A Plea for Posterity

A few years after John Adams left the White House, his son John Quincy Adams became the US ambassador to Russia.  John Quincy and his wife left for Russia leaving the children behind.  However, after some time, the children were sent to be with their parents.  The thought of not seeing his grandchildren for an extended period tugged at Adams' heart strings.  When he said goodbye to them for the last time, he told them to write often.  Also, he instructed them to keep a diary.  He said that without writing they would be like birds.  Without a trail to follow, no one would know where they went.  There would be no way to find them. 

Why do we know so much about our Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and other famous people throughout history?  Stories and information about their lives were written down.  As I study my family history, I am finding how important it is to have things written down.  So much of the family I have found in my research is only a name or date to me.  I have no information other than that.  Believe me when I tell you how exciting it is for me to find ANYTHING about a family member. 

I have posted a couple of snippets about my great great grandpa David Phillips on my blog.  I once found a newspaper article about his daughter's 50th anniversary.  The article notes that she had a lot of suitors but George Beed won her hand.  The wedding was in her parents' house and the local sheriff expected trouble so he and his deputies were at the wedding to keep the peace.  She must have been quite a catch.

Do your descendants a favor and keep a diary.  Personally, recommend doing it electronically and keep hard copies.  I have a hard bound journal that I write in when I travel.  We don't know what technology will be like 100 years from now.  We don’t know if today's MS Word will even work in the next century.  Nevertheless, I urge you to start writing down aspects of your life.  Mention the day to day boring things, the trips you take, people you meet, and your thoughts on world events.  Some day there may be a long lost relative that will feel they found a treasure worth more than gold when they read about you and your world.