Joan Enders Genealogy and Research Consulting

From Biographical War Sources to Memoir

What started as personal entertainment writing turned into an anthology submission when I realized that my piece really did fit the theme of overcoming adversity. After too many edits for a short writing, "The 36-Year-Old Quilt" was accepted for ANWA's anthology, From Ashes. Pretty excited about the publication, and that the editors insisted that I edit more because they "loved the story."

Semper Fi: Idaho to Iwo Jima is available...now... on D-Day!

Today, February 19, 2020, is the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Iwo Jima for the 5th Division U.S. Marine Corps. The subject of this book landed on Red Beach, with the 27th Battalion, then scurried, ducked, and shot. And guess what? Private W. Lee Robinson turned 96 on February 1, 2020. I wrote Semper Fi : Idaho to Iwo Jima in his honor and for a past student. She loved the inquiry investigation into the life of the doughboy from my first book. However, she turned to me as she was leaving the library and asked, "Can't we do this with someone who lived through a war?" And here is the result. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be available on the 19th. But I will be happy with the 20th or the 21st. I hope you, educators and students enjoy solving another personal mystery involved in "big history!"

WordFest January 2018: A Reading and Activity

I was the third reader at the Longview writers' monthly event at Cassava's. Everyone before and after me read meaningful novel excerpts or poems or short stories. Me....a preface and introduction. What do you do when you are an nonfiction writer of interactive books? Then I distributed an original document about the usual suspect, allowed them to study for five minutes and invited them to the mic to share what they discovered about Joshua. A few brave souls led off, then they lined up to present, then Alan Rose gave them more time, and finally, he had to cut them off so that open-mic could proceed. It was a great night!

The Daily News article announcing the event.

American Night Writers Assn NW Retreat October, 12, 2017

I facilitated an interactive session using the sources from Joshua Henry Bates' life. Participants really interacted with and extracted information from their documents. As usually the event in its entirety was wonderful....being surrounded by fellow writers, a gorgeous location at Rosario Beach, and tasty cooking and company. At the author open house quite a few books sold, always a pleasure.

Evidence is Lacking. Yet I Still Hope. is available now on CreateSpace, and on Amazon.

It is published as a glossy covered paperback. Kits of the primary sources will also be available for purchase. The staff at my former high school are pretty excited about it's publication. The kit is available directly from me.

An ebook teacher's guide is available for purchase and a free PDF for those ordering multiple copies of Evidence is Lacking. Yet I Still Hope.

A copy of my article about the project is under "Family History Blog" to the left.

Need a teacher workshop to launch the project? I am offering webinars for teachers or on-site workshops to help them prepare for the project. Not only that, student webinar debriefings with insights and more primary sources culminate the project.

Longview, Washington's Family Discovery Day October 2015

After months of preparation our local Family History Center, me as director and with a hardy group of great assistant directors, organized our first conference event. We had 136 persons attending with 14 hourly sessions, 2 open labs, a "Discovery of Me" experience (low-tech, but fun) and informational booths. Local consultants from Woodland to Cathlamet to Castle Rock helped with setup. We are working on our second one for 16 April 2015.

Lower Columbia Genealogical Society
Presentation Sep 10, 2015

A great group and fun presentation! I had a preconceived notion that they knew so much my activity would bore them. Well....not so much!

Photography courtesy of The Single Leaf Blog

I just returned from presenting young adult and adult sessions at the BYU Genealogy and Family History Conference 2014. It was a great experience. The young adults cooperated in creating a timeline of a WWI soldier's life after analyzing primary sources of his life. The next day I facilitated an adult conversation about creating similar experiences for young adults in their locales. Of course, they enjoyed experiencing a sliver of the youth activity. It was difficult to exit the room. We could have talked about the involvement of youth in genealogy at least another half hour.

I am eager to prepare more sessions for youth involvement in family history.