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Subject: [RHEA] URL's for info on Diaries and Journals
Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 18:43:48 EDT


Our female ancestors have wonderful stories to tell - legacies which extend
far beyond sets of names and dates in the family tree. Yet, women's lives
have historically been less visible than men's lives in history books and
genealogical records. Discovering the substance of women's lives can be
difficult, but not impossible. Through a combination of traditional
genealogical research and social history research you can fill in the gaps
and tell the real story of your female ancestor - how she lived, what she
wore, her hopes and dreams.Discovering the Personal Side of Your Female
AncestorsEvery woman in your family tree led a life worth researching and
recording and there is no better place to start than by going to the source -
records created by the woman herself. Letters and DiariesJudith Sargent
Murray, a nearly-forgotten figure of American history, was active just after
the American Revolution. She wrote details about her daily life in letters to
her family. She included occasional trips to stay with friends and
acquaintances such as John and Abigail Adams and George and Martha
Washington. But when she died in Mississippi in 1820, her letters were lost
-- or so historians believed -- until Gordon Gibson, a Unitarian Universalist
minister, managed to locate them in 1984.(endnote 3)Now captured on microfilm
and available to researchers, these copy books are a source of fascinating
details about life in post-Revolutionary America, and are especially
insightful about the ordinary lives of women of the time.Letters: Your female
ancestors might have written letters to relatives about events at home,
husbands off at war or even to other female friends. The letters could
include news about births, deaths and marriages in the family, gossip about
events and people in the community and snippets of information about daily
life.Diaries: The terms diary and journal are often used interchangeably to
describe a written, personal record of events, experiences and observations.
They may include a record of daily events, attitudes about social issues and
personal feelings about family and friends. If you are lucky enough to
possess such a treasure, then read it carefully. It will tell you more about
your ancestor than perhaps any other source.Most people think to ask
relatives for items like photos, but have you ever thought to ask your
relatives for any letters or a diary they might have tucked away? I learned
many pieces of my husband's Powell family history when a distant cousin and I
tracked down a relative with a box full of letters his grandmother had
received from her family in England after she moved to America. If that
doesn't yield any results, then try placing a query in one of the
genealogical magazines or on the Internet. This may reach a distant relative
who you have yet to discover. Writing to or visiting historical societies,
archives, and libraries in the area in which your ancestor lived may also
yield a find.If you aren't lucky enough to locate a diary, journal or letter
from your ancestor, perhaps one exists for a friend or relative of your
ancestor (which may include entries concerning your ancestor). Diaries or
journals kept by contemporaries are also very useful. We can't know for sure
that our ancestors lived through exactly those experiences, but there are
likely to be many parallels.If you have ancestors who lived in New England in
the late 18th century, reading Judith Sargent Murray's recollections of life
might give you some insight. (Bonnie Hurd Smith has collected the letters
from one trip Murray took with her husband, early Universalist minister John
Murray, in From Gloucester to Philadelphia in 1790(endnote 4), available from
several online sources as well as in many libraries.) Many journals, diaries
and letters written by women, both well known and obscure, have been
preserved in local historical societies, universities, and other institutions
where they might be available to researchers. Some have been published as
books and, increasingly, many are available on the Internet.For more
information on finding diaries and letters:



Dear Diary: Discovering Your Female Ancestor's Private Life
http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/87_carmack.html Journals, Diaries and
Letters Online
http://womenshistory.about.com/journals/ The Secret of Successful Queries
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/genealogyqueries/

If any of you have been able to trace your female ancestors, I would like for
you to send to the list any tips you may have, and you may share info if you
would like, remember no HTML, no GEDCOMS Plain text.

Pat Hall





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