time. However I think I can honestly state that if you keep a journal or a blog they will be a source of enjoyment for someone in your family, long after you have passed on.
Perhaps I should leave a caution or a gentle warning---You will not be able to sit down for a couple of nights and write your life story from beginning to end. Obviously we will not know if we are writing the final chapter?
It took me two years to write mine- up until 1988 and then five addendums after that and I am still not current. (You know the old saying--So little time-so much to do.)
So I am still Blogging in 2016--And as I said my blogs are for anyone to enjoy OR NOT. The paragraph at the beginning is a short talk that I wrote to give at a Genealogy Lesson to try and encourage people to get involved.
THE REST OF THIS BLOG IS TO TRY AND ENCOURAGE ANYONE IN MY FAMILY TO GET STARTED---OR ANYONE ELSE I CAN MOTIVATE!
Wally
7 October 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment