Dear Ancestral Mothers,
You may have noticed that my biographical writings of you have been on pause this past year. Please forgive me. It has been a time of working many more hours in the real world than I had worked in the previous years. I do miss my visits to the historical world and look forward to my time researching your lives once again. However, my genealogical endeavors have not been totally ignored and I’m doing what I can to have fun with genealogy.
Last year, I used Claire Babin’s biography as part of an editing class I was taking to improve my writing. I took part in the 2024 GenPants Writers Group led by Cari Taplin and Cyndi Ingle – www.genealogypants.com. That workshop included sharing my article on Claire Babin with eight other writers and reading their articles while we edited each other’s work. Editing is an art I will be working on for all of my writing career and the workshop has proved to be beneficial.
As I was writing the beginning of Claire’s biography, I came across the fact that there was a document on the succession of her property after she died. Not to pass up an opportunity to hone my genealogical skills, I ordered an image of the succession, translated it from French to English and transcribed it, and then submitted an article about the document to Terrebonne Lifelines, the publication of the Terrebonne Genealogical Society. That article is expected to be published this summer. Claire, I will continue to write the rest of your biography in the coming months. Please be patient as I do want to share the rest of your life with the world.
Since March of 2024, I have prepared several presentations for the Bristol Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists: “Genealogy Fun While Developing New Genealogists,” “Cajun/Acadian Church Records Found in Louisiana, France, and Canada,” and a presentation on a brick wall in genealogy. In June, I will present a webinar about my experience with publishing for the Bristol Chapter. I also participated in two podcasts with Barbara Tien on Projectkin.org about creating a family activity book and what it takes to self publish a book.
As an associate editor of the American-French Genealogical Society’s publication, Je Me Souviens, I have written technical articles about citing sources, book reviews, and the history of the Catholic Church in New England. One article about Canadian French patriots in the American Revolutionary War is in progress. In addition to writing articles for Je Me Souviens, I also take part in the editing process for articles to be published, so there are many hours taken away from you there; but I am not complaining because I enjoy the volunteer work. However, I’m not sure how you feel about that.
But now, for the big news. This past year I have been writing the second activity book in my series Having Fun with Genealogy. Making Sense of the Census: Activity Book 2 will be published within the next few weeks on Kindle Direct Publishing and available on Amazon.com. Based on my experience using the many different census records I perused while researching your lives, dear ancestral mothers, I will share my knowledge of the United States censuses with the genealogy world. Hopefully, others will have fun with genealogy, like I do.
Additionally, I wrote a children’s book based on my grandmother, Velma Carrow Provost. I was inspired by a writing workshop I took with Melissa Ann Kitchen – Preserve Your Past. Capture Your Memories. Leave a Legacy. My niece, Haley Thomas, is illustrating the book. We have been collaborating over the scenes she has drawn for the book. Again, this process is taking more time than either of us thought it would to ensure that the book will be meaningful to our family. However, this partnership allows us to bond and share a family activity even though we live more than a thousand miles apart. It’s possible the book will be published before the end of the year.
In the coming weeks, dear ones, I will join your ranks as a grandmother. I’m thrilled beyond measure. The baby is due any day now. Please welcome me to the adventures of grandchildren that you once enjoyed.
With love and affection,
Sindi Broussard Terrien