I referenced this book in my original blog post for this blog, it's definitely MY WHY, why I love this work...
Building this book gave me a whole new perspective on the value of researching and learning about your ancestors. I used a program called Heritage Makers to create it. ( If you'd like me to share a copy with you just email me and let me know your Heritage Maker's account number.)
Not only did I come to know and love my grandmother in a whole new ways when I made it, but I was also privileged to get to know another special ancestor...My Grandfather Willis A Chatterton, who was obviously a prominent character in her book. He had passed away when I was only 2 years old, so I really don't have any memories of him, and I can only think of one picture that I'm even in with him before he died, so there's not much to go on. I grew up hearing stories from my dad about what a crazy driver grandpa was and from my mom about how he was always the first one to serve the needy widows in his neighborhood; but that was about it. Putting this book together forced me to dig, I read things both he and his sisters had written about his life, read letters he'd written; had the opportunity to interview one of his sisters, who passed away shortly thereafter; and really discovered what an amazing and wonderful man he truly was. I'm sad I didn't get to know him better in this life, but I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to become close to him through this project. I value this book more than almost any possession I have, but no one who owned a copy would ever be able to relate to the way I feel about him, without having done the work themselves. There's power in Family History work, and in the process of telling those stories, I can feel it.
