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New Blackmore Vale, 8 July 2022
blackmorevale.net
History
How to add colour to family history by Laura Manning Jim Williams, an internationally published author of 13 novels, including ‘Farewell to Russia’, ‘The Hitler Diaries’ and his latest, ‘American Values’, gave an entertaining and thoughtprovoking presentation to the Blackmore Vale Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society. Jim was explaining how to leave a record of our lives for our grandchildren and future family historians. He pointed out that our awareness of history rarely extends beyond our grandparents. A bland record of births, marriages and deaths is not good enough – we are talking about real people who loved and lived. We research our family history and may discover the dry facts that our ancestors were servants and grocers – how much more engaging if they had written down stories from their lives! Everyone who explores their family history knows the thrill of discovering a photo or a newspaper article which adds another dimension to an ancestor, something which makes them more ‘real’. Jim says we must do better for future historians. To sit down and attempt to write an autobiography is such a huge undertaking that, understandably, most people never even start. However, Jim had some great ideas for writing short ‘essays’ about a particular event or a photo which captures something of what it was like to live through at the time. Life is not like a novel. It does not have a plot – it is just
Man and boy: Jim Williams with his father.
Author Jim Williams has had 13 novels published, some shown below.
full of ‘stuff that happens’. A collection of photos – maybe weddings or family cars – could be used as a starting point for an essay – stories which engage the reader and make them smile provide a link between generations. The essence of essays is that they are self-contained. An autobiography built up out of essays is always, in one sense, complete no matter how many essays you write – and you can add to it at your own pace
without having to explain all the preceding parts. He also suggested compiling a list of ‘family words’ – it was a relief to hear from everyone at the meeting that every family seems to have its own set of nonsense words! We need to write these down and explain when they would be used and, maybe, how they originated – they give an insight into the character of the family members and bring them to life. Above all, Jim gave sage
words of advice about remembering for whom we are writing our autobiography – the readers will be our family and friends. To find out more about Jim Williams and his books, go to Amazon, Good Reads or https:// jimwilliamsbooks.com The next talk at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, is ‘Mad Earl Henry and Other Despicable Relations,’ by Sue Burne, an experienced family historian, lucky enough to have had a few famous and infamous ancestors in her own family tree, as she reveals in an entertaining talk. Everyone is invited on Wednesday, 20 July, at 7.30pm. For more information email blackmorevalegroup@gmail. com or phone 01258 472942.
