Abstract
Current interest in genealogy and family history has soared, but the research journey may be fraught. Original intentions may be inhibited and inevitably altered as the actual historical details are revealed and documented through recorded evidence. While liberties may be taken with memoir and even autobiography, critical family history requires scrutiny of the lived events uncovered—some of which may be in sharp contrast to family myths passed down through generations. I traveled to three states and conducted archival research in local libraries, court houses, historical county archives, and museums in my search for original sources of authentic information about the names listed on a family tree over centuries. This article reports on how and why research on the genealogy of two families joined by marriage shifted from a straightforward recording of chronological facts to the development of a novel. The case can be made that fiction provides an effective and engaging tool for the elaboration of interconnected lives through the addition of historical context, enriching personal details, and imagined dialogue. Key accuracies needed for a critical family history can be preserved but in a genre that enables characters and their stories to come to life.
Highlights
Traditional history has been dominated by the life stories of the victors, the powerful, the rich, and—disproportionately—men
Ordinary citizens are largely unseen in historical text and records; they can only be imagined behind the scenes of opulence and violence depicted in literature, art, and even musical compositions
The Wretched of the Earth have not featured in historical records beyond raw facts such as death estimates from war and disease, immigration numbers, and regional population counts (Fanon 1968; Knauft 2017)
Summary
Traditional history has been dominated by the life stories of the victors, the powerful, the rich, and—disproportionately—men. My interest and effort shifted to developing authentic if fictional narratives of the life stories of those who were just ordinary citizens. Crucial to this effort was the search not just through archival and historical records of the social, economic, geographical, and political context of the times for each successive generation. I chose the latter—the much easier pathway of turning family history into story, sharing fictional narratives grounded in authenticity and historical context but making no pretext at knowing what really happened, how people truly felt, what they said to one another, or why they did what they did. What resulted from my own genealogical investigation was transformed into a family saga of the imagined lives of four successive generations of women in two families interconnected by marriage, set within the historical events and social challenges of the 20th century—Bella’s Legacy (Meyer 2018)
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