History: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

February 2018

"Most human affairs happen without leaving vestiges or records of any kind behind them. The past, having happened, has perished with only occasional traces. To begin with, although the absolute number of historical writings is staggering, only a small part of what happened in the past was ever observed. And only a part of what was observed in the past was remembered by those who observed it; only a part of what was remembered was recorded; only a part of what was recorded has survived; only a part of what survived has come to the historians' attention; only a part of what has come to their attention is credible; only a part of what is credible has been grasped; and only a part of what has been grasped can be expounded or narrated by the historian." --Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History (NY: Knopf, 1969)

Wow, quite the quote to ponder. I came across these words while reading yet another book on Ohio's history: Ulysses Underground, The Unexplored Roots of U.S. Grant and the Underground Railroad, by G.L. Corum (p. 184). Makes me want to get Gottschalk's book and pick his brain a little more about history. What a perspective--profound and yet so amazingly obvious. Of course no one can record and pass on every detail of their lives, most wouldn't even care to. We never truly plumb the depths of our own family histories let alone the grand sweep of centuries. We only see a tiny tip of the great iceberg. Makes me respect historians even more, knowing what all they have to sift through.

I pass this historical cemetery (pictured above) on my morning walk and have done so for many years now. I often ponder what the lives of some of these people in my neighborhood were like 150 years ago. A stroll among the markers reveals the graves of two Civil War veterans along with a Civil War nurse, a marker listing the names of four children on one stone, and a mysterious little gravestone that simply reads "P.W." The grave for the patriarch for which the cemetery is named, John Henry Willsey (1798-1876) is there, as is that of his grandson, also named John Henry Willsey, who was killed in a robbery on his way home from the market in 1916.  Other markers name infants, toddlers, and teenagers as well as the older generations.

Just a bit of history from this little pocket of the world, a tiny sample of the uncountable stories that could be told in neighborhoods everywhere. A few details passed on, many lost. But enduring threads, though invisible and often nameless, carry on from generation to generation don't they? Threads like courage, perseverance, family, discovery, service, sacrifice. Isn't that ultimately what stories of the past teach us-- and inspire us to pass on as well?

What stories from history--family, neighborhood, or otherwise--do you find yourself passing on to others? What strikes you about Gottschalk's quote that you hadn't thought about before?

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A Mayflower Connection

"Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards."--Source Unknown

Thanksgiving Day is over for another year, but the after-effects still linger over this way. Not just that I'm still working off the extra calories I took in. Nor in the fact that I desire to be more conscious of my many blessings every day, not just one day a year. But also because of a discovery that came to my family following the day of feasting.You know how people claim that their ancestors came over on the Mayflower? Yeah, sure. Didn't everybody's?

In my case they did. Which seems to make my previous post personally a bit more significant.

I've always loved history--people's stories from the past. So imagine my delight when my dad's cousin emailed us the day after Thanksgiving with results of a genealogy search he did--one which revealed that a branch of our family is directly descended from Miles Standish. The Miles Standish of Mayflower claim, and military captain to the first Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. Yep, that one. The line that starts with Standish carries down through the Wheelocks to the Binghams to the Harrises to my dad--and to me and my family then, too.

I think it's exciting anyway. The news makes me want to read up on this guy. I know the name from elementary school history books. Now I want to learn what I can about the man. I've already got a heads-up on my research by checking out Cheryl Harness' The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish and the Amazing-But-True Survival Story of Plymouth Colony from the library.

And I'm visualizing a family tree. Do they make templates that follow lines from six-or-more family branches? For you see, there's Miles Standish on Dad's side originally from Wales, then my mother's ancestor John Young who came from Scotland. My husband's mother's parents came from Poland; he traces his father's side to Germany. My little grandson on one side has maternal grandparents from Brazil and Japan; my granddaughter and second grandson have paternal grandparents in Mexico who trace their lines one direction to an indigenous Indian group and in the other direction all the way back to Spain.

Whew. My head's spinning. But I'm determined. Writing is still my top priority. But mapping out this family tree for my grandkids is formulating in my mind. I'd love to leave this heritage in some kind of visual form for them.

I plan to do just that. But not right away. After all, Christmas will soon be here.

But if Thanksgiving opened up such possibilities, what might come next?

Any family tree stories you have to share?

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On Hollow Sycamores, Treehouses and Writing

"There is no revising a blank page. Keep going." --from Naomi Wolf's The Treehouse 

What's the one thing that piqued your curiosity early on and never shook loose? That started a writing dream you can't walk away from?

For me it's the idea of a huge, hollow tree--a sycamore to be exact. A sycamore that, at the turn of the 19th century, sported a hollow trunk big enough to shelter an entire pioneer family--parents and four children--until they could build a log cabin. That had to have been a mighty tree! Upon reading the historical account some years back, the idea for my book took root. And what a journey the writing has been.

For fun, when family gathered last month--some from far-flung places--we trekked to a later version of a hollow sycamore (certainly much younger than the pioneers' tree), located in a park across town. There my dear daughter-in-law and talented photographer (thanks, Suzan!) captured this picture--one proud grandma and grandkids squirreled away in the bowels of a tree. Talk about trying to put yourself in your book's setting!

All of this reminded me of Naomi Wolf's book, The Treehouse, Eccentric Wisdom from My Father on How to Live, Love and See (2005). Though not about a hollow tree, it is about a treehouse, a family's relationship, and lessons passed on to another generation. In Wolf's case, the lessons extended to the craft of writing since her father, Leonard, was a poet and teacher. In her introduction she wrote, "I wanted to capture some of what he taught me about love, happiness, loss, and above all, about the power of the imagination, as I learned from him how to build a treehouse in the woods."

