52 Weeks to Better Genealogy Challenge #3

In Challenge #3, we were asked to do an assessment of our personal records and time line events to ensure our own life is as well-documented as that of our ancestors. Then, if we have a genealogy blog, write about the status of our own research and steps one might take to fill gaps and document our own life.

This is difficult for me to address. I am always so busy doing for others, I tend to not think about my own history. Now, I should, given that I have the example my husband gave me, but I am a self proclaimed procrastinator.

I have taken the week to inventory my personal journals and personal history writing and, oops, I am found wanting.
In various places around the house, such in bookshelves, drawers, file cabinets, and magazine racks, I have found random journals, calendars, spiral notebooks, etc. This alone tells me, I have not taken this area seriously. When I read in my journals, I find more often than not I am writing about someone else. When I started my personal history...hmmm... maybe one paragraph, it is rather shallow.

I believe I need to study Dr. Bill's Ancestor Storying, and Olive Tree's Sharing Journal, among others in order to get a feel for writing a meaningful journal or personal history. Obviously, this is a subject I have avoided. Thanks for presenting a soul searching topic, that I have needed to address.

My time line starts in 1948, birth post war years, 1950's lower school, 1960's high school, 1970's college and marriage and first child, 1980'a career, continued children, 1990's time with husband and children, 2000's long illness of husband and his death, reorganizing life.

Now what do I do with it. I made a time line at Ourtimelines.com, but it came out way too long to post on here.

My next question to myself is, do I write a journal or start a personal history. Which would be the most beneficial to my family?

Two Men How Very Different

I am grateful to these men for very different reasons. The man on the left is the brother of Henry Crawford Reynolds (on the right), who is my mother-in-law's grandfather. Archibald Spencer Reynolds was difficult for me to find when searching for Henry's family because he was first listed by his mother as Spencer on a census. Later I understood why, that was his grandfather's name. The rest of his life he was known as Archibald. He became a Reverend and loved being a minister of the gospel. He married twice, live in Alabama, Florida, and Texas. He loved his family. Now, why do I write these things, because one of his great granddaughters emailed me to say she thought that her great grandfather was the Spencer I was looking for. How did she know that? She had a autobiography that he had written and given to his son. What a wonderful gift! It gave me all the information that confirmed the family I had been leaning towards and answered many questions I had.
My own husband had a year before we knew he had cancer started on his personal history. I would say, "you have plenty of time why the hurry". He would say, "I feel I must get it done." Now that he is gone, I am grateful he took the time. Sharing feelings, information, and life experiences with others in the family by way of writing is a gift of great love and eternal worth.
Back to Henry. Henry chose first to be a farmer, then felt the call to be a doctor and went to school to become a doctor. He was not a well known doctor. He lived in Wharton, Texas and was a "country doctor" . His pay many times was a chicken, vegetables, etc. He too loved his family, was married to his life long sweetheart, and raised his granddaughter, my now 90 year old mother-in-law. How do I know these things? Not from him, I can't even find his medical records. It was my mother-in-law who loved him and her grandmother so very much. It was not hard to get her to talk about them. When Martha (the grandmother) first saw Henry, he had just ridden up on his horse to her grandfather's house looking for work. She was hiding behind a bush at the fence "looking". She said of him "He was as pretty as a picture". I am grateful to him for being an honorable and sincere man who tried to help others and taught the same to his granddaughter. I hope that I have learned from both men and will be able to offer history, love, truth, and service through my family research.