UpFront with NGS: Letters

Showing posts with label Letters. Show all posts

25 November 2014

Neat & Heartwarming -- Found Letters Returned to Family ...

It’s always nice to hear when possessions or letters are returned to a family ...

Special Report: Loved Ones Lost, Letters Found tells of some letters found in a basement and the successful research to identify a living relative of the letter’s authors, 3 brothers.

The letters have offered the family a new snapshot of their Lanthier history, and at the same time, it's brought them together to remember these three men- three brothers- who served their country.

Do you know of a similar success story where letters, a family heirloom, photographs, a bible, or some other piece of memorabilia?

A few other posts along the lines of reuniting family heirlooms with a family ...

+ Colorado family reunited with 150-year-old bible found in Valley

+ Treasured family heirloom landed in the trash, reunited with owners, newspaper reports

+ Cape Breton woman reunited with lost family heirloom

+ Family reunited with stolen 1938 heirloom telegram

+ Newcastle writer reunited with 200-year-old piece of family history (just skip the survey question)

+ Family reunited with lost photos

These world-wide stories all give us hope that maybe the oft-mentioned and yet not in anyone’s known possession bible might someday turn up.

There was one occasion where I was contacted by someone, based on a family genealogy posted on my website, about letters for my brother-in-law’s family. The person wanted to see that the letters got to a family member and so I drove out to a meet point, was given the letters, and we both went our separate ways. I then gave the letters to my sister and they are now a treasured keepsake.

Editor’s Note: Social Media played a part in some of these success stories!

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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09 November 2012

Have We Lost the Art of Writing Compelling Letters?

Image source: http://www.healthforthewholeself.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/iStock_000000052126XSmall.jpg

A post on Olive Tree Genealogy with the above title really struck a nerve with me ...

Possibly because while I was doing research at UNC Chapel Hill the other week in the folders of the LC Glenn collection, I was struck by how much and how regular a lot of this extended family corresponded.

The letters written between cousins, fathers/sons, mothers/sons, etc, especially during the civil war, just "touched" you ...

There was one series between a son and his parents and then next you see the notice from the army of his death and then paperwork as his father tried to collect unpaid benefits. It made me feel incredibly sad regarding the outcome though I can image the solace the family took in having these personal letters from their son as he wrote them so regularly, even before his enlistment. To “hear” his voice through his own words!

I perused through boxes and boxes of letters where people would talk about their life, extended family, politics, religion and so much more ... so personal that you feel you know them ... I don't think my texts, e-mails or FB posts could ever capture that same depth of detail nor so vividly create an image for my readers. And, speaking of images, I don't think in this case, pictures really could speak a thousand words, though these letters sure did!

It does make me a bit nostalgic for when my gran, and two of her cousins were alive and living in England. We corresponded for years the old-fashioned way, pen to paper and then mailed. In fact, I never met my grandmother’s two cousins and yet we shared this rich correspondence. I was so sad when they died and yet I kept every letter they wrote as it allows me, in perpetuity, to be touched, once again, by their words.

In her post, Lorine McGinnis Schulze, captures the poignancy and power of letter writing as its being replaced by 144 character tweets, short FB posts, texts and other elements of social media where brevity is prized over all else.

Do read the full article.

Do you agree?

Editor’s Note: A related Upfront with NGS post, But Who Will Read The Record? Does Not Learning Cursive Mean Our Descendants Will Be Less Able to Read Handwritten Documents?, has been viewed over 24,000 times!

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

20 February 2012

Mother-daughter letters open digital window to Colonial era

There are nothing like letters or journals to give us a sense of those we are researching and the life they led. Soon, the letters of Colonial South Carolina’s most prominent mother and daughter will become part of a nationally recognized digital project through the University of Virginia Press and its electronic imprint arm, Rotunda.

Read about this project.

Are there other projects like this we should be aware of?

Did any of your ancestors leave an extensive collection of correspondence or journals?

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com.