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My Dream

I’ve had this dream for many years of writing books for my children about their ancestors. Now I have grandchildren and the dream intensifies.

Maybe it began one day as I was reading bedtime stories to my youngest daughter. We had a whole bookshelf of children’s books. We had read them over and over again. This particular night we were sleeping in a guest room in my parent’s home. The room was completely decorated in family history, from pictures on the walls to precious family keepsakes and mementos on the shelves and tables. As I read Winnie the Pooh for the umpteenth time, my daughter looked up at me and said “Now can you tell me a story about them.” She pointed to an ancestor’s picture on the wall.

Now I’m not good at making up stories but I did the best I could to tell her a story that I remember being told by my parents. From then on when it came time for bedtime stories she often asked me to tell her more. She’d say “Tell me about the Grandma who . . .”

Now I love books. I love learning. I love Family History. We have bookshelves full of books at our house. By far the most used are the children’s books. They get read over and over again. They get memorized. I’ve tried for years to get my older children really interested in genealogy without success. It dawned on me that if I wanted my children and grandchildren to learn about their roots, to feel connected to their ancestors, I might best do it by writing children’s books. They would then grow up with their ancestors inside of them. Guess who also learns? Yes, of course, the parent who is reading to their child!

I apologize upfront for any mistakes or imperfections which I am sure there will be. My purpose in creating these books is to be a link in the great chain of my family; to pass on a tangible spiritual legacy from my ancestors who have gone before me to their posterity after them, many who they and I will never see. All of them were human. None were perfect. Each had strengths and weaknesses. My intent is to focus on each grandparent one at a time. I will choose one of their greatest strengths to highlight so that the children can either identify it in themselves or strive to create it in their own life.

As I began to write the first in the series, it dawned on me that Grandpa Joseph Obadiah Stradling Senior had many descendants. He had ten sons that all lived to adulthood. My grandfather, Joseph Obadiah Stradling Junior had eight children. My father Haskell V. Stradling had seven children. Their posterity is vast and numerous. Maybe there are other people who would also enjoy reading about them.

This blog is an attempt to reach out to any and all of my relations who might also have an interest in our joint ancestry. If you are interested in the books I would love to share them with you. If you have pictures and/or information to share about my ancestors that I don’t have I would welcome it gladly.