The first miniseries ever aired on television was "Roots" in 1977. Based on the book by Alex Hailey, Roots is the story of one family that begins in Africa, follows the slave trade to the US South, through wars and civil rights to the modern day. The interest this story created in geneaology was huge and remains over 30 years later.
As a new librarian in the early 8o's I would see the rolls and rolls of microfilm come in each week for the people working on finding their roots. They were seeking a Roots-like saga, but it wasn't going to be found on those rolls of film, as they only contain names and dates. People created from names and dates are just stick figures. It takes stories to flesh them out, make them real.
And yet, I've fallen into the same trap with Ancestry.com -- I spent far too much time clicking on leaves, looking for a census report that will tell me where ggggrandfather Magruder Tannahill lived in 1870.
Mom told me just the other day that Dad had said, "I don't care when they were born or when they died, I want to know what they did!"
For years I have wanted to write these stories down, and inspired by Pam, I have created this blog just for our family stories. These won't be published for all the world to see, but just for "the family" to enjoy. I don't even know right now what stories I will be telling, I'm hoping to be hit by inspiration each day. I hope to tell more funny tales and few sad tales, and through the comment option, you can all jog my memory.
And Magruder Tannahill was an innkeeper, who rang a huge bell three times each day to tell his boarders that a meal had been served. He was what they called in those days a Black Republican, a person who hated the rebels.
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