She divides the book into twelve writing lessons:

1. Be Still and Listen... 2. Use Your Imagination... 3. Destroy the Box... 4. Speak in Your Own Voice... 5. Identify Your Heart's Desire... 6. Do Nothing Without Passion... 7. Be Disciplined With Your Gift... 8. Pay Attention to Detail... 9. Your Only Wage Will Be Joy... 10. Mistakes Are Part of the Draft... 11. Frame Your Words... 12. Sign It and Let It Go.

Lots of great writing wisdom in the topic titles alone!

A sample of Leonard's advice that Wolf quotes: "Don't wait for inspiration, but sit down quietly, and begin; once you have gotten to work, shut up, even to yourself, about writers block; use your imagination; and keep working. That is your draft. The first one will always be terrible; don't worry about that; keep working. Cut anything that is not in your own voice or anything about which you do not feel passionately or anything that is not true. If you have taken a wrong turn, go back; that is part of the process. Then edit, edit, edit. Finally, know when you are done. Of all these, 'get to work' is the most important."

All of this in a volume that set out to chronicle the building of a child's dream, that of a treehouse. My pioneer family's dream started with a hollow tree. My dream started with their story.

Where did your writing dream begin?

(p.s. for fun, check out Jess's recent post at Falling Leaflets, where she shares photos of her younger self...reading up in a tree. Hands up if you identify with this child!)

Discovery and Rediscovery

Reading is a family affair in our house. And although our tastes differ, sometimes hubby and I will encourage one another to read outside our normal interests. History is one of those subjects I have always liked, and something he has only in the last few years developed a taste for.

Interestingly, he came across a review that caught his eye, and said he thought he might be interested in reading it: Patricia Brady's A Being So Gentle: The Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2011). When he read the description to me, I immediately thought of a book I had read years ago, The President's Lady, by Irving Stone. In fact, I told him, I thought we had it on a shelf somewhere upstairs. And, surprise! There it was, neglected and forgotten for how many years now? I read it as a teen, and even then it was an older book, written in 1951. We decided we would read both versions and compare.

We were not disappointed. Each book covers a fascinating period in our country's history--and the trials and tribulations of a couple whose relationship was called into question not once, but many times throughout their adult life.

Of A Being So Gentle, Goodreads says: "The forty-year love affair between Rachel and Andrew Jackson parallels a tumultuous period in American history. Andrew Jackson was at the forefront of the American revolution--but he never could have made it without the support of his wife. Beautiful, charismatic, and generous, Rachel Jackson had the courage to go against the mores of her times in the name of love. As the wife of a great general in wartime, she often found herself running their plantation alone and, a true heroine, she took in and raised children orphaned by the war. Like many great love stories, this one ends tragically when Rachel dies only a few weeks after Andrew is elected president. He moved into the White House alone and never remarried. Andrew and Rachel Jackson's devotion to one another is inspiring, and here, in Patricia Brady's vivid prose, their story of love and loss comes to life for the first time."

Of The President's Lady: "In this acclaimed biographical novel, Irving Stone brings to life the tender and poignant love story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. 'Beyond any doubt one of the great romances of all time.'--The Saturday Review of Literature."

From the flyleaf of The President's Lady this tempting tidbit: "...Irving Stone here brings to life the deeply moving story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. Theirs is a tender and poignant love story, and the reader will find that Rachel Jackson lived the most controversial and amazing melodrama that ever engulfed an American woman."

Both books are good reads (no pun intended!), but I have to admit I have my favorite of the two. Same subject, different perspectives. Both based on fact, but the differing styles, tone, and approach are distinguishable. But that should come as no surprise--the books were written 60 years apart!

Reading the books was both a fun discovery and rediscovery. What old book have you recently rediscovered? Any new versions of an old subject?

Word for the Week: Story

"People tend to forget that the word 'history' contains the word 'story'." --Ken Burns

The word for the week over my way is: story. As in querying my story, and immersing myself in others' stories in preparation for my next historical fiction book now in the plotting stages.

Story is also a fitting word as we commemorate Memorial Day.

Memorial day was originally set aside as a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. From Memorial Day History: "Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery...Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all."

Think of the stories embedded in all the Memorial Days down through history. There wouldn't be enough history books to hold them.

From Wikipedia: "Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not."

More stories, passed on generation to generation. Beautiful stories, sad stories. Courageous stories. Hopeful stories. Stories of endurance, love, adventure, sacrifice. Multiplied over and over again. Story is a word that speaks of humanity, and of living life.

Story:

• "You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story." --Anthony de Mello
• "There have been great societies that did not use the wheel,but there have been no societies that did not tell stories." --Ursula K. LeGuin
• "Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact." --Robert McKee

 Story happens to be my word. What's your word for the week?

*photo courtesy of  sxc.hu/

Stay Curious--But Get the Facts

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." --Albert Einstein

I ran across a list of explanations and definitions for historical traditions and word meanings in a recent issue of our local historical society's newsletter. While the tidbits were interesting, and in some cases downright funny, I had to ask myself if the "facts" were true. There were no credits or source information given. Hmmm. Well, let's just say such an example can serve as a reminder to double-check our research notes before taking them public. First account sources--like diaries, original documents, photos, interviews--are always best to draw from. For sure there's a reader out there somewhere itching to correct us if we slip up!

Having said that, here--from "Life in the 1500s Was No Picnic!"--is the list:

"Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married."

"Only the wealthy had floors other than dirt. Hence the saying, 'dirt poor'."

"If thresh (straw) were spread on the floor and regularly added to, it would begin to slip out the door. To prevent this, a piece of wood (or 'thresh hold') would be placed in the doorway."

"Bread was divided according to status: servants got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top or 'upper crust'."

Yep, some curious stuff here. But, while we should never lose a sense of curiosity, in writing we should back up our work with facts that can be documented. What do you say?