tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post3681551396969127568..comments2023-08-10T03:35:55.682-07:00Comments on The Prosers: Mining Your Family History for Story IdeasSheena Boekweghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-37841876142026421662012-04-18T19:15:31.097-07:002012-04-18T19:15:31.097-07:00Fabulous post! I have been thinking about this a l...Fabulous post! I have been thinking about this a lot since I heard author Ruta Sepetys, Shades of Gray, speak. Her amazing, best selling book is based completely on her family history. So cool! I want to find one of my own family history stories to write about.<br />Time to do some genealogy.Teri Harmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00986766387303780422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-48987918800318970582012-04-17T17:52:10.945-07:002012-04-17T17:52:10.945-07:00Great post, Sheena. Thanks!Great post, Sheena. Thanks!Melanie Crousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10353025724182677932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-10580105814670306562012-04-16T17:08:42.656-07:002012-04-16T17:08:42.656-07:00Good simple tips for family history. I think it is...Good simple tips for family history. I think it is awesome the stories you can find. Thanks for sharing.Jessica L. Celayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725283349220405323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-80759772885929571522012-04-16T12:58:23.214-07:002012-04-16T12:58:23.214-07:00That's amazing. Wow! Both of those stories cou...That's amazing. Wow! Both of those stories could be amazing novels.Sheena Boekweghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-70873698360828959632012-04-16T12:38:28.376-07:002012-04-16T12:38:28.376-07:00Heh, rumor has it that one of my ancestors came ov...Heh, rumor has it that one of my ancestors came over on the Mayflower too. But I've never seen anything to substantiate it, so I think it might just be wishful thinking. But extra cool bizarre if THREE of us had ancestors that came over on one ship together!<br /><br />I have two family stories of note. The first is on my dad's side, as researched by my (Mormon) aunt (she does a lot of research and shares it with the family - very cool). Apparently, one of my great, great grandmothers had an affair with a royal earl in the Danish court and bore his child. The girl lived with her father's family until she was 9 or 10, and then her mother kidnapped her (!) and took her to America. There, they joined the Mormon church. The earl contacted his daughter one last time before he died, and said that if she came and visited him he'd leave her his fortune. If not, she'd get nothing. She didn't want to make the trip across the Atlantic and leave her children (this was in the late nineteenth century, I think). So we missed out on the chance to be fabulously wealthy, but our family has done just fine. :)<br /><br />The other story is not fun or amusing in the least. During WWI, the Ottoman Empire believed the Armenians were conspiring with the Russians against them (some rebels were). Their solution was to start mass murdering Armenians. I'll spare you the details, but they killed somewhere between 1 million and 1.5 million people. My great grandmother Berjouhe was 14 years old. Her parents disguised her as an old woman so she wouldn't be raped by Turkish soldiers. They almost got caught on a train, but the Turkish officer recognized my great-great grandfather as the tailor who sewed his uniforms, and so he let them go - luckily for me and all my family.Sabrina Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06218305456791199409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-59994236185106533722012-04-16T09:58:17.457-07:002012-04-16T09:58:17.457-07:00I don't know as much as my ancestors as I shou...I don't know as much as my ancestors as I should, but you are right. There are great stories there. My grandfather has some fascinating stories about being a child during the depression, and I'm sure there are a lot more for me to discover.<br /><br />Thanks for the inspiration.MaryAnn Popehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08618345950149423623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-33368401778744387722012-04-16T09:15:30.756-07:002012-04-16T09:15:30.756-07:00Hey, small world, my ancesters were on the Mayflow...Hey, small world, my ancesters were on the Mayflower, too (Priscilla Mullens & John Alden of the 'Courtship of Miles Standish' fame). They probably hung out with William. What would they think if they knew that so many generations later we'd be friends - over the internet, no less!<br /><br />Family history is fascinating, the ebb and flow that brings people together. My fiery redheaded grandmother left her rural home when she was young to be a NYC society girl. When her father died, her mother opened a boarding house to support herself and she came home. She fell for a handsome farmer who boarded there. I love to imagine what two such different people were like when they were courting.<br /><br />Great inspiration! Great post!Susan Buttarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456005411871122298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-21289230493808819842012-04-16T09:05:35.145-07:002012-04-16T09:05:35.145-07:00This is such a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing :...This is such a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing :)<br /><br /><a href="http://fromsarahwithjoy.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Sarah Allen<br />(my creative writing blog)</a>Sarah Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01185278849400551014noreply@blogger.com