Genealogy as inspiration for writing

[CatrionaGrace]

Spin-off from the truth is the stranger than fiction thread as originally inspired by JT Woody.

Family history can be a great jumping off place for story ideas. Twenty years ago, I came across an 1852 divorce notice wherein a a woman unrelated to me (alas) divorced my great, great, great grandfather. She then moved to Texas with their children as well as his children from a previous marrage. That is the last mention of him I've ever found. I've always wondered, what happened? Conjectures about that question resulted in Book II, entitled Days of Sun and Shadow, which goes on presale the first week of November.

Has anything in your family history inspired your writing?

 

[JT Woody]

I found a distant cousin named "Elesmere Weatherless [Last name]" and i LOVED the name! It inspired a freewrite pirate story.
I never did look up his history because i wanted to keep my pirate captain picture in my head

 

[Catrin Lewis]

Spin-off from the truth is the stranger than fiction thread as originally inspired by JT Woody.

Family history can be a great jumping off place for story ideas. Twenty years ago, I came across an 1852 divorce notice wherein a a woman unrelated to me (alas) divorced my great, great, great grandfather. She then moved to Texas with their children as well as his children from a previous marrage. That is the last mention of him I've ever found. I've always wondered, what happened? Conjectures about that question resulted in Book II, entitled Days of Sun and Shadow, which goes on presale the first week of November.

Has anything in your family history inspired your writing?

The children from his previous marriage--- was one of them your progenitor?

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Yes. When ggg grandfather left his first family in another state, he absconded with my ggg grandmother, a fair-skinned enslaved woman who passed in their new home. His wife had him legally declared dead and went on with her life. Pretty common practice in the days before divorce was an easy thing to obtain. The whole thing was a deep dark secret in my southern family, of course, and apparently no one was going to tell my generation about it, though the older folks knew. I figured it out doing research, asked my dad to confirm my conclusions. He laughed out loud and told me I'd make a good LE investigator. He didn't give compliments often.

 

[Catrin Lewis]

Yes. When ggg grandfather left his first family in another state, he absconded with my ggg grandmother, a fair-skinned enslaved woman who passed in their new home. His wife had him legally declared dead and went on with her life. Pretty common practice in the days before divorce was an easy thing to obtain. The whole thing was a deep dark secret in my southern family, of course, and apparently no one was going to tell my generation about it, though the older folks knew. I figured it out doing research, asked my dad to confirm my conclusions. He laughed out loud and told me I'd make a good LE investigator. He didn't give compliments often.

And you used that bit of family history in The Song of the Bluebottle Tree.

I don't think I've used any of mine in my stories yet, but my characters definitely have family trees. I even keep track of them in my genealogy software.