| Family History Machine

Walt, what do you remember about our experiences at the 1968 Democratic Party convention?

Since this story from our teenage years appears prominently on Family History Machine, let's add some content to it by recording some of our memories.

I don't recall how we got the assignment to serve as messengers for the Eugene McCarthy campaign in its offices in the Chicago Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue. We had both done door-knocking in Illinois and Wisconsin for the candidate during the primary campaign. Our mother, Helga, was active in DuPage County Democratic Party politics, so she probably had something to do with getting us the gig.

Begin with the backstory

Backstory content enriches the narrative even if it is not explicitly used

Identify your Great Eight (or as many as you can)

One of the first things you as a site user is to name your eight great-grandparents and the family branch they come from

Joseph Liebman

The rough-cut Parisian jeweler who married our aunt Hilda

Elly Wohlgemuth

A cultured and affluent Berlin Jewish widow who escaped from Europe with her teenage daughter, Helga. Elly remade a life as an emigre New Yorker—but it could never replace what had been left behind.

Isaak Paechter

The younger brother of Friedereke Paechter Wohlgemutgh

The Ringels also went to Australia

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the discovery of another Ringel sibling originally from Rzeszow, Hirsch Zvi Ringel, who also settled in Berlin and was a rabbi there. Now I find that he was the ancestor of an Ancestry user, Tami Beck, who has long claimed to be associated with our family. Until now, I didn't see the connection.

We are starting an alpha user program

Start your private or public blog on Family History Machine. Or migrate over your existing blog from Blogger or another platform.

We are accepting a small number of aleph users to test out our blogging and story development system at Family History Machine.

There are still a lot of rough edges. There will be limited handholding. But we would love to see what other users can create using the same tools we designed for our own needs.

This is a blogging platform. Don't sign up if you don't think you will blog regularly, a least during the time of your trial.

Our story development process

Compelling stories well told don't spring from your imagination fully formed. They are crafted in a process that moves through stages of discovery, synthesis and presentation.

A core principal of scientific investigation, such as when conducting genealogy research, is that you must always document your results. You need a laboratory notebook or investigator's case file.

StorySpace example: Ruby Family History Project

We built Family History Machine to tell our own Ruby family stories. Click over to the Blog page to explore scores of stories about our family that we investigated and shaped into discrete narratives.

Navigate the family stories and blog posts according to family branch, story theme and investigative technique.

Follow the arc of one Jewish-American family's life over the span of generations and continents. Understand the challenges they faced. Experience their occasional small triumphs.

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