Short stories, true stories
We have two guidelines that we strongly urge you to follow
Walter Ruby (the younger)
The eldest child of Stanley and Helga Ruby turned his youthful zeal for the Jewish state into a lifetime of works for peace and reconciliation
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Dan Ruby
Editorial technologist who created 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.