What do you do with personal stories and memories?
What do you do with personal stories and memories? In a couple of my branches, I have very personal stories and reflections about people.
Example: "Opal was high strung, nervous and emotional. The restrained and disciplined Eblen family culture and temperment would not have prepared Dad to understand such behavior." This marriage ended in divorce.
Where do I record these things? Even though the people are deceased, I somehow feel like I'm invading their privacy. I know that there are people who would love to have these personal insights into someone in their tree - but I really don't know how to handle it.
I use General Notes for stories and bios. If they're too personal to print at the moment, and I have a lot of those, I put them in double brackets, [[...]]
ReplyDeleteI created an event called "stories." That way, they are easily seen when you are looking at the person and get shared if you upload a gedcom someplace. If they are private ones you don't want to share, check the private box and they won't get shared.
ReplyDeleteI also look at it slightly different. If the ancestor is recently deceased, I may use privacy brackets. However, if they are back more than one generation (subject to your own comfort levels, of course) I put in the General Notes.
ReplyDeleteThink of how much you would have enjoyed finding that Uncle Sam was short, a bit of a chunk and spoke with a heavy Irish accent and loved to bet the horses. Personally, that is the kind of "color" I highly value. As a "preserver" of the family, this is just what I am looking for.
My parents were very private people as were a number of aunts and uncles. One grandfather was really not a nice person and his wife was cool and aloof. I have yet to record that in my files. I don't know that my parents would want me too. They may be deceased but I am still their daughter. That's just me. I don't know that the information adds color. My grandfather was a carpenter and I am currently researching some homes and commercial structures that he worked on. That's the difference in what I see that might enhance the family story.
ReplyDeleteSome of the 'not so nice' stuff in my family that's unknown to most is integral to understanding my family history, but I won't divulge it as long as people who are still living could be hurt by it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments. I think I will hold the 'not so nice' stories if the children are still living.
ReplyDelete