Writing a Family History

     Read the following passage, which compares the composition of the Hebrew Scriptures to the writ­ing of a family history. Then answer the questions that follow.

    Suppose you were commissioned by your relatives to write a family history. How would you proceed? You would probably go back and collect as many bits and pieces of infor­mation as you could before you started writ­ing. You would talk to Grandma, who would tell you stories about her childhood. She might even remember stories about her grand­mother’s child hood—which could extend back as far as 150 years. Next, you would look at Aunt Kate’s old diaries and Uncle Herman’s letters, particularly the ones he wrote home during World War II. You might even use an old recipe for a section on your family’s favorite dish. Or you might look up newspaper clippings in the town where your Grandpa was born.

    All of these materials are sources. Some of them are oral and some written. You are the one who has to weave them together into the family history. Perhaps you write your first draft in longhand. Next Cousin Ernie comes along and types it, correcting your grammar and syntax as he does so. Then, to top it off, rich Uncle Dave decides the manuscript is so valuable to the family that he wants to have it printed [and then bound] in a leather cover. He even hires an editor to make it read as though it were a professionally written history.

    The important thing to notice here is that the starting point for the finished product was the original sources you collected. The Old Testament was written in pretty much the same way. As the family history of God’s chosen people, it owes its existence to the sources on which it is based. (Anthony Gilles, The People of the Book, pages 3—4)

 1. Suppose that you are about to write a his­tory of your family, going back several genera­tions. List as many sources as you can think of that you might use. (You may want to ask your parents for help on coming up with possible sources.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. For what event in your family history might you find different versions among members or branches of the family? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Which family history would you prefer (cir­cle one)?

a. one that is perfectly consistent but written from only one person’s point of view

b. one that has some inconsistencies but rep­resents the experiences of many parts of your family