Monday, September 2, 2013

The Book of Me - Prompt #1 - Who Am I?


I haven't been motivated to write here for a while. Life gets busy and time gets short. "Free" time is spent fooling around on Facebook or falling asleep in front of the TV.

However, I've been eagerly awaiting the first writing prompt for The Book of Me, Written by You and it finally came on Saturday, August 31!

Julie Goucher will be leading participants on this journey for the next 15 months. If you want to know more, head over to Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers site - the prompts will be posted there each Saturday. Or, check out the Book of Me, Written by You Facebook page.

The outcome will definitely be interesting. It's an excellent opportunity to get to know myself and leave something for my descendants so they don't have to wonder about me. From time to time, I will post my writing here - maybe edited versions of my actual "Book of Me" entries. Some of the prompts might inspire some deeply personal writing that I will only share with my loved ones.

Here is the first prompt:

"Prompt 1: Who Are You?

The prompt for week 1 is a recognized psychology test: Ask yourself 20 times “Who are you?” Each time you should give yourself a different answer, and if you can easily go beyond 20 entries then that is fine too. This prompt is about how YOU see YOU."

It was a little difficult and I will admit that I read the lists of some of the other participants. However, I don't think they influenced my answers. My list is fairly simple and in the order that the words came to mind but I hope to revisit it periodically to see if the answers have changed, perhaps if my writing style has matured or maybe my comfort level with "me" has increased.

For what it's worth, this is me!

Who am I? I am:

Pam, Pamela, Pammy, Mom, Nana
Friend
Mother
Grandmother
Creative
Funny
Loyal
Intelligent
Curious
Kitty Lover
Genealogist
Family Historian
History Lover
Organized
Disorganized
Undisciplined
Generous
Book lover
Optimistic
Volunteer
Practical
Computer lover
Daughter
An unfinished work...


Until next time, Happy Researching!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

William Henry McCann

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my great-grand uncle, William Henry McCann. You see, I have just discovered that the house where he lived with his wife and children during the Halifax Explosion in 1917 is still standing! And, I drive by it several times a week, giving a figurative tip of my hat to Will each time. I feel a connection with this collateral ancestor of mine that I can't quite explain. I didn't know Uncle Will, as my mother called him. He died in the fall of 1934 long before I was born. I didn't even hear a lot of stories about Uncle Will. Someone mentioned that his brother (and my great-grandfather), Fred, made the hour and a half drive once a month from Windsor to Halifax to visit Will. And my mother said that when she was a teen, she stayed for a few days with Uncle Will and his wife, Aunt Ida. A cousin said that Uncle Will worked for the Intercolonial Railway or ICR. These short stories were a tease for me as I needed to know more about him. I pictured Uncle Will as a sort of rough, work-a-day kind of guy. He was a labourer his whole life; a machinist, blacksmith and carpenter and worked hard in the Car Shop of the ICR. I expected his garb in any photos would be overalls and work shirts. Well, I was literally gobsmacked when I first saw a photo of Will, Ida and Fred. They were dressed to the nines and a good-looking bunch to boot! That photo hasn't yet been scanned, but I will add it here as soon as it is. Next time, I'll tell you what I learned about Uncle Will through my research. Until next time, Happy Researching!

My First Post for the Family History Writing Challenge

So, I signed up for the Family History Writing Challenge and pledged to write 250 words per day. Ha! My intentions are good, but it's Day 3 and I just started writing today. If you've ever wanted to write about your ancestors, but have put it off for one reason or another for far too long, you should bite the bullet and sign up. Check out the website make the pledge and sign up for the daily email prompts. You'll receive lots of encouragement and plenty of constructive criticism if you want. Today, I worked on my first writing a bit and managed to jot down a few paragraphs about my great-grand uncle William Henry McCann. And, I'll post it here in a few minutes. Be gentle with your critiques :) Until next time, Happy Researching!