Absolutely Literate

Monday, February 27, 2023

Considering Audience When You Tell Your Family History

I came across something recently where the person argued that you should not think about your audience when you write your family history because it might change what you write.

I agree and disagree. When you write a first draft you should just let the creative juices flow and write — that draft is for you. Write without revision. Writing that initial draft helps you process the information, shape your theme, and uncover gaps in your research. 

I would argue that it is useful to have some notion of your final product and audience in mind before you start so you have a goal in mind. Thinking about your audience and having a story board for your final product does not change what you write but helps you focus on the end goal.

However, once that first draft is done, then you need to think about your audience and how best to package the family story and deliver it to your audience.

Who your intended audience is does not change the story you tell, but it can change how you deliver that story. 

If your intended audience are people of the same age range as yourself then you likely have a shared history and knowledge. For example, your intended audience will likely understand life before Google and YouTube. However, if your target audience is younger then you will need to provide some historical context. Is the story age appropriate? Does everyone know the language of their ancestors? Will they know what you mean if you write about a party line, a soc-hop, or reference a particular song? Do they only read online? Will they agree with your politics, ethics, message?

Who your target audience is will also determine how your package your family story. Would it be best delivered as a video rather than a book? Should it be delivered as a series of Instagram posts?

Considering your audience should absolutely have an impact on how the family story you tell is revised and delivered.

Is your family story locked in your accumulated documents and trees? Does your family ask for the stories? Then it’s time to pull it all together and publish that story! 

Participants engage in 14 hours of workshops and discussion facilitated by Brenda L Smith and Andrea Lister starting Saturday, April 22, 2023 and ending with a weekend of workshops, and presentations in Wells, British Columbia from Friday, May 19, 2023, 7:00 PM to Sunday, May 21, 2023. Online workshops lead into the May long weekend in-person event (hybrid options available).

Topics include: identifying the audience; choosing the right format; reviewing research, putting words on the page; editing; legal necessities, and assignments to get started. Working with their own materials, and supporting each other, participants discover how to move from gathering information to creating a publishable product. Participants will set goals for their research, organize and evaluate their data, and practice packaging their family story.

Learn more about Unlock Your Family Story: Sharing Your Family's History (Online and In-Person Learning) through Island Mountain Arts.


Tuesday, February 7, 2023

WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: UNLOCK YOUR FAMILY STORY: Sharing Your Family's History (Online and In-Person Learning

Is your family story locked in your accumulated documents and trees? Does your family ask for the stories? Then it’s time to pull it all together and publish that story! Participants engage in 14 hours of workshops and discussion facilitated by Brenda L Smith and Andrea Lister through Island Mountain Arts in Wells, BC. 

Topics include: identifying the audience; choosing the right format; reviewing research, putting words on the page; editing; legal necessities, and assignments to get started. Working with their own materials, and supporting each other, participants discover how to move from gathering information to creating a publishable product. Participants will set goals for their research, organize and evaluate their data, and practice packaging their family story.

UNLOCK YOUR FAMILY STORY is taught in a collaborative manner in which participants present their writing samples to classmates and share evaluation of each other’s work. The course goal is to promote development of the skills necessary for writing non-fiction from a family history point of view. Course materials support learning by providing background and course content reading, and assignment descriptions. The course is designed for intermediate level research experience, including understanding of cooperative evaluation training and the Genealogical Proof Standard. A large part of each class will consist of sharing and peer evaluation.

Add-on: Monday, May 22, 2023, a one-on-one, 20-minute appointment with the facilitators. In-person only. Get the PDF  to fill out and submit via email here: One-to-one consultation form

Island Mountain Arts offers scholarships and bursaries for our programming

Find details about appropriate scholarships and fill out a request here: http://www.imarts.com/scholarships-bursaries

WHAT ARE THE KEY DATES?

Registration

Monday, February 20th, 2023 | Early Bird Registration Deadline

March 22nd, 2023 | Scholarship Deadline

April 8th, 2023 | Registration Deadline

April 26th, 2023 | Family History Consultation Registration Deadline

REGISTER through Island Mountain Arts

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Local Archives for Prison and Court Records

 


At the Fireside Chat after my Prison and Court Records talk today for the Ontario Ancestors 2022 conference a gentleman asked about finding prison records for Carleton. I do not have specifics as to the time period in which he was researching nor his ancestor's name.

The first thing to keep in mind is that these records will likely not be digitized, may not be fully accessioned or indexed so searching by your ancestor's name will not yield any results.

My first stop would be the Archives of Ontario. Searching for Carleton + jail yields

  • Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre inmate case files: 1939-1957, 1972-1991
  • Administrative records of the Ottawa- Carleton Detention Centre: 1860-1991

The second record set seems like a good place to start a search though the Ottawa Jail was a maximum security correctional facility. It includes 61 metres of textual records and 21 reels of microfilm (textual records).

"Series consists of records created and maintained by officials of the Ottawa- Carleton Detention Centre, and its predecessor, the Ottawa Jail, pertaining to the administration of the jail. Records include jail, surgeon's and punishment registers, inmate case files, drug control records, daily count and record books, historical records, and indices."

There are also the County and District Court Judges' Criminal Courts for 1869-1984.

My suggestion would be for the researcher to contact the Archives of Ontario with the specifics in terms of name and date and see if the archives has records to fit his quest. The archivist will let you know if they have records for the place and time period you require or point him to other resources.

Do not forget newspapers — if your ancestor was arrested, it likely made the news.

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