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| Understand Society to Understand Ancestors |
If you are researching your ancestors in a vacuum, without knowledge of the era, event or community, you have probably failed to understand their life, their struggles, their decision. Sure you have documents, but do you understand the context of each of their pivotal events; the larger picture if you will of society? Have you read historical books or memoirs directly written in your ancestor’s lifetime reflecting their community? Even Rabelais dissected society to write his books. Historical readings will broaden your understanding of their life and societal impacts.
E-Books at Project Gutenberg
Many of these selections are already available online, like Azel Ames’ The Mayflower and Her Log, July 15, 1620 – May
6, 1621, but the bonus of becoming familiar with Widger’s Library is its
downloadable feature. You can download a
complete set of books offered by an author listed in the index in order to link
off-line to your smartphone or ebook.
The e-Books of Dr. Widger’s Library are for “the
use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net.”
Topics
and Titles
A full list of authors and works available can be found at the Home Page: Here
are a few titles of genealogical interest.
Cultural
Have you traced your family to early French ancestor?
Widgers Library offers a collection of Court Memoirs of France with active on-line links to all files.
Moravians in Georgia by Adelaide Fries is a popular reference book.
Moravians in Georgia by Adelaide Fries is a popular reference book.
Folklore and tales are another way to understand the culture of
our immigrant ancestors, and hopefully you are familiar with the Works of
William Carleton, and his Stories and Tales of the Irish.
Civil War
A thorough way to study the Civil War is through the experience of
the Generals. Memoirs of Three Union Generals, Grant, Sherman, and
Sheridan, is included in this collection.
Was your ancestor a “guest” of a POW camp? A Story of Rebel Military Prison, by James McElroy gives us a peek into the
Andersonville POW Camp. This fifteen month account of a Guest of the
So-called Southern Confederacy is published in four volumes.
Political
Memoirs and writings of the US Presidents help us understand the
“whys” of the era. An Index of the Complete Writings and Papers of Abraham Lincoln with active on-line links to all files are
included. There is also the Autobiography
of Theodore Roosevelt.
Kathleen Brandt
accurate, accessible answers
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