Dera,

Wow, if just for a moment, I wish I was back in the Bay Area to be at the Museum of the African Diaspora to listen to Lalita Tademy.

Her insights about writing family history, of course, are invaluable.
Please share more from your notes. (I promise to finish reading Red River).

Have you read Military Research forum manager Bennie J. McRae Jr.'s book 'Nineteenth Century Freedom Fighters'?
This book is another fine example of how we can craft our families' story using letters, diaries and historical facts.
See: http://afrigeneas.com/forum-books/index.cgi?read=2300

Perhaps some of our published AfriGeneas authors would like to share some of their tips when it comes to writing that family history.

Peace,
"Guided by the Ancestors"