Each week I participate in the 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy challenge, which is a set of weekly prompts that were created by Amy Coffin of We Tree. Each prompt is designed to allow genealogists, both beginning and advanced, to further their genealogical knowledge. I have found the challenge to be both fun and beneficial to my own genealogy research and know-how.
Anyways, this week’s prompt is to encourage other genealogists to participate in a challenge of my own choosing, so I thought what better way to do this than to post about it here.
Come up with a personal genealogy challenge of your own. Each person has different research goals and experiences. Use this week to come up with your own challenge, and then take the steps to accomplish it. Genealogy bloggers are encouraged to share their ideas and challenge their own readers. – 52 Week to Better Genealogy Challenge
And so I challenge you to select one of your more interesting ancestors and write their biography. No, you don’t have to be a great writer to participate in this challenge. After all, this is for you and no one else (unless, of course, you choose to share it with others).
Writing your ancestor’s biographies will not only provide you with a better understanding of who they were, but can also help you discover missing information and solve discrepancies in your genealogy.
I have been working on writing the biographies of some of my ancestors for a while now. Of course, they are never completed work because I am constantly discovering new information, which I just slip into their biographies as I get it.
My first biography was about my paternal grandfather, John Everett Gamble. Information that I included in his biography were about his grandfather, James Gamble, who was an Irish immigrant, his work history (from working on the railroad, to owning a farm to, working in the now-closed asbestos mines), his service during World War II (I even researched his infantry and included it in the biography), his family, and the type of man he was in general. I also included a section about my own personal memories of him, even the bad stuff I remembered. After all, it was all a part of who he was.
Will you be participating in my challenge? If so, who will you write about?