Thank you, Linda Stufflebean, Diane Burley, Jennifer Jones, Lori Olson White, Bill Moore, MamaCarole, GenealCymru, Helene | Letters from LaBelle, An American Genealogy, Jane Chapman, Anne Wendel, Anne’s Family History, Erin Hoover, Garry E Moore, Kyla Bayang, Linda Teather, Maureen Taylor, Randy Seaver, Geneaholic, for joining us Thursday, and to Deborah Carl, Tad Callin, Rita McConnell, Heather Rojo, Dr. Mary M. Marshall, and, who were also so generous with their contributions but were unable to join us today.
I can’t tell you how much it means to me here on the American West Coast to see all of you joining from across the American states and Canadian provinces, the Pacific islands, Australia, and New Zealand today. Your generosity during our live Zooom program and the little ❤️s you drop keep us motivated and give this series a little more visibility. This post is free, and you’re very welcome to share it with anyone.
Over the last 12 months, layers of politics, news, and noise have made it hard to focus on the significance of the 250th birthday America threw itself last week. In two private gatherings, Projectkin members have stepped up to share their stories. These are stories that personally connect us to those momentous years surrounding July 4, 1776. As we learned, these stories shared by Canadians, Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders also connect us to each other. This event complements the written and recorded pieces that each of the 22 authors submitted to the project.
As part of this Stories250 project, contributors were invited to submit stories about their ancestors at the time of the American Revolution (give or take 50 years). Together, these stories were shared in various ways that helped all contributors better appreciate them within their historical context of time and place, including a website, live-streamed events, an interactive timeline, and a map, all accessible from Projectkin.org/stories250.
In the recording, you’ll hear each speaker share, in their own voice, the significance of each story or group of stories. Together, these pieces will give their descendants a personal connection to the research and written work each of us has produced.
If you think others might enjoy this, why not share it with them now?
Listen & Explore Our Authors’ Stories
Our authors shared their stories in the relatively random order in which they joined the Zoom link. Below, you’ll find each author’s name in bold, along with links to their publications.
To make it easier for you to follow along, the links below will take you to their profiles and publications. For those who spoke during the sessions, I’ve included timestamps to their section of the video. Notice that discussions including each group began after the last speaker at timestamps 39:24 for the Atlantic-friendly session and 1:38:00 for the Pacific.
For each author, the “Stories250 collection of posts” link will take you to the stories they submitted to the Stories250 collection, organized as a category or topic page. As a single page, authors have the flexibility to include other stories that fit the theme there now, or add more in the future.
Linda Stufflebean at Empty Branches on the Family Tree.
Timestamp 2:31, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Lori Olson White at The Lost and Found Storybox.
Timestamp 6:13, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Timestamp 8:21, and their Stories250 collection of posts.
Bill Moore at Family History with Bill Moore.
Timestamp 11:50, and his Stories250 collection of posts.
Diane Burley at Musings of a Storyteller.
Timestamp 17:56, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Rick Leonard at An American Genealogy.
Timestamp 21:22, and his Stories250 collection of posts.
Helen McClanahan at Letters from Labelle.
Timestamp 27:28, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Anne Wendel at Grandma’s Granny’s Family Album
Timestamp 34:19, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Jane Chapman at BJNL’s Genealogy.
Timestamp 59:19, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Maureen Taylor at PhotoDetective News.
Timestamp 1:04:24, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Timestamp 1:09:30, and his Stories250 collection of posts.
Erin Hoover at Stories in the Records.
Timestamp 1:14:58, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Carole Kuge Kawamura at Slotted Spheres.
Timestamp 1:18:08, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Garry E. Moore at Garry E. Moore.
Timestamp 1:21:08, and his Stories250 collection of posts.
Kyla Bayang at RootSquad Roundup.
Timestamp 1:25:28, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Anne Young at Anne’s Family History.
Timestamp 1:31:36, and her Stories250 collection of posts.
Plus, my own, Barbara at Projectkin.
Unfortunately, despite their generous contributions, five more authors were unable to join us in the celebration. You’ll find their profiles and Stories250 posts here:
Plus, a Commemorative Magazine
As the success of this project became obvious this Spring, I committed to combining all articles submitted by June 30th into a commemorative print magazine. The idea was to create a tangible collection we could each hold in our hands. The process has become a labor of love, though much bigger and more expensive than I’d initially anticipated.
The entire book, with title pages and indexes, should be around 550 pages. Although I will not add any overhead or padding to my costs, the total per copy purchased through Lulu will be roughly US$30, plus shipping. I expect printing options in all global markets, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
More about that as the final production bits come together over the coming weeks. Have questions or suggestions for me? I’m learning from all of this. I’d love to hear from you.
As Projectkin, we’re here to help families tell their stories in any form. I feel strongly that our collections of photos and other artifacts are key to our memories and, in turn, our stories.
If you have a publication of your own, and you think your friends might find this interesting, why not let your friends know with a recommendation?
These are public posts, and our events are free because we want to help more families share their stories. You can help.
See all coming events in our calendar at Projectkin.org/events.
Next week, I’m hosting Diane Burley in a special talk for genealogists struggling to braid together the strands of archive, history, and family into a story. Join us for the preview on Sunday and the program itself on Thursday.
Both programs are in our Atlantic-friendly slot and will be shared shortly after as recordings accessible at Projectkin.org/specials
