Give family history for Christmas--personal, intimate, unique, touching—a once in a lifetime gift.
Last year I prepared a special Christmas Gift for my dad.
And I wish you could have seen the look of surprise and then joy that
spread across my father's face as he unwrapped his gift--a family history
with excerpts from the diaries of his great-grandfather, Thomas Jeremy, written
in his own hand.
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Thomas Jeremy describes leaving
Wales to come to America. And how his sister Sarah clung to his
arm, tears in her eyes. She gathered her little ones under her
shawl to protect them from the sting of the cold sea spray, as
Thomas reassured her: "My darling Sarah, you can come in
the Fall. The crossing will be safer and far more comfortable then." Sarah
closed her eyes and held on all the tighter. "My heart will
break," he thought to himself, "if any barrier stops
me from sending for Sarah and her children." |
|---|
Thomas wrote his diary in English, not Welsh, because he knew his
posterity would grow up among people who spoke English, not Welsh. What
a special treat! And how my Dad's eyes glistened with unshed tears of
joy--never will I forget the expression that illuminated his face that
Christmas day.
My Dad's touching response set me thinking...
How many fathers or daughters or grandmothers or grandsons would love
to receive such a gift? Would yours?
You can have this same awesome, spine-tingling experience
I did. With an acid-free Heritage Binder chock
full of family history facts and stories, maps showing where the family
lived and what migration trail they followed, monumental inscriptions
from their tombstones, copies of their original marriage certificates,
and entries from their military service and pension records--with information
often written in their own handwriting!
Did you know, that unless he was exempt or he lived
in another country, your great-grandfather served in the Civil War for
one side or the other--or perhaps he became an "enlightened Yankee" switching
sides in the middle of the War to ensure that his wife and children did
not perish from starvation. And his enlistment papers provide a full
physical description, including the color of his eyes!
Even newly arrived Irish immigrants, fleeing the aftermath
of the Great Famine, served in special regiments. Even German teens,
who left their homeland to avoid being drafted for service in the local
rebellions that swept across Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century,
served. They served to get citizenship two years early, and for veterans'
benefits when they applied for Western mining lands just opening
up under the Homestead Act.
Even civilians served: making and repairing uniforms (tailors),
constructing ships and submarines in coastal bayous with rented and leased
slave labor (sail makers and machinists), forging weapons and those round
iron balls used in cannons--the kind that left craters in the bunkers
and tore whole limbs from young bodies (iron forgers), harvesting salt-peter
for gunpowder and fuses.
It is ancestors like your great-grandfather and his brothers who put
real meaning into the American flag and those patriotic stirrings that
swell your breast until you think your whole being will burst!
Did you know that Grant's Army suffered 2,000 casualties
each and every day--even when no major battle was fought. That’s
why even brave men were “sick in hospital” or “deserted” on
morning reports. Did you know that more than twice as many men died of
disease than died of battle wounds?
Did you know that the American Red Cross was born
because your ancestor and mine required nursing and food--mothers and
sisters and wives at home were expected to feed and
clothe their own men once they had been taken to a hospital
or prison? And when the food became scarce, it was this new American
Red Cross who filled the slack with donations collected throughout the
nation.
Neither did I--until I began to trace the military service of great-grandfathers
for clients, just like yourself, who wanted to know about the lives of
these men. With tears in their eyes, these clients, thanked me again
and again, just like my dad did.
You and your Family can Have all the Fun of Discovery--
I, personally, would love to help you share, within your own family,
these same heart-tugging feelings. Hire me! Let my skills,
my wide research experience, my 96% success rate create
for you a priceless Genealogy Christmas Gift. A once
in a lifetime gift!
You can have all the fun of discovery--every single pulse-racing discovery.
You, too, can visualize what it was like "to be shot at." Shot at point-blank
range! Because you get copies of all the original documents, the maps,
the letters, and the casualty reports. Every single, eye-popping little
detail is included for you to pour over with your family, in writing,
and on audio-tape--a special bonus for those family members
who have difficulty reading. And we can supply additional packages for all
those family members who want their own "book" and tape for
a nominal cost.
Hire me! You can entrust your genealogy Christmas
Gift to me. I have been in the genealogy business in Salt Lake City UT
since 1972; and now in Tremonton UT since 1986. If I receive your order
by 31 July, I guarantee your family history package will arrive
right after Thanksgiving--enough time for you to determine how many extra
copies you want. And enough time to stage a truly magnificent Christmas
bash with all your relatives present--they need time too, to put your
party on their holiday calendar.
Your genealogist,
Arlene H. Eakle, PhD
P.S. For the do-it-yourself genealogy buffs on your
list, I can recommend the perfect genealogy research companion: Family
History for Fun and Profit.. This step-by-step, easy-to-follow
kit will delight even the most discriminating genealogists in your family
--and you can save yourself the anguish of trying to remember if the
towels you bought match the color of Aunt Lucy's bathroom. Note: My letter
is written in 14-point type--the same size as Family History
for Fun and Profit. Carol Callard, former Genealogy Librarian,
Library of Michigan, bought it "just because I can read it without my
glasses!"
P.P.S. Order by 31 July and get a special bonus gift:
2 FREE mini-subscriptions to my lively, "tell-all" Family History NEWSSHEET.
One to tuck inside the gift package of someone special, and one for yourself.
Each issue is packed with informative and interesting genealogy goodies
to say "I'm thinking of you and your genealogy” all through the
New Year.
P.P.S.S. And that is not all--Order by 31 July and
get a gorgeous, gold-foil stamped family tree chart, suitable
for framing, with hand-calligraphy--as an extra, "shameless
bribe" for your prompt order.
Click here to open “My
Genealogy Christmas Gift, No Risk Acceptance Form.” so
you can enclose it with your genealogy information and mail it to my
attention by 31 July 2006. See Contacts page for address.