Last week’s discussion at the Caribbean Genealogy Library hosted “Unlocking the Book Within” with author Melissa Fredericks. This weekend, the library continues on the theme of encouraging people to research and write their family stories with a presentation by family historian and author Anne Walbom.
“Researching and Writing your Family Story: The Process” will take place at 2 p.m., Dec. 17.
Anne Walbom will describe the process she used to conduct and document her family history, selecting a storyline, the sources she used to tell her ancestor’s stories, how she filled gaps in information, and tips for writing.
Walbom spent years researching her family story from Denmark to St. Thomas. She started by documenting stories told within her family and later used archival records to research the family’s oral history. In recent years she has written her family story, describing it from various viewpoints, including those of F.F. Hansen, an attorney; Dorothea Weyle, an enslaved person working in Hansen’s home as the housekeeper; and Anna Pauline, the child of Hansen and Dorothea. (Anna Pauline is the great-great-grandmother of Walbom.)
The family story takes place in Elsinore, St. John, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Copenhagen, Rome and the battlefields between Denmark and Germany.
Anne Walbom is the author of “St. Thomas & St. John Historic Photos 1855-1917” and “St. Croix Historic Photos,” and she is now working on a book-in-progress on her Danish West Indian family.
How to Attend:
In person at the Caribbean Genealogy Library or attend virtually via Zoom. Register for Zoom.
