5 Reasons You Should Write a Novel About Your Ancestor

Suddenly it hit me. As I was pouring through the data I had collected on my great-great-great grandfather, it became clear.

Johann Wolfgang Odoerfer had an amazing life!  There is a great story here!  And it must be told!

So I began writing A Blue and Scarlet Skeleton (see the About– News and Miscellany section of this website) — an historical novel about Johann Wolfgang.

It was a great experience, and here’s 5 reasons why you should consider doing it.

1. Giving Birth To A Story About An Ancestor Is A Satisfying Goal

Here was an opportunity to put the story of our ancestor–who was the connection between the German Odoerfers and the America Odaffers — into a form that might motivate future descendants to read and find out about our history.

To help make Johann Wolfgang Odoerfer “come to life” might just be what was needed to contribute a tiny bit toward creating Interest in Odaffer genealogy in future generations.

2. Writing About Him or Her Helps You Get to Know Your Ancestor Better

If I hadn’t decided to write about Johann Wolfgang, I wouldn’t have looked for the diaries written by Hessian soldiers, and would not know nearly as much about the life of my ancestor.

I might not have known that he had the courage to defect from the British Army to fight on the side of the Colonists in the Revolutionary War, or that he was granted land in Ohio for his efforts as an American soldier.

Nor would I have known that — as recorded in the Hessian soldier diaries — he had to run the gauntlet 10 times for being “disrespectful to an officer.” So that’s where the Odaffer temper comes from!

3. Writing About Your Ancestor Helps You Know Yourself, Your Father (Mother), and Your Grandfather (Grandmother) Better

In my case, when writing about Johann Wolfgang, I needed to think about what he might have been like.  Of course, my very first thoughts were “What am I like, and what were my father and my grandfather like?”  And how about my father’s male cousins?

These were real people who I had known, and my pursuit of answers to these questions really did, I think, give me a better understanding of myself and them.

4. Writing About Your Ancestor Helps You Know History Better

Who would have guessed that the Margraves of the German provinces were often such money-motivated weasels — conscripting Hessian soldiers against their will to fight for the British?

Researching the novel also helped me learn a lot about the British use of mercenary soldiers.

And I really learned a lot about the significance of the Battle of Yorktown in influencing the outcome of the Revolutionary War.  What a neat way to learn some history!

5. Writing The Novel Might Spark An Idea And Motivation For Additional Genealogical Research

As an example, writing the novel caused me to think about what happened to Wolfgang Odoerfer after the battle of Yorktown.  This need led me to discover the Washington-Rauchambeau trail in Virginia, the prison at Winchester, and the connection to Maryland.

I also realized that in order to do the story justice, I really needed to find out what happened to the son, daughter, and wife Wolfgang left in Germany.  This initiated a search that is still ongoing.

So, try it (writing about an ancestor) — I’m sure you’ll like it. It doesn’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning novel — just a story about your ancestor, for your descendants to read.

And you’ll gain some surprisingly valuable extra benefits (1-5 above) as you go along.